Words of Encouragement

Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria." – Isaiah 7:13-17

The Message. The Prophet Isaiah – God Promises. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the promise of a coming messiah to the people of Israel. Isaiah says to the people that God would give them a sign of his promise of protection. That sign would be a virgin would be with child and call his name Immanuel. The promise was a sign also regarding the breaking of the control of the two kings that were bothersome to the Israel.

However, the people did not truly understand the words of the prophet, Isaiah. We know that because when Jesus did come, they were looking for a different kind of savior, messiah. They were looking for a savior that would fulfill the later part of what Isaiah spoke. They were looking for someone to break the hold of other kingdoms over them. They were looking for a savior that would come in and set up an earthly kingdom, with physical strength and might. The people’s misunderstanding of the words of the prophet does not change the words of the prophet. Isaiah’s words were true because they were the words of God. And God always fulfills his own word.

What is the lesson for us, the message in this scripture? We must listen carefully to the words of the Lord however he sends them. If he sends the message by a person, or if it comes from the very scriptures of the Holy Bible, it must be heeded. We must listen carefully to them so that we understand what God is saying. We don’t want to be like the people of Isaiah’s time and misinterpret the message and lose out on the promise. Many rejected Jesus because he was not the messiah they were looking for.

Let us not reject the truth about Jesus because he is not what we think. Let us not reject the promises of God when he sends word to us of what he is offering to us. Let us respond to the message, to the call.

I pray for us today that we would heed to the message of God so that we can hear the truth of what he is telling us. Help us Lord to hear clearly what you are speaking in your word and through your servants. Help us not to reject Jesus, because to do so, we reject your promise of our safety, our deliverance and our soul’s safety. God is speaking, are you listening?