Frequently in Scripture, God used the birth of babies as prophetic signs. This is especially true in Isaiah 7-9 where we see God foretelling the birth of His Son, Jesus through three prophesies tied to the birth of sons. This morning we will consider the prophecy of the Immanuel child. This passage is an example of dual fulfillment, with part of the prophecy predicting the birth of a child born in the days of King Ahaz, and part of the prophecy pointing towards the birth of Jesus.

2. Series Intro
‫אֹות‬/Ōth = Signs
A mark by which persons or
things are distinguished and
made known.

3. Examples of Signs
•The mark on Cain’s forehead.
•The rainbow.
•The plagues on Egypt;
miraculous signs.
•Prophetic predictions.

4. Series Intro
• The Sign of Ahaz’ Son (Isa. 7)
• The Sign of Isaiah’s Son (Isa. 8)
• The Sign of David’s Son (Isa. 9)

5. Isaiah 7
The Sign of
Ahaz’ son

6. The Structure of a Play
• The First Act introduces the
dramatic conflict.
• The Second Act leads towards the
climax of the story.
• The Third Act is the anti-
climax/wrap-up.

7. First Act
The Conflict:
Signs of Trouble

8. Isaiah 7
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of
Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of
Judah, Rezin the king of Syria
and Pekah the son of Remaliah the
king of Israel came up to Jerusalem
to wage war against it, but could
not yet mount an attack against it.

9. Isaiah 7
2 When the house of David was
told, “Syria is in league
with Ephraim,” the heart of
Ahaz and the heart of his people
shook as the trees of the forest
shake before the wind.

10. Isaiah 7
3 And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go
out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-
jashub your son, at the end of the
conduit of the upper pool on the
highway to the Washer's Field.

11. Isaiah 7
4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be
quiet, do not fear, and do not let
your heart be faint because of these
two smoldering stumps of
firebrands, at the fierce anger of
Rezin and Syria and the son of
Remaliah.

12. Isaiah 7
5 Because Syria, with Ephraim
and the son of Remaliah, has
devised evil against you,
saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah
and terrify it, and let us conquer
it for ourselves, and set up the son
of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”

13. Assyria is
pushing
southward
towards
Egypt

14. Rezin: King of
Syria (Aram)
Pekah, son of
Remaliah: King of
Israel (Samaria)
Ahaz: King of
Judah

15. Isaiah 7
7 thus says the Lord GOD: “‘It shall
not stand, and it shall not come to
pass. 8 For the head of Syria
is Damascus, and the head of
Damascus is Rezin. And within
sixty-five years Ephraim will be
shattered from being a people.

16. Isaiah 7
9 And the head of Ephraim is
Samaria, and the head of Samaria
is the son of Remaliah. If you are
not firm in faith, you will not be
firm at all.’”

17. Second Act
The Climax:
The Sign of All Signs

20. Near
Fulfillment
Distant
Fulfillment
God’s
Perspective

21. A Sign
for Us
God’s
Perspective

22. Isaiah 7
10 Again the LORD spoke to
Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your
God; let it be deep as Sheol or high
as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will
not ask, and I will not put
the LORD to the test.”

23. Isaiah 7
13 And he said, “Hear then, O house
of David! Is it too little for you to
weary men, that you weary my God
also?

24. Isaiah 7
14 Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign. Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.

25. Matthew 1
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took
place in this way. When his mother
Mary had been betrothed to
Joseph, before they came together
she was found to be with child from
the Holy Spirit.

26. Matthew 1
19 And her husband Joseph, being a
just man and unwilling to put her to
shame, resolved to divorce her
quietly.

27. Matthew 1
20 But as he considered these things,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear
to take Mary as your wife, for that
which is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit.

28. Matthew 1
21 She will bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins.” 22 All
this took place to fulfill what the
Lord had spoken by the prophet:

29. Matthew 1
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and they shall call
his name Immanuel” (which means,
God with us).

30. Third Act
The Anti-Climax
The Confirming Sign

31. An
“Immanuel”
Sign for Ahaz
God’s
Perspective
An
“Immanuel”
Sign for Us

32. Isaiah 7
15 He shall eat curds and honey
when he knows how to refuse the
evil and choose the good. 16 For
before the boy knows how to refuse
the evil and choose the good, the
land whose two kings you dread
will be deserted.

33. Isaiah 7
17 The LORD will bring upon you and
upon your people and upon your
father's house such days as have
not come since the day
that Ephraim departed from
Judah—the king of Assyria!”

34. Isaiah 7
18 In that day the LORD will whistle
for the fly that is at the end of the
streams of Egypt, and for the bee
that is in the land of Assyria.

35. Isaiah 7
19 And they will all come and settle
in the steep ravines, and in the
clefts of the rocks, and on all the
thornbushes, and on all the
pastures.

36. Isaiah 7
20 In that day the Lord will shave
with a razor that is hired
beyond the River—with the king of
Assyria—the head and the hair of
the feet, and it will sweep away the
beard also.

37. Isaiah 7
21 In that day a man will keep alive a
young cow and two sheep,22 and
because of the abundance of milk
that they give, he will eat curds, for
everyone who is left in the land will
eat curds and honey.

38. Isaiah 7
23 In that day every place where
there used to be a thousand vines,
worth a thousand shekels of silver,
will become briers and thorns.
24 With bow and arrows a man will
come there, for all the land will be
briers and thorns.

39. Isaiah 7
25 And as for all the hills that used to
be hoed with a hoe, you will not
come there for fear of briers and
thorns, but they will become a
place where cattle are let loose and
where sheep tread.

40. Troubling Question
Does this mean that there
are two virgin births, Ahaz’
son and Jesus?

41. Application
•Recognize that we live most of
our lives in the “foothills of
faith”!
Now we see things imperfectly, like
puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then
we will see everything with perfect
clarity. (1 Cor. 13:12 NLT)

42. Application
•Sometimes God invites us to test
him!
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so
there will be enough food in my Temple. If
you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,
“I will open the windows of heaven for you.
I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t
have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put
me to the test! (Malachi 3:10 NLT)

43. Application
•Jesus is the ultimate answer
to life’s ultimate questions.
"You search the Scriptures because you
think they give you eternal life. But the
Scriptures point to me! (John 5:39 NLT)

44. Ravi Zacharias
There are four fundamental
questions of life… They boil down to
this; origin, meaning, morality and
destiny. How did I come into being?
What brings life meaning? How do I
know right from wrong? Where am I
headed after I die?