In Isaiah 8 the
prophet reveals that Israel’s hope in God is about to be severely tested. Just
one chapter before, Isaiah has foretold the birth of a son to a virgin: a son
who will be given the name Immanuel—God with us. Israel had long known that God
was with her. Now, according to Isaiah, God would be with his people in a new
way. But that would be in the more distant future—a future in which
empires will have come and gone and Israel will be living under the oppression
of a new occupying force. In the immediate future, however, the divided
kingdom of Israel and Judah would be inundated by a flood so deep that the
waters would come up to her neck. That flood was invasion by Assyria, and the
head, that would be all that remained above the waters, was Jerusalem. Isaiah,
in his urgent warning to Israel and Judah, appeals to their faith in God by
addressing the two nations as Immanuel: “the king of Assyria with all his pomp…will
cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!” The name that will be given to the
Virgin’s son is here already given to the nations of Israel, as a reminder in
whom to put their trust. For despite the devastation of the floodwaters God
will not have abandoned his people. In fact Isaiah’s prophecy of invasion is
also a prophecy of rebuke to the invaders: “Raise the war cry, you nations, and
be shattered!...for God is with us.” The last phrase is of course one word, the
name Immanuel. “Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!...for Immanuel.”
The name rings out like a war cry itself. As we approach Christmas 2020, this
is, of course, also our cry of triumph. The coming of the Lord, the coming of
the light into our darkness, represents the promise of a new world, just as it
was for the people of Israel.
This is also, however, a time to be reminded that the presence of God not only causes sworn enemies of God to tremble. Across our fallen world the presence of God is not always a comfortable presence. Isaiah goes on to warn: “He will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” Both St. Paul and St. Peter draw out the parallels between this verse and the growing religious and political opposition to the message that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not.
This past year has revealed a different but worldwide enemy. During the battle against this enemy, faith in a God who is with us is comforting. When that enemy is vanquished, will our world be any less uncomfortable with the Immanuel who shows love and mercy to humans in their need? And what about ourselves? For the past months we too have woken each morning to this very troubling reality—a world ravaged by a global pandemic that, until recently, seemed destined to continue indefinitely. Many individuals have shared with me the experience of waking up for brief seconds of joy before being crushed by the reality that has been 2020.
Surely it is through
the good news of Immanuel that we are able to respond to Isaiah’s call to awake,
with hope and faith, to sing for joy and thanksgiving through this Advent and
Christmas as we recall the time when our God came to dwell among us. THANKS BE
TO GOD!
- Tim and Patricia Pope