Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 7:10-25

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 7:10-25:

1. The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 about a virgin conceiving and giving birth to a son is seen by Christians as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. How does the concept of "already and not yet" in prophecy help us understand the multi-layered fulfillment of such prophecies both in Isaiah's time and the ultimate fulfillment in Christ?

2. Once fertile, the imagery of the land turning into briars and thorns signifies a significant reversal and judgment. How does this portrayal reflect the consequences of rebellion against God's will and the underlying theme of God's sovereignty over the outcomes?

3. Despite the foreboding language of judgment, Isaiah's prophecy also holds a promise of redemption and hope. How does this passage balance the themes of judgment and salvation, emphasizing God's commitment to fulfilling His promises even amidst the consequences of human disobedience? How does this align with the Christian belief in the ultimate salvation brought by Jesus?

Transcript:

This is a passage that is a little bit of a struggle for us because we're looking to have a quick reading and some quick devotional thoughts. But with a prophetic book, it can be easy to get in the weeds, or in this case, to get into the Briars and Thorns. Now, as we come to the beginning of this, we see some words that are quite familiar to us. We recognize this passage in this prophetic word. Notice what it says, Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgins shall conceive, and their sons shall call His name, Emmanuel. Now we know that the New Testament tells us that this is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. But there is also different, I guess, schools of interpretation or understanding how this would have been fulfilled closer to the time that this prophecy would have been spoken by Isaiah. Now, I don't want to get too much into the Briars and Thorns as it were here, but the word that we translate here, Virgin, is a woman who is of marrying age and usually is expected to be a virgin. Now, in this case, this prophecy could have been fulfilled without a exception, not of Mary, I'm talking about it more closer to the time of Isaiah, where this could have been a young woman who was married and this child came.

And so, there could have been a fulfillment in this time, not of the ultimate prophecy of Christ, but in the prophecy spoken to Isaiah here. This happens a lot in prophecy. And again, this is why we can get in the Briars and Thorns. There's a lot of different interpretation and different ways of approaching this that we don't have time to get into here today. But there are ways, there is an understanding of what we call in prophecy and already and not yet. We have some of that even with things that are spoken in the New Testament. We understand that some things have been filled, but there is a greater fulfillment down the road to come. There's this already and not yet. We can see this at work here in this prophecy and in some of the fulfillments that are seen here in the Book of Isaiah. But what we want to think about here is what is the big picture? What is happening that God is saying to the people of Judah? And so we get down to the end of the passage, and we get to this part where it's talking about the Briars and the Thorns and the judgment that has come.

There's also this idea that there is a curse upon the land here, that there is a whole lot of punishment going on. That's probably the best way to put it. And we can see this here in verse 23. In that day, every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. Now, we're what is being stated here? That there's been a reversal, that this land that was once thriving is now having a curse. Now, think about that, that level of curse. What are briars? What are Thorns? We have to go back to Zunk, just to go back to Genesis 3 to understand that this is generally a punishment for sin. It's a punishment for rebellion against God. There's this deeper connection here in the Book of Isaiah with that greater theme. And we notice here, as it talks, that these hills used to hoe the ground, used to throw and cultivate this and nurture this. But you're not even going to go there. In fact, it's barely good enough to let cattle loose, to let sheep loose. And we know the idea of this, right?

When you're riding through the countryside, all of a sudden in the midst of a field where there is corn growing abundantly or some other crop, there's this area that's pasture and you can see that maybe there's rocks there or there's something about the land that the decision was made to not plant crops there because they wouldn't grow as well. You were better off having livestock. So that's the idea being expressed here that there is no longer abundance where there is meant to be abundance, but instead, the land has to be used for something else because it has been cursed. The overarching idea that I want to understand here is that God is in control. God is the one who is bringing this punishment upon the people, but they can look forward to something else. They can look forward to what the result is going to be after this punishment. God is going to bring about something better. God makes a promise. He looks forward to when their sins will be forgiven, when they will turn towards Him in repentance. So, as we think about what this passage means, as we try to take all of this doom and gloom of a judgment, we are to remember that God ultimately has a plan.

And what did God do in the midst of all this plan? He brought about salvation. While we look and we say, Hey, there may have been a young, or there was a young woman who gave birth, and it was a sign back in the time of Isaiah or after the time of Isaiah. There is that ultimate fulfillment of the coming of Emmanuel. We know him to be the Lord Jesus. And he is the one who takes our sin upon himself. He did not have sin. He came to be the one who was our sacrifice of atonement. So as we think about this, as we consider this, may we remember that God always has a plan. God is always looking forward. God is going to keep His promises to return to judge the living and the dead, the land that there is figuratively speaking. When it seems as though there is nothing there, when we look at the world and it seems right for judgment, we have to remember that God does keep His promises. He will come. There will be judgment, but there is also in that judgment salvation because He has done all things to create a people for Himself.

So, may we remember that we are those people. That when we see the briers and thorns of this world, we have the glorious, glorious field of abundance comes with Christ. So, may we hope in Him today. May we trust that He, the God who keeps His promises.