A Sign Unto You

"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:12

The angel spoke these famous words to the shepherds in the fields on the eve of Jesus birth. The words fulfilled a prophecy spoken by Isaiah, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. " They however echoed something else which is found in the story that Isaiah is telling in Chapter 7.

The kings of Israel and Syria in the days of Ahaz king of Judah aligned with one another to defeat the king of Judah. "the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz,....(tell him) fear not, neither be fainthearted for...(the two kings shall not be successful against you) For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." The Lord then went onto say to Ahaz, "Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above."

God wanted Ahaz to simply ask him for a sign, "But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD." God, I believe put off by Ahaz' lack of faith said watch this, I will go beyond this situation and reveal to you a real miracle (my words). He said, "the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." (Is 7:3-20)

God told us in this story that he was bigger than Ahaz's minor problem and that what he would give the world was a Savior and that he would rid the land of (Israel's)two kings and all further evil would be trampled under his feet. He would establish himself King of the Jews and never again woud their be kings of Judah or Israel!

When will we learn that God is bigger than all of our problems? He is in control and he will help us if we will only ask him in faith!

My prayer. Father, thank you for revealing yourself to us through your word. I pray that my trust in You would increase as I walk closer to you. Thank you for the gift of your Son and the gift of salvation that we can pass to others as members of His body. I pray this Christmas season be a time of renewal and revival. I pray that Christians around the world will come to know the power that you have given each one of them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Help us Lord to be ambassadors of Christ through our lives. Use us today Lord to be your hands and feet. In Jesus name I pray, Amen