Dream Awakener

A guest post by Debbie Kim

You can read Part I here, and Part II here.

Lectionary Texts: Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25

What God Says To An Idiot
When we arrive in the book of Isaiah, we find that there is an alliance between King Rezin of Syria, or Aram, and King Pekah of Israel, and they are trying to persuade Judah to join them against Assyria. When Judah resists, Pekah and Rezin plot to invade and set up a puppet king who will do what they want. Because of what happened before, and because Ahaz hadn’t learned his lesson, the renewed attacks make Judah panic, and it says, “So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.”

Well, what’s a prophet like Isaiah to do? God says to him, Take your son, Shear-jashub, whose name means “a remnant will return,” and go meet King Ahaz of Judah. There’s no way around the facts—Ahaz was an idiot, and he pissed God off in a major way. And when God showed him mercy, a chance at repentance, Ahaz dug himself further into sin. It is to this man that God sends the prophet Isaiah and his son A-Remnant-Will-Return. But Isaiah’s message to Ahaz is not of judgment. Instead he tells Ahaz to stop worrying, and he gives him this word:

“This invasion will never happen;
it will never take place;
for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus,
and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin.
As for Israel, within 65 years it will be crushed and completely destroyed
Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria,
And Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah, son of Remaliah.
Unless your faith is firm,
I cannot make you stand firm.”

It’s pretty astounding if you think about it. Later, God gives Ahaz another freebie—he says, Ask me for whatever you want as a sign that this will come to pass. Make it as hard as you want, neither the sky nor the grave is the limit, and I will move heaven and earth to confirm that you are safe from Syria and Israel. So not only does God send a prophet to tell Ahaz he is going to be okay, but he offers a sign.

Ahaz says, “No, I will not test the Lord like that.” Is this Ahaz’s moment of humility? Is this like when Jesus tells Satan, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test? Is this Ahaz’s Jesus moment? No, he is outright rejecting God’s sovereignty. Ahaz thinks, somehow, he has it covered with his gods and his alliances. God says, ask me for anything, as a father longing to give, a father that sees his children going down a very dangerous path and wants to guide them. But Ahaz, as Chris Brown puts it so nicely, chucks his deuces up.

So Isaiah, furious, says that Ahaz and Judah are exhausting God’s patience. It’s a nice prophet moment, where you picture him shaking his fists in the air and asking God, How long must I deal with these people? But what does God do anyway? He gives them a sign, regardless of what Ahaz said. And the sign is that there will be a young woman, and she’s having a baby, and his name will be Immanuel, which means God With Us. By the time this kid is old enough to know right from wrong, traditionally 12 years old, the kingdoms you are so afraid of will be deserted. Tomorrow is Part IV, don’t miss it.

Debbie Kim, a Chicagoan lost in Los Angeles, is a graduate of the University of Missouri. Ignoring her high school English teachers prophecy that she would become a teacher also, she pursued a career in journalism. In 2006, she came to LA to help plant a church and work at a city magazine. Four years later, she has somehow found herself in UCLA’s education program fulfilling that accursed prophecy. When she’s not at the gym pumping iron or at the beach rescuing baby seals, she works as an indentured servant at Kairos West LA. Debbie appreciates good design, Earl Gray tea, butter and bacon, but not in that order.