2015 Policy Review

Isaiah 7

Ahaz came of age in a time of uncertainty, rumours and threats. His little Kingdom, like a cork on the sea, seemed to be at the mercy of forces far beyond his control. Over the horizon lay the mega-power of Assyria – the military monster poised to have nations like Judah for breakfast. Around him were the other small powers, all in a flap and desperately trying to figure out ways to escape Assyria’s clutches. Two of them, Israel and Aram, had teamed up in the face of their shared enemy.

For Judah this was a galling development – Israel, part of God’s covenant people, Judah’s own flesh and blood, was now in league with idolaters in order to save its skin. Ahaz now faced the consequences as Israel and Aram turned on him – Israel’s policy of anti-Assyrian co-belligerence had a sting in the tail! Judah was panic-stricken by these developments (v2).  But in the midst of the crisis God speaks. Isaiah is told to take his son and meet Ahaz as he inspects the siege facilities (v3).

The message is simple: the threats faced are not to be feared – not that Israel and Aram were imaginary or couldn't have the power to harm – but they were not the final word. They were not the masters of Judah’s fate. The ‘Sovereign Lord’ is speaking now (v7) – that is, the Lord who controls everything: politics, the weather, the outcomes of battles, even the very heartbeat of kings.

So… Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. (v4).

Be careful – the temptation is to meet threat with threat, scheming with scheming, unholy alliance with unholy alliance – to match human might and ability with dependence on your own. In other words, Ahaz, your hope is not in being stronger, smarter or quicker than your adversaries – but in the Sovereign Lord. 

In 1940 Britain teetered before the greatest threat to its ongoing way of life it had ever faced. The military monster of Nazi Germany had eaten up the European continent and looked set to invade a massively out-gunned Britain. Churchill, on becoming Prime Minister that May, gave one of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons. In it he said: ‘You ask, what is our policy?  It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us…You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory; victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.' It was a call to arms and a declaration of Britain’s refusal to falter despite the seemingly impossible odds.  

For Ahaz and Judah – God’s call was not to arms but to Faith. 

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (v9)

If Ahaz were to address the nation that day – he should make it clear that his policy, in the hour of crisis, was ‘Faith’. Faith on all fronts, faith with every ounce of strength and every breath that God gave him. Sadly however, for many, including Ahaz, faith just seems too ethereal to hang their hopes on. The nuts and bolts of hardware, the promises of others, cash in hand, good marketing - all seem much more useful and substantial. But the Word of God is unambiguous: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

In a world where everything in our lives can be swept away in a moment, where there is nothing in that can be guaranteed – hear the word of the Lord - the only sure policy is ‘Faith’. That is, faith in God - who cannot be overcome, who cannot be thwarted. Faith in God - who can be trusted, who knows and cares about you. Faith in the God who is good.

Grounds for Faith

So good, that He gives us grounds for faith – the provision of a sign to bolster weak faith and to give people confidence to ‘stand firm’ in it.  Ahaz is offered a sign (v10) – a token of God’s reliability if He is trusted. Astonishingly Ahaz refuses – his mock piety a cover for faithlessness (v12). Ahaz will do his own thing, thanks very much! It was a decision that could only lead to ruin (v17), he became the fulfilment of Isaiah’s warning – by not standing firm in faith he very simply would not stand at all.

In his abounding grace God nevertheless gave the sign – the sign of a virgin who would bear a son called Immanuel (v14). It was a promise that in the centuries ahead would be a lifeline to Judah and Israel – the promise that deliverance would come, that God would rescue His people, and a Kingdom of peace and justice would be established upon the earth. It was the sign made good at Bethlehem – the sign that the God and Father of Jesus Christ is trustworthy, faithful and to be believed.

2015

Where will you look for help, protection and deliverance as you face your fears in the coming year - whether social, financial, medical, vocational, spiritual…? What will be your policy for 2015? Make it faith – faith on all fronts and in all circumstances. Because only faith will lead to ultimate victory - the defeat of sin and death - and the glory yet to be revealed in us. 

This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Ask the God and Father of Jesus Christ to give you the strength not to falter in faith however great the odds against you might seem. Faith is the ultimate practical policy because only those who stand in faith will stand at all.

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:5)