Ask God for a sign - 28 January 2009

When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it. Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field. Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying, "Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it." Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.  The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'" Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."  But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."

The text above from teaches that:

• God loves us so much that sometimes he does not have to wait to be asked to save us from trouble.  We are not told Ahaz was praying when the word of God came to him.  However if we are not praying we should at least always be listening to God's word or the unction of the Holy Spirit
• Even though Ahaz was a very wicked king of Judah, God was still merciful to him at the slightest sign of concern over threat of an impending attack.
• Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that cause us to literally shake with fear V as the trees of the forest are shaken by wind. However in such times we can be assured of God sending us his word through his Holy Spirit or through a preacher or other means
• In such times we are called to either believe God's word and stand firm in faith or believe what our eyes and ears are seeing and hearing at the time. If we choose the latter we can be assured that we will perish
• In times of trouble we should not be afraid but remain calm knowing that God already knows the plan of the enemy and how he is going to deal with him
• We are also given permission to ask God for a sign like Gideon's fleece particularly when we aren't very sure we have heard from God. If you read the text that follows the one above, you will be blessed to know Ahaz was given a sign even if, and maybe out of lack of knowledge, he did not ask for it and thought asking for a sign was putting the Lord to the test.