11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and[c] will call him Immanuel.
Matthew Henry says about this passage that nothing is more previous to God than distrust. Here we have Ahaz saying that God should not put Himself out by offering a sign of deliverance, but he really doesn’t want one because his focus is horizontal, viewing the approaching enemy. That field of vision excludes God, so his faith in God is also outside his field of vision.
Don’t you like God showing you that He is there, that He cares, that He will deliver, that He will provide? I like signs like that. It reassures me. But if I get too absorbed in worry about the present problem, well, I’m like Ahaz, too busy worrying to believe God.
Ahaz would have left the sign on the table. God knew that, so He decided to provide one anyway. This sign eventually prophesies the Messiah. Good thing God acted anyway.
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