Saturday 03 December 2022

Psalm 150

Background

In so many ways our readings over the last week all lead to verse 14 and the prediction, prophecy and promise of the Christ-child. The chaos of the Syro-Ephraimite War (734-733 BC) is the backdrop to Isaiah’s ranting in these early chapters. It has diverted attention away from God’s way of doing things. The people of Judah are increasingly using their own resources to sort out their problems (rather than relying on God) and made an unwise pact with the Assyrians to ensure ‘peace’.

Judah is in a very precarious state, with the Assyrians exerting huge pressure on the northern kingdom of Israel. The kingdom of Judah has rejected a military alliance with Syria and Israel to fight with them. (You can read more about this in the background notes for Monday 28 November). Judah’s would-be allies now turn against her; Jerusalem itself is now under threat. The prophet Isaiah is very clear that Judah must turn back to God to save itself. King Ahaz answers Isaiah by saying, “I will not ask, I will not put the Lord to the test’ (v. 12), but this is not said sincerely. Ahaz had already planned (2 Kings 16) to pacify Assyria by becoming a vassal state. An extremely frustrated Isaiah then predicts that God will send a sign that God wants to be with his people – and this sign is the Christ-child.

The kind of deals that Ahaz proposed are as old as history itself. Short-term pragmatism so often overrides the importance of long-held principles, values and beliefs. Any conflict, even in the 21st century, can result in alliances that would be unheard of in more settled times. For all those with power, and whatever the crisis, the question is whether or not short-term ditching of deeply held moral values is a sacrifice worth making. Isaiah clearly believes that it is sheer folly to turn away from God’s laws and principles.

 Therefore, in verse 14, Isaiah makes his famous prophecy that God will act. Isaiah says the best way God can demonstrate solidarity with God's people is to actually come and live with them – to be born among them.

Surely, if Almighty God can come as a vulnerable child and embody the love that is the essence of the divine, why would anyone want to look elsewhere to guide their life and their principles? 

“The Lord himself will give you a sign…and will name him 'Immanuel' or “God with us'.” Thus, the light itself is promised.

To Ponder:

• The late Queen Elizabeth II had strong Christian values and her consistency was clearly appreciated by her people. When we are faced with difficult, potentially compromising, conflicts of interest, do Christian principles override all others?
• Pray for something in today’s news that requires a wise decision. Pray that values embodied in Jesus may be the guiding principles that are expressed.
• What one thing that you do today demonstrates that God is alive in your heart – and can change the world?