First Wednesday of Advent

The First Wednesday of Advent

A lot has happened since Isaac: as the story goes, almost 2000 years. Abraham's descendants became a nation and then a kingdom. The kingdom split into northern (Israel, or Ephraim in the following reading) and southern (Judah) kingdoms. In the reading that follows, Ahaz (king of Judah) is confronted with the threat of annihilation as the Northern Kingdom allies with enemies to attack the Southern Kingdom.

Selections from Isaiah 7

When Ahaz 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 Yhwh said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son A-Remnant-Shall-Return, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’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's invade Judah; let's tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Yet this is what the Lord Yhwh 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 Yhwh spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Yhwh 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 Yhwh to the test.”

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? Therefore the Yhwh himself will give you a sign: Your fiancée will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him God (El)-Is-With-Us. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

1. From what we can gather, it seems that Isaiah was pledged to be married to a second wife. Presumably his first wife died after giving birth to A-Remnant-Shall-Return. The sign to Ahaz that he would not be conquered from the north was that this woman would give birth to a son and name him God-Is-With-Us. What do you think about these name choices for babies?
2. Why would the name God-Is-With-Us (Immanuel) be meaningful to Ahaz (and Judah)? 
   3. The promise from Yhwh seems to be that although Judah is facing an existential threat as a nation, Yhwh would 'be with them,' resulting in Assyria invading and destroying the countries to the north that were attacking Judah. But this isn't all good news for Judah—the surrounding land would be devastated and life would be more simple and pastoral (“eating curds and honey” is a reference to this). The author of Matthew compares the birth of Jesus to the birth of God-Is-With-Us. What threat do you think Israel of Jesus'/Matthew's time was facing?