Wearying God Instead of Trusting Him • 02.25.24
Nick Lees   -   February 25, 2024

Click Here for The Isaiah Overview Sermon from the Beginning of the Series

Wearying God Instead of Trusting Him
Isaiah 7

See the outcome of idolatry and faithlessness

  1. King Ahaz pursued many gods but not Yahweh
  2. God graciously provided a call to repentance
  3. King Ahaz proudly chose to trust Assyria not Yahweh
  4. God promises to bring about discipline for their sin

Good morning church family! Welcome visitors + introduce self + series.

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (Isaiah 7; page 679)

Today is going to be one of those “learning how not to do it” lessons. Anybody have stories like those?

  • Don’t touch the screws on the side of outlets while the power is on… you learn the hard way what electricity feels like!
  • Don’t harvest honey from your beehives when they’re angry and your protective gear isn’t properly on… you end up with lots of stings!
  • Don’t replace studying for your exams with playing video games… it doesn’t turn out well in the end.

It seems like the lessons that are learned the hard way are often the most memorable… They stick with you, don’t they? These are tame examples compared to what we’re going to see on display in Isaiah 7. Our sermon is titled ‘Wearying God Instead of Trusting Him’.  In this chapter, we meet the current king of Judah, King Ahaz. And he’s about to take the nation on a real roller-coaster ride of disobedience towards God. He chooses to learn a lot of lessons the hard way… Let’s meet him now in Isaiah 7:1-2.

Isaiah 7:1–2 (ESV)

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

To set the scene for our sermon today, Ahaz is the grandson of Uzziah, the king we heard referenced last week, who passed away in 740 BC. Ahaz took the throne after his father, Jotham passed away, around 735 BC. Unfortunately, Ahaz was not a righteous king…

In fact, let me prime the pump for today by sharing some summaries of King Ahaz’s reign.

2 Chronicles 28:1–4 (ESV)

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Ahaz did not walk in the ways of his ancestor, King David, but instead he was rebellious and idolatrous, like the kings of Israel. Already you’ve heard of one of his disgusting acts – offering his own sons as a burnt offering… I can’t even imagine! And as you heard in verse 4, this pagan worship was the pattern of his life.

Now, is this what God had intended the people of Israel and Judah to become – pagan, idol worshipping, child-sacrificing people?! Absolutely not! As we heard last week, God is a HOLY God, and he has been seeking to make a HOLY people for Himself. Unfortunately, the people of Israel, and now, Judah, have chosen to completely disregard and disobey Him. They have engaged in vile practices of pagan worship. How might you expect the Holy God to respond to His chosen people living this way? If you said, with discipline or judgment, you are correct!

2 Chronicles 28:5–8 (ESV)

5 Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. 6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

 

8 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.

As you heard in Isaiah 7:1-2, Ahaz was faced with two of the nearby nations uniting against him. (MAP) Israel and Syria were trying to force Ahaz to join them in a defensive alliance against the growing might of the Assyrians. But Ahaz did not want to partner with them! So, they resorted to war… And they were mostly successful. God gave Judah over because of their wicked ways and it rocked the nation. Many died and many more were taken captive.

Do you see now why Ahaz and his people had hearts that shook like the trees in a windstorm? They’ve already faced humiliating defeats at the hands of these nations. It is likely that this instance is in reference to yet another attack that is being mounted against Judah, though we don’t know for sure. The timeline of events is hard to recreate within these years of 734-732 BC where these wars were taking place. But what is apparent, so far, is that King Ahaz was an unfaithful man and leader. And as the king goes, so go the people… he led the nation into idolatry and faithlessness. They were all learning things the hard way… And today I want us to…

See the outcome of idolatry and faithlessness

May we see and learn from the horrible choices and outcomes of King Ahaz and Judah and then choose not to follow in their ways. Our first observation today comes from what we’ve heard so far…

  1. King Ahaz pursued many gods but not Yahweh

Both 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 capture the reign of King Ahaz in more detail. As you’ve heard, Ahaz was a man of worship and religious observance, but in the wrong places. His pursuits were pagan, and his wisdom was worldly. He looked around him and saw that other nations were prospering, so he would copy their religious practices. This is what led him to sacrifice his sons like the worshippers of Molech and Chemosh around him. This is what would later lead him to copy the altar found in Damascus in Syria and bring it back to Jerusalem to replace the Lord’s altar in the temple.

Rather than leading the people to worship Yahweh, the One, True God, the God of his ancestors who had covenanted with his people, Ahaz actively led them astray to embrace the pagan practices of the surrounding nations. This led to their downfall and destruction! *pause*

Let’s think together… How do we do this today? In what ways do we pursue many gods but not Yahweh?

That’s an uncomfortable question, isn’t it? Especially for Christians.

But it is necessary… If we do not want to repeat the same folly and sin that Ahaz did… nor face the same outcome of discipline and judgment, then we must learn from him.

It would be easy to point out the way that our culture pursues many gods but not Yahweh. We live in a day of great religious pluralism and moral relativism. It’s a day of decrees that all roads/faiths lead to God and that each person can have their own truth. These statements are illogical and wrong. There cannot be opposing truth claims that are both true. One must be true and the other false. And, as the Bible and history reveals, Yahweh is the One, True God and there are no others. But our focus isn’t on those outside of our church; our focus needs to be on us. How do those inside the church pursue many gods but not Yahweh?

These may be trickier to spot than we realize… It shows up in our patterns of thinking and behavior. What do you put your hope in? Where do you turn when things get hard? Where do you turn for comfort? What thoughts do you repeat to yourself when you desire reassurance? What brings you your greatest joy? Parents, what are you modeling for your children? Parents, we may not be kings of a nation, but we have influence over others!

This year, I imagine we will see an uptick in people who are tempted to put their hope in a political process or candidate rather than God. Or despair if the “wrong” candidate wins. It is tempting to turn to people rather than God. Or to mask our sorrows with the constant dopamine hits of social media or find our joy in TV or YouTube or whatever preferred entertainment you turn to… It is tempting to forget about our problems by turning to something or someone other than the One, True God for help/hope/comfort/etc., Or to tell ourselves, “You can do this!” rather than “God’s faithful and He is with me.” Or perhaps your narrative is negative, “You can’t do this, why even try?!” rather than “God is my present help in time of need! He has not left or forsaken me.”

These are a few examples of ways that we can easily follow the path of King Ahaz and the rest of Judah in pursuing something other than Yahweh in our day and age. Thankfully, God does not leave Ahaz or us to our own devices. As we see in Isaiah 7:1-9, God is involved in the lives of his people, even when they are disobedient. Let’s read the text now.

Isaiah 7:1–9 (ESV)

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:

          “ ‘It shall not stand,

and it shall not come to pass.

   8      For the head of Syria is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

          And within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.

   9      And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.

          If you are not firm in faith,

you will not be firm at all.’ ”

Notice how God initiates this interaction with Ahaz! God is acutely aware of what is going on in our lives and he moves toward us. In this case, he sends Isaiah to confront and comfort Ahaz. I found it interesting that multiple commentators pointed out that what Ahaz is doing at this conduit of the upper pool is preparing for war. Their water supply was a weak spot in their defenses, as it was not yet within the walls of the city. The reason that is interesting is due to the message Isaiah carries from God. “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…”

Not what a king preparing for war is expecting to hear! “Ahaz, calm down and stop being afraid! Don’t worry about the army arrayed against you! Stop with your preparations and planning… because they are nothing… compared to Yahweh!” God even has Isaiah reveal that He knows the plans of the enemy. And even though they have their plans, God’s decrees supersede man’s plans! We get a “thus says the LORD God” in verse 7, followed by the decree of God that if Ahaz is faithful, God will not allow these enemy nations to prosper or conquer Judah, that he will destroy them within a very specific timeframe, and then he ends with the warning of the need for firm faith, lest Ahaz and Judah fall completely.

What you’re observing here is…

  1. God graciously provided a call to repentance

God’s expectation is that Ahaz and the people would trust God, not themselves, not mere men (like an alliance with Assyria), and definitely not the idols or pagan gods they worshiped… Yahweh alone is worthy of their trust! This was a key moment in Ahaz’s reign. Which way will he go? Will he continue down the path of idolatry and faithlessness or will he repent and trust the Lord?

The warning in verse 9 is haunting: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” Other translations put it this way:

  • NASB – If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.
  • CSB – If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.

Firm faith in Yahweh is essential to endurance and perseverance in this life. (repeat) If you are not loyal to God, then you have no reason to expect Him to continue to sustain and provide for you. Judah, above all other nations, should have known that Yahweh was the One who had created them from the seed of Abraham and continually sustained and provided for them each step of the way. All that they had was due to the gracious provision of God. And a lack of faith will lead to their downfall.

Will Ahaz and the nation trust God in the face of this enemy army? Or will they trust in themselves and continue to go their own way? To God, the armies of Israel and Syria are NOTHING. He is the God who directs the hearts of kings like a stream of water in his hand. He is Creator and Lord over all! He could easily protect and provide for Judah if they will trust him…

Again, it is wise for us to stop and consider how this applies to our situation. How has the Creator God graciously provided a call to repentance to you/to me? He meets us in our deepest trials and darkest struggles with sin. He has given us examples like Ahaz in Scripture to be confronted with our own need for trust in Him. If you’re a Christian, then at some point in your life you were confronted with your sin and your need for a Savior. Do you recall God waking you up to your need to trust Him? That call to trust Him did not stop upon placing your faith in Him. He continues to be worthy of your trust, even in the face of the greatest of trials, even if an enemy army is at your doorstep. Even if you receive an unwanted diagnosis. Even if your loved one falls ill. Even if your spouse abandons you. Even if your kid rejects the faith. Even if… _____ you fill in the blank. Will you trust God? Or will you turn to other things for comfort/answers in your time of need? *pause*

Unfortunately, we have a negative example before us today… Let’s keep reading in Isaiah 7.

Isaiah 7:10–13 (ESV)

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

This is the passage that informed the sermon title for today. Unfortunately, even after the Lord spoke to Ahaz through Isaiah, he refused to trust God! He continued to weary God with his disobedience.

If you were here for the overview sermon of the entire book of Isaiah, you might recall that I mentioned it seems like Ahaz is being pious here by refusing to test God. It sounds pretty good, right? In fact, it was a direct application of Deuteronomy 6:16! However, Ahaz was not putting God to the test in the first place. God was the One commanding Ahaz to ask for a sign! God wanted him to ask so he could demonstrate that he was indeed trustworthy! But Ahaz refuses because he does not want to know the answer. He has already chosen his path in his heart; Ahaz will put his trust in Assyria, not Yahweh. This is our next observation in studying the outcome of idolatry and faithlessness.

  1. King Ahaz proudly chose to trust Assyria not Yahweh

The man made the wrong choice! He decides to trust mere men rather than the Creator of the Universe! You may say, “Where does it say that in the text?!” Well, it doesn’t in Isaiah 7, which is why I need to take you back to the other accounts of King Ahaz’s reign. Let’s look briefly at 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles once more. Here is what Ahaz did after being attacked by the Israel/Syrian alliance.

2 Kings 16:7-9

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.

Ahaz’s plan worked, didn’t it? Dishonoring God’s temple, taking the precious goods and sending them to a pagan king… Trusting Assyria worked out after all… Or did it?

2 Chronicles 28:16-21

16 At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. 17 For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. 18 And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. 19 For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the LORD.

20 So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz’s foolish choice to trust Assyria over Yahweh ultimately led to their own oppression by Assyria! He paid to have Assyria come down and conquer his enemies and afflict his own nation… As Proverbs 16:18 says… “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Take note of this! When we choose to trust something/someone other than God, the very paths we think will provide what we want will lead to our downfall! (repeat)

Ahaz’s hard heart towards God led him and the rest of the nation to a terrible outcome. If only they had trusted Yahweh, things would have gone much differently! God had promised them protection at no cost other than trusting Him… but Ahaz sent away many treasures to purchase his own domination. What a sad analysis of the outcome of trusting self/man/others rather than God! It never, never, never ends well. It didn’t for Ahaz… and it won’t for you! *pause*

Is this helping you to think twice about trusting in yourself or anything other than God? My hope is that this negative lesson from Ahaz’s life would cause each one of us to pause and evaluate our own lives and to make any changes necessary to orient ourselves around trusting God! The outcome of trusting anyone or anything else is not good!  *pause*

Let’s see how God responds to Ahaz’s folly.

Isaiah 7:14–25 (ESV)

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18 In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.

20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Ahaz wouldn’t ask for a sign, so God is going to initiate and give Him one. And God’s sign points to the coming judgment upon Syria/Israel. But it also comes with a promise that God is bringing Assyria upon Judah to discipline them for their sin. This leads us to our final observation about the outcome of idolatry and faithlessness…

  1. God promises to bring about discipline for their sin

Choosing the path of persistent idolatry and faithlessness does not end well! God will still remove the enemy armies, but there is an even greater significance to this Immanuel child than is immediately realized in Ahaz’s day. As we continue to read Isaiah in the weeks ahead, this prophecy will be fleshed out further. However, I’ll tell you this, it is an indicator of the end of Ahaz’s evil reign and a promise of a future Davidic kingdom led by a godly king who chooses good over evil.

There has been a lot of ink spilt over the proper interpretation of Isaiah 7:14. I find that the most compelling arguments speak to two issues. First, we must think about what Isaiah understood it to mean when he wrote it. And second, we must think about what God intended when he had Isaiah write it. Isaiah may not have known that this prophecy would ultimately be fulfilled by the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, 700 years later. Yet this is exactly what the angel told Joseph, the husband of the virgin Mary, when he appeared to him 700 years later:

Matthew 1:21–23 (ESV)

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23      “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

This is an incredible connection between Old and New Testaments! As modern-day readers, we delight in hearing that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy. He is literally ‘God with us’ and the Davidic King who has come to rule forever on a throne of mercy and grace. As the angel said, “he will save his people from their sins.” This is the ultimate hope of the Bible and God’s redemptive plan. It’s a beautiful reminder that though God is Holy and disciplines his people for their sin, He is also merciful and provides a way of salvation through the Immanuel child, His own Son.

For every Christian who is here this morning, this is our ultimate hope! That, though we are prone to wander and even guilty of wearying God in our persistent struggle to trust Him, He has made a way of salvation for us in His Son. As the Apostle Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What GOOD NEWS! Though a Christian is never to be content with idolatry or faithlessness in their lives, they are also not ultimately defined by these struggles either. We are made new in Christ, have the indwelling Holy Spirit empowering us to change and grow in holiness, and we have confidence that one day we will be with him in perfection, where He is.

If you are here and you realize that you have wearied God with your sinful patterns of life, yet you have not trusted in the provision of His Son for your forgiveness and salvation, can I ask you – what is keeping you from humbling yourself and trusting in Him? Today is the day of salvation and you can know that you are forgiven and redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ. If you’d like to know more about that, let’s talk after the service! *pause*  

In the more immediate historical context, Isaiah would have understood verse 14 to be a prophecy speaking about God’s plan to remove Syria/Israel from against Judah. And, sure enough, that happened just as it was said! In their culture a boy of roughly age 12 would have been old enough to be described as able to refuse the evil and choose the good. If this prophecy occurred during the wars of 734-732 BC, as is believed, then that means by 722-720 BC the prophecy would come true. And the records of history show that Assyria had invaded Syria/Israel and conquered them within that timeframe! Syria was roughly 3 years later and Samaria roughly 12 years later. Just as Isaiah foretold… Pretty incredible!

When we get into chapters 8-9 over the coming weeks, we’ll develop our understanding of this prophecy further, as Isaiah will give more details about it. For now, I want us to focus on verse 17 where the promise of Assyria as conqueror is revealed. There can be no denying that God directly claims that He is the One bringing Assyria to devastate their land. And verses 18-25 reveal the extent of that devastation. The enemy nations will swarm their land at God’s beck and call. As an act of God’s judgment, the Assyrians will humiliate the Judeans by shaving off all their hair as their captives. They will be exposed and helpless. Their abundant agriculture will be reduced to the bare minimum to survive. Those well-manicured and lush vineyards that we heard about in Isaiah 5 and saw in Mark’s sermon two weeks ago? Remember these? (Image) They are now replaced with hills full of briers and thorns… (Image) only fit for livestock to graze. *pause*

It is safe to say that sin comes at a great cost! Ahaz’s idolatry and faithlessness kept him from trusting in the One, True God and many suffered for it. It is foolish to think that our sin or unbelief does not matter or that it does not affect anyone else. Sin and the discipline it invites into our lives affects many and dishonors the Lord. I want to encourage you as we wrap up today to cultivate a healthy disgust with the sin in your life as well as cultivating a firm faith in the Lord. Trust in the Lord will not let you down. Trusting in anything else will.

Learn from Ahaz and Judah. Let their painful discipline help you to choose a better path. May we be a people who are submitted to the Lord, trusting Him in the hardest seasons of life, even when it seems like there is no way forward. As we know, the promise of the Immanuel child is the greatest source of security and hope the world will ever have!

In just a moment we get to sing and remind ourselves and one another of the hope we have in King Jesus. But before we do that, let’s pray.

Pray

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery