If we take this verse out of context by itself, how lovely it sounds.  It is like a love song or a song of praise, exultation perhaps.  But then, as we read the rest of the chapter, we come to understand the fullness of its meaning.  The One singing is God the Father, His well beloved is Christ the Son and Israel is the vineyard.  Isaiah 5:1, is a verse full of potential.  We hold our breath at the ending colon, waiting for the story of the song.  All the potential was given, as it was the vineyard of the well beloved One.  The master of the vineyard was He who has all wisdom, care, protection, diligence, and foresight.  All and more than all of any husbandman.  He was well capable of having the best tended, most fruitful vineyard.  Everything was conducive to success.  The vineyard was planted in a very fruitful hill.  All that was needful to the growth, maturity and high yield of the plants was given.  He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it.  All was there to secure and maintain the choicest vineyard.  Yet the plants failed in their only assigned task.  They did not bring forth choice fruit, but instead brought forth alien fruit, fruit of the world.  It was a vineyard that brought forth "wild grapes" instead of the choice grapes that should have been produced from God’s cultivated field, a place that should have brought forth "cultivated" fruit.  What a warning we can have from this passage.  We, too, are Christ’s "peculiar," unique possession as Christians.  We are planted together in His very fruitful hill, placed into His church, His body, at the moment of salvation.  We are given all things pertaining unto holiness: the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, His own enabling.  Yet do we bring forth choice fruit for the Master?  If the Husbandman inspected our life would He find "wild grapes," the things of the world?  In making a New Testament application:

He fenced it:  When we are planted into God’s present vineyard, the Church, He seals us with the Holy Spirit, garrisoning our salvation round about with His protective care.  He places other fences around our personal lives that we need to recognize as if they were visible: the fence of separation from worldly influences, the boundary of what is acceptable to our behavior as Christians, the uncrossable boundaries that keep us from sinning.  We are also garrisoned about with the protection of His angels, who encamp round about those that trust in Him.

He gathered out the stones:  At the moment of salvation, God took out of our heart the stony places and made it a heart of flesh so that we could respond to Him.  He also gathered out the stones from our past sin, and gave us a fertile field in which to plant our new life in Him.  As we come to Him for present cleansing, He will continue the work of Husbandman Redeemer, digging up and casting out the stones of present sin that would otherwise cause us to stumble in that field and limit our potential for growth.

He planted it with choicest vines:  When we view the Church as His vineyard today, and the redeemed as the plants, how humbling it is to think that we are labeled His choicest!  We, who were dead in trespasses and sins, who lived contrary to His will, are now planted together in His likeness into His pleasant field.  Oh, that we would bloom and produce for Him and meet all the expectations of the Master of the vineyard.  That the Chief "Fruit Inspector" might be able to label us "Choicest" as we face the market place of the world and its "inspectors."

He built a tower in the midst:  God is our tower and defense, and He places Himself in our midst, promising never to leave us or forsake us.  No matter what problem or attack, He is ever there, visible to our eyes of faith, high and lifted up.  Remembering the image of the vineyard, we must be reminded that if temptation or danger come that could sow the wild grapes in our midst or pollinate us from the wrong source, we must flee to that tower.  But sadly, our choice is often to do otherwise.  Help us to be ever aware of the Tower of love and protection that looms in our vineyard.

Often it seems we are like vines who are trying to dig around in the dirt to find the stones He has removed, testing the strength of the boundary fences, and resisting the work of the Husbandman in our lives.  How much better if the Lord "viewed" the vineyard of our lives and found that we were truly pleasant plants (verse 7) and found judgment and righteousness in our lives and our fruit bearing would match the potential He has provided for us.  Lord help me to be a cultivated vineyard for You, showing forth the fullness of Your work as the Husbandman of my life.

Have you ever wondered what was happening in the life of Isaiah when he lifted up his eyes and saw the glorious scene of Heaven that Chapter six is famous for?  Verse one gives us the answer, King Uzziah had died.  This king of Judah had reigned for fifty-two years and the Scriptures relate he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. II Kings 15:3  Despite this affirmation, he had not removed the idol high places and because of this, God smote him with leprosy.  Because of the illness, while he lived, his son Jotham had judged the people, being one who also did right in the sight of the Lord. (II Kings 15:34)  But to the north in Israel, evil was rampant, idolaters filled the land.  After Jotham, his son Ahaz ruled.  King Ahaz is renowned for his evil departing, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel (II Kings 16:3),he sacrificed to idols and did according to the abominations of the heathen.  The Scriptures say distinctly on the first mention of this man, he did not that which was right.  At the death of good King Uzziah, was Isaiah burdened about the care of of his country?  Perhaps the question filled his thoughts: what would this change bring?  The godly king, who seemed to have desired to hold back evil from the land, was there no more.  What would happen to the people of Israel now?  Then Isaiah lifted up his eyes and saw the Lord high and lifted up, his train, one of the symbols of His sovereign rulership, filled the temple.  In our lives, God fills our all, His authority covers everything.  Whatever our situation, whatever the turmoil, whatever the change, God is still on the throne.  He is high above our worldly dimensions, yet uniquely and totally involved.  All is in His care, He is sovereign.  The earthly King Uzziah did right but still he failed to be perfect (the idol worship was not destroyed in the land).  He was a king with power to rule, yet one who had no power over his own physical condition.  Though he was ruler, he could not be uniquely and totally involved in the land because of his leprosy.  He was separated from total involvement by leprosy, which is a type of sin.  Yet, God, who is holy, pure and free from sin is totally involved, totally committed, totally in control.  His rulership fills completely our every area of need.  In the middle of the verse is the little word also.  Isaiah had filled his physical eyes and mind with the fact of King Uzziah’s death.  The man who had been righteous, who had seemed to control the circumstances of the land, was now lifeless.  Dread may have started to creep in, but then, Isaiah realized, something else is going on.  All is not lost, because ALSO, at the same time, God still reigns.  What had consumed his earthly mind, was now overtaken by another realization.  With his spiritual eyes lifted up above the trials of the world, Isaiah saw clearly that all along, during the also times, the Lord had always been sitting upon His throne.  Oh, Christian, if you are in a time of trouble, a time of change, never fear, God still reigns.  Isaiah may have peered dimly at the future and wondered: "What if?" and "What will happen?"  Though Jotham did what was right, the seeds of turning may have already been evident, for his son Ahaz departed from that which was good.  Did Isaiah sense that future?  Was he aware of the trouble ahead?  Too often we try to "peer" into the future, even that of tomorrow, even that of this day, and we wonder about the "what ifs."  God is still in control.  He still reigns.  We can trust our future and our present to Him.  His train fills the temple.

Read this verse in context, starting with Isaiah 6:1-4, and as you do, read with awe.  Let the vision given to Isaiah truly overwhelm you and lift your spiritual eyes from the earthly to the heavenly.

In the year that king Ussiah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

We often read the verses of the Bible while we sit on chairs or sofas made of earthly materials, in the midst of a room we frequent everyday, while outside the window, the landscape of our temporary earthly residence is evidenced.  Yet here in these verses, we do not see the ordinary or the earthly.  The Lord sits upon His throne, high and lifted up.  Around Him swirl creatures for which we have no earthly frame of reference, in the midst of a heavenly glory that surrounds and encompasses even our earthly abode.  Though like a dream, it is in actuality the place of permanence.  It is the glory of heaven that fadeth not away.  A place reserved for us, permanent in the heavens.  How appropriate, that Isaiah at first only saw the Lord when his own eyes were looking up.  God is high and lifted up and we must view Him with our spiritual eyes likewise, high and lifted up.  When we remain steadfastly looking only at the earthly, we will not see Him.  When our vision is clouded by our circumstances, completely consumed with the physical, bogged down with our difficulties, we can not see above and beyond to the wonderful filling of God, His rulership, His transcending presence.  Unleash the shackles of sin and the ordinary, and come trembling before the throne.  Raise your eyes from your earthly vision and behold Him who is upon the throne.  Cry out with the seraphim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts."  Acknowledge and confess: "The whole earth is full of His glory."  Imagine the power there, in that place of reverence.  Even the door posts of the heavenly temple, that place that can never be destroyed, even they move at the declaration.  There is a vast difference between our sinful earthly selves and the holiness of God.  Too often we place God in a vision we imagine, limited by our frame of earthly reference.  But He is not like us.  He is high and lifted up.  He is holy.  Yet in His grace, He was likened unto us and, wonder of all wonders, the holy God took our sin upon Himself so that we could share in His holiness.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. I Peter 2:24

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. II Corinthians 5:21

Echoing from the verses of Isaiah are challenges to us that we "lift" our spiritual eyes to see the Lord in His fullness, that we not have a limited vision or be self and earthly centered.  As we view the Lord high and lifted up, we are reminded of other verses: Exodus 15:11, Who is like unto thee, O Lord, ...glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?  Though He is sovereign, holy majesty, He reaches down into our sinful lives, and because of His great love and power, He can do wonders in those lives!  Psalm 99:9: Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy!  Let our lives worship Him in the beauty of holiness.  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God... Romans 15:6  Let the sight of His holiness be a devouring fire (Exodus 24:17) in our lives.  Oh, that our response might be as was Isaiah’s, conviction of our own sin and acceptance of God’s cleansing holiness in each of our lives.

Often we hear this verse isolated, standing alone.  There is much we can learn from it, even in that position, but we should give thought to what had preceded this challenge of God to Isaiah.  The prophet had viewed the Lord, high and lifted up, seen the seraphim, heard their praises, and been convicted of his own sinful self as representative of all men.  Yet God, in His mercy, had offered His cleansing fire.  After Isaiah had been cleansed with a powerful burning of the coals off the altar of God, all eyes in glory must have been focused on him.  What would this man do now?  His humility had been complete, yet so had his cleansing: thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. (verse 7)  Isaiah did not remain "cast down" before the throne, but allowed God to raise him up for service.  He could have remained in awe at the foot of the throne, but God said, "Go." (verse 9)  So many have locked themselves in monasteries, kept apart from others, when they have considered God’s holiness.  Often, we too, might be tempted to feel unworthy to be used after recognition of sin in our own lives.  Yet God calls out as He did to Isaiah, "There is a work to be done."  The seraphim, though mighty in power and awe inspiring in beauty, are not chosen to do the work God calls us for.  Their "job" is to proclaim His glory, but we, weak, ordinary men and women, are chosen by the High and Lifted Up One, the Holy God, the King, the Lord of hosts, to do His bidding, to do His work on earth.  What a challenge it is, to consider serving the King.  In medieval times, when there was an important task, a king would summon men into his courts and choose just the one or several ones whom he could entrust with the urgent mission.  The honor of the choosing was only made relevant when the knight accepted the challenge and rose from his knees to do his master’s bidding.  The task might have involved a perilous journey, with many obstacles ahead, but it was the king who had given the command: "Go for me.  Take my message."  It might have been a message of challenge or of peace, of good tiding or a warning, a journey of adventure or arduous service, but the request was still the same: "Who will go for me?"  The faithful, committed and brave would have answered their king in a rousing chorus, "Here am I, send me!"  We are on a mission for our King.  We have been summoned into His throne room, chosen by His sovereign grace, and the order has been given.  The question to each of our hearts is: will we accept the challenge?  We can hear the message of challenge from the pages of Scripture.  God calls to each of us, as He did when He explained His call upon the life of Paul: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles.....Acts 9:15.  The challenge is the same for us, as we are asked to bear His name to all the world.  The messages are varied, but all speak of His redeeming grace and its offer to mankind:

It is a message of peace: And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Colossians 1:20

Of adventure: He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126:6

Of arduous service: Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: Acts 20:19

Of good tidings: ...get thee up into the high mountain; [ye] that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say..., Behold your God! Isaiah 40:9

Of warning: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression.... Isaiah 58:1  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman... therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.....If thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it...thou hast delivered thy soul. Ezekiel 33:7-9

God gives the call, we must respond.  For many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14  Tragically, few respond.  Today God is calling to you.  Oh, not perhaps to cross the seas or encounter primitive tribes, but surely to serve Him just as heroically to your neighbor, your co-worker, to those you meet everyday, to your own family.  We must be willing to rise up from our knees and enter into His service, no matter what the cost.  "Willingness," as a topic in the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, is listed as "an essential element" in the category of "Work and Workers Religious."  Willingness is essential in our lives as Christians.  Be willing and obedient that you might eat the good of that which God has for you this day. (Isaiah 1:19)  Accept His call as it rings out from the throne room, Who will go for us?  Respond, Here am I, Lord, send me and start the great adventure of serving for our King.

In the time of Isaiah there had been a great forsaking in the land of Israel from the things of God.  How true this concept is when it is applied to "our" today.  More and more children do not even have a concept of who God is, or even if there is a God.  In our missionary travels in America, I first noticed this tread about fifteen years ago.  Since then there has been a dreadful progression.  Now many think it is strange or even a worldly "abomination," a breach of etiquette, if someone talks about God.  Surveys show that most adults in America over the age of forty believe that there is some "higher power."  But what if we conducted that survey among the very young.  Would the percentages drop?  Has the "forsaking" of God and His worship, even a forsaking of assembling together in worship, transferred to the next generation?  Is the evidence of the lack of validity of God in their parents’ lives, now led to the great forsaking where His name is not even known?  In the midst of our land there is a great forsaking.  May the encouraging words of verse thirteen, give us hope and challenge.  But yet, begins the verse.  How marvelous of God to give us so many "but yet" verses and concepts in the Bible!  But yet, the promise is given, there would be a remnant, a tenth, returned to the land of Judah.  Because of their rebellion, God had warned the people through his prophet Isaiah, that the armies of Babylon would be sent against the pleasant land of Judah.  Babylon had taken the land and the people captive, moving many to be slaves in a foreign land.  But the promise is given here in Isaiah 6, that a remnant would, the promise word is shall, return.  Though that tenth would assuredly return to the land of Judah, they were to be as eaten.  The illusion is probably to the fact that they were to all who viewed them as consumed in their judgment.  But is the food that is eaten totally destroyed?  No, it is taken into the life cells, and even the waste of it can be used to nourish new growth.  What was their condition like?  It was like the teil tree and as an oak.  This is the only mention of teil trees in the Bible.  A Bible dictionary gave three possibilities to this type of tree: either a linden, lime or terabinth tree.  There is also the possibility that it is a type we do not know today, which would fit very well with the illustration to us.  In the time of Isaiah, the teil tree was perhaps something that was so well known, that only its name needed be mentioned.  Yet through time and trial, it is changed to that which is unknown to us.  It should be our prayer that the things of the Word of God would never become unknown to our generation!  The terabinth was a tree much used by pagans in Isaiah’s time for building of their altars and for meeting places.  It must have been a strong, sturdy tree, giving much shade.  Its fruit was used as nuts and considered a delicacy.  In application to the people of Judah, that which was fruitful had cast all its leaves, spent all its fruit.  The oak is mentioned more often in Scripture, and each mention has a unique common thread: the true judgment of God’s Word.  In Genesis 33:4, Jacob hid the pagan idols he found in his family’s possession under an oak as they fled Laban and started toward the promised land.  He was obeying God’s word and symbolizing a turning of his family to the true Lord.  After that, the next verse in the story cites victory for his party as they traveled through the hostile land.  Joshua recorded the words of the law and placed them on or under a large stone which he placed under an oak tree.  The message of God was given by an angel to Gideon and from God’s prophet to another prophet from under an oak tree. (Judges 6:11, I Kings 13:14)  Absalom met his final earthly judgment in the branches of an oak.  God’s message, God’s judgment, all taking place under the shade of those mighty oak trees.  A prior reference in Isaiah gives us further insight.  In Isaiah 1:29, we are told that God desired His people to be as an oak, full of judgment, strong in His Word.  But they were ashamed to be as God desired.  Therefore, their leaf faded, and now in Isaiah 6, we see the leaves cast down.  Judgment pronounced as true judgment was denied and forsaken by the people.  But yet, when all was stripped away, when the strong became weak, when the people were no longer fruitful, and when the decay and refuse was all that appeared, the holy seed remained.  It would be the substance and life of that which appeared to be cast down and dead.  How like our lives.  All that the world lusts after must be cast down and the deeds of the flesh mortified, that the true life of the Holy Seed might be our substance.  In our nation, though there has been a great forsaking, the faithful remnant must endure so that, as God purges us, the light of the just, the small spark of truth, hidden under the oaks as God desired, might ignite and be seen throughout the land.  What a challenge this concept is to us to remain faithful no matter what is happening around us.  In our lives, though trouble strips us bare, let us not forsake that true substance, the Holy Seed Jesus.  He is the One who alone is Holy.  He is the One who is the promised "seed" of the woman given to save us all and give us true life. (Genesis 3:15)  His substance is hidden deep within, never to be destroyed.  Let us cast down all our leaves of forsaking in whatever area of life it might be, that we would be stripped of our own self "usefulness" so that the Holy Seed, Jesus, would be the true substance of our lives.

In this verse, the Lord commanded Isaiah to take his son, Shearjashub, with him to meet Ahaz the king.  Shearjashub was to view this important meeting and hear the words that were spoken there.  The message contained words that were to be spoken to King Ahaz from God through Isaiah, but they were also for the ears of Shearjashub.  There were great armies of Syria, Ephraim and Israel who had taken counsel together to go against the southern kingdom of Judah.  Their goal was not only to take Judah, to vex it (verse 6), but also to set a new king on David’s throne.  God was giving warning and comfort to King Ahaz.  The king must have heard of the plot, and yet, God was showing him that the plans of man can never stand against the plans of God.  No matter what he had heard, God was saying, remember it shall not....come to pass (verse 7) because I am still in control.  The vascilating king, who did not always follow the Lord in the strength of his fathers, was given this great message by God.  What a demonstration of the grace of our Lord.  The admonition to the king found in verse 4 was: Take heed - keep watch for something that is coming, be quiet - be tranquil, at peace, undisturbed, fear not - don’t be afraid or astonished, for God will have the victory.  Neither be faint hearted - timid or soft, as you view these firebrands against you.  Their plan will be extinguished.  The conclusion of the situation ahead was given by God in verse 7: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.  The assurance was there for Shearjashub to hear as well: no matter what the evil ahead, or how great the opposition, God is still in control.  The message to this son of Isaiah was there: stand fast, continue and be established in the things of the Lord.  The same message is given to our hearts today: no matter what foreshadowing there is of danger ahead, remember, God still works all things after the counsel of His will.  The warning of faithlessness was also given in verse 9: If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.  It is interesting to note that the words believe and established have the same Hebrew root.  It would be as if God had said: "Be full of faith, so you can be full of faith!  But if you are not full of faith, surely you will not have any faith at the time when you really need faith."  Amazingly, in verses 10 and 11 we read: Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God.....  Humbly, it seems, Ahaz declined to ask such a thing of God.  Yet God, Himself, had directed him to do so.  Often we are asked by the Lord to do the thing that is hard, perhaps even against our own mind set.  Oh, that we would be sensitive to know what God requires of us!  Therefore verse 14 asserts, God gave the sign Himself, and what a great declaration it was!  Hidden behind the sign was the message: Though evil men will seek to put a new king on David’s throne and fail, do not fear for God Himself will one day bring forth the true King, Messiah, to rule!  Think of the great excitement the young man Shearjashub must have felt as he was allowed the privilege to hear that God’s sign of the truthfulness of His word would be the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah.  Doubtless, he stood in quiet respectfulness next to his father as the message was given to the king of the land.  Yet inside, Shearjashub must have wanted to shout with joy, when he heard that the Lord’s sign would be called Immanuel - the God with us!  Shearjashub may be a picture of all our children.  They need to hear and be strengthened.  His name means: "A remnant shall escape or return, i.e., to God."  His own name was a promise that the people of the land would turn again to the Lord and recover that which they would seem to lose.  God’s message must have echoed in his ears: "Be at peace, my young one, do not fear, your God is sovereign, and what He speaks shall be established for all to see."  King Ahaz may not have heeded one of the greatest messages in the book of Isaiah, but we may be encouraged, that in His grace, God let the message enter into the heart of the loved one of Isaiah, one who would have to pass through the turmoil ahead, and yet, whom we trust, was found faithfully trusting in the God of his father.  Oh, that our children would hear the message of Scripture, and that our God might become their God in the depth of total trust.  Let us so pray today.  Think of the heart also of Isaiah as he carried out his difficult assignment, knowing that his son was standing by his side, knowing that the message was not only one of warning for Ahaz, but of encouragement for Shearjashub.  Think of the long journey home and the exchange between father and son as Isaiah gently explained the words of the Lord.  See him peer deeply into the eyes of his beloved son, seeing the understanding grow within.  What a privilege we have to give the Word of the Lord to our young ones.  The task is great, but the rewards beyond measure.

DAY 308     Isaiah 7:14     Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

God had asked King Ahaz to request from God a sign in verse 11.  It was God’s desire to give to him a sure sign that surely the enemies would not triumph over the land and set a new foreign king on the throne of David.  The margin of my study Bible contains a possible alternate reading of the end of the verse where Ahaz is told ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.  The possible substitute for these words is "make thy petition deep."  God can, has, and will in the future give signs in the oceans and in the heavens.  Ahaz might have been the observer of a great wonder demonstrating the power of God, if he had not pulled back from obeying the Lord’s command.  We shall never know.  Often we are asked of God to do that which seems contrary to logic, yet through it, the Lord would desire to demonstrate His mighty power in our own lives.  Is it possible that often we have passed the challenge by, never to know?  Like as in the marginal reference, we are always urged by the Holy Spirit to "make our petitions deep."  God desires to answer our prayers in great and awe inspiring ways.  Our surface prayers and obedience do not always begin to plum the depths of the great well spring of prayer that should flow from our hearts to our Heavenly Father.  Oh, what great and mighty riches we may never know because we have not "made our petitions deep."  Today, let us start to reach tearfully within for the "deep" times of communion with God.  Ahaz did not ask, perhaps out of thinking he should not, but God was not hindered by his lack of action.  The sign was indeed for the entire house of Judah, who had acted in ways that Isaiah said were wearisome to God. (verse 13)  Instead of harsh judgment, the grace and love of the Lord was shown in the sign given, not by the request of men, but by the mighty mind of God.  As we read the chapter, verse 14 seems to resound in volume.  Therefore, the word carries with it a statement of resolution: "therefore because all this time you have been unwilling to listen to God’s signs given in the past, God will give you a special sign."  Throughout the history of Israel, God had given signs: signs of judgment, as the flaming sword to Adam outside the Garden of Eden, destruction of the disobedient by consuming fire from heaven; signs of power, in the plagues in Egypt, in the parting of the Red Sea; signs of separation from the ungodly, as in the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night.  All these and many more God had given to His people, yet still they had not shown loyalty and obedience.  But His hand was reached out still!  It is as if God is saying, Oh my people, I have loved you and desired you to follow Me, but you will not ask or obey.  Therefore, the Lord Himself (note emphasis) shall give you a sign.  God uses the word shall, the word of absolute promise.  This unique sign is His ultimate, final declaration of all that He is.  Notice to whom it was addressed, unbelieving Ahaz!  He represented in his position as king, all of the people of Judah and Israel.  But this message is also given to each of us, in fact to all men.  In our own unbelief, the sign is incredible, but must be believed for us to truly know Christ and acknowledge Who He is.  As the "spiritual" Israel, we rally to the sign of the incarnation as that which is God’s penultimate declaration.  It is the dividing point from all liberals and nonbelievers.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God... I John 4:2 and 3  This is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh...I Timothy 3:16  If there was any question as to the child of the sign, His name is given: Immanuel, "with us, with man, is the God!"  Isaiah 9:6, will tell more of the child, if there had been any questions as to His identity: he is the Mighty God!  Immanuel is used only three times in Scripture.  Here, in Isaiah 7:14, as the name of Messiah, in Isaiah 8:8 where it is used to Judah to remind them that God was with the land, and in the fulfillment in Matthew 1:23, where the prophecy is restated and the clear definition added: God with us...or with us is The God!  This sign of Isaiah 7:14, is listed in the category section of Thompson’s Notes: "Signs given to confirm faith."  What a demonstration of God’s grace in giving the signs.  What a demonstration of His heart of love for His people and for us.  Ephesians 1:9 states: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.  The sign is confirmed in the birth of Christ, but the giving of the sign was as real in promise of fulfillment as the actualization at an exact point in history.  All of Israel should have been looking for the Child to come.  Every maiden should have wondered, could the virgin be me?  And with the wondering, should have been the impelling motivation to remain pure, available for God’s purpose.  So in our lives, we should be constantly aware to be cleansed from sin, ready to obey the Lord.  Our motivation should be: God may call me for a special purpose, I must be ever watchful, ever attuned to His "signs" to me.  Oh that each of us would be available for His purpose.  With availability comes responsibility.  As the hand maid of the Lord, Mary, must have prayed, so let us echo: Lord help me to have a life of purity before You!