“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,

and shall call his name Immanuel”

(Isaiah 7:14)

Whenever we stand on the threshold of a new adventure, we look eagerly for some sign of what the future may hold for us. A bride and groom would like a more concrete sign than that provided by the old superstition that their wedding day weather foretells their future. What more solid indications do they have for a blessed marriage than a bright, sunshiny wedding day?

As glad as we all are to get from our friends their best wishes for our health and happiness in the New Year, we had much rather have some sure sign of what the year 1991 holds for us.

All of us, right now, as the old year ends and the new begins, are eagerly looking for some sign of what we may expect from that confrontation of armies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Will there be war or is there some sign of a peaceful resolution before the January 15 deadline?

We have read in our Scripture lessons from Isaiah’s prophecy and from Saint Luke’s Gospel about this very problem of human expectations and God’s revelations.

The prophet Isaiah met King Ahaz at the aqueduct when Jerusalem was under threat of siege by enemy armies. The troubled king had gone to inspect the great pipeline of his city’s water supply. One of the king’s chief concerns for the immediate future was maintaining a steady flow of water into the city should the siege occur.

At the aqueduct Isaiah, the prophet of God, met the troubled king and announced to him, “Fear not, be quiet, the city will be safe.”

Presumably the king listened with a quizzical look to the prophet’s calm assurance about the future welfare of the city, for next the prophet said to the king, “Well, go ahead and ask for a sign from the Lord your God, that this security will be yours.” But the king refused to ask for the sign on the pious ground that such would be tempting the Lord.

Then it was that the prophet spoke his famous, never-to-be-forgotten words, words picked up later in the Gospels and enshrined ever since in the glad Christmas story: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”

Is it impious or too superstitious for people concerned about their future or their country’s destiny or the safety of their loved ones or the peace of the world to ask for a sign of what that future holds? The word of Scripture is that God, on his own initiative, has given people a sign. This is the meaning of revelation. This is the heart of the Christmas tidings of great joy: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

The great star in the sky was a sign. The singing of the heavenly choirs the shepherds heard was a sign. The inner consciousness of the wise men directing their search was a sign. The preaching of John the Baptist to herald the Messiah’s coming was a sign. All these were signs of God to men about the future purposes of God in human history, that they might base their expectations solidly on God’s revelation.

Now, the heart of the sign of God’s revelation for men is the birth of a child. The promised sign of Isaiah to King Ahaz is not without its mysterious connotations. Certainly the prophet meant in this immediate context to assure the Jerusalem king and his threatened subjects that God’s solution for their pressing problem of the moment was to be God’s gift of a unique person, of the royal house, soon to be born. There is nothing here in Isaiah’s assurance to Ahaz either to confirm or to deny the virgin birth stories of Jesus in the Gospels.

How many times the Scriptures show God solving the problems of his hard-pressed people in a baby’s birth. God sends the needed person to be born at the right time, at the right place.

When God’s people suffered slavery in Egypt and their future seemed hopeless, a child was born and providentially preserved from death in the very household of Pharaoh, the destroyer of the Hebrew children. Grown to manhood, Moses came forth as his people’s deliverer and law giver and shepherd to guide them safely through their wilderness wanderings.

When later in their Promised Land God’s people were torn by envious divisions and tribal warfare, God solved their problem by the birth of another providentially provided leader. Samuel, who was born of elderly parents past the natural time in life when people have children, came in response to prayer and was dedicated to the service of God. Grown to manhood, Samuel judged his people in righteousness and restored national unity.

Yes, at the heart of all human expectation and hope is the miracle of childbirth. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” For this is God’s way of coming to his people to meet their needs recurrently whenever the children of God are born.

But the ultimate and larger meaning of the prophet Isaiah’s promise of God’s sign in the birth of a coming child is more explicitly revealed two chapters later in his recorded prophecy in chapter 9, verse 6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

There is no evidence that Isaiah foresaw the coming of Christ exactly as the Gospels were to record three hundred years later. What the prophet did foresee in clearest detail were the cosmic dimensions of the coming deliverer who could fulfill human hopes and expectations.

That coming one in Isaiah’s inspired vision must be, first of all, a charismatic personality whom people will call “Wonderful” because they discover that he is firing the imagination of artists, poets, musicians, and scholars to bring forth new treasures to enrich the lives of all God’s children. He must also be called “Counsellor” because his wisdom will lead people to fashion their relationships with each other in wider and warmer measures of justice, mercy, and righteousness.

That coming one must also be truly called “The mighty God” because people will find in him, not only a great humanitarian, but far more, satisfying their deepest religious yearnings for a companion God.

But even more, Isaiah’s coming one must be worthy to be called “The everlasting Father,” because with him people will have assurance that their future well-being is in his capable keeping.

Finally, he must be called “The Prince of Peace,” for he must be able to give to the hearts of all people everywhere a sense of brotherhood. No dealing with our tomorrows that does not touch our bleeding and blasted relationships will be redemptive. “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” The only real and lasting peace must begin within the heart that has been reconciled to God and others by a divine redeemer.

No man has filled out in their uttermost meaning all these Isaianic names: Wonderful, Counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. No man, but one — and his name is Jesus.

He is God’s revelation for our calm expectation for whatever the future holds. Let us go confidently into that future with our hearts in his keeping. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).