A Baby in the Belfry

What would you like to ask God that logic, reason and rationality have caused you to question? These very words are God's way of prompting you to ask. What will you lose by asking? What are you willing to lose by not asking? In fact, God wants you to search the heavens to see if your mind can reach the celestial and come up with a question that is higher than the stars. Reach in the subterranean or break through the bowels of hell and ask God whatever you want to ask.

God is able to do anything you can imagine because your finite mind cannot fathom the ubiquity of He who created all! Some have simply never asked God. Never ask people with limited resources before asking Him who holds the whole world in His hand.

Ahaz did not ask. Like many Christians, he had a pompous pretense. "But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test'" (v. 12). He did just that—he asked for nothing. Even in the absence of a question, God will give a response. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son ... He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But 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" (vv. 14-16).

In other words, God's sign will be given in the battlements of Ahaz' fears. Ahaz' attention is directed down the streets through the village hamlets to a girl. She will be unmarried and a virgin. She will become pregnant, go full-term and have a baby. Before the baby is weaned off yogurt and honey, and able to make a decision between right and wrong or reach the age of accountability, God will destroy those who would come against him. That is, before the baby is grown, God will have wrestled the enemies out of Ahaz' hand.

Battles Always Bring Fear; Babies Always Bring Faith

"Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (v. 14). There is no description beyond that. Much has not changed since the day of Ahaz. In fact, we have the same tools Ahaz had: the Word of God and a baby.

This is a ridiculous sight. Ahaz was speaking of battles, military and war; God promises a baby. In a battle, military machinery is what is needed: an Uzi, 9mm, or an AK-47. However, God's words here are clear: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isa. 55:8). God's ways are higher than yours, as the heavens are higher than the thoughts of man. Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 1:25: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." Man is looking for guns and nuclear weapons, but God is offering a baby.