Isaiah 7

Sermon Notes:

1) The Call to Believe, 1-9.

2) The Cowardice that Looks Like Belief, 10-14.

3) The Consequences of Unbelief, 13-25.

4) The Colossal Good News out of Ahaz’s Bad Unbelief, v14; Matthew 1.

Reflection questions:

1. Should Ahaz have trusted God’s Word (1, the promise to David in 2 Sam 7:16; 2, the name of Isaiah’s son; 3, the Word to stand firm from Isaiah’s mouth)? Is God’s Word reliable? See Hebrews 6:13-20, “the certainty of God’s promise,” according to the ESV editors.

2. Why did Ahaz not believe? How did he try to make his unbelief sound like a good thing? Have you ever tried to fool others or yourself by using similar words?

3. Read Matthew 1:18-25. Why would believing Gabriel and taking Mary as his wife have been an act of costly obedience (or costly faith) for Joseph?