I have new-found respect for Barbara Walters. She acknowledged, much to the chagrin of many of her friends, that she and others had thought that Obama would be the "messiah." That's right, she used the word "messiah" to denote a political leader. But it's not only liberals who think that the right political leader will lead his or her people into a new land of prosperity and/or equality. The Republicans felt the same way about Ronald Reagan. Many would exhume Reagan from the grave if life could be breathed back into him.
In looking to a political leader as the "messiah," what is motivating people? Chiefly fear. We want a political leader to protect us from things we fear: poverty, terrorism, inequality, threats and injustice of all manner. But fear motivates us not only in our choice of political leaders, but in all aspects of life.
Due to fear, we work too many hours--placing our work above relationship with our families.
Due to fear, we "helicopter" parent our children--leading to self-focused, incompetent teenagers and adults.
Due to fear, we make unholy alliances supporting splinter groups in the Middle East who now turn our weapons upon us.
Due to fear, we seek human remedies, not divine ones.
Our shallow, faithless reactions to fear have plagued man since the Garden of Eden. Remember the apple--it reflected man's desire to be his own savior.
In Isaiah 7, we learn that King Ahaz, king of the southern kingdom (Judah) was fearing an attack from the northern kingdom--Israel. In order to protect his country, Ahaz made an alliance with Assyria--a pagan nation.
As PZ often preaches: This really happened. In fact, there is an obelisk in the British Museum which shows envoys from Judah bringing riches to the Assyrians to obtain their protection--protection against their own people--the Jews of the northern kingdom. The Assyrians were a strong nation and greatly feared. They also believed in child sacrifice. So, Ahaz basically cut a deal with the devil to protect himself and his people.
At this point, Isaiah is given a word from the Lord to speak to Ahaz. We would expect Isaiah to chastise Ahaz for his unholy alliance and to proclaim that God will fight Ahaz's battle if Ahaz will turn to God. But this isn't what Isaiah says. Isaiah instead proclaims the Gospel--the word of man's rescue by a Divine Being which we have heard since Genesis 3.
Isaiah proclaims to Ahaz and to the people of Judah: "A virgin shall bear a child and his name shall be Emmanuel." What a peculiar proclamation. What a seemingly non-responsive, unhelpful word from God--a virgin birth of a child called Emmanuel. How will a child protect the citizens of Judah from their neighbors to the north?
How would Ahaz have interpreted this? Ahaz likely believed that Isaiah was proclaiming that a man would be borne who would solve Judah's problems from a worldly standpoint. This was part of the Jewish messianic tradition. This was Ahaz's concern (and not an improper one)--resolving the current problems of Judah. He believed, like we all tend to believe, that the right man can save us--whether it be King David, King Solomon, Reagan, Obama, or Hillary. This, thankfully, is not the word that we receive from God.
Instead of proclaiming a savior riding a white charger and leading God's army, Isaiah proclaims the birth of a child--from a virgin no less. A birth which is from a virgin and, therefore, divine in origin. God's entry into our world. What's more, the name of the child would be Emmanuel--"God with us." Isaiah was proclaiming that God would enter the world through a miraculous birth and would live amongst us. No god had ever deigned to live amongst men. No wonder Ahaz didn't understand the proclamation. We are fortunate that we have Jesus' birth and life. We can see the true meaning through the rearview mirror of time.
Ahaz's salvation, and that of his people, would not come from a warrior king, but instead from a child king. How could a child king save anyone? He couldn't from a worldly standpoint. But given his descent from the realm of the divine, he could save man from his greater problem--the fact that our presence in the worldly realm is very short-lived. By joining us in this world, the child king can guide us into the next. He can deliver us from the fears we experience in this life and the fear of what is to come.
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