Signs, Seasons and Survivors! Isaiah 37:30-32

By Rev. Bob McEvoy - Posted at The Salty Scrivener:

Signs, Seasons and Survivors!
(Communion Sunday)

Text . Isaiah 27:30-32
This part of Isaiah is narrative – history unfolding. God has spoken again through Isaiah, describing the nature of those who ‘rage against God’ and the terrible fate that awaits them. In conclusion to that divine message, Isaiah tells Hezekiah that God will give him a sign…

1. Signs? 30a “And this shall be the sign for you:
Now there is no doubt that the bible is full of signs and references to signs. But biblical signs always point us to something specific, Exodus 4:8; Joshua 24:17, Matthew 12:38; John 2:18; Acts 2:22

• Should we seek signs? Jesus said, Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
• Signs in Isaiah: Certainly Isaiah has a fair ration of signs…. Isaiah 7:14 Isaiah 8:18. Isaiah 19:20. Isaiah 20:3. Isaiah 55:13. Do you remember the names of Isaiah’s children? She’ar-Ya’shuv, meaning “A remnant shall return” (Isaiah 7:3) and the younger, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, meaning, “Spoil quickly, plunder speedily.” They were signs, their names meant something.
• The Sacraments as signs. In the Bible, signs can have a sacramental significance. Circumcision and the Passover were signs, pointing to God’s redemptive acts and purpose. And of course, in the NT, baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs, pointing us away from ourselves, to Jesus, reminding us of his redemption of his people, washing them in his own blood on the cross, where he bore their punishment and guilt and sin and shame, and sustaining them and feeding them. The sacraments are the truly reliable signs that God has placed in his church. Heidelberg: LD25, Q66

So, what exactly is this sign that God has given through Isaiah to Hezekiah, and what does it point to?

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