"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. The Lord will bring on you, on your people and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria. And it will come about in that day, that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places. In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard. Now it will come about in that day that a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; and it will happen that because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for every one that is left with in the land will eat curds and honey. And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. And as for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns, but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample." Isaiah 7:14-25 NASV

We wrote yesterday of the immediacy of the sign that was given by Isaiah and the Lord, how the sign was intended to indicate a short length of time before the prophecy would come to pass and how the sign had more than one fulfilment, with a temporary but primary application but also a longer range application. I would like to direct your attention once again today to the primary short range prophecy and have you notice the theme of honey and curds that runs through the entire prophecy. The ability of the second child of Isaiah to eat curds and honey marked the boundary of when this prophecy would take place. The prophecy indicates that people from both Egypt and Assyria would come into the land of Juda and be as thick there as swarms of flies and bees. The language used to speak of this is picturesque, and certainly not often recognized for what it is: a parable, based on real life practices of those days that are no longer practiced for the most part today, yet it carries forward the theme of the honey and curds.
So what is this practice once common but now no longer practiced. We find it referenced in St. Cyril, of the 5th century AD, who tells us that it was common among beekeepers of the Assyrians to whistle and train their bees to come to the sound of their whistle. Thus a beekeeper could whistle as he went to a certain flower filled meadow, the bees would follow and go among the flowers there, and thus be able to be directed to the best flower areas for honey production. This was common among the Assyrians at that time, but the practice has since died out.
Thus we have here a prophecy that before Immanuel is old enough to eat honey, the Lord God Himself will act as a beekeeper and whistle for (His!) bees from Assyria, that they might come and feast on the lands of Judah, thus producing plenty of honey which the remnant tenth, the survivors, would eat in the land of Milk and honey in the very short term. Notice that this whole parable stresses that God is sovereign not only over the land of Judah, but also over Assyria and Egypt. Both the Assyrians and the Egyptians would come at God's beck and call. Still there is a hidden parable here, for the assyrians are likened to bees, which produce honey, whereas the Egyptians are likened to flies, which produce painful bites and disease. Furthermore the fly (zebub) was a sacred symbol to the Egyptians, recognized as a symbol for one of their false gods, (as well as Baalzebub, the Lord of the Flies), and thus representative of the Egyptians and their false gods and the evil demonic and idolic worship of Baalzebub. The hidden parable here is warning the tribe of Judah to be more receptive to the bees of Assyria (which at least had the promise of producing honey) than to the flies of Egypt which would only bring painful bites and false beliefs in false gods.
When you remember the prophecy of Isaiah's firstborn son (in Isaiah 6:11-13) and now the prophecy of Isaiah's secondborn son Immanuel (in Isaiah 7:23-25) it becomes clear that 90 percent of the tribe of Judah will no longer be left in the land, but will either be killed or taken as slaves. This is especially true due to the graphic picture of the Lord shaving with a razor, the beard, head and legs of the Judeans. The beard was a symbol of honor, but here the Lord Himself is taking away all the Judean's honor, and to many of the cultures of that day, a shaven head and legs was a sign of slavery.
The tenth of Isaiah 6:13 would still be in the land, but even that which they had would be minimal - a man would only be allowed one cow and two sheep, the implication being that everything else is taken from him. Yet the remnant left in the land would be better off than the ones taken into bondage and slavery or those killed, for the remnant would have plenty to eat (honey and curds). The land itself would grow wild, for lack of those to tend it and would develop thorns and briars, full of wild game and beasts. In other words, the land itself would rest. This is a fulfillment of another aspect of the law rarely recognized, but which we cannot deal with today.
So what are we saying today. First that God reigns supreme over ALL the nations of the world, and is able to call them from the ends of the earth to accomplish His sovereign designs. That is as true today as it was then. Assyria and Egypt were the two greatest civilizations of the area, yet God was able to use them for His own designs. He is just as able to use the United States, or China, or any other nation today. Secondly, that God always leaves a remnant that is responsive to Himself when He judges the nations. While He allows those who have ignored his warnings to proceed to destruction, He also protects and provides for His remnant. This principle is still in effect and will be in effect for the last days. Thirdly, that God can turn even what seems to be a curse into a blessing: the Assyrians, thick as a swarm of bees would come and take many of the people captive, yet the remnant would be fed with honey, an unintended byproduct of the presence of the bees.
So did the prophecy actually come to pass in the time specified by the Lord? We will deal with that tomorrow, and show the history of what actually happened, then deal with the secondary aspects of this prophecy. But today I would like to remind all who read these words, that God indeed is sovereign, and that He calls people to follow Him from all nations. God is not willing that ANY perish but that ALL come to repentance. He offers each of us warnings of impending disaster if we insist on walking in our own ways, but abundant mercy and grace if we will repent and walk in His ways. He offers the blessings that are extended to those who are His remnant. I urge all who read these words to make sure that they are part of that Remnant, and that they are following the Lord in His ways. May God bless all who read these words.

I had two small bowls of oatmeal and a grapefruit for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. At 11:00 a.m. I had two cups of beans and a diet jello/mixed fruit frozen sorbet.

I had a grapefruit for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. followed by a fish dinner at 11:00 a.m. consisting of a piece of baked fish, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and gravy, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables, 1/4 cup applesauce, and 1 cookie. At 2:00 p.m. I had another grapefruit and for 5:00 p.m. I had a half cup beans, a salad, and 1/5 small broiled chicken. I had 1/5 chicken at 8:00 and 2 cups beans and at 11:00 p.m. I had 2 cups of beans.

"Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, "Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!" Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel. he will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria. And it will come about in that day, that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places. Isaiah 7:10-19 NASV

Notice that once Ahab refuses to obey the Lord, God no longer speaks directly to Ahab but instead has the prophet prophecy not to Ahab but to the house of David. Ahab effectively lost his chance by disobedience, and as mentioned yesterday, went from bad to worse through the rest of his life. Since Ahab would not ask for a sign, God inspired the prophet to announce that God Himself was giving a sign - and what a sign it was!
But what does a sign mean to us today? And what did a sign mean in Isaiah's day? Are the two understandings of "sign" the same? I think it is helpful to do a quick word study on "sign" and see how it applies in this passage.
Our understanding of a "sign" today is rather obvious. We think of signs as either advertising signs or informational directive signs. We think of an arrow with a name and a number as indicating how far in what direction a given location is. The sign is an informational sign. Or we think of a billboard with an attractive illustration and gaudy colors with writing on it encouraging us to buy this that or the other thing and think of it as an advertising sign. We rarely think of a miracle as a sign. Nor do we often think of a memorial pile of stones as a sign.
The concept of a sign in Isaiah's day was quite a bit different. First of all most of the population of most nations were illiterate. They couldn't read. So signs rarely had writing on them. In the rare instances there were signs as we think of them, they were simply a mark over a door or perhaps at most a symbol of whatever the tradesman might make. Signs as we think of them were rare. Instead signs had a very different meaning.
The first time in the Bible we see the words sign ('oth) it refers to a miracle that Moses was enabled to perform. He would put his hand, normal and whole, into his bosom, and then pull it out. It would be instantly transformed into a leprous hand. Then he would put it back in his bosom and when he pulled it out, it would once again be restored whole. This was the second sign, the first being throwing down his staff which would be miraculously transformed into a snake. Upon catching the snake, the snake would become a staff again. The third sign Moses was given was the turning of the water of the Nile into blood.
Now it is an interesting fact that each of the ten signs Moses represented the death of one of the gods of Egypt. I leave it to you the reader to do the research to verify that fact - it is an interesting study in itself. But the purpose of the sign was that it caught attention and indicated to those who saw the sign that this was an important event and something to take notice of. The sign was offered as a verification of who Moses was and whom he represented. The miraculous was integral to the concept of sign, and in fact signs were also often spoken of as "wonders" (mopheth). However, as the concept continues to develop in the history of the Jews, the concept increasingly is not always attached to the miraculous but in fact is attached to cutural laws and customs. Thus the dedication of the firstborn to God, the sabbath, and various memorials are spoken of as signs. In every case, though, the sign is designed to catch attention and spur the memory of what was important about that sign. Thus the sign was intended as a memory tool to help recall the meaning of a certain memorial, observance or custom.
When the prophet Isaiah speaks his prophecy and says the Lord is giving a sign, he is primarily speaking here of a memory tool to remind the house of David and the tribe of Judah that this prophecy had been given. The emphasis here is not on the miraculous as the primary intent of the sign. The sign had to be something that could be easily seen and could remind.
Isaiah had already used the concept of the birth of a child as a sign. His first child was called Shear-jashub (a remnant shall return) and was a sign to Judah that the prophecy of chapter 6 could come to pass but that a remnant would return. It is clear from the existence of Shear-jashub that Isaiah's wife was NOT a virgin, at least in our accepted sense. Much has been written on whether the original word for virgin means simply a "young woman" or a "virgin". I leave it to those interested in such things to do their own word studies. Isaiah was interested in leaving a sign for his current day and spoke of a child being born, who would be named Immanuel. The child would live and grow until he eventually ate honey and curds (cheese), but before he did that, the prophecy would come to pass.
Some might think today that there would be nothing miraculous about Isaiah simply naming his next child Immanuel. But I would submit the birth of ANY child is a miracle of grace. And in a day of high infant mortality, the growth of that child to the point of being able to discern right from wrong was an even greater miracle. But for Isaiah simply to name a child Immanuel (God with us) was something simply scandalous among the Jews. Everyone would take notice of that name! The gossip would be flying. Can't you hear the shocked horror of the citizens of Isaiah's city when they first heard? "Isaiah named his second child 'God with us!'. Can you see what a wake up this child and his name was to the entire community?
Let me just note that many prophecies have primary and secondary fulfilments. The first fulfillment simply is a foreshadowing of the later fulfillment of the prophecy, guaranteeing that the full prophecy will come to pass. That principle of prophecy is active in this situation as well, for this sign was not given only by Isaiah, but as Isaiah said, "the Lord Himself will give you a sign..." The primary fulfillment here is Isaiah's second son Immanuel. The secondary fulfillment comes much later in the History of the Jews.
Thus when we study the concept of sign in Isaiah's day, we see that Isaiah is not referring to a sign in our accepted sense today, but a miraculous event that would have the entire area buzzing with wonder about what it meant. It would be a surefire means of making sure that the whole community would be aware of the prophecy that followed and that the time was set by the timespan it took a child to grow to maturity.
There is so much in this passage that we will have to continue this study tomorrow, but for today I would like to suggest that God is still the same as He was back then. He still gives signs and wonders and will do so more as the end times approach. These must be distinguished from the lying signs and wonders that the antichrist will work. If a child is able to discern good from evil by the time he is able to eat honey and cheese, how much more should we be able to?
I would like to challenge those who read these words to be on the spiritual look out for the signs God is showing us today. I believe that God still communicates with signs and wonders. Are your spiritual eyes open enough to be able to discern them and to distinguish them from the lying signs and wonders of those who are against Christ Jesus? If you aren't able to see, I encourage you to follow John's prescription in Revelation 3:18. If you aren't able to distinguish, I encourage you to study Hebrews 5:13-14. If you doubt that God will reveal signs and wonders to you, ask Him to do so. He is not a respecter of persons. He still does the same today as He did then.
I pray that all who read these words will take them to heart and begin to see the things God is revealing continuously to those who have eyes to see. May Almighty God open our eyes and our ears in these last days.

Today I had a grapefruit for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and the meals on wheels dinner at 11:00 a.m. which consisted of a flour tortila folded in half over some veggie filling, 1/2 cup spanish rice, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables, and a small 2x2 inch brownie for lack of a better term. At 2:00 a.m. I had 3 cups of vegetable soup, a hard boiled egg and a cup of unsweetened applesauce. At 5:00 p.m. I had a jello-applesauce sorbet and four pieces of melba toast. At 8:00 p.m. I had a nice zucchini/lettuce salad, half a cup of fried onions, a glass of skim milk and a pork chop. I struggled at 11:00 p.m. to figure out what to have for a snack as I was out of sorbets. I finally settled on soup and heated up a container of soup and ramen noodles and had that. It was too much for a snack and I feel like it was in fact a mini binge. After I finished I suddenly remembered I did have grapefruit and could have had one of those. Kind of kicked myself as a result, but am trying to put it behind me now.