Tempt.

Let’s stop today at the verb to try, which we heard in the first reading. What does it mean? It can be replaced by the words irritate, anger, anger, worry. It also describes a bit: to tempt. King Ahaz, to Isaiah’s offer to ask for a sign, replies: “I will not ask, I will not tempt the Lord.” All the alternative meanings of the word tempt fit the context and complete the situation. Tempting God means putting his goodness and omnipotence to the test by word or deed.

Ahaz completes the story. King Ahaz of Judah devoted himself to idolatry and even burned his son in sacrifice to Moloch (2 Kings 16, 3). When the Syrian and Ephraim armies entered Judah to depose him, the frightened king sent word to Tiglath-Pileser, the mighty ruler of Assyria. He handed him the treasures from the Jerusalem Temple with a request that sounded like a blasphemous prayer: “I am your servant and your son. Come and save me … “(2 Kr 16.7).

Could such a king accept the offer of God’s help, ask for a sign, pray? Certainly not. That’s why he says that he doesn’t want to tempt God. Therefore, Isaiah gave him a sign in the prophecy: And thus the Lord will provide you with a sign: Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.” This sign has two meanings. The first was fulfilled in the reign of Ahaz’s son Hezekiah. For the Jews, Hezekiah became a messianic figure, a symbol of God’s affection for his people – and a call to the people to be faithful to Yahweh.

At the same time, this prophecy of Isaiah foreshadows Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. He was born of a virgin and was called Emmanuel, “God with us”. “Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel, which in translation means: God with us” (Mt 1, 23). He came to save people from something more significant than conquerors. He came to free us from sin and death. God always fulfills what he promised – even after centuries! Jesus assured us that he would always be with us until the end of time, and through the Eucharist, he fulfilled his promise (Mt 28, 20). He is always “God with us.”