King Ahaz of Judah was very unfaithful to the LORD, so the LORD sent multiple enemies to afflict him. The prophet Isaiah encouraged Ahaz not to fear but to trust in the LORD and ask for a sign of his deliverance. But Ahaz refused and instead turned to the king of Assyria and the gods of Damascus for help. And, so, the sign of a virgin giving birth to a son called “Immanuel” became a sign not of Judah’s deliverance but of its oppression by the very nation Ahaz had turned to for help. Now that this sign has ultimately been fulfilled by the birth of Christ, we can look back on it to strengthen our faith that God is with us to help us in all our troubles.