Our Advent word for Sunday, December 21st is DEEP. It is taken from the 1st lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent – Isaiah 7: Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 

“As deep as Sheol” is just a phrase used to describe the deepest place they could imagine, just as “high as heaven” indicating the highest place. God tells Ahaz, who was King of Israel and well known for ignoring God and worshipping false idols, to ask for a sign. Ahaz refuses so God sends Isaiah the prophet to him to give him a sign anyway. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel“. The prophet foretells the coming of the Messiah, Immanuel (God with us). Ahaz was warned constantly by several prophets to change his ways but he never got deep enough in his faith to do so. Fortunately his son, Hezekiah was a good king who followed God and reformed much of what Ahaz had done. Hezekiah’s faith was deep, and unlike his father he was true to that faith. Advent is a good time for all of us to examine how deep our faith is, and high how it can go to honor God.