Please read this passage before reading the homily.
The prophet tells the king to ask for a sign from the Lord. He king refuses to ask for as sign. It is not that he did not need a sign, but that he would not ask the Lord for the sign: he did not care about the Lord.
“Ho hum”, the prophet could have answered, “I am tired of playing games with you, o king. Why are you now trying to play games with God?” This is the force of the dialogue between prophet and king.
The king had turned his back on God, but God had not turned his back on the king. God gave the king a sign. A woman would conceive and bear a son. For woman, the Hebrew uses a term that could mean young woman eligible for marriage, whether married or not. It could also mean virgin.
The sign could also be the child’s name, God-with-us. The sign could be the growth of human family would continue from one generation to the next, that God would not destroy the earth.
We do need signs. We are allowed to ask for signs. Because we believe in God and are loyal to God, we should be honored to ask God for signs. We can also see in the passing on of life from one generation to the next, God’s ever-present activity in our lives.