Immanuel

Robby Bradfordadvent, Christianity, Christmas, Jesus Christ, Old Testament, prophecy, spirituality1 Comment

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”
 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Ahaz, king of Judea, lived a bad life about 750 years before Jesus.  At the time that Isaiah came to him to deliver this message, he was facing two strong enemies who planned to kill him and put someone else on the throne in Jerusalem.
Isaiah’s prediction about young girl being with child and that this child would be a sign and a marker that the mortal and formidable enemies of King Ahaz would be dead before the child was two (look at vv. 15-17) is but the first layer of the prophetic onion here.
As with all prophecy, all the promises are God “Yes!” and “Amen!” in Jesus Christ.  That is, they all come true in and through him.  And we, believers in Christ, are the co-heirs of these same precious promises.
That’s why the New Testament identifies Jesus as the one born of a virgin.  He is the one who wipes out our enemies.  He is the one in whom we have a sure victory and a certain, inevitable, abiding peace.
God with Us has come, and just like Ahaz, the promise means something entirely personal and is ineffable good news.  
Merry Christmas–our Immanuel has come!

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