Devotions
Rev Gav
Emmanuel
Isaiah 7.10–14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign of the Lord your God; and 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. Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 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."
Reflect
The political background to this passage lifted from Isaiah 7 is complex! No doubt you will have noticed the line about a young woman (virgin) “being with child, who shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Sounds familiar? It should, because it is directly quoted in Matthew’s account of the nativity. So what’s going on here?
I’ll try and keep this simple.
Way back, God made a covenant with King David and promised that David’s royal lineage and kingdom would last forever; however, there were evil kings of Israel such as King Ahaz who sacrificed his own kids, desecrated the temple, and set up idols. When this happened, God had to step in, and in this case he used the prophet Isaiah to do the talking.
Isaiah met with King Ahaz and promised him that, although a couple of other (also bad) kings were trying to overthrow him (because he refused to join them in a coalition against the powerful Assyrians), they would not succeed. To prove this, Ahaz was offered a sign from God, but he refused because he secretly wanted to form an alliance with the Assyrians. God took the initiative and gave him a sign anyway and this sign was that was a young woman (possibly a virgin) would give birth to a son who would be called Immanuel (meaning ‘God with us’) and this child would not get to the age where he would be able to decide right from wrong before the invading kings would be defeated.
Did you get all that?
Now, some Christians read Isaiah as not only speaking about Ahaz and the current situation but also that Isaiah is making a prediction about God’s ‘Anointed One’ who would ultimately fulfil the promise of an ultimate king who would carry on the line of David forever. Certainly Matthew, when he penned his gospel, wanted his readers to make this connection.
The point is that amidst the evil and corruption that was taking place, God would hold God’s end of the bargain and take the initiative. A child would be born to a young woman and his name would be Emmanuel — ‘God with us’ — and salvation would come.
Pray
Holy God
Thank you that
you took the initiative,
and that the birth of Jesus
was the ultimate sign
that you are with me.
Thank you for
keeping your promise
to never leave me
nor forsake me.
This day and forever.
and then