Day Two of “Getting Ready for Christmas.”
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Isaiah 7:10-17 describes one of the great crises in the history of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah. Syria and Ephraim (Israel) teamed up to attack Jerusalem in 735 BC. Jerusalem faced defeat and conquest.
Instead of calling on God, King Ahaz relied on a foreign power for help. His decision to call on the Assyrian Empire opened the door to foreign domination. Isaiah the prophet condemned such treachery. He told Ahaz to ask for a sign, a demand that Ahaz refused. He didn’t want a sign from heaven. He wanted to follow His own path.
Isaiah gave him the sign anyway. The virgin would conceive and bear a son–his name would be Immanuel, literally meaning “with us God.”
This sign, of course, found its ultimate fulfillment in the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 1:23). The Messianic figure flashed on Isaiah’s mind, and Isaiah described what we have seen in the New Testament. God became human flesh. “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4-6).
God is Immanuel, He truly is the God who is with us. He promises never to leave or forsake us. The coming of Christ opened the way to God and allows us to know Him intimately, as a loving heavenly Father. Because Jesus was the God/man, He understands our human predicament and at the same time solves our sin problem.
He is Lord of lords and King of kings. He is Immanuel, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. His name truly is wonderful.
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2 Responses
“And Jesus said unto Martha, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die…”John 11:25&26
Immanuel? Indeed, but to what extent, to what degree, to what magnitude? Does Good overcome the evil in the flesh? How in us is the Spirit overcoming the flesh? Must we know utter destruction before Life is found? The question rhetorically was asked, “Shall we sin that Grace may more abound?” And answered, “God Forbid!” If we are to urge one another on to Good Works. If we are to be as iron sharpening iron. If we are to be of One Body and Members One of another. If we are to compliment One Another. If we are to put away all anger and malice. We must show up for Christ, in Christ for One Another, individual in the experience of having gifts differing and each with their Portion of Faith, yet One in Purpose, Destiny.
Thank you Lord for the small examples that bring us under the same roof, with others who desire Good and to hear of Good; and to make an offering for Good. You have said, “There is no Good apart from God.” May your territory in me, in us, be enlarged. Thank you for the reminder in the Doctor’s stated verses, the Balm of Gilead, to make us well, Whole. AMEN
Blessings
Pastor, God has things in hand and what a great way to make the connections than through the whole Christmas story. Thank you.