Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!" Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to know to refuse evil and choose good. For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
~Isaiah 7:10-16
I originally desired to write this post right before Christmas as I have been studying this wonderful prophecy of the Messiah found in Isaiah but was unable due to my internet acting up and having a busier schedule than intended. But since Christ's birth, death, and resurrection should be celebrated every day by the Christian, this post is just as appropriate for today. Also, the prophet Isaiah recorded this not for it to be studied and read on only one day of the year. My intention is to look at this prophecy in it's historical setting.
The Hope
King Ahaz of Judah saw himself in a hopeless situation. Both Pekah the King of Israel and Rezin the King of Aram (or Syria) had joined forces in order to attack Jerusalem. This alliance caused Ahaz to fear for his security and the security of his people. Upon hearing that the Syrians were with Israel, Isaiah reports concerning Ahaz that his heart and the hearts of the people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind (7:2). This fear and lack of trust in God eventually led the king to call for the help of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7-9; 2 Chronicles 28:16-21), which God used as an instrument to punish the people of Israel for their sins of rebellion, idolatry, and disobedence (Isaiah 10:5-7). The king's fear also led the Lord to send three literal signs to provide hope that the alliance of these two kings would not be the end of the king and the nation of Judah. Two of these signs were for the king himself, while the second applied more broadly to the entire nation and pointed to a much further culmination.
All of the signs were children with respective names containing a special message God desired to convey to the king and the people. The first sign was Isaiah's child, Shear-jashub, whose name in Hebrew meant a remnant shall return. This was to communicate to the king that this alliance would not signify the end of Judah. The two kings would not be victorious over Judah. thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass" (Isaiah 7:7). The second sign, Immanuel, will be examined more in depth shortly. Upon the birth of Isaiah's second child (at least the second child of the prophet recorded as Immanuel is never credited to be the offspring of Isaiah or the prophetess), God instructs him to give the child a specific name which again provides hope for the outcome of the war with Israel and Syria. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3), which means swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. God goes on to explain how the name indicates the victory which will be given through the instrument of Assyria: for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria (Isaiah 8:4). All of these pointed to the defeat of the Northern Kingdom of Israel so that Ahaz and the people of Judah did not have to fear them.
The Sign of Immanuel
Of the three signs God gave, the child Immanuel stands out from the other two. He was not a child of Isaiah since the mother of the child is described as being a virgin and the prophetess could not have been due to the birth of Shear-jashub previously. Also, this sign was not limited to Ahaz but was given to the entire nation of Judah. The you of verse 14 is plural in Hebrew indicating that the sign is for the nation. If the sign had been specifically given to the king, the pronoun would have been singular. God approached Ahaz through Isaiah and commanded the king to ask a sign concerning the threat from these two kings, probably because the sign of Shear-jashub was not enough to calm the king's fear. Ahaz refuses, claiming that he does not want to test God. This more likely was an excuse since he was not placing his trust in God but the Assyrians since the king had tested God his entire reign through his sacrificing to idols and even burning his own children (2 Chronicles 28:2-4). Isaiah then tells him that since he will not ask for a sign, one would be given to the entire nation of Judah. The immediate hope for that time came with the statements in verses 15-16 describing that For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. However, a greater hope for the nation also is conveyed with this sign.
This child was no ordinary child as his birth is predicted to be miraculous. He will come from a virgin (vs 14). Much has been made concerning the translation of the Hebrew word, almah, as its literal meaning is young maiden. However, all seven occurences of the word in the Old Testament all refer to young maidens who are virgins. Furthermore, Matthew ends the debate when he, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, identifies this child as being Jesus whom he describes as being born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18). Right after recording the birth of Jesus in the opening chapter of his gospel, he states Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:22-23). Isaiah pointed to a hope which would come to the people 700 centuries later.
The entire nation of Judah as well as all of mankind was in an even greater hopeless state by the plague of sin; a plague much worse than two kings threatening to capture their earthly kingdom. This plague had eternal consequences. Due to the disobedience of Adam, all are born with a sinful nature and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This sin placed man under the wrath of God Himself (Romans 1:18) and results in spiritual death (Romans 6:23). In comparison to the reality of eternal conscious punishment in the fires of Hell, eternal separation of God is the most severe. Scripture describes man as being a slave to sin, dead, blind, and lost with nothing in and of themselves able to merit the favor of God. A hopeless situation indeed. The hope came with the birth of the Savior, whose very purpose was to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The meaning of the name Immanuel, God with us, is used to convey victory as God is on the side of the people (Isaiah 8:10). God has granted victory to those who place their trust in Christ as He has taken their sins upon Himself and experienced God's wrath on the cross for those sins, as well as experiencing the separation from God the sinner is due to experience for all eternity in Hell in order that those who place their trust in Him may be forgiven their sins and declared righteous in God's sight.
Praise God for the sign of Immanuel given so many years ago and how through that child, those of us who have placed our faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ have been rescued from the hopeless state that we were once in and been given eternal life! For those of you who may still be in that hopeless state, may God use this to show you the hope which exists through Christ and His work on the cross, possibly leading you to repentance and placing your faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
In Christ,
Lee
Soli Deo Gloria!!!
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