Immanuel, God With Us

O. T. #1577  "Immanuel, God With Us"
Dec. 3, 2019
Isaiah 7-Part 2
Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (verse 14)

LET IT GLOW

In this chapter, we read of a conversation where God is speaking through Isaiah to King Ahaz of Judah. What was Ahaz told?

• The invasion that Ahaz was afraid would happen, was told it would never take place. (verse 7)
• Within 65 years, Israel would be crushed and completely destroyed. (verse 8b) Therefore, Ahaz was not to fear Syria and Israel invading Judah.
• Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm. (verse 9b) Would Ahaz trust God to deliver Judah or would he trust Assyria?

King Ahaz refused to ask God for a sign that Judah would not be destroyed by Syria and Israel. He was not trusting in Almighty God, but army men of another country. God gave Ahaz a confirmation, a sign, that this would happen.

• Ask the LORD your God for a sign of confirmation. (verse 10)
• When Ahaz refused, indicating that it would be testing the LORD, God gave him a sign anyway (key verse)

If Judah believed God, she would stand; if not, she too would fall. We know how that turned out-135 years after Israel was captured by Assyria, Judah was captured by Babylon.
Do we believe that God keeps His promises?
Do we trust Him to keep His Word?
God brought on all that destruction; He had the power to prevent it. If only Judah and Ahaz had trusted Him, all would have turned out differently. But it didn't.

LET IT GROW

Judah should have been reassured that they would not be completely wiped out, for the Messiah Savior, Immanuel (God With Us) was going to be born. He was coming through the line of David and Judah-a remnant would be saved.

What was the miraculous thing that would occur as a sign for Judah?

• A virgin would conceive and bear a son. A virgin was a lass; damsel; maid. This could not happen through man, but it was the Holy Spirit that made this happen.
• We believe this happened when Mary gave birth to Christ Himself many years later. (Luke 2)

Jesus Christ was of divine origin, not fathered by a man. Therefore, He was God, who took on physical form. It was through divine power and divine purity that this divine, extraordinary person, (not an ordinary man with a sin nature) Jesus, was born some 500 years later.

Jesus Christ is God come in human flesh, yet without sin (John 1:14). He is not merely a "good man" or a "great teacher"; He is the very Son of God. To deny this is to deny the Word of God
 (1 John 4:1-6).  (Wiersbe)

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! This is why we celebrate Christmas, the birth of the Savior. (Although we are not sure exactly when this occurred, for it could have been in the spring.)


LET IT GO
                              ... of all the worldly philosophies and worldly celebrations and simply thank Jesus
                                  for coming to be our Savior, enduring the hardships of being in the form of a
                                  man.
                              ... of all the disappointments, hurts, and frustrations, and simply believe in God's
                                  love.
                              ... of fear and completely trust Jesus.
Thank You, Jesus, for loving me so much that You left Your glorious home in heaven to take on the form of a lowly man, in order to be my Savior.! Such love!