Advent Devotional - Day 1: by Mike Brach

READING:
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

Commonly referred to as the "virgin birth proof text", this passage is cited as evidence from the "Old Testament" that the birth of Jesus of a virgin (Mary), as described in the New Testament, Matthew 1:23, is foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.

The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 has a double meaning that is one for the time that the prophecy was announced and one for the future. The future fulfillment of a prophecy is always greater than the historical or immediate fulfillment. For King Ahaz of Judea it meant that the kingdoms which he feared would be soon destroyed. Unfortunately, he did not trust God and entered into an unholy alliance with Assyria. God sent Isaiah with a message for King Ahaz, that God was to give him a sign in order to gain Ahaz’s trust

The language of the Hebrew text does not read "virgin" but "young woman." Likewise the sense of the verb tense is that this young woman "has conceived and will bear a son". In other words Isaiah was pointing out a young pregnant woman standing as part of the royal entourage. For Isaiah, then, the name of her soon to be born baby, not the manner of the child's conception, is God's sign. The baby's name is to be Immanuel, "God is with us."

The normal growth and maturing of Immanuel will be a constant sign that God is with Judea; that Syria and Israel who threaten Judea will themselves be destroyed; and that the future of Judea is not secured through military alliances or diplomatic cleverness but by trusting in God's presence and faithfulness. Of that, Immanuel will be a living, breathing, growing sign to Ahaz.

Isaiah, however, presented the message of Immanuel, an alternative that is given to us not negotiated by us; a promise of God's continued presence right in the midst of being between a rock and a hard place.

Heavenly Father, Your sign to us , that of the birth of Immanuel, is a blessing and gift we can never repay. We thank you for always being there for us.
Amen.