Immanuel

DEVOTION

ISAIAH

IMMANUEL

Isa 7:10-17

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights."

12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."

13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 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.   15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 17 The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah — he will bring the king of Assyria."

NIV

We saw the concept of the sign and asking, but now we see that because Ahaz did not ask, God was going to give him a sign anyway. Of course this is a very popular portion of Isaiah because it is prophetic concerning Jesus. Ahaz never got to see this sign but we did. It is interesting the Lord chose to reveal this sign far in advance of the event itself. Mary, being the virgin spoken about here, becomes with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. This child is not conceived by natural means and therefore does not have the same genetic makeup as all other conceived children. He is divine, he is God in the flesh. He is fully human in the sense he started as a fetus in the womb of Mary, grew into an infant and was birthed as every other infant is. He grew up just as any child would, learning to walk, to talk. He lived exactly as any child would have lived in that time. Yet he was God, fully divine. Surely this is a mystery we may never fully be able to grasp, we merely need to accept it by faith. It is true because we have the record of his divine life and his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Only God could do all that. Isaiah tells Ahaz this son born to a virgin will be called Immanuel, which means, God with us. What is amazing about this prophesy is we find the same idea of God with us in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew and at the end of Matthew’s gospel.

Matt 1:22-23

 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

NIV

Matt 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

NIV

Jesus is with us, Immanuel, God is with us. Although Jesus, in his glorified physical state ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, he is still with us. Because Jesus is God, and he is omnipresent, he is with us. It is also true because he ascended, he sent the Holy Spirit to execute his will, his divine purpose. The Spirit is also God, so God is with us. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one, and we are one with God, that is what Jesus said. God is with us. We can live with the assurance that what Jesus said is true, he will be with us always, to the very end of the age. We do not have to be alone, because God is with us. There may be times we might feel alone, even in a crowded room, but we are not because God is with us.