Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 KJV)
Anyone who has ever spent any time near or around people celebrating Christmas have heard this verse. Matthew refers to it pointing out the fulfillment of a prophecy by the Mesiah, the King of the Jews, evidenced in the child Jesus born of a virgin by the name of Mary. Matthew looked into the scriptures with the Holy Ghost guiding his hand, and he made a connection as to the fulfillment of this prophecy.
But what is so astounding about this is the fact that God chose to fulfill this prophecy.
What do I mean by this?
If you note the text, Isaiah stood in Ahaz’s court addressing him and others who were round about. Syria was coming up to attack and the Lord dared Ahaz to ask for a sign and Ahaz didn’t take Him up on the dare, therefore the Lord offered up a sign.
The sign was to indicate a coming promise?that the city would be sacked. The city would be attacked before the son born of this woman could discern good from evil.
The automatic question that comes to our minds is ?How does this refer to Jesus?? Well, that’s the point. If you were to ask Isaiah if the prophecy he had spoken to the King referred to the coming Messiah, he likely would have been confused and looked quizzically at his wife who was about to conceive, standing in the court of Ahaz with him.
The text seems to hint that this young lady was there with him and he pointed at her saying ?Behold, this young lady shall conceive? and then he went on to tell her to call his name ?Immanuel?. It was a sign with pertinence to Ahaz and as far as Isaiah was concerned, this prophecy was fulfilled.
Not so with God. God took the passage in it’s duality of meanings and went the hard route with our Lord Jesus. Some young lady conceived, but moreso, she was a young maiden, a virgin. She gave birth and named her son Yeshua, or Yahweh is salvation?but why not Immanuel? Because God was there, the second person of the triune God, infinite and all powerful, laid down in a stone manger with the smell of dung all around.
God, in his infinite wisdom and foresight, took that passage which meant one complete and finished thought to Isaiah and Ahaz and brought it to it’s fullest meaning in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.”? (Isaiah 7:14 NET)