The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 1:22-23,
"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')."
The prophet spoken of in this passage is Isaiah. The quote comes from Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
The "virgin" in the Isaiah passage really means young woman, (who was actually Isaiah's wife), but in Matthew it literally means a young woman no one had slept with.
In the context of Isaiah, the prophecy was given to encourage King Ahaz of Judah in the face of a coordinated attack against Jerusalem by Pekah, king of the northern tribes of Israel, and King Rezin of Aram. Isaiah was sent by the Lord to tell Ahaz not to worry, he would insure the safety of Jerusalem. When Ahaz refused the offer of a prophetic sign for this, the Lord provided the foretelling of a son that would be born to Isaiah through his wife. The child would be God's guarantee that he would provide for the safety of Jerusalem. In the next chapter Isaiah says, "Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." Isaiah 8:18.
In like manner, God provided a sign to all mankind of his guarantee of safety from his own coming judgement of sin by bringing his Son into the world through a literal virgin, Mary.
The Isaiah prophecy of a sign had dual fulfillment: once in Isaiah's day through a young woman, and once on the day when God brought his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world through a virgin, to save us from our sins.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')."
The prophet spoken of in this passage is Isaiah. The quote comes from Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
The "virgin" in the Isaiah passage really means young woman, (who was actually Isaiah's wife), but in Matthew it literally means a young woman no one had slept with.
In the context of Isaiah, the prophecy was given to encourage King Ahaz of Judah in the face of a coordinated attack against Jerusalem by Pekah, king of the northern tribes of Israel, and King Rezin of Aram. Isaiah was sent by the Lord to tell Ahaz not to worry, he would insure the safety of Jerusalem. When Ahaz refused the offer of a prophetic sign for this, the Lord provided the foretelling of a son that would be born to Isaiah through his wife. The child would be God's guarantee that he would provide for the safety of Jerusalem. In the next chapter Isaiah says, "Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." Isaiah 8:18.
In like manner, God provided a sign to all mankind of his guarantee of safety from his own coming judgement of sin by bringing his Son into the world through a literal virgin, Mary.
The Isaiah prophecy of a sign had dual fulfillment: once in Isaiah's day through a young woman, and once on the day when God brought his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world through a virgin, to save us from our sins.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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