Isaiah 7:14

New International Version

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.

For Meditation

Syria and Israel plan to attack Judah. Ahaz trembles, but God gives him a word of assurance—It will not happen (v.7).

God had numbered Israel’s days when it would cease to be a nation. Syria also has no strength to fight Judah. That is the word of God. So, Ahaz, have faith. Do not worry or fear the threat from those two smothering stubs.

The face of King Ahaz said it all. We often forget how well God knows us. He looks deep into our hearts and sees the trepidation that lurks there. We often make up our faces and demeanor to conceal our misery and deceive people, because we want to show a strong posture while our hearts melt like volcanic lava. 

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all,” God said to Ahaz (9).

He then tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. Gracious, isn’t it? But that is our God. He does everything to accommodate our feeble selves that struggle to believe.

 The response of King Ahaz amuses me.

 “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test” (12). 

Come on, king! God Himself is telling you to ask for a sign. How could that be about testing Him? It reminds me of the false humility we all show sometimes. We want something, but we pretend we don’t. How I regret refusing to take many challenges and offers to my significant loss!

However, God gives Ahaz a sign Himself.

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us)” (14).

The dialogue here concerns deliverance from a fierce enemy only God can overcome. God was talking about His right hand, which is mighty to deliver from the depth of hell, but Ahaz was too earthly minded to perceive it. The Lord gave a sign about the coming of His Messiah, who would deliver His people, but Ahaz lost it. Isn’t that how we are sometimes? What is God telling you that you can’t perceive?

Mathew got it right when he applied the Isaiah prophecy to Mary and her conception and birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23). It is the same message the angel Gabriel brings to Mary in Luke 1:26-38.

That is the Christmas story, which began in Eden concerning the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). The prophecy of Isaiah announced the conception of the seed by the virgin, but King Ahaz was so fearful about his security that his faith could not rise to receive his peace from it – the birth of the Prince of Peace.

May your faith rise beyond earthly concerns to apprehend the blessings of God in this season when we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus our Lord, amen!