The
Virgin will be with child
Isaiah 7:1-9:7*
Key verse: Isaiah 7:14 “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.”
Today is the day of our Lord Jesus’ birth. It is known to the entire world
and many nations celebrate it. In the Muslim countries, Jesus is known as a
prophet and they are keenly aware of his birthday, Christmas, though they may
not celebrate it as we do. Except for a few nations, no one can say that people
do not know about Jesus and his birth.
Here, the birth of a baby born of a virgin would be a sign from God to King Ahaz and his people, Judah. This was the
first reference of Jesus’ virgin birth, though one might draw such an understanding
from Genesis 3:15. What this meant for
the people of Judah and for the people of the world will be explored here, so
that we may learn the true significance of Jesus’ birth for this age.
Through the messages found in Ch. 1-6, Isaiah delivered a message of
judgment to Judah. This message implied that Judah had gone beyond the threshold of God’s grace and
warning, and, as a result, God was determined to punish their sin. In Ch. 7,
the attack of the Aramite-and-Israelite alliance was considered serious enough
to threaten the very existence of the kingdom of Judah. This threat was not
just a wrong perception by King Ahaz, but it was real as they were surrounded
by the large, combined armies of Aram and Israel. This attack served as the
prelude of what was yet to come - Judah’s final defeat. The real question here was
whether or not Judah could survive this attack. In other words, could the Davidic
kingdom be sustained? If it could not, what would happen to the promise that
God made to protect David’s throne and his kingdom forever? This fear gripped Ahaz and his people and they were shaken like trees before the strong winds. If Judah could prevail, then how and in
what way would it be accomplished? This was the main issue in this situation.
This message becomes clear to us as we sort through what God said through
Isaiah in Ch. 1-6. Here God had already determined that Judah had sinned and His
judgment on them was declared. If this
was so, then why did God give them assurance
of the defeat of Aram and Israel? Also, since Ahaz had rejected God’s sign of
coming rescue from the hands of this alliance, God delivered the message of judgment
in Ch. 8 through the illustration of Isaiah’s two sons. As much Isaiah’s two
sons were real, so would the coming wrath of God on Judah through the
Babylonian invasion.
This means that the sign of a virgin having a child was not only God’s
promise to deliver from the hands of the Israel-and-Aram alliance, but it also
served as a sign of God’s unchanging will to keep His promise to David’s dynasty. Simply, God would surely keep
His promise to Judah and to David and
his kingdom, despite the attack from
such a strong alliance as this. God would do it, despite Ahaz’s unbelief and reluctance to ask God for
a sign of victory. He would do it, despite Judah’s unbelief. How and in what
fashion would God do such a thing? To answer this question, God gave Judah,
especially its king, and David’s dynasty, this sign.
In Ch. 8, God stated clearly and unequivocally that Judah would be
swallowed up by a Babylonian invasion. This meant that the dynasty would be cut
off. Despite Judah’s failure, which resulted in the Davidic dynasty’s total
disappearance, chapter 9 declared and
prophesied that, through the birth of a child, a sign would
be given by God as the new horizon for the kingdom. This baby would be the king
that would defeat Judah’s enemies and establish the everlasting kingdom. So
this is the fulfillment of the sign that God gave to Ahaz and the Davidic
kingdom.
1. The sign of the virgin birth was God’s assurance for
Ahaz, the Davidic king, that He would keep the kingdom forever, despite Judah’s
sins.
2. The fulfillment of the prophecy against the Aram-and-Israel
alliance would serve also as the proof of what God said would come about — the
Davidic dynasty would continue, despite Judah’s sins.
3. Ahaz’s rejection and unbelief of God’s promise and sign would lead Judah to a sure defeat. But
God would keep His promise, despite Judah’s failure, by sending a baby through a
virgin.
4. The child born through this promise-sign of a ‘virgin
birth’ would serve as proof that God would
sustain the Davidic kingdom, despite Judah’s unbelief. He would defeat all of their
enemies, like the Midianites, and establish His everlasting kingdom, through the
baby born king of Judah.
Through this passage, God made it clear that the virgin
being with child served as the sign for Ahaz for God’s coming delivery of Judah
and assurance for him that God’s promise
to David would be carried out within His will and determination. This is
because the baby born of a virgin would
be the everlasting king.
What does it mean to believe that a virgin would be with
child, and how can this serve as proof
of God’s sure delivery of Judah and of His
promise to David? How can this sign serve us today?
First, the difficulty in accepting this as a sign from
God lies in the fact that no virgin had ever bore a child by herself. Simply,
it is impossible. If this was of man and his or her power, there was no way to
believe this was a sign. This cannot happen, but if this were to happen, that
would serve as a sign of victory for the Davidic kingdom. This was the
difficulty that all human beings faced; so it was back then, and so it is now
as well. Joseph, Mary’s husband, could not comprehend this by his own knowledge
or wisdom, and he could only accept this when an angel of God told him that she was with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. It can only be accepted when one believes in God as the bearer or undertaker
of this work, and when one accepts and believes that He is the source of
life, God the creator, as displayed in Jesus’
birth.
Secondly, as Isaiah had prophesied, God punished the
nation and the Davidic kingdom went into exile and returned. But, at the time
of Jesus’ birth, the nation was still under the rule of the Roman Empire; there was no ‘Davidic Kingdom’. In the absence
of a Davidic kingdom, the virgin birth would make the sign of restoration for
that kingdom last forever in the minds
and hearts of the people of Judah.
Thirdly, the baby born of a virgin was not a man[B1] . He was born of God and His power,
implicitly alluding to the fact that he was the Son of God. There are many who
believe in Jesus, but many of them believe he was one of the greatest men on
earth, denying him as the Son of God. This is the denial of Isaiah’s prophecy
and its fulfillment in Christ’s birth. Also, it denies God’s power, which transcended time and fulfilled this prophecy.
Likewise, Isaiah’s prophecy and its fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus
serve as dual evidence for God’s mighty
power in and for Jesus as the Son of
God.
Fourthly, God
brings the power of salvation only to those who anchor their faith in this
understanding. Christ’s suffering and redeeming sacrifice deeply hinges on his true identity as the Son
of God. This truth extended to his
resurrection as well. Jesus’ resurrection could be accepted and believed
only by those who accept that he was born of God by the Virgin Mary. So, the hope
of the resurrection is given to those who believe and accept that Jesus was
born through the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fifthly, this truth extends to the understanding that
Jesus was the only one who has come down from and gone back up to heaven. This hangs tightly
on the belief that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. This also leads us to believe in Jesus’ life and second coming at the end of the
ages.
Likewise, Jesus’ virgin birth is connected to our entire belief
system in God’s way of salvation for us.
Many fail to accept Jesus as the Son of God, even though
they may express their genuine faith in Jesus. Such rejection is not only a
denial of one event, but also the entire foundation of the Christian faith.
Jesus’ virgin birth is a sign for us all. To believe this
is to believe in God’s promise for deliverance in and through the Davidic
promise. If one fails to believe this, he or she cannot accept the cross, Jesus’ life, or his second coming in his glory
and power.
Jesus was born in a manger as a baby through the Virgin
Mary. This was a sure sign for us that God would deliver us from all our enemies, and that we will be included
in the everlasting kingdom that God promised through David. Also, this is the
sure sign of Jesus’ second coming in his power and glory.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a baby. All human beings
must look at this baby born through Mary as the door by faith to eternal peace with God!
May God bless you richly this Christmas!
[B1]Jesus
was fully God and fully man. Maybe clarify this for your readers.
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