The Greatest Gift 5

The Greatest Gift 5

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us]. Isaiah 7:14 AMPC

Reading today's extract in the right context helps to understand the facts behind the season of Christmas. First, I recall that one of the prophecies about Judah, Jacob's son, was that the sceptre would not depart from Judah, until Shiloh comes. That tells me that true authority and rulership was in the hands of Judah, and the promise of God to David that he will always have a man to sit on the throne were all from the same promise. God does not lie, and whatever He says, in any generation or timeline, will certainly come to pass.

Ahaz wasn't a good king, but he was sitting on David's throne, so David's promise covered him. When we are tempted to think that we are blessed because of our own righteousness or good, we must remember Ahaz. Kings had come against him in battle, including Israel's king, desiring to remove him and install a stooge, but God's promise was again brought to the fore. Nothing I go through now can change God's purpose about me. Things will be rough, but God's Word will outlast and outlive whatever issue I may be facing now.

And the sign given to Ahaz wasn't anything he could control: David's throne would never lack a man to sit on it, and the One who will sit on it forever was on his way. The One would be born of a virgin: something unusual and special. She will give birth to a son, something certain and dependable. The child's name would be Immanuel, which means 'God with us'. God is willing and ready to make himself known to man, to dwell with man, and to be a part of man's life. This child is God saying very clearly that He is coming down to man's level to relate with him and help him. This is God saying He won't just stand by and watch me struggle, but He's sending me the help that I need, and the help that will sustain me all through my earthly life and for all eternity.

What more could I ask for? What else hasn't God addressed? If He has done all this, the least I can do is trust Him. The benefits are eternal and the consequences of rejecting Him are also eternal. His time of favour is here.