A Sign!

A Sign!

Isaiah 7:14 AMPC

[14] 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].

We come to yet another prophecy about the coming Messiah by the prophet Isaiah. The context of this promise didi not look like the time and place to make such a promise, yet, like all that God is and does, He does not need man's permission to do whatever He wants to do, or say whatever He wants to say. He is the God of absolute power and authority and His Word, as we have seen consistently over the past few days, cannot fail to come to pass. Time, distance and man's acceptance or rejection have no impact on the veracity and effect of His Word. If He says it, be sure that He has the capacity, capability and ability to bring it to pass. That is the God who makes all these promises, and of course, we have seen the manifestation of those promises too in our lives. Is there anything that looks like it is beyond redemption or saving? Take it to God in prayer, and let Him speak over the issue or situation. Whatever He says is the assurance you need; no other opinion counts.

King Ahaz had just received a promise of deliverance and salvation from his enemies, and the prophet Isaiah, speaking by the Word of the Lord, told the king to ask for a sign that God is able to do all He had promised. I am not sure why the king did not ask for anything that would have been clearly beyond the reach and capacity of man, so he could also know this God. Could it be just fear, or even ignorance about who God is and can do? Well, God is capable of defending Himself or declaring His power in the midst of the people and that is what He did. If Ahaz would not ask for a sign, He would give a sign. He would do something the world had never seen before so the world could experience something it had never known. Many prophecies had been given about it, and this was another one, which is proof that God would do as He had consistently promised. That is something you can bank on.

The sign is itself the evidence of God's power. If the usual or the normal happens, we can put it down to the usual course of business. We find God choosing to do what had never been done before, where a virgin, without the natural course of conception, was able to conceive and bear a son. If the son had come by way of natural conception, he would have inherited the sinful nature, and would have been of no help to us. It is by the supernatural birth that we have access to the supernatural life. It is by the Son that we have access to the Father and all that He is. He has given us all of Himself, and it is no surprise that the name by which the Son is called is Immanuel which means God with us. That is the comfort and assurance we have about the present and the future. He has been given to us, and we have a decision to make: accept or reject Him. Remember, whatever decision you make has eternal consequences. Choose right. God's time of favour is here.