Daily Thoughts – December 6th
Prophecy 5: 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." - Isaiah 7:14
Most, if not all of you are familiar with this
prophecy. It is quoted in most pulpits and on the radio nearly every year at
this time of advent, as we prepare for Christmas. But, for the few moments, you
are spending reading this today, I want you to imagine that you are an Israelite
in the year 732 BC and the prophet Isaiah speaks these words to king Ahaz. This
done in response to Ahaz's refusal to go to the Lord for a sign himself.
What is this nonsense of a virgin conceiving and
giving birth to a son? What must they have thought at that time? They had been
looking for a Messiah that would come as King of the Jews and defend them from
the armies of Assyria and Egypt. The Jews would recognize the name Immanuel to
mean "God with us." and translate that to mean the Messiah. Their hope
and belief were for an immediate revelation of this virgin, so as to introduce
the Messiah in a timely manner to defend their lands. The Israelites would end
up losing their land to the Assyrians in the year 722 BC.
By the time Mary encountered the angel Gabriel most
had discounted the prophecy and/or forgotten it. So when Mary was divinely
impregnated it was overlooked and not believed. According to the law of that
day, Mary would have been called before the rulers and stoned when they
discovered her condition. We know from the book of Matthew that Gabriel also
visited Joseph who then defended Mary and married her to avoid any punishment
or embarrassment. So it could be said that the Pharisees, who knew the law and
prophecy more so than any other at that time, encountered the fulfillment of
Isaiah 7:14 and didn't recognize it right in front of them.
Are we that way today? Is Christ on the precipice
of returning in the very near future? There are signs that would say yes, and
the question is as we see those signs; Are we ready for Christ's return?
- Rich
© Sondove Enterprises, 2019
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
If you would like to be added to the email distribution please click here: Daily Thoughts
No comments:
Post a Comment