Isaiah 7:10-16 – God With Us

Read Isaiah 7:10-16

Immanuel means “God with us.” One of my favorite Advent hymns is “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” If spelled with an “I”, it’s in Hebrew, and with an “E” is the Greek translation. We recognize it as a very fitting name for Jesus. In just a few short days, we’ll be celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel. Because of Jesus, we have God with us. Do you believe that?

This prophecy from God through Isaiah may have a double fulfillment. We are most familiar with Matthew’s quoting the portion that refers to Jesus’ mother. “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” From our perspective, Jesus fulfills this without question. Continue reading “Isaiah 7:10-16 – God With Us”

2 Chronicles 28:1-27 – A Bad King

Read 1 Chronicles 28:1-27

King Ahaz was a bad king from the beginning. This text gives no indication that Ahaz started out good and then spiraled into an evil frenzy. Don’t you wonder how the son of a good king (Jotham) could be so corrupt? Rebellion perhaps?

The Chronicler loves storytelling, especially when it has to do with worship. An evil king becomes evil because of who he worships. The story unfolds about an evil king with no victories or successful conquests. In fact, defeats and plundering are more abundant. Why would a king want to lead like that? Did Ahaz even realize that these repeated disappointments were because of his worship practices?

Continue reading “2 Chronicles 28:1-27 – A Bad King”

Christmas ? Isaiah 7:14 – Immanuel

“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel
(which means ‘God is with us’). “ (Isaiah 7:14)

I love that the name Immanuel means “God is with us.” What a perfect name for Jesus. He came into the dark world he loved so much to be with us, to be one of us. Knowing Jesus is with us gives us hope for tomorrow and makes the world a little brighter.

It’s interesting to know the back story of this prophecy from Isaiah. Right before this, Isaiah had been speaking with King Ahaz. You may recall Ahaz was one of those wicked kings that did detestable things. (2 Kings 16) It was during his 16-year reign that Ahaz feared a takeover by Israel and it’s ally, Assyria. God’s message through Isaiah had been that no invasion would take place.

Continue reading “Christmas ? Isaiah 7:14 – Immanuel”
error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)