12/10/11- Messiah to be Called "Immanuel"

12/10- Day 14- Light the first two candles.  The Messiah shall be Called Immanuel- God with us- Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23

¹⁴Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel  (Isaiah 7;14)

²³"Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel" (which being interpreted is, "God with us"). (Matthew 1:23)

(“Nativity” Giorgione 1507)

Thoughts: Immanuel is a title of Jesus, not the name of Jesus. It means "God with us."  Jesus was to be God in the flesh.  But He was recognized in His miracles, in His loving teaching, in His manner of life as God in the flesh.  Thomas fell at His feet and cried, “My Lord and My God!”  In Isaiah the child, Immanuel, born at the prophet’s bidding, was a sign of God’s care and deliverance from the enemies of his people (at the time the armies of Syria and Israel).  But the ultimate deliverance is for all people.  It is deliverance of sin and the punishment due for sin.  Have you ever felt at Christmas time that God was just “with” you.  Have you experienced nearness of God?  God’s presence with us is a sign of His care and blessing. 

Prayer: Lord, you are God come down- God with us.  Thank you for coming down for us to deliver us.

11/20/11 Isaiah 7- Immanuel Means Deliverance

¹ When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
² Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
³ Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. ⁴ Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, ⁶ “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷ Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘It will not take place. It will not happen. (Isaiah 7:1-7)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, andwill call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste...The Lord will bring the king of Assyria (Isaiah 7:15,16).

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
(Matthew 1:21-23)

(King Ahaz- who nailed the Temple doors shut and set up an Assyrian altar).

Thoughts: The land was invaded during the reign of a wicked and fearful king who was unfaithful to God to the point of shutting and nailing the Temple doors shut.  Isaiah was saying that deliverance would come even in the face of two invading armies.  The invading armies were defeated. Assyria came to the rescue as Isaiah had said, but they eventually invated Judah too.  The birth of a child was always a symbol of hope.  This child was named "God with us" - "Immanuel."  Our hope is that God has not abandoned us, though we forsake Him.  God is our deliverer- and the perfect symbol is the birth of a child. The Messiah is the ultimate symbol of that hope.  It is the hope for us as well.  When our troubles seem innumerable, God's presence with us brings us hope and deliverance. 

Prayer: Lord you are my only hope, for you have come down for us and are with us even now.