NOTE: This being the Advent season on the church calendar I will embark on a series of Advent related devotionals up thru Christmas day.
Isaiah 7:14
“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’).”
The Hebrew word for virgin was defined as a young woman of marrying age, while the Greek translation of the Old Testament (called the Septuagint*). The Greek meaning is more specifically referred to as a ‘virgin’. Those living in Jesus day knew Isaiah was referring to the Virgin Mary who bore God’s Son.
The name Immanuel (or Emmanuel) conveyed God’s promise to save, bless, and protect His children. He is with all of us who have placed our undying, uncompromising faith and trust in him. The Lord provides all our needs (not our wants, but our needs) according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). The mature Christian slowly learns the value of that which God provides for them and ceases to desire that which is of no eternal value and frivolous in nature.
This verse in Isaiah is a prophecy regarding the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is thru him and him alone that we must be saved so that we might spend eternity with our God. Unlike some religions, there are not many roads up the mountain to God but only one way to fellowship with him and that way is to embrace Christ as the Savior and Lord of your life. This is a choice everyone must make among the myriad of less important choices we make each day. Choose wisely this day whom you will serve. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
In His Name & for His Glory,
RL Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
RESOURCE: The New Living Translation; Tyndale House Publishers.
* Phonetic pronunciation – sep-two-a-gin-t. The Greek text of the Old Testament was written in approximately 150 B.C.
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