Immanuel—God With Us!

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “. . . . 4 Tell him (King Ahaz) to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah. . . . 9  Unless your faith is firm, I (God) cannot make you stand firm.” . . . 13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 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’).

Isaiah 7:3-4, 9, 13-14 (NLT)

 

Around 734 B.C., King Ahaz of Judah in Jerusalem feared the coming attack of two invading armies (2 Kings 16). King Ahaz was one of Judah's worst kings and he had turned away from God. He refused to trust in God's help against those invading armies.  Instead, King Ahaz tried to form an alliance with the Assyrians rather than obeying and trusting in God for deliverance (2 Kings 16:7-8).

 

In His mercy, God sent the Prophet Isaiah to tell King Ahaz to stop worrying and have faith in Him to deliver Judah from their enemies.  God was in control and He wanted King Ahaz to place his faith in Him and not in political alliances with Assyrian. Isaiah predicted that Judah would not come to an end as Immanuel would be a miraculous sign of their deliverance.

 

God is a God of mercy, grace, and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6-7).  He always keeps His promises. God promised a Child of hope would be born from Judah to secure God’s messianic promises to King David (2 Samuel 7:12-17). This Child would save not only Judah but the entire world of their sins. Matthew 1:23 of the New Testament quotes Isaiah 7:14 to prove fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy to King Ahaz (see also Luke 1:27).  Mary, a young virgin girl, conceived a Son by the Holy Spirit, named Immanuel, meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” This Child is the Christ from the line of King David of Judah and He is God incarnate (or in the flesh).

 

So as the Prophet Isaiah told King Ahaz, stop worrying and trust in God!  God has now sent Immanuel and "God is with us."