The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, Immanuel (Isaiah 7:1-14)

Isaiah 7:14 says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel (which means God with Us).” Prophecy can have a near, partial fulfillment and a future, greater fulfillment. In Isaiah’s day a young girl was a virgin. She would get married, cease being a virgin, have a child, and name that child, Immanuel. There is nothing miraculous about this birth, other than God predicted it. When Ahaz saw this child named Immanuel, he would think of Isaiah’s words and the child would serve as a sign that God would deliver Judah in the future. Seven hundred years later, Mary gave birth to Christ as a virgin and He was literally, "God with Us.” Table of ContentsFamily Worship Guide for The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, ImmanuelSermon Notes for The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, ImmanuelLesson One: Some people don’t want to believe.Lesson Two: Jesus is the true and greater Immanuel in that He (part one) was born of a virgin.Lesson Two: Jesus is the true and greater Immanuel in that He (part two) is literally God with us.Lesson Two: Jesus is the true and greater Immanuel in that He (part three) gives us victory over the greatest Enemy. https://youtu.be/QqRy2X2hxFE Isaiah 7:14 says, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel (which means God with Us),” and Jesus fulfilled this. Family Worship Guide for The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, Immanuel Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Isaiah 7:1-13, Hebrews 11:1—Who is Ahaz, Rezin, and Pekah, and what is the relationship between them? Where does Ahaz want to turn for help and why? What does Isaiah’s son’s name mean and why is it significant? How did Ahaz view Rezin and Pekah and how did God view them? What is the significance of them trying to put Tabeel on the throne?Day 2: Isaiah 714, Matthew 1:21-23, John 1:14—Why did God want to give Ahaz a sign? Why did Ahaz not want to ask for a sign? Why did Ahaz not want to believe, and why do you think some people choose not to believe? Describe the sign God gave Ahaz. What does it mean that prophecies can have a near and partial fulfillment and a future, greater fulfillment? Describe how that occurs with this account. Can you think of any other examples in Scripture?Day 3: Isaiah 7:2 cf. Hebrews 2:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-57—How is Jesus the true and greater fulfillment of the prophecy? How is Jesus literally God with us? Describe the enemy Ahaz faced versus the enemy we face. The child in Ahaz’s day served as a sign of victory over what enemy? In what way does Jesus serve as a sign of a greater victory? Sermon Notes for The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, Immanuel The title of this morning’s sermon is, “The Virgin Shall Conceive and Bear a Son, Immanuel.” You can probably tell this is the message I was going to preach on Christmas if I didn’t get Covid. I wanted to preach it today, because I think it works just as well on any Sunday. We are going to learn about one of the most amazing, and familiar, prophecies in the Bible, but just to let you know ahead of time, it’s going to involve learning the background to it. This is important, because without the background we can’t appreciate the prophecy. There are three names in this account that I want you to be able to keep straight, so I put them in the bulletin: Ahaz is the wicked king of Judah. He worshipped other gods and even sacrificed his son to Molech. One commentator said, “He was a cowardly, superstitious and hypocritical ruler, one of the worst kings Judah ever had.”Rezin is the king of Syria and he’s also badPekah is the king of Israel (also called Ephraim throughout the account) and – you guessed it – he’s bad too. Rezin and Pekah are allies and they attacked Ahaz. Ahaz wants to turn to Assyria for help instead of turning to God. God sends the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz to try to get him to trust Him instead of Assyria. With that in mind look at verse 1… Isaiah 7:1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. This is a summary verse. Rezin and Pekah wanted to conquer Judah but were unable to and the rest of the chapter explains why. Isaiah 7:2 When the house of David (which is another way to refer to Ahaz and his people) was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim (another way to refer to Israel),” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. When the combined forces of Syria and Israel approached Judah, it terrified Ahaz and all the people. They knew they could not withstand these armies. So God sends the prophet, Isaiah, to Ahaz… Isaiah 7:3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. God told Isaiah to meet Ahaz and bring his son, Shear-jashub, with him. Names often have meanings in Scripture and Ahaz’s son, Shear-jashub’s, name means, “A remnant shall return.” Can you see why this son would be significant? Shear-jashub is a walking message. Ahaz thinks his nation is going to be wiped out, but when he sees Isaiah coming with his son it communicates that things are not as bad as they looked. Judah would survive. There would be a remnant. Also, sometimes you see a detail such as, the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field, and you might wonder why it’s there. Let these details serve as reminders that the Bible is an accurate historical account. We are dealing with real people who went to real places and really did the things we are reading. Look what Isaiah says to Ahaz… Isaiah 7:4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah (referring to Pekah). When a true prophet shows up speaking for God, that’s not the time to talk. That’s the time to listen carefully and quietly as Isaiah said. Also, even though this was a terrifying situation, God told Ahaz not to fear because Israel and Syria looked terrifying to Ahaz, but God saw them as two smoldering stumps of firebrands. They were nothing more than smoke without fire. Smoke is annoying, it can get in your eyes and make you cough, but without fire it’s not very deadly. The same is true of these two Kings. They were annoying, but they were not deadly. Also, smoldering stumps are about to die out, so this hints at their coming destruction. Look what God says Pekah and Rezin were planning to do…. Isaiah 7:5 Because Syria (referring to Rezin), with Ephraim (again Israel) and the son of Remaliah (again Pekah), has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” Pekah and Rezin planned to remove Ahaz from the throne and replace him with the son of Tabeel. You might remember in a recent sermon I told you that in the ancient world if a new king was not descended from the previous king, it was customary for the new king to execute the previous king and all his relatives to prevent anyone from rising up and trying to reclaim the throne. So Ahaz knows that not only is his life in danger, the lives of his entire family are in danger too. It’s one thing when you think you might die, but it’s another thing entirely when you think your entire family might be wiped out. That’s what Ahaz is fearing. Let me explain why this is much worse than it sounds… Ahaz is from the house of David, which means he’s one of David’s descendants, which means he’s in the lineage of the Messiah. Listen to these verses… Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Then you go down to verse 9… Matthew 1:9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the FATHER OF AHAZ, AND AHAZ the father of Hezekiah, You go down to verse 16… Matthew 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, OF WHOM JESUS WAS BORN, WHO IS CALLED CHRIST. So here’s the point: if you remove Ahaz, you remove the Messiah’s line. If you don’t have Ahaz, you don’t have what we’re celebrating this week: the birth of Christ. So let me tell you what it LOOKS like is happening, and then tell you what is ACTUALLY happening: It looks like two wicked kings, Rezin and Pekah, are doing what wicked men do: attacking other nations and trying to gain more power for themselvesHere’s what is ACTUALLY happening: this is nothing less than another satanic attempt to destroy the messianic line. And here’s why it’s important to know this… Ahaz was such a wicked man, we could easily wonder why God would deliver him. But God didn’t deliver Ahaz for, or because, of Ahaz. God delivered Ahaz to be faithful to the covenant he made with David, and to ensure His Son would come into the world. It is this threat to the messianic line that provides the background for this sign that Immanuel will be born. Or here’s another way to say it… When it looks Rezin and Pekah will prevent the Messiah from being born, God provides this sign that Immanuel, or God with us, will be born. Look at these wonderful words that God shared with Ahaz… Isaiah 7:7 thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. 8 For the head (or capital) of Syria is Damascus, and the head (or king) of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim (or Israel) will be shattered from being a people. God declared that within 65 years Ephraim, or Israel, would be destroyed.