Isaiah 7:13-16 God is With Us!

Isaiah 8:10

Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;

Speak the word, but it will not stand,

For God is with us.”

Immanuel, God with us! The glory of God manifested in flesh to save those who choose to believe in Him as their Savior. God loves all of His creation and everyone is invited to His table. 

Isaiah 7:13-16 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. 

All the attributes of our triune God is manifested in Jesus Christ. Carla

The Hebrew term here, almah, indicates a young woman of marriageable age. In the ancient world, a young unmarried woman who had reached puberty could reasonably be assumed to be a virgin because of the close social and familial restrictions on her activities.

“God with us.”

The concept that God is present among His people is prominent in the Old Testament. The symbolic name Immanuel can be understood as an affirmation of trust in Yahweh, as it is in 8:10. Such affirmations of trust are common in divine promises and prayerful statements of faith (Psalm 46:7). God’s presence among His people was an important theological symbol for Israel (the presence of Yahweh enters the temple in 1 Kings 8:10–11). The people’s sinfulness puts that privilege in jeopardy. The sign of Immanuel should remind Ahaz that—at least for now—God’s presence remains with Israel.

The name Immanuel symbolizes the full restoration of Yahweh’s broken relationship with His people. While the immediate context of the sign itself points to a short-term fulfillment the larger context of Isaiah heavily stresses the future time of redemption and reconciliation between Yahweh and Israel. The coming salvation is depicted in the royal role of the Messiah in 9:2–8 that weaves divine titles into the description of the ideal righteous ruler—the Davidic messiah. The close relationship between messianic and divine roles and titles supports the understanding of Immanuel as a messianic figure. In 11:1–10, the Messiah is given the divine right to judge the nations; His reign inaugurates an era of worldwide peace. 

The suffering, death, and destruction that entered the world through sin will be replaced with peace, justice, and righteousness as predator and prey live together in harmony (11:6). The time of Immanuel will reflect the perfection of creation as originally formed in the garden of Eden.

To reject the evil and to choose the good is the sign for Ahaz meant to indicate that the threat from Aram (Syria) and Ephraim is short term and will pass within a few years. By the time the boy has been born—but before he knows right from wrong—Aram and Ephraim will be out of the picture. Faithlife Study Bible

The pronoun you is plural here. Thus in this verse, Isaiah is speaking to the entire royal line of David. God responded to Ahaz in indignation. This petty and arrogant king dared to refuse the Lord; he would not trust in God even when his enemies surrounded him (verse 12).

Isaiah turns from the king whom he has dismissed in judgment and addresses all who are present. The sign is for many. The word Lord speaks of the sovereignty of God, of His great control over all of His creation. The pronoun Himself adds an absolute certainty to the impending sign. The Hebrew word rendered virgin means “a young woman of marriageable age.” But the word also connotes the idea of virginity, for the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made in the second century b.c., translates the Hebrew word with a Greek word that specifically means “virgin.”

Curds and honey contrast with “bread and wine” from cultivated lands and symbolically represent the Judean’s simple diet after the Assyrian invasion. Thus the Child, similar to Isaiah’s son Shear-Jashub (verse 3), would be identified with the remnant.

Israel and Syria would be destroyed before this child would reach maturity (8:4 where Syria is referred to as Damascus and Israel as Samaria). The NKJV Study Bible

Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Isaiah 7:22

So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,

That he will eat curds;

For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.

Isaiah 8:4

for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

Isaiah 8:8

He will pass through Judah,

He will overflow and pass over,

He will reach up to the neck;

And the stretching out of his wings

 fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel. 

What a strange web we weave. We hate (well, let’s just say we are downright uncomfortable with) our "brokenness." Our woundedness. Our imperfections.

You know, those parts of our self that are flawed, skewed, damaged, beat up, wearing the marks of a full life... that feel not quite "together."

I guess if we 'fess up, "woundedness" is the curse of ordinary folk. For the rest of us (the educated and mature and enlightened), we can "get a handle" on this, "figure it out" or somehow "rise above." Lord knows there are plenty of people who offer us solutions and secrets and illumination. (For a small donation, of course.)

But what if?

What if weakness, woundedness, brokenness is not a "fixable problem," but an opportunity for love, passion, ministry, reconciliation and restoration?

An opportunity for grace?

We are all, wounded healers.

No, this is not a strategy.

This is a fact.

It spills from those parts of our life that have been broken open, from those parts of us flawed and imperfect. And this I do know... I will bring my wounded self to the table, to find space for sanctuary, healing, empathy, mending, compassion and grace. Sabbath Moments

Micah 5:2 (ESV) "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."

Tucked into this "second act" of Micah's prophecy was a promise from the Lord that changed everything: A new Ruler was coming. Not just any leader but one appointed by God Himself, "whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2).

This wasn't just a political prophecy. It was personal. God was declaring, I am coming for you. I will again redeem you and lead you. 

The Ruler "from ancient days" would be eternal in nature (Micah 5:2). And God's Son, Jesus, was with God and was God from the very beginning of time (John 1:1; Colossians 1:15-17). Although Israel had dealt with foolish, selfish, and unjust human kings for generations, Micah assured that the true King was still coming. The throne of God was not lost; it was being prepared.

God also declared through Micah that the King would rise from Bethlehem Ephrathah, a small, overlooked village 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem is mentioned about 40 times in the Old Testament, so it wasn't unheard of. But for comparison, the major city of Jerusalem is mentioned more than 600 times. Bethlehem was seemingly "too little" to matter (Micah 5:2). Still, this small town held a big promise. While people may have questioned its significance, God never did. He has a track record of using the unexpected to reveal His glory (1 Corinthians 1:27; Isaiah 55:8-9).

Today we still can look for His miracles hidden in small places. God has a pattern of working miracles in the minors, so let's not miss the peace He offers in the mundane, tiny moments. May we not overlook evidence of His intervention just because we were expecting something bigger. Instead, like the ancient Israelites clung to Micah's words, may we hold fast to the promised Messiah, Jesus, who has now come and will come again.

His promises are trustworthy. His care is consistent. He sees what is coming and prepares a way for restoration long before we arrive in need. God is intimately involved in the minor details.

As we look toward Christmas, let's remember that peace and hope did not come in a spotlight but in a manger. Not a palace but a stable. And that same peace and hope meet us still, quietly and steadily, even in the small moments that fill our days with God's faithfulness. First5

It slowly dawned on me that biblical time was less like an Advent calendar of countdown and more like an Advent wreath of verdant reprise. Not so much ticking off the days toward an event as a spiral of anticipatory wisdom. We live in what is not yet.

Perhaps the “fullness of time” is less of a line and more a nimbus, a halo. Somehow time and light meet — in the stars, through the cosmos in the words of the Gospel of John, and visible in candles of the wreath….

Diane Butler— from “The Fullness of Time”