We come to Isaiah 7, well-known for this verse:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7.14, ESV)

It’s quoted by Matthew:

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1.20 – 23, ESV)

Before I offer a bit of analysis and suggest an application, let me clarify that it’s not my intent to “teach” the prophets this year! I’m not qualified, and it’s way beyond the scope of this blog. We’re just reading through the prophets devotionally, listening as always for God’s word to us today.

The challenge of Isaiah 7 is that its context is an attack on Judah by Israel (“Samaria”) and Syria (“Damascus”).

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… (Isaiah 7.1, ESV)

Isaiah’s message is that those two nations will not succeed:

And say to [Ahaz], ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…thus says the Lord GOD: “ ‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass….and within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. (Isaiah 7.4, 7, 8, ESV)

We’ve read 2 Kings 17! We know the Northern Kingdom (“Israel”, “Ephraim”) is scattered by the Assyrians. And the sign is a baby (verse 14)…

For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7.16, ESV)

The immediate fulfillment of verse 14 could be in the very next chapter:

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” (Isaiah 8.3, 4 , ESV)

But Matthew appropriates the promise and applies it to Jesus. Just as Matthew takes the plain reading of Hosea 11.1…

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

…and applies it to Jesus. When Hosea wrote those words, there could be no doubt he’s talking about Israel and the Exodus. But Matthew suggests the double meaning:

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2.14, 15, ESV)

Let’s do our best this year not to get bogged down in technicalities but to hear the warnings and the messages of hope in the midst of despair. And chapter 7 contains a clear message of hope with a challenge:

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. (Isaiah 7.9, ESV)

We are firm in faith – not in our knowledge, feeling like we have everything figured out!

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11.6, ESV)