Immanuel

"The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son and she will name him Immanuel," Isaiah 7:14.

God gave that message to Ahaz, king of Judah, more than 700 years before Jesus was born. Through Isaiah the prophet, it served as a sign of God's promise that the king's enemies would disappear. How did it work? A maiden, at that moment yet a virgin, would eventually conceive a child (she likely became the prophet's wife). After giving him birth, but before her boy Immanuel matured enough to choose right over wrong, Ahaz' enemies were gone. The mother and her toddler testified to God's faithfulness. (Fast forward seven centuries). Matthew, a Jew, told that the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in Mary, a virgin, before she had relations with her husband. Matthew said this fully completed what Isaiah had said so long beforehand. God with us.

We meet with a brother or sister today and marvel together at God's patient presence with us through the centuries. And, together, we join God's mighty army in praise for his steadfast love.