This Day in History: 0000-12-07

December 7 – Isaiah 7:14

All right then, the Lord Himself will give you a 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’).

Probably the most well-known (today) prophesy about the Christ that was fulfilled through the birth of Jesus is the promise that He would be born of a virgin. I suppose it should not have been puzzling to Mary that she was a virgin when Gabriel appeared and told her she had been chosen to mother the Messiah, but prophesy or no, an immaculate conception is hard to wrap one’s head around!

Just as hard to understand is the second part of this prophecy – that the Messiah would be the Immanuel. God Himself came down to us in the person of Jesus Christ and made His dwelling among us! What unimaginable love it would take to make such a massive sacrifice!

Prophecy:
-Messiah would be born of a virgin
-Messiah would be the visible image of the invisible God – Immanuel – God with us.

Fulfillment:

Matthew 1:18-23 – This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit… all of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet: 
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.'”

Luke 1:26-35 – …God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary… 
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High…
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God…”

It occurs to me as I read these wonderful passages that we, so often, don’t understand how God could possibly accomplish the things He’s promised. Though in reality it’s not as miraculous for Him to work our messes into beautiful stories of redemption as it was for Him to cause a virgin to conceive the SON OF GOD, it often feels about the same! We read His promises and doubt His ability to keep them.

But every promise of the Lord proves true, my friends! Just as He did, indeed, miraculously implant the DNA of the Lord God Himself into the human ovum of Mary and cause the literal Son of God to be born of a virgin, He will keep every promise He has made to you! Believe Him.

With all that you are, my friend, believe Him! He is trustworthy, and worthy of all our praise!