By Philippe R. Sterling
The virginal conception of Jesus was one of the signs that confirmed Him as the messianic son of David. God enabled a young Jewish virgin to have a baby in accordance with what He had revealed to the eighth-century BC prophet Isaiah.
The messianic prophecy of Isa 7:13-15 continued the thread of the Gen 3:15 prophecy of the seed of the woman. It was a direct prophecy of the virginal conception of the Messiah. The Messiah would be the seed of the woman.
HISTORICAL SETTING
Crisis and Fear (Isa 7:1-2)
The international and domestic crises of our day cause people to fear. In 734 BC, the threat of attack by enemies caused great fear in the king and people of Judah.
Rezin was king of Syria, whose main city was Damascus. Pekah was king of Israel—also called Ephraim, the name of its leading tribe. Israel’s capital was in Samaria. Rezin and Pekah formed a coalition to attack Judah and its capital, Jerusalem.
Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah, was on the throne of Judah in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 16:1-2; 2 Chron 28:1). He was a wicked king who worshiped false gods and burned some of his children in sacrifice.
News of the impending invasion came to “the house of David.” The danger to the house of David indicates the messianic significance of the passage. The threat terrified Ahaz and his people. He appealed to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, for help. He did not appeal to Yahweh.
MESSAGE TO BELIEVE IN YAHWEH FOR DELIVERANCE (ISA 7:3-9)
Yahweh sent Isaiah to reassure Ahaz concerning the threat. He told Isaiah to take his young son, Shear-Jashub, and meet Ahaz at the aqueduct of the upper pool where he would be preparing for the attack. The presence of Isaiah’s son would be significant.
The reassuring prophetic word to Ahaz was that he need not fear the two burnt-out logs of Rezin and Pekah. They had plotted to conquer Judah and replace Ahaz with the son of Tabel. Had they been successful, it would have put an end to the house of David and the messianic hope.
The Lord assured Ahaz that nothing would come of the plan to replace him and divide his land. Within sixty-five years, Israel would not even exist. Tiglath-Pileser would conquer Israel in 732 BC and send captives back to Assyria (2 Kgs 17:23). Assyria would eliminate the nation altogether in 721 BC, deporting its people to Assyria and repopulating the land with other peoples (2 Kgs 17:24). Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal would continue population transfers so that by 669 BC, sixty-five years after Isaiah’s prophecy, the land of Ephraim would be wholly inhabited by other nationalities (Ezra 4:2, 10).
Yahweh warned Ahaz through Isaiah: “If you will not believe, surely you will not be established.” Two forms of the Hebrew verb ‘aman, “belief or trust,” form a word play in the sentence. The first verb is in the causative form and means “to believe,” or to consider something reliable. The second verb is in the passive form and means “be confirmed” or established. The negative conditional statement may have been a way of encouraging a positive response: If Ahab would believe, Yahweh would keep him safe and secure. It may have also implied that the king would not rely on Yahweh.
OFFER OF—AND REFUSAL TO ASK FOR—A SIGN
The Lord encouraged Ahaz to believe by offering him any sign he desired (Isa 7:10-11). It could come from “either in the depth or in the height above.” That was a way of saying he could ask for any sign, natural or supernatural.
A little over twenty years later, Yahweh gave Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, a supernatural sign: The shadow on Ahaz’s sundial went backward ten degrees as confirmation of a fifteen-year extension of Hezekiah’s life (Isa 38:7-8, 22). In stark contrast to his father, Hezekiah had prayed to Yahweh.
Ahaz cleverly avoided asking for a sign by saying that he would not test Yahweh (Isa 7:12). Deuteronomy 6:16 had instructed God’s people not to test Him. That did not apply here, since Yahweh Himself had offered a sign to elicit belief. Ahaz was an idolater who had already called upon Assyria for aid. If he asked for a sign, he would be relying on Yahweh. If he did not ask, it would be an indication of unbelief. He faked devoutness with his statement.
FAR PROPHETIC SIGN
Syria and Israel wanted to replace Ahaz with the son of Tabel, thereby getting rid of the house of David. Yahweh would not let that happen; He had promised David an eternal house and throne (2 Sam 7:16).
Yahweh, through Isaiah, directly addressed the house of David (Isa 7:13a). There is a change from singular pronouns and verbs to plural ones. Isaiah had used the singular when addressing Ahaz. He now used the plural to address the house of David.
Ahaz had tried God’s patience by refusing a sign, so Yahweh would grant the house of David a sign of His choosing (Isa 7:13b-14a). It would be a miraculous sign.
He promised that a pregnant almah would bear a son (Isa 7:14b). Isaiah foresaw the specific woman (ha-almah).
The Hebrew word almah referred to a young woman who had entered puberty. This would be a young maiden in the purest sense (compare Gen 24:43 concerning Rebekah and Exod 2:8 concerning Miriam). The LXX used the Greek word parthenos (“virgin”) in its translation of almah. Matthew quoted the LXX passage to indicate its fulfillment with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matt 1:23).
That virgin would be with child! It was a miraculous sign. Isaiah foresaw the specific pregnant virgin from the house of David who would bear a son.
The virgin mother would give her son the title Immanuel, which means “God [El] with us [immanu]” (Isa 7:14c). Isaiah identifies the land as belonging to Immanuel (Isa 8:8). Additionally, the child would receive other divine throne names such as “Mighty God” (Isa 9:6). This future king would have a supernatural birth, secure the line of David, and be God with us.
The child would eat “curds and honey” as he grew up. In this passage curds and honey represent the food of oppression (Isa 7:15). The coming Assyrian oppression would leave fields uncultivated and livestock roaming. However, bees would pollinate the flowers and produce honey in abundance, and the livestock would produce milk. The people remaining in the land would therefore have to live on dairy products and honey (Isa 7:21-22). The virgin’s son would be born and grow up during a time of oppression of the Jewish people. The expression “know to refuse the evil and choose the good” means that the son has grown to an age of accountability.
NEAR PROPHETIC SIGN
After giving the house of David the far prophetic sign of the virgin conception of the Child to (Isa 7:16), Isaiah used his own child to give Ahaz a near prophetic sign.
Yahweh had instructed Isaiah to bring Shear-Jashub with him to his encounter with Ahaz. Isaiah pointed to his young son and said, “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.” Isaiah’s son functioned as a sign to the king (see Isa 8:18).
Isaiah was once again addressing Ahaz. He returned to the use of the singular pronoun and verb. Before Shear-Jashub reached an accountable age, Syria and Israel would no longer be a threat. Tiglath-Pileser would defeat them in less than two years.
The Assyrians would also invade Judah (Isa 7:17). They would so ruin the land that people would have to live among briars and thorns and survive on curds and honey (7:18-25).
CONCLUSION
Isaiah’s prophecy of the divine Child’s throne titles (9:1-7) and of His identity as the Root of Jesse (11:1-10) would follow his direct prophecy of the Child’s virgin conception. Micah, Isaiah’s contemporary, would affirm the Child’s pre-existence and foretell His place of birth (Mic 5:2-5).
The far prediction given to the house of David was fulfilled in the virgin conception of Jesus (Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38). Immanuel came just as Isaiah had predicted eight centuries earlier. He came to take away the sin of the world and guarantee everlasting life to all who simply believe in Him for it. He will come again to establish the messianic kingdom.
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Philippe Sterling is the pastor of Vista Ridge Bible Fellowship in Lewisville, TX. He and his wife of 45 years, Brenda, live in Denton, TX, near their daughter, Sarah, son-in-law, Ben, and grandkids.