In Isaiah 10:21, the title “Mighty
God” is reserved for God alone. Isaiah 9:6-7
explains that David’s descendant would be
born of a woman, a real physical offshoot
of the Davidic household, yet fully God. A
common theme running throughout the
Old Testament (and the New Testament)
is the eternal reign of King David. In
2 Samuel, God makes His covenant with
King David. The Lord says: “When your
days are complete and you lie down with your
fathers, I will raise up your descendant after
you, who will come forth from you, and I will
establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:12).
Interestingly, the Hebrew word used
here for descendant is z’araka, which is
from the same root as zerah in Isaiah 53:10.
Another gem that the Hebrew reveals is
that this descendant will be “from out of
the bowels” (mi-mecha), meaning a literal
offspring. Verse 13 continues to describe
the eternal kingdom of this descendant, and
verse 14 tells us that the Lord himself says,
“I will be a father to him and he will be a son
to Me.” There were many Davidic kings in
the generations following David’s death;
however, only Jesus lives up to the names
“Everlasting Father” and “Mighty God.”
BY DR. GREGORY HAGG
ISAIAH 7:14
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be
with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
In Isaiah’s day, two enemies were conspiring against Judah: Rezin of Syria and
Pekah of Israel (the northern kingdom). Isaiah comforted the terrified people of
Judah by going to the king with his aptly named son, Shear-jashub (“a remnant
shall return”). God will bring a remnant back to the Land. The terrorists of that day,
who were mere men, would be shattered.
Ahaz was challenged to believe this prophecy. In fact, he was to ask God for a
confirming sign, something really spectacular—as “...deep as Sheol or high as heaven”
(Isaiah 7:11). When he refused, God gave him a sign, even though he had exasperated
the Lord. What is that sign? It is a son named Immanuel, which means “God
with us.” God’s people needed His very presence when surrounded by the enemy. It
was true in Isaiah’s time, and it is true today.
The son will be born to a “virgin” says the prophet. Regardless of how one
interprets the Hebrew word almâh, there would be nothing spectacular about her if she
were impregnated normally. Something supernatural attended this birth.
What child in Isaiah’s day “fulfills” this prophecy? We do not know. Some say the
“young maiden” was Isaiah’s wife, but she already had a child, Shear-jashub, and her
second child was not named Immanuel but Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3). Others
say she was a virgin when the prophecy was given, but she then married and had a child
whose early life is described by Isaiah to show that the Syria-Israel confederacy would be
defeated very soon. Neither view is too remarkable, deep, or high.
It is clear that the supernatural, spectacular component of this birth finds its
fulfillment in the Person of the Messiah, born of a virgin, through the work of the
Holy Spirit, before Mary and Joseph “came together” (Matthew 1:18-25). Whatever
the meaning to Ahaz, which is obscure at best, the meaning to all believers around
the world is that the baby who was named Immanuel was supernaturally conceived.
We have been given a sign. We have been given a Son. We know Him as
Immanuel. God is always with us in the Messiah Yeshua who indwells every
believer and who said “…And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”
(Matthew 28:20).
BY CHARLOTTE MACHADO
ISAIAH 9:6-7
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government
will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of
His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish
it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
In this passage, the prophet Isaiah uses four different names for the coming
Messiah, two of which indicate that this future son of David would be God in
the flesh. Names in the Hebrew Bible often indicate character and these names
(especially when the two verses are taken as one unit) speak to the very nature of the
Davidic king.
What child in that time could live up to the name “eternal Father,” avi-ad,
not to mention “Mighty God,” El-Gibbor? How could an earthly King be “Mighty
God”? Literal readings of the Hebrew reveal that the titles describe the King Himself.
DECEMBER 2017 / THE CHOSEN PEOPLE - 5