If you are not firm in FAITH, you will not be firm at all.
Two armies surrounded the city. The king surveyed the situation. His heart sank. He didn’t have the resources to sustain or protect the people. It would only be a matter of time before they met starvation or the edge of a sword. There are moments in our lives that seem just as hopeless. Formidable circumstances present themselves and we find our resources inadequate to meet the need of the hour. How do we respond to these situations? Very often we do whatever we can just to get by. Sometimes we are tempted to do things we would otherwise think inappropriate. People depend on themselves to provide solutions to their problems. What happens when we can’t find a natural solution to the difficulties in life?
Ask a sign of the LORD, your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
Isaiah chapter 7 begins with the scenario of a people who are faced with overwhelming circumstances and very few resources. King Ahaz and his people responded with fear. The LORD sent his prophet to comfort Ahaz and give him confidence that the attackers would not prevail by God’s grace. Ahaz chose not to trust God, however, and refused the comfort that the LORD provided. This is the context in which we find the promise of the miracle of Christmas. This is where God comforts the people with the promise of the virgin birth of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ (Isaiah 7:14).
What does a virgin giving birth have to do with sparing a city from destruction?
The circumstances in our lives always bring our spiritual condition to light. In this case, Jerusalem’s real problem was not the two armies or the lack of resources. Jerusalem had fallen into a state of unbelief. Ahaz, their leader, led them in this unbelief. History and Scripture both testify to the fact that Ahaz needlessly negotiated himself into a relationship with Assyria that would ultimately prove to be oppressive. They would become slaves to the Assyrians. The virgin birth is God’s way of pointing to the solution to Israel’s problem of unbelief. Christmas is the offer of this solution to unbelief for the entire world.
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
Mary responded to the promise of public humiliation, ridicule, and potential loss of her husband with faith. The name Immanuel in Isaiah chapter 7 and the name Jesus in Luke chapter 1 reveal a deeper meaning of Christmas. Immanuel means God with us. Jesus Christ is God and he came to live among us. Believing is the exercise of faith or the acknowledging that God is present and choosing to draw near to him in reverential awe of his eternal person. Having God with you means choosing to humble yourself under the lordship of Christ and choosing to follow his ways regardless of the circumstance. The name Jesus means Yahweh is deliverance. Christmas is a declaration of deliverance. It is the revelation of God’s fulfilled promise. Christmas is the call to draw near to God because he alone can meet our most desperate need. The virgin birth is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith because it is the evidence that God rules over every circumstance. He meets our needs, supernaturally overcoming the natural boundaries that are impossible for us to overcome. He overcomes death and sin through Jesus Christ so we can live with him forever.
Please believe that Jesus is God in flesh supernaturally born to deliver us from the penalty of sin by reconciling us to God the Father.
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