Isaiah and the Virgin, and How Prophecy Works
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14
The circumstances that occasioned Isaiah’s famous prophecy about the virgin conceiving and bearing Immanuel are important. Jerusalem was in dire straits. The northern kingdom was joining forces with Syria to subdue and conquer Judah, whereupon the house of David “was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind” (Is 7:2). King Ahaz was sorely afraid of defeat.
This is when Isaiah came to him and promised he need not fear: “Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”
It is at this point that Isaiah says to Ahaz, “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” It’s worth pointing out that what comes next is a sign that is, something by which Ahaz could verify the truth of Isaiah’s promise concerning the thwarting of Judea’s enemies, the matter that was foremost in Ahaz’s mind.
But Ahaz feigns piety by replying, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord,” to which Isaiah responds with a rebuke and the sign: “Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
It bears repeating that this prophecy is a sign. What that means is that it cannot be a rectilinear prophecy, that is, it cannot be only a reference to Jesus, nor was it meant to be. As if to confirm this, Isaiah continues: “ Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings” (Is 7:16).
And soon after this, Isaiah’s wife conceives and bears a son, whom the Lord instructs Isaiah to name Mahershalalhashbaz, which means, “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.” And the Lord explains, “For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.” At this point the original consoling of Judah is repeated: “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Is 8:12-13).
In short, the sign has been given: the prophet’s wife bore a son, and, just as the Lord had said, the confederacy against Judah was broken before he was old enough to speak.
As Isaiah put it, “Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.” The instrument with which the Lord put down the conspirators against Judah was the King of Assyria.
It’s interesting that the people are here called “Immanuel,” a hearkening back to the prophecy of the sign in 7:14, and in fact, as Isaiah continues, he says, “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us” (Is 8:7-10). God is with us is the meaning of Immanuel.
But at this point there comes a warning to Judah: “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken” (Is 8:12-15).
Herein lies the whole point of the events that transpired: the Lord does what he says he will do, and therefore trust only in Him, and do not rely on your own strength. For clearly, even after these events took place as prophesied, there was more to come; and there was more to the prophecy and the sign than first supposed. Being rid of Syria and the northern kingdom was not the end game, for earthly kingdoms all come and go. But something greater is at hand, a kingdom of heaven with a great eternal King, the Lord himself, who shall be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.
And this brings us back to that sign, wherein is embedded this greater thing that was to come to pass. Isaiah’s wife, as everyone knew, was no virgin. The sign never fully came to realization in Isaiah’s day, though in many respects it partly did, leaving the people to expect a greater fulfillment than simply the laying waste of Syria and Ephraim.
And so it was that the sign gave way to its fulfillment when the Virgin Mary conceived and bore the Christ Child, who is quite literally God with us. But of what, then, is this a sign? Simply this, that all the enemies of the Lord shall be stubble under His reign. And in Christ, God is with us, that is, on our side in the battle,. to guarantee for us eternal victory, vindication, and life.