Reading for the Day: Emmanuel

The following prophecy from Isaiah is familiar: "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel". What might not be familiar is the context in which the prophecy was made.

Isaiah made the prophecy to Ahaz, king of Judah. Judah was under threat from two kingdoms and wanted to form an alliance with Assyria. Isaiah was dissuading Ahaz from forming this alliance and to trust in the Lord. And to persuade Ahaz, he asked Ahaz to "Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!" What an offer. 

But Ahaz replied rather diplomatically, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" which might have made Jesus proud in the New Testament but in this context, Isaiah picked up the meaning of what Ahaz was saying. (I don't need God. I only need Assyria) So Isaiah gave him a sign anyway, a sign that is familiar to us.

What I find interesting about this exchange is that the sign Isaiah offered was kinda understated. From offering signs as deep as the nether world to as high as the sky, the sign is that a virgin shall be with child. And the second interesting thing is that the sign does not materialize until around 700+ years later.

But maybe the message was that the God whom Ahaz doesn't think he needs is coming himself. 

References:

http://bibleencyclopedia.com/ahaz.htm

and the annotations of the New American Bible: http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Isaiah&ch=7&v=29007010