“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”

Isaiah 7:14

When Ahaz was king of Judah, the northern kingdom of Israel allied itself with Syria against Judah. No doubt this deeply troubled Ahaz and his subjects. But, through Isaiah, God reassured Ahaz, promising doom upon those who would attack Judah. More importantly, however, the Lord also spoke of a sign of his blessing. A virgin would conceive and give birth to a child, whose name would be Immanuel, which means in Hebrew, “God is with us.”

Few passages of Scripture have been the subject of greater scholarly debate than this one. Should the Hebrew word almah be translated as “virgin” or “young woman”? Both are possible in Hebrew. Who is this woman? And who is her son? If this prophecy speaks of the birth of Jesus, how can it be relevant to Ahaz and Judah centuries earlier?

We won’t be able to answer these questions here. But they mustn’t distract us from the main point of this prophecy. God is reassuring the family of David. The center of his encouragement is the truth conveyed in the name of the baby: Immanuel . . . God is with us. God was saying to Ahaz and Judah that in the midst of trying and scary times, he was with them.

And so he is with us, no matter what’s going on in our lives. Through Matthew we know that Jesus is Immanuel, not because this was his given name, but because he demonstrates God’s presence with us. This presence continues after Jesus’ ascension through the gift of the Spirit. As he promised at the end of Matthew, Jesus is with us still. Through his Spirit, he is Immanuel.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you live as if Jesus were really with you through the Spirit? If you truly and fully believed that God was with you today, what difference would this make? What might you dare to do today because of God’s presence and power in your life?

PRAYER: Gracious Lord, I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to sort out the historical and literary challenges of this verse from Isaiah. But I do know that its basic promise is clear: You are with us. Through Jesus, and through the Spirit, you are with us today.

Help me, Lord, really to believe this! And help me to live as if it is true. Give me faith when I doubt. Give me boldness when I’m afraid. Give me patience when I’m rushed. Give me joy when I’m sorrowful. Give me power to do that which you lead me to do today. May I live today, and every day, in the reality of Immanuel. O God, you are with us. You are with me! Amen.