On the Road to Bethlehem #10: Born of a Virgin

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”—Isaiah 7:14

One of the most familiar messianic clues on the road to Bethlehem is His virgin birth—but it is also one of the most controversial clues. Was God’s Messiah really to be born of a virgin? Seeking to understand Jesus’ birth, means understanding the context in which the verse was first given. The nation of Judah was at the precipice of war. Syria and Samaria united together in order to overthrow Judah because Judah refused to be part of an alliance against the quickly approaching and menacing nation of Assyria. The tension in Judah cannot be overestimated, for King Ahaz, the ruler of Judah, embodies all that God “is presently doing to fulfill His promise and all that God will do in the future for the whole world!”—Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Messiah in the Old Testament, p. 159.

Were Judah to be overthrown, Ahaz would be deposed and probably killed, thus ending the rule of David and all but extinguishing any hope of a Messiah to come from the house of David. Everything that God had promised would be lost.

In the midst of this national crisis, God sends Isaiah, along with his son, Shear-Jashub, to go and speak to King Ahaz and assure him that this Syrian-Samarian invasion will not come to pass. As a sign that it will not come to pass, God directs Isaiah to invite Ahaz to ask for a sign, “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven”—Isaiah 7:10. Ahaz refuses to do so, hypocritically citing Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.” Testing God is one thing, but when one is commanded to test by God Himself, then he must test.

Despite Ahaz’s reluctance, God will give a sign—the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and before he is old enough to determine right and wrong, the nations who threaten invasion will be removed. But, some don’t believe that the word should be translated “virgin” rather “young woman.” The Hebrew word, “almah” means “young woman,” or “virgin.” Some maintain that it is only a young woman that is meant in this passage, but that is to miss the greater context. If it were only a young girl giving birth, then how is that an impact as “deep as Sheol or high as heaven”? Secondly, the word usage is not simply “virgin,” but is preceded by the definite article in Hebrew. In other words, Isaiah is prophesying about “the virgin.” There is one specific virgin in mind, which the New Testament attributes to Mary.

God would bring forth this great sign of deliverance by having the virgin give birth to a son, who would be “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” Jesus is the son of the virgin, born to save us from the bondage of sin. God gave His Son for us—you and me. He is the Savior of the world.

God sent His Son for us, so that we might have a relationship with God. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been, God’s great love can permeate even the hardest of hearts and His grace is sufficient to save even the worst of sinners. If this God can place clues to the coming of His Son thousands of years before it actually happened, then there is no detail that He will overlook. He can save us, transform us, and give us life in a greater way than we could ever imagine. May God open wide our hearts to understand the depth of this great love, and may we trust in Him with complete faith and assurance. Amen.