Immanuel Every Day

When we hear the word ‘Immanuel’, we probably are quick to think of two words – Jesus and Christmas.  It is at Christmas time that we celebrate Immanuel, that is, God with us in Jesus.  We turn to both Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23 and find two of the most known passages in all of Scripture, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.’

In Isaiah’s situation, Judah found themselves in a very difficult situation.  Both Israel and Syria to the north were trying to get Judah and king Ahaz to form an alliance with them against the world dominating power, Assyria.  So everything is pressing against Ahaz.  He had already been defeated by the neighbouring countries to the north (2 Chron 28:5-8).  If he did not join with Syria and Israel, he was asking for trouble, for invasion and war again.  Yet, if he did join the alliance, he would then have to think about the reaction of Assyria.  I just want to emphasise that this is no small matter – we are looking at war here.

So, Isaiah is sent to Ahaz by God.  He arrives with a request from God.  Yes, a request from God – Ask for a sign!  Ahaz, on his best spiritual behaviour, says ‘I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD.’  But it is God who just said to ask for a sign.  Isaiah says, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyways.  God is going to give you a sign.  Oh, and it is going to be very big.’  A virgin will bear a son, and you will call his name Immanuel.  The name, as we know, means ‘God with us’, in the sense of not with them, but God with us!  For Ahaz and the people of Judah, God is declaring that He was not with Syria and Israel, but rather He was with Judah.

Immanuel was the name of the one most likely born to Isaiah, that is Maher-shalal-hash-baz (see Is 8:3, 8).  And it was also the name given to the second person of the Trinity in flesh – Jesus.  Neither Maher-shalal-hash-baz nor Jesus were called by that name.  It was a prophetic name, it was a ‘sign-post’ name.  Though the name shows up only three times in all of Scripture, twice in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament, the prophetic message rings throughout the centuries.

We are reminded a view times throughout Scripture that ‘on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed’ (Deut 19:15; Matt 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor 13:1, etc).  So here we are – three times in Scripture we get the message that God is in fact Immanuel, that is ‘God with us’.  And so I think we can stand on the truth that God is with us.  But I actually believe God has shown His Immanuel heart throughout the whole of Scripture.  Let’s take just a brief look at a few examples.

Even after the Fall, God shows up in the garden with Adam and Eve ‘walking in the cool of the day’, or more likely, ‘coming in the wind of the day’.  Wait, Adam and Eve had just ruined it for all humanity!  We still see the affects of it today.  This doesn’t fit too well into our theological boxes.  Yet God still comes close and even makes garments to cover their nakedness.  You see Immanuel.  Then there is the angel of the LORD who shows up numerous times throughout the Old Testament.  This angel, this messenger, comes on behalf of, speaks on behalf of and even sometimes seems to be God Himself.  Our thoughts are also drawn to the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night which led the Israelites throughout the wilderness wanderings.  Two of the greatest ‘Immanuel’ declarations in all of the Old Testament were the tabernacle and temple which housed the ark of the covenant in which the weight of God’s glory was to rest.  Are you beginning to get a little bigger glimpse into Immanuel?

We finally turn to the New Testament and in the first chapter we are met with the beautiful fulfilment of Immanuel found in Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.  But let us not forget ‘God with us’ today in the Holy Spirit who has sealed us for redemption and dwells within us that we might be empowered to serve God in our generation.  And finally we come to Revelation 21:1-3, which describes Immanuel in this fascinating way:

‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband.  I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.”’

So, here is the evidence before the court, if there needed to be such a court – God is Immanuel and He has been such from the beginning of history and will be it through all eternity in the restored heaven and earth.  And I suppose that if we were to write all of our testimonies in books about God being with us, they would fill the whole of planet earth (John 21:25)!  I am convinced that I have never known God’s unfaithfulness.  Even through painful experience, trials and tribulations, our intimate God still remains with us.  As Paul says in Romans 8:31 – ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’  So, let us be encouraged to walk in the beautiful truth of knowing that God is with us right now and, yes, He will never leave us or forsake us.