Joy is found in knowing that God is always with us.
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“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14 English Standard Version
The context of this verse is rather interesting. God tells King Ahaz of Judah to ask for a sign. Did you get that? God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. The sign can be as high as heaven and as deep as Sheol. His response? “I will not ask and I will not put the Lord to the test.” Sounds rather pious doesn’t it?
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Yet, this is God inviting Ahaz to ask for a sign.
The most telling note of Ahaz character is found in 2 Chronicles 28:1 where it says that he didn’t do what was right in God’s sight and he didn’t follow in his ancestor, David’s, footsteps. In spite of the fact that Ahaz could not ask for a sign because of his faithlessness, God would take the initiative and give a sign. It is a sign of impossible proportions: a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.
Immanuel, God with us. Out of the evil of this world we hear a promise that God would dwell among his people. This God still dwells with us. When Jesus ascended back to the Father he promised to be with us to end of the age. God kept his promise in sending a child who was born of a virgin. God keeps his promise to be with you always, even to the end of the age.
This is a promise that brings joy.
Copyright Douglas P Brauner
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