SERMON 173: THE VIRGIN BIRTH - THE LORD GAVE A SIGN
Germaine Charles Lockwood and Jay Farber

 The LORD promised to give a sign. Let us begin reading at Isaiah 7:1:

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. . . . Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have taken evil counsel against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabeel” – ‘thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. . . . Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” Isaiah 7:1-12. (N.K.J.B.)

King Ahaz refused to ask for a sign as the LORD had commanded him to do. The Lord had offered to give Ahaz a miraculous sign. Ahaz was an idolater. The LORD had sent Isaiah the prophet to King Ahaz. The LORD spoke to Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah. God had commanded Isaiah to take his son Shear-Jashub with him. Why? Why did God have Isaiah take his son with him? Let us continue to read onward:

Isaiah 7:13, 14: Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? “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 7:13, 14.

King Ahaz was rebuked and rejected for refusing to ask for a sign. The prophet then proclaimed, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign.” The Hebrew word for “to you” is plural, mk, l;. The sign would be given to you all: to the nation of Judah and to the world. The sign would be given by the Lord: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Homer Hailey wrote:

The word behold rouses attention. The prophet is going to announce an unusual birth of a special child who will be the sign to the house of David and of Israel. A Commentary on Isaiah (Religious Supply, Inc., 1992), p.84.

This would be no natural conception of a son, because it would be a sign, a miraculous sign. “The virgin” is in Hebrew, haalmah. It is never used in the Bible for a married woman. In The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon by Benjamin Davidson (Grand Rapids, Zondervans, 1970) p. 601, almah is translated: a maiden, virgin, marriageable but not married. In the Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Bible (New York, Schocken Books, 1975) p. 195, almah is translated: damsel, virgin. When Jewish Hebrew scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek beginning in about 277 B.C., they translated haalma in Isaiah 7:14 with the Greek word, parthenos, which is virgin in English. This is The Septuagint Version. Historically they were in a position to know biblical Hebrew better than any modern critical scholars. Another word that is translated virgin is the Hebrew word bethulah, but we should note that the Hebrew word bethulah is used in Joel 1:8 for a married woman. So Isaiah used the right Hebrew word for the virgin, haalma. 

Since Ahaz had refused to ask for a sign from the LORD, as he had been commanded to do, the LORD would give a sign to you all, to all Judah, and to all the world.

Isaiah 7:14: “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.

 Who is the virgin?

Matthew l:20-23: But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:20-23.

The prophecy that the LORD gave in Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in the conception of Jesus the Messiah when the Holy Spirit came upon the virgin Mary, the power of the Highest overshadowed her, and she bore Jesus the Messiah, giving birth to Him. (Koran 3:47.)

Following Isaiah 7:14, there was a prophecy for King Ahaz., for his time. Isaiah had been commanded to take his son Shear-Jashub along. So Isaiah and his son were with King Ahaz. King Ahaz could look at Shear-Jashub as Isaiah prophesied in:
	
Isaiah 7:15, 16: “Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. “For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. Isaiah 7:15, 16.

So, before the Child Shear-Jashub would come to know to refuse the evil and choose the good, King Rezin and King Pekah would be gone. 

MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE, VOL. IV, ISAIAH TO MALACHI, Fleming H. Revell Co., p. 48: “Before this child (so it should be read), this child which I have now in my arms” (he means not Immanuel, but Shear-Jashub his own son, whom he was ordered to take with him for a sign, v3), “before this child shall know how to refuse the evil and choose the good” (and those who saw what his present stature and forwardness were would easily conjecture how long that would be), “before this child be three or four years older, the land that thou abhorrest, these confederate forces of Israelites and Syrians, which thou hast such an enmity to and standest in such dread of, shall be forsaken of both their kings, both Pekah and Rezin,” who were in so close an alliance that they seemed as if they were the kings but of one kingdom. This was fully accomplished; for, within two or three years after this, Hoshea conspired against Pekah, and slew him (2 Kings xv.30), and, before that, the king of Assyria took Damascus, and slew Rezin, 2 Kings xvi.9. Nay, there was a present event, which happened immediately, and which this child carried the prediction of in his name, which was a pledge and earnest of this further event. Shear-Jashub signifies The remnant shall return, which doubtless points at the wonderful return of those 200,000 captives whom Pekah and Rezin had carried away, who were brought back, not by might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. Read the story, 2 Chronicles xxviii.8-15. The prophetical naming of this child having thus had its accomplishment, no doubt this, which was further added concerning him, should have its accomplishment likewise, that Syria and Israel should be deprived of both their kings. One mercy from God encourages us to hope for another, if it engages us to prepare for another. 

In the Gospel According to Luke, we read about the virgin conception of Messiah Jesus.
Luke was a medical doctor, and probably recorded what Mary had testified to him (Luke 1:1-3).

Luke 1:30-35: Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:30-35.

The virgin who was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 is Mary the mother of Jesus Messiah. He is the Son of God. God foretold through His prophet Isaiah more than 700 years ahead of time that God’s Son would be conceived and born of the virgin. This you need to believe. Your eternal life depends on your faith in Jesus Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus said in:

John 8:21: . . . “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” John 8:21.

John 8:24: “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” John 8:24.

Mark 16:16: Jesus said: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16.

Acts 22:16: ‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 22:16.

Amen!