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Harvester Podcast - Isaiah 7:14-16 - Two Prophecies or One? (S6E3) · Collierville Radio Network

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Jesus gave his life a ransom number on Calvary.
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On Mount Calvary, cruel Calvary.
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Pave the way by blood that we might win a bright shining crown.
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Praise his last name. Salvation has been brought down,
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O Lory. Praise the Lord's Lord.
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Welcome to the Harvester Podcast.
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We are happy that you have joined us today as we continue our season
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six study entitled Minoring in the Majors,
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The Major Prophets That Is. And this is a follow-up to our season number five,
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which was Majoring in the Minors,
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the Minor Prophets. And so in this season,
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we're gonna have a group of lessons,
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a few from each of the major prophet books of the Bible and the Old Testament.
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And today we're gonna be discussing Isaiah chapter seven,
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verses fourteen through sixteen.
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And I am one of your hosts and with me today is
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George Beals.
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and we're both with the South Florida Avenue Church of Christ in Lakeland,
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Florida, and we both teach at the Florida School of Preaching,
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as does Forrest Animaceres, who is not with us today,
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nor is Stephen Ford ~ with us today.
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But we are continuing this study.
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And the entitle is fulfillments plural,
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fulfillments of Isaiah 7,
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14 through 16. And the reason why we say fulfillments is because it seems
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the best evidence that we look at that there are actually two prophecies in that,
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often confused as just referring to one.
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And Brother Beals, how about enlightening us on some of that background information?
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Well if we take a look at Isaiah seven fourteen to sixteen itself perhaps you
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Yeah, let me go ahead and read that right here.
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And I'll be reading from the New King James Translation,
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verse 14. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign,
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behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
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and shall call his name Emmanuel.
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Curds and honey he shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good,
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The land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings through verse sixteen.
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So if you look at fourteen to fifteen,
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here we have a messianic prediction.
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This is many people have seen this prediction,
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and you notice that it says, Behold,
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the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
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and shall call his name Emmanuel,
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which means God with us. That is a long range prediction,
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ultimately fulfilled in the first century AD,
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given that Isaiah itself is written around
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the ~ eighth century BC.
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So you get about a seven hundred year prediction here,
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~ looking down the corridor of time.
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Whereas in verse sixteen, the verse sixteen says,
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For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good,
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the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
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Now it's interesting to think very carefully about a ~
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the year, the the number of years that it takes for a child to grow,
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that would just be a few years,
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not not seven hundred years. So it immediately as you think this through,
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there appears to be a looking down the corridor of time for centuries
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for the fulfillment. Yet also in verse 16,
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something that is going to be fulfilled within the
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few years that it would take a child to grow into adulthood.
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So right there we're seeing an indication that there are two predictions here,
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not one.
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And I want to point out here, and I don't know the right place to point it out,
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so I'm just gonna point out right here,
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that the importance of this study today cannot be underestimated.
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Because it was I don't know, a few years ago when I first heard this
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as George presented it to the congregation here,
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and a bunch of light bulbs went off about wow,
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because that best explains all the all the potential problems if you view this
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as one prophecy.
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And I just ha have to say we have a I know a preacher,
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in fact he's one of our graduates several years ago.
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He actually doubted the scripture and he he quit preaching.
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He ~ he just went off into apostasy because of misunderstanding of this verse.
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He thought there's no way that this can happen within the lifetime of those
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~ that Isaiah's speaking to. In other words,
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this virgin shall conceive he thought must happen within their their lifetime
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in the s in the seven hundreds BC and he saw that as a contradiction when
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you put verse fifteen and sixteen there as referring to Christ and so
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he doubted the integrity of that prophecy and thus the integrity of the whole Bible.
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So this is very important that we study this and pay careful attention
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to what's going on here.
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Well, another thing that adds fuel to that fire is that some editions that follow
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the old King James, for example,
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the new King James in verse sixteen has for before the child shall no,
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the word child is capitalized.
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that's true with another English translation that
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emerges out of the old King James.
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that's suggesting then that verse sixteen is a referen also a reference
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to the Messiah seven hundred years down the road.
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So in other words, th this would lead the reader to think that
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in verses fourteen through sixteen of chapter seven of the book of Isaiah,
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there is just one prediction. All three verses are talking about the same long range
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prediction.
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and that does run into a problem because again in verse sixteen it says,
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For before the child and understand that child is not capitalized in the original,
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of course, for before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good,
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the land that you dread will be forsaken.
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That just seems i at the outset at a different a different topic
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and is something that's gonna be short range.
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Yeah, and as we know the the tr you know,
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it's up to the discretion of the translators whether words are capitalized or not.
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in the Hebrew text I don't know that they indicate that.
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And of course I'm looking at the n New American standard here which says,
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Before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and good.
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Boy is not capitalized. Right.
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So many English translations do not capitalize that child or boy in verse sixteen.
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However ~ two or three do, and that lends ~ confusion to the matter as well.
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Yeah, and it ~ again it just shows the influence again of the of the King James
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the old King James Bible and some of the other translations,
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which is, you know, for the most part a good influence and so I'm not
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it is not dogging that, but I'm just saying that sometimes we think that that's
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that's the gospel, you know.
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So maybe we can proceed then, having raised that question,
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and maybe that can be a kind of a tantalizing question for our audience
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to keep in mind as we go through.
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And let's see if we can establish that in fact in verses fourteen
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to fifteen in Isaiah seven, we do have one long-range prediction,
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but in verse sixteen, they're talking about a different prediction altogether
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fulfilled at the time that Isaiah wrote.
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So if I could just give a brief outline of what's coming in this brief presentation.
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Yes. ~ first of all just talk about messianic prophecy in general,
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a few words about that. When we say messianic prophecy,
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we're talking about the prediction of the Messiah found in
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the old testament scriptures in many passages,
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one of which is here in Isaiah chapter seven.
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And then we'll take a look at Isaiah 7,
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verse 14 in particular, which is referenced in the New Testament scriptures
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at Matthew 1, 22 to 23. Thirdly,
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we'll look at the Old Testament context of Isaiah 7,
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14 to 15. And then we'll talk about this long-term prediction
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and then short-term prediction.
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And that should pretty much summarize where we're going,
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So on messianic prophecy in general,
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it's helpful I think to point out some of the what I would consider to
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be the best helps that ~ are available in print on this.
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And he's gonna read these sources off because we want you to have them.
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But if you're driving in your car or something,
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don't feel like you have to write,
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write them down, just email us at the Florida School of Preaching,
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FSOP at FSOP dot net and we'd be happy to send you ~ these sources.
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Okay, so I I'll give you four sources that ~ folks may want to have
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in their library on messianic prophecy in general.
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One is an older work, this is published between eighteen fifty-four
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to eighteen fifty-eight, but oftentimes referred to when people study messianic
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prophecy, sometimes viewed as the go-to work on the subject.
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And this is by Ernest Wilhelm Hengstenberg,
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titled
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Christology of the Old Testament and a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions,
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Volumes 1 through 4. And the first English translation of that was translated
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out of the German. And those volumes are again dated 1854 to 1858.
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These, as I understand it, are still available.
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If somebody wants to get the English translations.
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A second work is by Michael Rodelnik and Edwin.
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Bloom, B. L. U. ~ titled The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy,
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published recently, 2019.
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And now I'm not necessarily endorsing every word that is that is said
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in any of these publications. I'm just saying that I would hope that all
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of us would be independent thinkers,
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1 Thessalonians 5 twenty one.
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Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.
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All of us had the responsibility to be independent thinkers,
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but again, these works do provide some helps.
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A third publication is by James E.
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Smith, titled The Promised Messiah,
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and that is a 1993 publication.
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And also helpful is a multi-volume set by Michael J.
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Brown.
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titled Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus,
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volumes one through four, and these are published from two thousand
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to two thousand fifteen. So those four works,
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if you really want to get down into a lot of detail and have a fine library
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as background, I would consider that you
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Now are the are the brown works?
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Are those like little journal type
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No, I think these are these would be extensive works.
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And what he does here is many Jewish people do not consider Jesus
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to be the fulfillment of the messianic predictions in the Old Testament scriptures.
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as you look at the various Old Testament predictions such as seven
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Isaiah seven, fourteen to fifteen and others,
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Psalm twenty-two, Isaiah fifty-three,
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etcetera, Genesis for forty-nine,
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ten and others. Genesis three,
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fifteen, for example, there are quite a few.
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Micah five, one to two. If you look at these,
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i it sure looks like these are predicting the Messiah,
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and then you look at the documentation of Jesus of Nazareth in
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the New Testament scriptures, there's a match there.
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Well
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If you're not going to accept that,
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of course, you're gonna try to have some objections and there
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are these Jewish objections then to these claimed predictions
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and fulfillments in Jesus. And he tabulates these and has an he'll articulate
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the objection, ~ document it for you and then give you some replies.
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So it's a helpful work.
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That's something that looks like a if I'd if I had free time,
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I'd just study that on my own.
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for sure. That would be I mean that itself would be a wonderful series
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of a series of podcasts. So another insight that
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is helpful when studying messianic prophecy is a discovery by David L.
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Cooper, namely that Matthew chapter two in the New Testament scriptures identifies
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four kinds of fulfillments of
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Old Testament scriptures predictions.
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And he does this in his 1958 book titled Messiah,
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His Historical Appearance. it's a wonderful discovery.
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If you look at Matthew chapter two in particular,
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you'll see that you do have different kinds of fulfillment.
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so in the Old Testament scriptures there are predictions of the Messiah to come.
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And then in the New Testament scriptures there are different kinds of fulfillment.
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One of them is found in Matthew chapter two verses five to six,
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which records the fulfillment of Micah ~ chapter five verse two,
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and this can be called a direct fulfillment.
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Let just read that in Matthew chapter two verses five through six,
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and this is when Herod the King,
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you know, gathered all his chief priests and scribes to inquire who where Christ
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was to be born. And so I quote from verse five,
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and they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea,
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for thus it is written by the prophet,
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but you, Bethlehem and the land of Judah are among the least are the least among
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the rulers of Judah.
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For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel,
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end quote.
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Right. So there's a reference to an Old Testament prediction.
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Now where is that? Well, it's it's found in Micah chapter five,
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verse two, written centuries before Matthew,
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we find that according to Matthew two verses five to six,
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Jesus is a direct fulfillment of the direct words that are given there
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in Micah chapter five verse two.
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And then we have a second kind of ~ fulfillment,
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a little different.
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And this is in Matthew two verses fourteen to fifteen.
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And this is where the text says and he arose,
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but this is where the angel had told Joseph to go flee into Egypt because
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of what Herod was doing killing all the babies.
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And so verse fourteen, when he arose he took the young child and his mother
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by night and departed for Egypt,
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and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled,
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which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets,
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saying, Out of Egypt I called my son.
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Now this is a different kind of prediction fulfillment than than was
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the case in Matthew two, five to six.
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In that passage you have the Messiah being born,
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predicted that he would be born in a town called Bethlehem,
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and then sure enough Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem,
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in Matthew two, five to six. So that we call a direct
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prediction fulfillment. But here in Matthew two,
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fourteen to fifteen, that is traceable back to Hosea chapter eleven,
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verse one. But this is what we would call a typical,
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that is a type anti-type fulfillment,
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not a direct fulfillment. And then thirdly we have Matthew two,
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sixteen to eighteen, which records a a different kind of fulf prediction fulfillment
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altogether.
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And that reads in verse sixteen Then Herod,
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when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men,
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was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all
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the male children which were in Bethlehem and all its districts,
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from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from
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the wise men. Then was fulfilled that what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
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saying
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A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation weeping in great mourning,
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Rachel weeping for her children,
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refusing to be comforted because they are no more.
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So here we have even a different kind of fulfillment.
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Then it's not direct, it's not ~ type antitype,
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but w maybe we could call it applicational as it's sometimes called.
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That is to say, it's a commonality of circumstances.
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So there was weeping due to the captivity referenced in Jeremiah thirty
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one verse fifteen, where mothers their
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their children were taken off taken off into captivity,
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resulting in their weeping. And then you have the weeping also circumstances
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in the case of Jesus. And so there is that commonality,
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a different kind of fulfillment,
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maybe calling it again a situational or a common situational or an applicational.
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And then fourthly and lastly we have a still another kind of prediction fulfillment.
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reflected in Matthew two verses nineteen through twenty three.
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And that reads Now when Herod was dead,
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behold an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
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saying, Arise, take the young child and his mother,
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and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are dead.
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Then he arose, took the young child and his mother,
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and came into the land of Israel.
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But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead
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of his father Herod,
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He was afraid to go there, and being warned by God in a dream,
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he turned aside into the region of Galilee,
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and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth,
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that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets,
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he shall be called a Nazarene.
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So now we look into the Old Testament scriptures and looking for the expression,
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he, that is the Messiah, will be called a Nazarene,
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you are not going to find those words in the Old Testament scriptures.
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So what kind of a fulfillment or prediction is this?
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Is this a creative idea that Matthew is retrojecting back into
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the Old Testament scriptures, as the critics might say?
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No. ~ what we have here rather is
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a different kind of fulfillment,
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prediction fulfillment. That is to say,
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you'll have to find several passages and there I notice that in Matthew two,
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you've got the plural there. it says prophets
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Profits.
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in the plural. So if you understand what's happening here,
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you'll see that there's no problem and again it's an amazing thing
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how this is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
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And that is that
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being from Nazareth is a term of derision.
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And so then the Messiah is is will be born in a place that lends itself
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to his being derided by people.
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what good can come out of Nazareth,
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so to speak. And you have several of those kinds of derisive predictions about
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the Messiah in several Old Testament passages.
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on the lowliness of the Messiah to come.
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Which again shows that God uses the seemingly and apparently weaker
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and beggarly elements to accomplish his great victory.
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Right, and that and this would be an instance of it in the case of ~ of Jesus.
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So as the fulfillment of the ~ of the Messiah predictions.
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Now there's more that we can say by way of background,
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but ~ we perhaps we can do that at another time.
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there's much more that we can say,
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but I would like for us now to try to proceed into the details
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of Isaiah chapter seven, and notice what we have here in verses fourteen through
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sixteen. Two predictions, not one.
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And so maybe we can just proceed into this.
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in Isaiah chapter seven verse fourteen,
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maybe Brian can read that and and put a thumb also on Matthew one,
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twenty-two to twenty-three as the fulfillment of it.
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So Isaiah seven, maybe read verses fourteen to fifteen,
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and then follow that by the documentation about Jesus of Nazareth seven hundred
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years down.
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The road in Matthew one twenty two twenty three.
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Okay, seven fourteen. Isaiah seven fourteen.
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Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign,
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behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
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and shall call his name Emmanuel.
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And then when we read that in Matthew chapter one,
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verses twenty-three, ~ of course this is you know the birth of Jesus,
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verse eighteen begins.
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two to twenty three.
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Twenty-two to twenty-three. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled
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which were spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying,
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Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
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and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
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which is translated God with us.
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So we have a virgin giving birth to the Messiah.
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Now this is something that of course would be miraculous or is miraculous,
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if you believe it, I do believe it.
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I believe there's evidence for it.
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And what we have here then is perhaps the most challenging,
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messianic prediction, the Bible teaching that the Messiah will be born of a virgin.
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That is the first messianic prediction that we could look at in a series
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of studies on messianic predictions would be this one.
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Isaiah 7 14 fulfilled in Matthew 1 22-23.
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I should say the documentation of its fulfillment is found in Matthew 1 22 to 23.
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So given the four kinds of fulfillment that are seen in Matthew 2,
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this sounds like direct fulfillment.
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It's not a typological fulfillment.
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As some claim. Luke also ~ documents this,
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if I may just read this over in Luke 1,
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34 to 35. Luke's account says,
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Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be,
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since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her,
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The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
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and the power of the highest will overshadow you.
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Therefore also that holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
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in the Old Testament context of this prediction,
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to see the full import of it, let's notice the wider context.
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If we were to study this and had more time,
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~ and of course the audio the audience could do this on their own,
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they could read 2 Kings chapter 15,
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verse 37, 2nd Kings 16,
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5 to 9, 2 Chronicles 28,
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verses 5 to 21.
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And then the Emmanuel section of the book of Isaiah,
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which is found in Isaiah's chapter seven,
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verse one, all the way over to chapter twelve,
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verse six. And that of course includes then chapter seven,
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our chapter. and then also we could read about the Assyrian invasion
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in chapter eight of the book of Isaiah,
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the child referenced in chapter nine,
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the Davidic, that is the shoot of David from a stump.
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in chapter 11. So ~ that would be the greater context
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of Isaiah 7.14 to 15,
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but the immediate context of Isaiah 14 is verses 14 through 16.
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So summarizing then the wider context of Isaiah 7 verse 14,
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the situation surrounding Isaiah 714 is taking place during the
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period of the divided kingdom in in Israelite history.
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The northern ten tribes are also known as Israel in the Old Testament scriptures,
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Ephraim, Samaria, and the southern two tribes are known also
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as ~ Judah or the house of David or Jerusalem,
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that would be ~ the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
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So there were three writing prophets for the southern kingdom during this time,
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namely Isaiah
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Micah and Hosea. And again,
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due to time constraints, we're not going to have a lot of time just to
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put to read all this background material.
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Again, that would be a wonderful study.
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But what let's just look at Isaiah 7 verses 1 through 16.
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Okay, that reads in verse one,
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Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz,
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the son of Jotham, the son of Azia,
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King of Judah, that Rezin, King of Syria,
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and Pikah the son of Remaliah,
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King of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it,
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but could not prevail against it.
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And it was told to the house of David saying,
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Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim,
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so his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of
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the woods are moved with the wind.
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Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz,
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you and Sheri Jashab, your son,
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at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool,
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on the highway to the Fuller's field,
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and say to him, Take heed and be quiet,
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do not fear, or be faint hearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands,
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for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remeliah.
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Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you,
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saying, Let us go up against Judah and trouble it,
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and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves,
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and set a king over them, the son of Tabel.
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Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand,
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nor shall it come to pass. Verse eight For the head of Syria is Damascus,
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and the head of Damascus is resin.
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Within sixty five years Ephraim will be broken,
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So that it will not be a people.
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The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
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and the head of Samaria is Remeliah's son.
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If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.
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Verse ten. Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz,
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saying, Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God,
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ask it either in the depth or in the height above.
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But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
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nor will I test the Lord. Then he said,
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Hear now, O house of David.
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Is it a small thing for you to weary men?
25:59
But will you weary ~ my God also?
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Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
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Behold the virgin sh shall conceive and bear a son,
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and shall call his name Emmanuel.
26:11
Curds and honey he shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good, for before the child shall know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
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The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people
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and your father's house, days that have not come since that
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day that Ephraim departed from Judah.
26:38
So here we have a wider context that we're looking at entire chapter seven
26:44
of Isaiah. Again, to get a still wider context,
26:48
you'd want to look at other those other passages.
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But in this chapter we are seeing that Assyria is a rising world power.
26:56
And the date of Isaiah 714 is considered to be about 734 BC.
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That's based upon Edwin R.
27:07
Thiel's work, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings,
27:10
is more that we can say about chronology.
27:12
But so we're talking 8th century BC,
27:15
and Assyria is a rising world power.
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Furthermore, the king of Syria,
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whose name is Rezin, and the king of Israel,
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that would be the northern ten tribes,
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whose name is Pikah,
27:28
The two of them formed an alliance against Assyria.
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so the Assyrian nation was being a threat.
27:36
The two kings also want the king of Judah,
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that would be Ahaz, who is in the line of David,
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to join their anti Syra Assyria alliance.
27:47
But when Ahaz refuses in chapter seven of verses one to six,
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two key
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Two related problems arise. Number one,
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the two kings went up to make war against him.
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And secondly, they wanted to replace him with a puppet king named Tabel.
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These two related problems,
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I believe, are key to understanding what's happening in verses 14 through 16.
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And of course God did not want them to make alliances with nations,
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he wanted them to trust in him.
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That's right.
28:22
Go ahead. That's right. And so let's look at these two problems.
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One, the two kings went up to make war against the against Haz Ahaz was
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who was the king of the southern tribes.
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This is a short term problem. The imminent destruction of the kingdom of Judah.
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Secondly, the two kings went up to replace Ahaz with a puppet king named Tabel.
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This is a long term problem.
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The destruction of the Davidic dynasty that leads to the future Messiah.
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This line from David to Messiah has already been predicted in
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the Old Testament scriptures prior to Isaiah 7,
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that's over in 2 Samuel 7 13 to 14,
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and many passages that show that that the Messiah will be of the line of David.
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So God tells Isaiah in with that.
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Background, God tells Isaiah in chapter seven verse three of the book of Isaiah,
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Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and shear Jashub,
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your son.
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That I think is key in this context.
29:30
That's
29:30
going to be very important. Note that Shia Joshua then in Hebrew means
29:35
a remnant shall return. Through Isaiah,
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God says to Ahaz, Ask for a sign for yourself and from Jehovah your God.
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Ask it either in the depth or in the height above.
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Chapter 7, verse 11 of Isaiah.
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Ahaz disobeys, saying, I will not ask,
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followed by what appears to be his hypocritical statement.
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In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 12.
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Note that the virgin birth of Jesus as the fulfillment of this implies that
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God performed a miracle and implies that God is confirming that event.
30:10
And therefore, as you might expect,
30:13
there are different explanations of Isaiah 7 14.
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There are those who accept that it predicts the virgin birth of Jesus.
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There are those today who reject that it predicts the virgin birth of Jesus,
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like some Jews do.
30:28
There are those who reject the very possibility of anything miraculous,
30:32
the naturalistic critics today of the Bible.
30:35
There are four basic interpretations that have emerged
30:39
re regarding Isaiah 7:14 through 16.
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Let me just summarize these quickly.
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Number one, ~ that ~ the this one interpretation focuses
30:52
on Isaiah 7:14.
30:54
It says that the verse contains only one prediction and its
30:57
one fulfillment takes place in Isaiah's own day.
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Secondly, second focuses on Isaiah 7.14.
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It says the verse contains only one prediction,
31:08
and its one fulfillment is a direct fulfillment that takes place at the time
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of the future Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth,
31:16
700 years down the road. A third focuses on Isaiah 7.14 again.
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This says that the verse contains only one prediction,
31:25
but has two fulfillments, one during Isaiah's own day,
31:30
and the other at the time of the future Messiah,
31:32
Jesus Christ. And this second fulfillment,
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perhaps being a typological fulfillment.
31:38
This is the so-called dual fulfillment of of ~ of the one prediction
31:43
in Isaiah seven chapter seven fourteen.
31:45
And then there is the
31:47
Explanation of Isaiah 7.14 to 16 that focuses on those three verses.
31:54
This claims to be a corrective of the above views.
31:58
It says that some people are missing the fact that there are in fact
32:02
two predictions and two fulfillments,
32:05
two separate predictions and two corresponding separate fulfillments
32:10
in the context of Isaiah 7.
32:12
14 through 16. Namely, verses 14 to 15 contains
32:17
one long-term prediction that the birth of Jesus of Nazareth directly fulfills,
32:22
directly, not typologically, but directly fulfills.
32:26
And 7.16 contains a short-term prediction fulfilled in Isaiah's own day.
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This is the explanation of the passage Isaiah 7:14 to 16,
32:37
I believe makes sense. So
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Let's ~ each of us follow then as we proceed.
32:44
First Thessalonians five twenty one,
32:46
prove all things, hold fast to that which is good.
32:49
I accept the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah.
32:52
Again, it appears to me that the true prophecies explanation best fits
32:58
the biblical texts. That is Isaiah seven fourteen to sixteen contains
33:04
two independent predictions, not one.
33:07
A short-term prediction fulfilled in Isaiah's day,
33:11
and a long-term prediction fulfilled centuries later in the first century A.D.
33:16
by the virgin birth of Jesus. Now let's explain and expand upon this.
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This takes us to the immediate context then of Isaiah and in particular verses
33:27
14 through 16. Read again, if you would,
33:30
Brian, Isaiah 7, 14 to 16.
33:34
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign Behold the virgin shall conceive
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and bear a son, and shall call his name Emanuel.
33:44
Curds and honey he shall eat that he may know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good, for before the child shall know to refuse the evil
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and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
33:57
So in verse sixteen in the New King James we have the word beginning that
34:02
the verse verse sixteen begins with the word for F O R.
34:06
That would lead you to suspect that ~ verse sixteen is talking about
34:11
the same subject as verses fourteen to fifteen.
34:14
But as ~ he some Hebrew scholars point out,
34:17
rather the word for, as some translations would have it,
34:21
should be translated but which would indicate a contrast with
34:25
Between ~ verse sixteen and what was said in verses thirteen to fourteen.
34:30
Furthermore, in the New King James,
34:32
for example, the word child in Isaiah 7,
34:35
verse 16 is uppercase, added by those translators.
34:41
And this would suggest also that this is a reference in verse 16 to
34:45
the Messiah 700 years down the road.
34:48
It says, for before the child.
34:51
Capital C shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
34:55
The land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
35:00
But the child being capitalized is not true in many other English translations.
35:05
Furthermore, it says the land that you dread will
35:11
be forsaken by both her kings in Isaiah 716.
35:15
The word you there is in the singular.
35:19
Which would be a reference then to Ahaz.
35:22
So there is a problem with taking child in verse 16 to be the Messiah.
35:27
The time it takes for the very young for very young children to reach
35:32
an age where they know good from evil is just a few years,
35:36
not the 700 years between Isaiah's time and the time of Jesus.
35:41
It has been observed, for example,
35:44
by Michael Rodelnik, quote.
35:47
The most difficulty in interpreting the prophecy is that from a cursory reading
35:53
it appears that the sign would be fulfilled within just a couple
35:57
of years of Isaiah's meeting the king and not more than seven hundred years later
36:02
with the birth of Jesus. Rodelnock proposes The reason
36:09
for this difficulty is the failure to read the prophecy carefully and pick
36:14
up on the clues
36:15
The author has left. A close reading of I of the text,
36:20
that is Isaiah seven, fourteen to sixteen,
36:22
will disclose that there is not one prophecy here,
36:26
but two, unquote. Robert I.
36:29
Vashels makes a similar observation.
36:32
He says, quote, Isaiah makes two predictions,
36:36
a long range prophecy in Isaiah 7,
36:38
14 to 15, that Matthew reports is fulfilled.
36:43
And a short range prophecy in Isaiah seven sixteen for his audience to witness.
36:50
Furthermore, Arthur Arnold G Fruchtenbaum puts
36:56
it like this In verses fourteen to fifteen,
37:00
God is promising that the house of David cannot be deposed or lose
37:05
its identity until the birth of a virgin born son.
37:09
This requires that Messiah be born of God.
37:13
prior to the destruction of the temple and its genealogical records in AD seventy.
37:18
He continues, the second sign in Isaiah seven sixteen,
37:25
is given to Ahaz personally. God promises that the attack upon him
37:31
by Israel in Syria will not succeed.
37:34
And before Isaiah's son, Sheer Joshub,
37:38
reaches an age of moral maturity,
37:41
the two enemies
37:42
Enemy kings will cease to exist,
37:44
unquote. Or we might say better from verse sixteen,
37:48
the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings,
37:52
unquote. So the two prophecies in Isaiah seven fourteen to sixteen.
37:58
One, the long term prediction addressed to the house of David in seven fourteen
38:04
to fifteen, God will preserve the Davidic line to Christ,
38:08
which culminates in Jesus seven hundred years later.
38:12
And subsequent passages confirm this.
38:14
You might want to look on your own at Isaiah 9,
38:17
6 to 7, Isaiah 11, 1 to 10,
38:20
Micah 5, verse 3, and then in the New Testament ~ affirmation,
38:26
Matthew chapter 1, verse 23. number 2,
38:29
the short-term prediction addressed to Ahaz in the singular,
38:34
Isaiah 7:16. God will anoint will not allow the two kings to destroy Judah.
38:41
They will be defeated by the in fact by the Assyrians.
38:44
So the long term prediction, Isaiah seven,
38:47
fourteen to fifteen, maybe read that once again,
38:50
verse fourteen.
38:52
Therefore the Lord himself will show give you a sign,
38:56
behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
38:59
and shall call his name Emanuel.
39:03
So ~ and then also verse fifteen if you could.
39:06
Curds and honey he shall eat, that he may know to refuse the evil
39:10
and choose the good.
39:11
So the word you in verse 14 of Isaiah 7,
39:15
unlike the word you in verse 16,
39:17
which is singular, in the Hebrew the word you in verse 14 of Isaiah 17,
39:23
here Isaiah switches to the plural.
39:26
So verse 14 is addressed not to Ahazaron,
39:30
but to the house of David. And then the word sign in verse
39:35
14 of Isaiah 7, this can mean a miracle.
39:39
What fits better in the context?
39:41
Well, if you look at verse eleven and and and look at this further,
39:44
~ there's ~ indication here that the sign is a reference to a miracle.
39:50
And then the expression the virgin.
39:54
So ~ the use of the article with the word ~ translated virgin,
39:59
which is the Hebrew word alma,
40:01
indicates that the Lord has a specific woman in mind,
40:05
the virgin, so a definite virgin.
40:09
And then, furthermore, that word translated virgin again is the word alma
40:14
in the Hebrew. This is either used of a virgin in the Old Testament scriptures
40:19
or is indeterminable, you can't tell if it's a virgin or not.
40:22
E. J. Young in his commentary on Isaiah,
40:25
says, quote, at the outset, we may confidently assert that the word alma
40:31
is never employed of a married woman.
40:33
At least one of these occurrences makes it clear that the word may designate
40:38
one who is truly a virgin. Genesis 24,
40:42
verse 43, unquote. Furthermore,
40:44
the Greek translation, the well-known Greek translation often used,
40:48
called the Septuagint, uses pathanos,
40:52
that is the Greek translation of Isaiah seven fourteen uses instead of
40:58
al ~ to translate the Hebrew word alma.
41:01
uses the word pathenos, and Matthew one verse twenty three understands
41:07
the word to mean a virgin. Matthew had been with Jesus.
41:10
he was a tax collector. He could read and write.
41:14
he could do math. He knows the difference between singular and plural,
41:17
etcetera, etc. So there's more to say on this,
41:20
but that is I think significant to understand that the word used
41:26
in Isaiah seven fourteen, Alma,
41:28
at least can be used sometimes in reference to a virgin.
41:32
And in that context, that's consistent with with the translation of
41:37
it in the Septuagint and in Matthew's account,
41:41
when he looks back upon it, he uses the word meaning virgin.
41:45
So next we look at the word son.
41:48
It says in Isaiah 714, once again,
41:51
therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign
41:55
Take that as a as a miracle. Behold,
41:58
the virgin, Alma Pathenos in the Greek,
42:01
~ shall conceive and bear a son.
42:04
And ~ the word son in the Old Testament scriptures,
42:09
in predictions about the Messiah,
42:10
sometimes ~ that is in reference to the Messiah.
42:14
You may look at it on your own.
42:15
Isaiah 9, 67, Micah chapter 5,
42:19
verse 3, the word son in reference to the prediction of the Messiah.
42:23
And
42:25
The also in it says in Isaiah 7,
42:29
14 to 15, and shall call his name Emmanuel.
42:34
And then verse 15, curds and honey he shall eat.
42:39
Now let's talk about those two expressions.
42:41
Shall call his name Emmanuel. This means God with us.
42:45
Compare that with Isaiah 9, verse 6,
42:49
which is messianic and uses terms of deity for Christ.
42:54
That says wonderful counsel.
42:56
Yeah, let me just read that for unto us a child is born,
42:59
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders,
43:04
and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
43:07
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
43:10
Prince of Peace.
43:12
So notice how that's consistent with what Isaiah seven fourteen to fifteen,
43:16
verse fourteen, shall call his name Emmanuel,
43:19
God with us. Compare that with mighty God predicted in Isaiah 9 6.
43:24
Furthermore, this expression in Isaiah 7,
43:28
verse 15, curds and honey he shall eat.
43:31
Well, the situation in which he will be born and grow grow up,
43:36
~ I believe is is what's referenced here.
43:39
This term is later used to indicate the food of of oppression in the book
43:44
of Isaiah at chapter 21, verse 20 to 22.
43:48
so the Messiah will be born when a foreign power will be oppressing
43:54
the people of Judah. That's consistent,
43:56
of course, with the idea of the Romans.
43:58
Jesus was born in the land of Israel.
44:01
at that time it was a these were provincial provinces and the leading world power
44:06
of the time were the Romans and they were oppressed and that's consistent with when
44:10
the it's saying then that that the Messiah would be born at a time when he'll
44:15
be eating curds and honey. Again,
44:17
Isaiah seven, twenty one to twenty two,
44:20
a term that indicates the food of oppression.
44:23
And then in verse 16 now in of Isaiah 7,
44:27
a reading from the New King James,
44:30
4 before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
44:36
Now here we have a switch, I believe.
44:40
In verse 16, the New King James,
44:43
for example, in some translations will have four,
44:46
but instead of four F-O-R at the beginning of this verse,
44:50
some versions have but
44:53
But before to indicate a contrast,
44:56
Vols Vesals agrees saying Isaiah makes a transition in Isaiah seven hundred
45:03
sixteen from the triumph of in the future house of David in seven hundred fourteen
45:09
back to his contemporary situation in verse sixteen.
45:13
And again the word child there with initial additional ca with
45:18
the initial capitalization.
45:21
~ is ~ I I believe is misleading.
45:24
A rather lowercase child, C-H-I-L-D,
45:28
as many versions, English versions put it.
45:31
And a lowercase is consistent with a contrast.
45:34
Rodelnach continues, there is a different child in view in this verse than
45:40
the son referenced in the preceding verse.
45:42
Rodelnach argues that it makes most sense to identify the lad referenced
45:48
in verse 16 as
45:50
Sheer Jashub, Isis Isaiah's son.
45:53
Otherwise there would be no purpose for God directing Isaiah to bring
45:58
the boy back in verse three. Edward Hinson suggests that Isaiah
46:05
in fact was holding his young son when he wrote when he was re when he
46:10
was ~ writing this. and this is consistent with thee in the child,
46:16
that is the particular child I am holding.
46:18
That's somewhat speculative, but again it looks like what we have
46:22
in verse sixteen is a reference to Isaiah's son and not Isaiah's child,
46:28
and and that that's the reference in verse sixteen,
46:32
different than the son, which is a reference way down hundreds of years later
46:37
of the Messiah. Furthermore, the word you,
46:40
as we've indicated in verse sixteen,
46:42
the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings,
46:47
and
46:47
This is singular, not plural, like the U was in verse ~ verses fourteen
46:52
to fifteen context. So in verse sixteen,
46:55
Isaiah has switched back to addressing Ahaz and the immediate problem,
47:00
and not the house of David in verses fourteen to fifteen,
47:03
which addresses the long-term problem.
47:07
And so then, quote, before Sh ~ Shir Jasub would be able
47:12
to discern good from evil, the Northern Confederacy attacking Judah.
47:17
would fail. Within two years, in fact,
47:20
Tiglath Peleza defeated both Israel and Syria.
47:24
The short term prediction then and its fulfillment experienced gives confidence that
47:30
God will fulfill the long term prediction about the coming Messiah as well,
47:35
way downstream. So Isaiah 7 14 then,
47:40
therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign,
47:44
behold
47:45
The virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
47:47
and he shall call his n his name Emmanuel corresponds in fulfillment with
47:53
the long term prediction that Matthew is talking about in Matthew one twenty
47:58
two to twenty-three. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which
48:04
by which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
48:07
saying, Therefore, behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
48:12
and shall call his name.
48:15
Emmanuel, which is translated,
48:17
God with us. And so that we have this long-term prediction in Isaiah 7,
48:23
referenced in 14 to 15, which is fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth,
48:28
documented in the New Testament scriptures.
48:29
He fits the life of Jesus, his birth,
48:33
and all other predictions that we find in the Old Testament about the Messiah.
48:37
They fit the life of Jesus that is documented for us in the
48:42
New Testament scriptures and in particular the gospel account.
48:44
problems and that the verse 16 in Isaiah 7 is
48:50
a short-term problem that was ~ fulfilled and predicting fulfilled by
48:56
~ within the lifetime of ~ Isaiah.
48:58
Yes, and I think ~ from the lesser to the greater that short term problem seemed
49:03
insurmountable, seemed impossible.
49:05
That's why they were making alliances with each other when they should have been
49:08
trusting in God. But God would deliver that within that within that lifetime,
49:13
and as you mentioned earlier, that would give confidence that sure enough
49:18
if he can if he can do something that seemingly insurmountable,
49:21
then sure enough a virgin can shall conceive and bear a son and
49:26
His name would be Emmanuel God with us.
49:29
Of course that's consistent with ~ the power of God,
49:33
the omnipotence of God and his ~ omniscience,
49:36
looking being able to see the future and and fulfill the the future.
49:41
And we're talking about a God who created this universe,
49:45
a God who then pr perf is able to perform miracles and this being this wonderful
49:51
wonderful fulfillment of ~ convincing us with the evidence of
49:57
the New Testament scriptures
49:58
As well as these Old Testament predictions that Jesus is who he claims.
50:02
Yes, the confidence that Jesus is.
50:04
In fact it's impossible for him not to be existing as the Bible teaches.
50:08
And we and we can have confidence in that,
50:11
and that of course causes us to believe,
50:15
among other predictions and fulfillments about Jesus,
50:17
that ~ what he says we ought to believe and obey.
50:23
Yes, all right. That about sums it up.
50:25
look over at the clock here and that that that lasted a long time,
50:29
but it looked it seemed like it went by really quick because that's just just
50:32
the nature of studying the Bible and digging in deep.
50:34
Well, we appreciate George and his presentation of this and
50:37
we appreciate your listening and we'd invite you to come again and ~ listen
50:43
to us and continue as we continue this season six podcasting,
50:49
Minoring in the Majors.
50:51
Jesus gave his life on ransom number on Calvary On Mount Calvary Cruel
50:58
Calvary Paved away by blood that we might win a bright shining crown
51:05
Praise Salvation has been brought down O Lory Praise
51:10
the Lord so Lord Salvation has been brought down from heaven thou show
51:15
and show and show until the world around O preaching until today too
51:20
People in sorrow till today until tomorrow,
51:24
preach the word of God that we might win a shining brown.
51:29
Salvation is full and free to sinners,
51:32
friends, and blessing us all over the land and see your kitchen and every nation,
51:38
total for all over creation.
51:41
Praise the Lord, bless the Lord,
51:44
salvation has been brought down.
51:50
All alone without a friend, he suffered to pay it all.
51:54
~ Yes, he paid it all. Jesus paid it all.
51:59
In his blessed promises, sweet victory can be found.
52:04
Praise his crossing way. Salvation has been brought down.
52:08
glory. Praise the lost source.
52:11
Salvation has been brought down from heaven.
52:14
And go and show and show on show until the world around.
52:17
~
52:20
People in sorrow, tell today and tell tomorrow,
52:24
preach the word of God that we might win a shining brown.
52:28
Tell the was the law, our salvation is full and free to sin,
52:33
there's friends and blessings all over the land and sea.
52:37
Go teaching them. Tata far in every nation,
52:40
Tatafar, all over creation, praise the Lord,
52:44
bless the Lord, salvation has been brought down.
52:50
There's a blessed home prepared way over a glory land,
52:54
in my glory land.
52:57
Blessed glory land. I have trusted in his love and now I am heaven bound.
53:03
Praise his false name. Salvation has been brought down,
53:08
glory, praise Praise the also.
53:11
Salvation has been brought down on heaven.
53:14
Go and show and show and show until the world around.
53:18
Tell today to people in sorrow.
53:21
Tell today until tomorrow. Preach the word of God that we might bring a shiny.
53:27
Salvation is full and free to sinners,
53:31
friends, and sinners all over the land and see your teaching
53:37
and tell-of-farm in every nation,
53:39
Tata Far, all over creation, praise the Lord,
53:43
plus the Lord, salvation has been brought down.