By Emmanuel Gandu
EXCERPTS
“A virgin will give birth to a son and will be named Immanuel, which means God with us.”
HIGHLIGHTS
* The background story of Immanuel.
* Wars,conquest and kingdoms.
* Origin, meaning and symbolism of Immanuel.
* God’s faithfulness to humanity.
BACKGROUND STORY
War and conquest of territories was the order of the day.
The setting is the wars of 735 – 734 BCE which saw the kingdom of Judah at war with two of their northern neighbours, ie the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria.
To understand this better, you are encouraged to read Isaiah 7 where we are told of how the kings of Ephraim and Syria attack Jerusalem when king Ahaz refuses to join them in their anti – Assyrian alliance. Meanwhile, Ahaz wishes to ask Assyria for help, but Isaiah, at God’s command assures Ahaz that the two enemy kings will not succeed.
Consequently, Isaiah tells king Ahaz of the apparent sign by which he will know that this is a true prophecy: a young woman will give birth to a child whom she will name Immanuel, meaning God with us.
That child will be the saviour of the land, the people. – Isaiah 7 : 1 – 15.
ORIGIN AND SYMBOLISM OF IMMANUEL
In the times of king Ahaz a male born child was given the name Immanuel. This was a sign that the male child was to join other males to protect the land, and Judah would receive protection and relief from attacks by Israel and Syria : “Therefore the lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” – Isaiah 7 : 14.
Matthew, understanding the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy delivers this inspired revelation : “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophets. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.” – Matthew 1 : 22 – 23.
FROM IMMANUEL TO EMMANUEL
Immanuel is a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.”
The name Immanuel appears in the Bible four times : Isaiah 7 : 14, Isaiah 8 : 8, Isaiah 8 : 10, and Matthew 1 : 23.
Immanuel spelled with an ‘I’ is the translation of the original Hebrew name into English, where as Emmanuel spelled with an ‘E’ is a translation of Immanuel from the original Hebrew to Greek then to English.
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO HUMANITY
Christ’s arrival showed humanity that God is indeed faithful to fulfill His promises. Jesus was not just a sign of God with us as Immanuel like in the time of king Ahaz, He was God with us in person.
Jesus is Immanuel, He is not a partial revelation of God with us, Jesus is “God with us” in all His fulness – “for in Christ lives all the fulness of God in a human body.” – Colosians 2 : 9.
Because of this, Jesus left the glories of heaven and took on the form of a servant so that He could identify with us in our day-to-day human struggle – Philipians 2 : 6 – 11, Hebrew 4 : 15 – 16.
As prophecied in the days of king Ahaz, Immanuel is our saviour – 1Timothy 1 : 15.
God sent His son to live among us, shed his blood, and die for us on the cross so we can be reconciled to God – Romans 5 : 10, 2 Corinthians 5 : 19, Colosians 1 : 20.
Our Immanuel will be with us forever. After his resurrection from the death, before Jesus returned to the Father, He made this promise – “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28 : 20. See also Hebrew 13 : 5.
Finally, and in the prophetic words of Isaiah – “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9 : 6
