7:14 ‘ Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin [young woman] will
conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us]’
Hidden in the 7th
chapter of Isaiah towards the beginning of the ‘Emmanuel chapters from 7 to 12)
is a little precious gem – for us who read this prophecy as Christians with the
light of faith and experience of those who went before us. And if some should doubt or not believe let
them be open to the mystery and beauty of these chapters interspersed as they
are with warnings and cries for change.
This passage (7:14) is
taken up in the Gospel of Saint Matthew and is applied directly to the birth of
Jesus Christ. The travails of the people of Israel across the centuries and
books and prophecies find their fulfilment in the promise and coming of the One
who will save not just the chosen people of Israel but all peoples who turn to
the Source of Salvation.
What a gem. What a
precious pearl. A pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:44). Later Isaiah will
write (45:3):
‘I will give you hidden
treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am
the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.’
‘In man there is a deep
so profound, it is hidden even to him in whom it is’. St Augustine (Exposition
on the Book of Psalms)
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