Longing for God with Us

The Prophecy of ‘Immanuel’

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
— Isaiah 7:14–16

When I read this promise given to King Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah, I begin to hear those words sung in a rich alto, put to music by George Frederic Händel: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name, Immanuel. God with us.” The vocal line is so simple, sung over sparse accompaniment in the orchestra: so unassuming.

I feel the simplicity of the melody resonate within me as a metaphor for that child in the manger: this prophecy’s ultimate and fullest fulfillment is the triune Lord of the universe, wrapped in simple cloths, veiled in flesh. Unlike the child born in the near fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, which is merely a sign that God is with his people and that he will save them from their enemies, the child Matthew is writing about is the means through which our ultimate enemies, sin and death, will be defeated. Matthew tells us that this baby, this Messiah, this Jesus (Yeshua, literally rescuer or deliverer), is, in fact, God WITH us.

My mind cannot understand it, but my heart believes it. My soul longs for him to come to again, as he has promised. O come, o come, Immanuel.