Swindoll's Living Insights Commentary Matthew 1a - Flipbook - Page 38
Announcement and Arrival of the King (Matthew 1:1–4:25)
called “Immanuel,” meaning “God is with us” (Isa. 7:14). Before that
child grew to be old enough to know right from wrong, the enemies
threatening the line of David would have been defeated (Isa. 7:15‑25).
After announcing this sign of the near destruction of Judah’s enemies, Isaiah alludes to its fulfillment: “So I approached the prophetess,
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me,
‘Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; for before the boy knows how to cry
out “My father” or “My mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoil
of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria’” (Isa. 8:3‑4).
This child, born to Isaiah and his wife, is also addressed in Isaiah 8:8
as “Immanuel,” a sign that reminded God’s people of His presence and
protection against any enemies who would try to destroy the line of
David. Finally, in Isaiah 8:10, the prophet taunts Judah’s enemies by
saying, “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it
will not stand, for God is with us.”
So, after the sign is announced in Isaiah 7 (“a virgin will be with
child and bear a son”), the sign arrives in Isaiah 8: The maiden gives
birth to “Immanuel,” and the enemies of Israel are thwarted before he
reaches adulthood. However, Isaiah also further develops the crucial
themes of the birth of a child, “God with us,” and the preservation of
the Davidic throne. In the very next chapter, Isaiah incorporates these
themes in a message that would find its ultimate fulfillment in the future Messiah:
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 Counselor,
Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or
of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and
righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
(Isa. 9:6‑7)
Stan Toussaint sums up the way in which Matthew, under the inspiration of the Spirit, understands the double fulfillment of Isaiah’s “Virgin
Birth” prophecy. He writes,
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