Advent Foretold Day 9

Advent Foretold Day 9 – He Would Be Called Immanuel…

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

…And the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel…. Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.” Isaiah 8:8, 10

Immanuel means “God with us”. Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation”, which then breaks down further to mean, “The Existing One is Salvation”.

Names are of extreme importance to God. He is the one who created naming, after all. Names are meant to tell WHO the person is or who they are going to be. There are so many times when God renamed someone in the Bible to reflect a change in who they were or who He was calling them to be.

In the Bible, the person who is given the authority over something or someone is the one who does the naming. In Genesis God names the sun, moon and stars. He never gave man authority over these things. He gives Adam dominion over the cattle, beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky. He brings them to Adam to name. Parents are given authority over their children by God. Throughout the Bible it is the parents naming the children, and more often than not it is the mother naming the children. Eve named her children, Sarah named Isaac, Rachel and Leah named the twelve sons of Jacob, and the list goes on. So it is precious to see how God includes not just Mary in the naming of Jesus, but Joseph, His adoptive father. This is like a pat on the back to Joseph saying, “I am giving My Son into your care for a while. I am calling you to be His earthly father.” Wow! What an assignment!
Can you picture Joseph? He is betrothed to this lovely girl named Mary, and he has been working hard to get the house ready for her arrival. Then he hears through the grapevine his bride is with child, and he has never been with her. Can you imagine the anguish and betrayal he must have felt? Here we catch a glimpse one of the reasons God chose Joseph to fill the role of earthly father to His only begotten Son. We see the character of Joseph come shining through. It was his right, by law, to have Mary stoned to death, or he could have humiliated her and made her an outcast. Although he must have felt so hurt and betrayed, he wanted to protect Mary. He wanted to send her away quietly, so as not to disgrace her. As Joseph is thinking through his plans God reveals His PLAN…….

But when he thought on these things, behold and angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, fear not and take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet; “BEHOLD THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means “GOD with us.” Matthew 1:20-23
His name, Immanuel, was a statement of who He was and Who He IS! He is GOD WITH US. That is HIS NAME!!!! JEHOVAH IS SALVATION! THE EXISTING ONE IS SALVATION!!! That is HIS NAME!!!

When we go home to be with the Lord we will each receive a new name. I can’t wait to hear what mine will be.
May God continue to bless every one of you during this Christmas season!!