Immanuel (Emmanuel)

When God gave the faithless Ahaz an opportunity to ask Him for a sign to encourage his faith, he was so apathetic to the things of God as to refuse to accept the gracious offer. But the purpose of God would not be defeated. Ahaz was given a sign he would not behold because he chose not to ask for a sign which God had offered to him. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). That unusual name for a son captured the highest of ideals in the religious life of the pious Jew. It was an affirmation of the highest of blessings, “God with us.” Whenever God called a person or group to a seemingly impossible challenge, He reminded them of His all-sufficient promise, “Certainly I will be with thee.” Moses was to deliver Israel from Egypt, but God was with him (Exodus 3:12). Joshua was to conquer the promised land, but God was with him (Joshua 1:5). Throughout Israel's history, every effective judge and king owed his success to the fact that “the Lord was with him.” When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fire, expecting to see the flames consuming the physical remains of three faithful Hebrews, he saw them surviving the flames, and the Lord was with them. When the remnant returned to rebuild the temple, they were motivated to action by the prophet's reminder, “I am with you, saith the Lord” (Haggai 1:13). In contrast to the Old Testament promise of the presence of God, the absence or withdrawal of this presence, when noted, is a foreboding warning of disasters to come. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord to found a society so degenerate God had to destroy it with a flood. Samson woke in the lap of Delilah, not knowing that the Spirit of the Lord had departed, and he was captured by the Philistines. Because of his constant disobedience to the revealed will of God, Saul lost his unique relationship with the Holy Spirit, and God replaced His Spirit with an evil spirit.But in the New Testament, that relationship between God and man changed and intensified. The Christian has an unprecedented relationship with God in Christ. In this regard, the name Immanuel (Emmanuel) signifies something special in the Christian's life. First, it, is an incarnational name. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14); in a unique way in human history, it was “God with Us.” Secondly, it is a dispensational name. The “in Christ” and “Christ in you” relationship is unique to this present dispensation of grace.