Seven Hundred Years till Christmas

Can you imagine having to wait 700 years till Christmas?  Thirteen days from now feels like plenty for me, but the Jewish people waited 700 years. When Jesus was born the book of Matthew tells us “All this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23 NLT)

Who was that prophet and what was his message?  Isaiah was the prophet. He was first a scribe but was then called to be a prophet by God. He was alive 700 years before the birth of Jesus and 300 years after David had become king of Israel. His life went from simply copying ancient texts from one place to another to speaking words from God about important spiritual events. I don’t understand everything about the life of a prophet or how they know God is speaking through them, but the 700-year connection between Isaiah and Jesus is astounding. At one point Isaiah shares, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign.  Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means God is with us).” Isaiah 7:14 NLT)

Seven hundred years is a long time but the promise did come true. If we look back 700 years from today and just look at the things that have been invented, it’s pretty astounding. Seven hundred years ago there were no . . .

• rolls of tape
• sheets of paper (only parchment)
• reading glasses
• printing presses
• screwdrivers
• global maps
• microscopes
• pencils
• thermometers
• telescopes
• hot air balloons
• rolls of toilet paper
• zippers
• indoor toilets or showers
• mayonnaise
• sandwiches
• cans
• fcan openers
• safety pins
• sewing machines
• batteries
• paper clips
• push pins
• potato chips
• iPods (and everything else invented between potato chips and ipods)

Seven hundred years was a long time to wait, but the promise stayed the same.  God would come as a baby born of a virgin and he would finally be with us after we walked away from him in the Garden of Eden. God would bring us back into a relationship with Him by coming to give His life for us.

God would come once and for all times. God would come as the once and for all Savior for all people. The language is common now because we have heard it so often, but in any age it is extraordinary. A virgin did what? Her child would be named what? God with us!  What an extravagant promise. God . . . not over there, or up there, or out there . . . but with us. God . . . not an impersonal force, not the projection of our own ideas of right and wrong, not an imaginary fairytale . . . but with us! God . . . not coming through a king, or a prophet, or a messenger . . . but actually with us!

Seven hundred years in the making an eternal promise came true. We celebrate that promise in this season of generosity, hope, and worship

Merry Christmas!