An Advent Journey - 7th December

Read: Isaiah 7 vs 13-17

Communication is at the heart of any relationship. When communication is good relationships can grow and flourish. Without communication a real relationship is virtually impossible.

The Old Testament is a collection of books that get us ready for Christmas. They teach us about God, who He is and what he is like. One of the things we learn from the pages of these books is that the God of the Bible is a God who communicates. Into human history God has spoken. That’s a very big thing.

Today in our Advent Journey we come to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet. Isaiah said lots of things (and they are written in his book). Isaiah was a prophet and when prophets spoke they didn’t speak their own words but they communicated God’s word. When Isaiah went about his work he did so at a time of national and international turmoil. Relationships between the nations where all over the place and people were living in fear of what the immediate and long term future would hold for their lives. Even for believing people, the front pages of the morning papers were beginning to dominate their lives and their thoughts more than anything they believed about God or who He was.

But then into the middle of all this turmoil, uncertainty and distracted chaos God spoke. God spoke through Isaiah. God promised that a day was coming in the future when He would speak, not just through words, but through a person. Isaiah 7:14 introduces one of the most amazing names into the Bible story: Immanuel. It means ‘God is with us.’ 

Isaiah looks ahead to a day when a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son. It’s a huge big Old Testament signpost that Christmas was well and truly on the way. The rest, as they say, is history … and yet today so much more than history for those who believe. God is with us.