December 13

Fulfilling the Prophecy –

My Bible has a footnote for this verse in Matthew that refers to Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”

I am struck by the word “Look”, which I read to be in the present tense.  We understand this verse in Isaiah to be a prophecy; perhaps the most important prophecy of the Old Testament. The definition of a prophecy is the foretelling of future events.  But it seems to me that God was seeing the event unfold as he spoke those words.  He was looking at the young woman who was with child.  And what God was seeing in that moment would take over 700 years for the world to witness.  Perhaps another way to think of prophecy is as an event that has already happened in God’s time but has yet to be experienced by the world.  It gives me comfort to think of prophecies this way; as events that have already occurred in God’s time and that will eventually be witnessed by the world.  We know it’s coming, we just don’t know when.

Prayer: Almighty God, we give you praise for all the promises and prophecies with which you have blessed us and we pray that you please help us be mindful and to keep watch as we wait for them to unfold.