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THE KING’S BUSINESS
but protected Mary from slander and calumny. A close study o f the prophecy in Isaiah, which begins with 7 :14 and is really not finished until the 6th verse o f the 9th chap ter, shows that the prophecy does really refer to Christ. Whether the Jews ever looked upon this prophecy as Messianic or not is not to the point just now, for there are other prophecies, the 53rd o f Isaiah for example, which we know are Messianic, but which the Jews would or do not, by any means, admit to refer to Christ. The context o f this prophecy is instruc tive. Let us examine it. The prophecy, as we know, was made to king Ahaz, who was being sorely oppressed by the hostile armies o f Syria and Israel which threatened to destroy his kingdom. The prophet Isaiah is sent to warn Ahaz against alliance with the king o f Assyria whose help he has sought, and to assure him o f the perpetuity o f the throne o f David, which the invasion o f these kings threatened with destruction. The fulfillment o f this prophecy is to be in the nature o f a sign. Something super natural is to occur. O f course, there is a sense in which the promise was partly and naturally, fulfilled in the birth o f Isaiah’s son, but Isaiah’s son was not named “Won derful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince o f Peace” (Isaiah 9 :6—a part o f the prophecy begin ning at 7:14). It was not o f Isaiah’s son that the prophet said: “ O f the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne o f David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal o f the Lord o f hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9 :7 ). That this prophecy (9 :6 ) refers to Christ is evident from Matthew 4:14, 15: “ That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land o f Zabulon, and the land o f Nephtha- lim, by the way o f the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee o f the Gentiles” (cf. Isaiah 9:1, 2). It is a characteristic o f Scripture that it is so full that it does not exhaust itself in its application to the people to whom it was
immediately written (cf. Romans 4:23, 24; 15:4). This is sometimes called “the law o f recurrence.” The destruction o f Jerusa lem was a fulfillment, but not the complete fulfillment, o f the Second Advent o f our Lord. In like manner, the birth o f Isaiah’s son was a fulfillment, but not the complete fulfillment, o f their prophecy. The prophet looks beyond the present and assures Ahaz that in a miraculous way God will raise up a King for David’s throne, whose name shall be “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince o f Peace.” This prophecy Matthew rightly connects with Christ, who is the heir to David’s throne and whose name is Immanuel (Matthew 1:23, cf. Luke 1:32, 69). It might be well to note in thi&- connec tion the present tenses o f this prophecy, for they may help us to see its prophetic signifi cance. The prophet speaks o f the concep tion and birth as actually taking place at the moment o f -speaking. The passage reads: “ The (or better, one) virgin is with child and beareth a son.” The Hebrew original there would be a participle, and the exact rendering would be, “ Behold, thou art conceiving now.” An immediate con ception is meant (cf. v. 39, “ and with haste;” the reference to Elizabeth that “ she also hath conceived” indicates that conception had taken place with Mary at the time o f the announcement by the angel, and this was before Joseph’s marriage to Mary). The reference that “no word of God shall be impossible” would be sense less in this connection unless something supernatural and different from a natural conception were meant. Surely there would be nothing that called for any miraculous display o f God’s power in Mary’s conceiv ing a son as Joseph’s wife. The fulfillment 'o f this prophecy certainly implied a sign, Something supernatural which did not take place in the birth o f Isaiah’s son. Further, there has been considerable con troversy over the word translated “virgin” ( almah ). The opponents to the doctrine o f the Virgin Birth maintain that this word simply means a young woman o f marriage-
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