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ing man every opportunity to prove na ture’s inability and ignorance to bring about true righteousness and peace apart from Christ. But at the end, man’s colossal failure will in the at tempt be fully revealed, and this One whose right it is to rule will take the reins of government, to the universal blessing of all the peoples of the earth. Points and Problems 1. “The Lord himself shall give you a sign” '(Isa. 7:14). In attempting to deny in this passage any reference to the virgin birth of Christ, the critics have sometimes asked how the birth of a child several hundred years in the fu ture could possibly be a sign to King Ahaz. The answer is found in the pre ceding verse (13). After Ahaz had been given his opportunity to “ask . . a sign” (v. 11), .and in false humility had de clined to ask it, God then turned away from Ahaz and addressed the “house of David.” The sign of the virgin birth was intended for the “house of David,” not for a single king. 2. “Shall call his name Immanuel” (v. 14). While the meaning of this He brew name is given in Matthew 1:23, it is interesting to note that the meaning has also been given exactly in the Eng lish version of Isaiah 8:10. The last four words of the verse, “God is with us,” are simply “immanu E l” in the Hebrew. The name “El” is never in the Old Testament used in any sense lower than that of absolute Diety. /And this is the name which appears in the He brew of Isaiah 9:6, translated by three words “The mighty God.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed “El,” the Mighty God; and when He becomes incarnate by virgin birth, He is then “El- immanu,” the Mighty God with us. Or if we follow the order of the Hebrew “Immanu-El,” He is the “with us-God.” 3. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (9:6). The language here is very precise and exact, as we might expect in an inspired document. As the human Child Jesus, He was “bom,” but as the eternal Son He is “given.” - 4. "And the government shall be upon his shoulder’.’ (v. 61. I t should be noted here that this part of the prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, but will be at the second coming of our Lord. But the first part of the verse has been fulfilled oyer nineteen hundred years. Therefore, between two clauses of verse 6, divided only by a colon in the English version, there is a gap in prophetic time extend ing over the entire present church age, seen very dimlyif at all by the prophets themselves. The prophets saw clearly both the “sufferings” and the “glories” (R. V.) of Christ, and got them in the right order, but were deeply puzzled as they studied the time element - in their own writings. (1 Pet. 1:10, 11).
BLACKBOARD LESSON
are in the Bible. Isaiah is the prophet to whom God told that most important news which should change all things everywhere. Can you think what that- news was? LESSON STORY: Yes, it was Isaiah who told the people of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah lived at a time when the Jewish pec_e were hav ing a very sad and sorry time. Their own rulers were cruel to them; their country was divided in two parts; their enemies had come right up to their gates and were soon going to come in to occupy their land. There didn’t seem to be one bright and hopeful thing for them to think about. I t was at this time that Isaiah came be'fore the kings and the people with this great message of hope which he had received from God Himself. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light,” he said. “ For unto us a child is bom, unto us a son is given.” And then he went on to tell all about this Child, and all of the things that he said came to pass when Jesus did come into this world many, many years later. And some of the things that Isaiah prophesied haven’t taken place yet, but we know that they will because everything so far has been true, and. besides Isaiah was a prophet tof God, and we know that whatsis written in the Bible will surely come to pass.
5. “His name shall be called.” (v. 6). It is not “names” but “name,” which means that all that follows must be counted as one name. There are exactly eight words, in the Hebrew, and since the last six very obviously form three couplets, it is laought by scholars that the first two should be taken likewise. Thus the one name would be composed of four double titles as follows: 1. Won derful-Counselor. 2. Mighty God. 3. Father of Eternity (R. V. margin). 4. Prince of Peace. And as the coming King our Lord is characterized by wis dom, power, eternity and peace. Cer tainly the world needs such a King. Golden Text Illustration I saiah 9 :6 The many names of the Lord Jesus Christ are a fruitful subject of medita tion for those who know Him. And con versation concerning the altogether lovely One is the most satisfying theme among His people. In Christ Life ap pears an example of this fact: “It is said,to be a rule of royal courts that when one is ‘presented at court’ he must be careful not to introduce any topic of conversation. That must be left to the royal person before whom he is presented. A young woman missionary who was presented at court, being fully informed of the rule, stood in Queen Mary’s presence with sorm embarrass ment, hut the gracious, queen asked, ‘What would you like to talk about?’ “The missionary replied, ‘Why I should like to talk about the Lord Jesus if you don’t mind.’ “And the queen said, ‘He is just the One I should like to talk about, too. Let us sit together here and talk about Him.’ ”—Selected. Wishing for Baby Jqsus I saiah 7:14; 9:1-7; 11:1-5 MEMORY VERSE: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people‘from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). APPROACH: Do you remember that we talked about the prophet Isaiah? A prophet, you know, is one who not only preaches to the people, but who tells them things that shall happen in the future. Only God gives this gift to peo ple, and He gives j t only when they need to know something of great im portance. The only prophecies we need
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A W onderful W alnut OBJECTS: An English walnut, a hammer, and three pieces of thin silk. (Separate the two halves of the walnut with a knife, and remove the kernel. Dye the silk pieces blue, purple, and scarlet. Rit can be used for this. Stuff the shell with as much silk as possible, and glue the shell back together.) LESSON: As you see this nut, you do not think of it as being unusual, but I think you will find it is different from any others -you have ever seen. It tells the most Wonderful story in all the world. It reminds me of what the Bible said about Christ: “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2). This sentence refers only to the outward appearance of Christ, particularly during His suffer ing for us. If Christ had never died, we would [Continued on page 317]
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