THEOLOG ICALLY TH INK ING continued from 21 answer to the challenge of the Lord to Ahaz in verse eleven: “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God.” It is well known that the Jews are a “ sign people” (Matt. 12:38, 39; 1 Cor. 1: 22), and in this instance the sign given them comes by direct state ment from the lips of Jehovah. “ Be hold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” Truly, such a miracle as a virgin-bom son would constitute a notable sign to any people, but wherein is it a sign at all if the tqxt must read, “ Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son” ? What event on earth is more normal than the conception and birth of a child, unless indeed a miracle attends that birth? In this text, the virgin birth is the miracle which constitutes the sign. To re move the word virgin and substitute young woman in its place is to de stroy the sign- altogether and make void the context which requires a miraculous birth. be bom will be Immanuel — God with us. This is a clear prophecy of the incarnation of Christ, the amaz ing moment when Deity clothed Himself with the limitations and bodily form and humanity (Phil. 2:5-8). If ever a miracle is to be expected, it is at such time as this; and if ever the purifying presence and control of the Holy Spirit is essential it would be at the moment of conception, that the new life might be guarded from the normal transmission of the Adamic nature. Both of these suggestions from the contest argue that a virgin birth is in view. The Larger Context Four other factors add to the con viction that almah in Isaiah 7:14 is a Messianic reference to the virgin mother of Christ. These may be summarized briefly as follows: (1) In Genesis 24:43, Rebekah is spoken of as almah, which clearly means virgin as may be seen in a compari son with verse 16 of the same chap ter. In none of the cases where almah is used is the thought of virginity excluded. (2) The Septuagint (Old Testament Hebrew to Greek, about 270 B. C.) translators give a valuable commitment concerning Isaiah 7:14 when they translate almah by par- thenos, the Greek word for virgin. (3) In Matthew 1:23, the-Holy Spirit (the divine Author of both Testa ments) refers directly to the Isaiah prophecy and uses the word par- thenos, thus giving conclusive proof that Isaiah spoke of a virgin. (4) If ever the alternate renderings, vir gin and young woman, were in a continued on page 42
IN CHRIST IS LIFE
What Are Yon Worth? T he other day I was hiking up a trail in one o f the parks here in Southern California. The trail twisted along the bank of a small creek. The' area was fairly well wooded and huge seven and eight-foot ferns bent over the trail in spots. There was a strong smell of good earth. From all sides I could hear the song of southland birds. A t one point I saw two deer, a short hundred feet away, browsing on leaves. Around an other bend in the trail a red fox trotted into view, nervously looked me over and then leaped into the underbrush. As I hiked, I glanced down at the soft, leafy dirt along the trail. There amid the good smell of life, the birds, the sunshine and the forest animals Jay a small still form of a dead sparrow. The brown feathers so nearly blended with the brown earth and leaves that one could scarcely see the small body. A dead sparrow. Worthless, absolutely worthless. Yet cared for by the Creator Himself. One day Christ was talking to some of His followers. He was talking about how much people — people like you and me — are worth. And for an example He used the sparrow. He said: “ A re not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs o f your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” M ore value than m any sparrows. That’s a good thought. It’s good because it makes sense for us today. A ll o f us, abso lutely all of us, need the strong security this promise gives. If God takes notice o f the number of hairs oh our heads and cares for a fallen sparrow, it is almost beyond the power of our imagination to understand how much He cares for you and me. He not on ly cares but He has the power, the' infinite power, to do something about it. W e can care and nothing happen. W hen He cares He can bring to pass what is lacking . . . what is needed. Today, right this minute, you can begin to realize what you are really worth. I mean the real you. Not the outward you, but the inward self that feels and loves and seeks for life that has deep, abundant meaning. “ For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” This was the question Christ asked just after talking about the fallen sparrows. God cares so much for us because o f our eternal soul. And you care. And because you care, you can • find in Christ is life b y simply submitting your w ill to His will . . . by simply believing that He died for you and that He lives to give you life. L ife that is eternal . . . life that is full of meaning for you today — L.H . If you have found this short article a way of life that you would like, we urge you now— this very moment1— to yield your will to His will and in doing so find that in Christ is Life. If you want to make a decision for Christ please write us. Your letter will be held in the strictest confidence. We'll send you without charge a special Gospel of John and other helps. Address: The Editors, King'« Business, 558 S. Hope, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
JUNE 1953
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