The Messiah Identified
In our last lesson we took note that the Old Testament
prophets speak of Messiah as being from of old from
everlasting, and also that in speaking of Him they use names
and appellatives indicative of divinity, names such as
Elgebor, Adonoi Tzdkenu, and Immanuel.
The Human Aspect
Now strange as it might seem, in these selfsame Scripture
passages the prophets speak of Messiah as born into the
human race. Turn to these passages in your Bible again, and
you will note that the Elgebor of Isaiah 9:6 is born
as a child; the Adonoi Tzdkenu of Jeremiah 23:6 is
raised up unto David; and the Immanuel of Isaiah 7:14 is
born of a virgin.
Of course, we have not the capacity to understand how the
antemundane Messiah could become embodied in human form, but
inasmuch as we believe that all the words of Moses and the
prophets are true, we believe this to be true also. In this
we need to have the same faith Abraham exercised when he
accepted as true things that were inconceivable to him. For
instance, when Abraham was 75 years old, and yet childless,
he took God at his word that he would become a great nation
(Genesis 12:1-4), and when he was 100 years old, and Sarah
90 — long past the time of child-bearing — he accepted the
promise that Sara would bear him a son (Genesis 17:15-19).
We know this because the Bible tells us that Abraham
believed God, and He counted it to him for righteousness
(Genesis 15:6).
Prophetic Enlightenment
However, the Bible throws more light on the how of
Messiah's birth into the human race than some suppose. Of
the Old testament passages cited, Isaiah 7:14 speaks the
most clearly, and from it we take our clue. Read this
passage again. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son, and thou shall call his name Immanuel."
It is worthy of note here that when in due time the heaven
sent message respecting the conception of this son was
given, it was comparable to that once given Abraham
respecting the conception of Isaac. Both concern a matter
fathomless to the mind. The message respecting the
conception of Isaac involved the impregnation of a woman who
had long passed the time of childbearing, while the message
respecting the conception of this promised son involved the
impregnation of a virgin without coition. In the first
instance Abraham said in his heart, "Shall a child be born
to him that is a an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that
is ninety years old bear?" (Genesis 17:17). In the second
instance the mother-to-be asked, "How shall this be, seeing
I know not a man?" (Luke 1:37). An account of the latter is
given in the New Testament part of the Bible. Here it is:
"and in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:26-35).
So, how was the conception and birth of Messiah in human
form to be effected? Was it not by the working of the Holy
Spirit, and the overshadowing power of the Highest — the
selfsame Spirit and the selfsame power which wrought
creatively at the beginning of days.
Could It Be Otherwise?
Here we must take note that the virgin birth of Messiah
was not an incidental matter that could just as well have
been otherwise. It was essential to the intrinsic nature of
His being as the Immanuel, the God with us, the embodiment
of God's presence at His coming. No mere man could ever rise
to the status which the Bible ascribes to Messiah.
An Identifying Factor
Significant also is the fact that in the Hebrew text the
term "virgin" is preceded by a definite article. This is
generally lost sight of in the translations, and with it
much else is lost. The Hebrew text reads ha-almah;
that is, "the virgin." This is indicative of a particularly
designated virgin, one recognizable somewhere in the line of
Bible prophecy. And where is this observable except in
Genesis 3:15? This reads, "and I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
That Genesis 3:15 relates to Isaiah 7:14 is not immediately
apparent, of course. What is immediately obvious, however,
is that the serpent of Genesis 3:15 was but a tool in the
hands of Satan, the real tempter. But does it then not
follow that the judgment this verse speaks of also was not
really directed at the serpent, but at Satan and his seed?
It is he and his cohorts that meet their doom at the hand of
the woman's seed.
But then we ask what or who is indicated by the woman's
seed? The children born to Adam and Eve? Their children's
offspring? Of course, we are all involved in this enmity
against Satan. The New Testament states our case well in
these words: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). But who is he
that heads up the fray against Satan, and who is he that
gives this archenemy of many a death blow? Is it not the
"woman's seed" of Genesis 3:15, the virgin's son of Isaiah
7:14?
The Connotation Of Almah
There are those who hold that "virgin" is a
mistranslation of the Hebrew term almah in Isaiah
7:14, and contend that this word means no more than a young
woman of age to be a mother, whether she is married or not.
One may well ask, "how right is this contention?" Observe
that in the etymology of the term almah there lies the idea
of remaining covered — and who, in the light of Moses and
the prophets, is a virgin but she whose nakedness has not
been uncovered in the Scriptural sense of the word?
Respecting this the 18th chapter of Leviticus (Vayikra)
is enlightening. This chapter deals with the matter very
clearly, and one reading it perceives at once of what it
speaks respecting virginity. This Hebrew term then reflects
the intended status of the virgin of Isaiah 7:14. While it
is true that in speaking of virgins and virginity
bethulah occurs more often in the Hebrew text than
almah, a study of the basic forms of these terms should
suffice to show that the term almah expresses
virginity the more clearly of the two.
A Telling Sign
There are also those who hold that the promise concerning
the birth of a child at some unknown future, however great a
personage this might presage, could not have served Ahaz,
king of Judah, as a sign of deliverance from what to him
appeared the imminent fall of his kingdom. However, those
who hold to this fail to give due consideration to the
context in which the statement has its setting.
Pekah, king of the ten tribes of Israel (by this time called
the kingdom of Israel), had allied himself with Rezin king
of Syria to make war against Ahaz, and set up over Judah a
king of their choosing. Upon this the prophet Isaiah was
sent to Ahaz to assure him that the evil plottings of these
kings would not stand, and to tell him not to be afraid, but
believing. To further assure him, Ahaz was told that God
would give him a sign for the asking, and upon his refusal
to accept this favor the prophet vouchsafed a very
meaningful sign, which concerned the event of the coming
Messiah and the assurance that Judah's tribal status would
abide His day.
Turning now to Genesis chapter 49, we see what the grounds
for this assurance were. The first verse of this chapter
tells us that Jacob called his sons together that he might
tell them what would befall them in the last days. Then in
verse 10 we come upon this early Messianic prophecy, "The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be." Now there have been those who
have sought to reason away the Messianic import of these
words, suggesting that Jacob wanted to tell his sons when
Messiah would come, but that God deflected his speech
because he would not let Jacob do so. But, is this the
answer? If not of Messiah, then of whom was Jacob speaking
when he said, "and unto him shall the gathering of the
people be"? In this early Messianic prophecy then lies the
ground for the assurance given Ahaz that the evil plottings
against the kingdom of Judah would not stand. Thus Ahaz
needed have no fear if he had but believed.
Messiah's Day
Genesis 49:10 also indicates that there was a set time in
God's program of events for the coming of Messiah, and
turning now to the prophecy of Daniel, the ninth chapter, we
find this time quite clearly indicated. Read the whole
chapter carefully, taking special note of verses 20 through
26.
Daniel received this prophecy while he was pondering the
duration of the Babylonian captivity and praying that the
sins which led to this captivity be forgiven the people.
Hereupon Daniel was told that seventy weeks were determined
upon his people, and that of these seventy weeks, seven
weeks and threescore and two weeks would expire between the
giving of the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the event of
Messiah.
At a first reading it is not very clear what this may mean.
That the weeks are not weeks of seven days is at once
apparent. What unit of measure then might be indicated? In
the Old Testament there are weeks of seven days, weeks of
seven years, and weeks of seven times seven years. (For the
latter see Leviticus 25:4,8) Other helpful references are:
Nehemiah 2:1-8, Daniel 9:2, Jeremiah 25:11, and 29:10, 2
Chronicles 36:20-21, Leviticus 25:4, and 26:32-35. These
passages must be read to get the full setting of Daniel's
predictions.
The Nehemiah passage tells us that the command to restore
Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his
reign. Although there is not full agreement as to what year
is indicated, the difference between authorities is only
nine years, some giving it as 445 B.C. and others as 454
B.C. Either serves our purpose.
The Jeremiah and Daniel passages give the duration of the
Babylonian captivity. God had commanded Israel that the land
be given a sabbath (rest) year every seventh year, and the
fact that this had not been observed caused the captivity.
Then the Chronicles passage tells us that the duration of
this captivity was determined by the number of seven year
weeks that had passed without giving the land her sabbath
years of rest, which number was ten. All of which tells us
that Daniel's weeks were not weeks of seven days but weeks
of seven years.
Now from the time that Artaxerxes gave the command to
rebuild Jerusalem to the time that Messiah would be cut off
(put to death) is given as 7 weeks & 60 weeks & 2 weeks:
that is 69 seven-year periods or 483 years. Add 483 years to
445 B.C. and we come to A.D. 29. This , we note, corresponds
very nearly to the time that He of whom Moses and the
prophets did speak was put to death by crucifixion, namely
Jesus. According to the generally accepted chronology,
Jesus' life was cut off by crucifixion in A.D. 30
The last paragraph, we note, projects the New Testament
fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, which will be the subject
of the following lesson.
Summation
Although the embodiment of Messiah in human form is
shrouded in mystery, the Scripture portions which we have
discussed in this lesson leave no doubt as to how this was
to be effected, why it was to be effected, and the
approximate time when it was to come to pass.