Daily Devotional for Monday 11th December
God’s Prophecy
With just 14 days until Christmas day, here we see a prophecy from God of how a virgin would give birth to a son called Immanuel, which means “God is with us”.
We are introduced to Mary, although not by name. This prophecy could’ve linked to numerous virgins at the time, but now we understand this to be about Mary and how she would give birth to the saviour Jesus Christ.
In this passage, we see King Ahaz in a vulnerable position. He wasn’t a good person, he idolised others instead of God himself and sacrificed his sons in doing so, but God still wanted to speak to him. We find Ahaz being asked directly to ask God for a sign. Ahaz is concerned about this, worried that he is being tested, but we find that it is God Himself asking Ahaz, God hasn’t given up on Ahaz. Even though God was speaking directly to Ahaz, he is still dubious and didn’t want to test God and His power. There may be times within our lives when we feel spoken to by God but worried that we aren’t hearing correctly or concerned we are being tested. Remember that God loves us unconditionally, He wants to communicate with us and for us to hear Him when He speaks to us.
Ahaz was full of the knowledge that Syria and Israel were now allies and planning an imminent attack. He was in a very vulnerable position. This prophecy was one of comfort in such a troubling time. Even though there were many men against Ahaz and his people, God would intervene. Even though Ahaz didn’t follow God fully, God still reached out. This unconditional love we see runs throughout the Bible and can be seen within our own lives with God. The choice that Ahaz has here to either trust God or not will see whether he is saved or defeated. The same could be said for our lives today.
Both the New and Old Testament shows us the promises of Jesus saving us. This prophecy wouldn’t be answered straight away, but it gives us hope.
Time to reflect…
1. Ahaz was told by God directly to trust Him even when the situation he was in looked bleak. Do we always put our full trust in God when we are in times of worry or trouble? What could we do to practice this more?
Pause to pray…
Heavenly Father, As we come closer to Christmas, let us remember the real reason we celebrate this time of year. We are open to listening for Your voice and want to hear what You need to tell us. In the busyness that is coming, please help us to be still. Thank you for never wavering even if we are dubious or wonder if we are hearing right. Your unconditional love knows no boundaries and we are all so grateful for that knowledge. Help us to remember to put our full trust in You and not carry things alone.
In Jesus name, Amen
