II Kings 16:5-9; Isaiah 7-10:4; Isaiah 17
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
Sound familiar? Even if you have never read Isaiah before, it would be hard to have missed this one. We hear it every Advent season, every Christmas, because Matthew quotes it with regard to the birth of Jesus by the Virgin Mary. (See Matthew 1:18-25.) Naturally, knowing what we know of Jesus, and hearing the Christmas story year after year, we cannot help but recognize this verse as talking about Christ — and rightly so.
But how about Isaiah’s original audience (or even Isaiah himself)? Isaiah speaks these words to King Ahaz (not a good king) when the Kingdom of Judah is under threat by the combined forces of both Syria and Israel. This verse is part of the LORD’s declaration to Ahaz that he need not fear Syria and Israel, because they will soon instead by destroyed by Assyria. We cannot expect King Ahaz to hear anything here about the Virgin Birth of the Messiah some 730 years (or so) in the future. He instead is left expecting that some young woman — currently a virgin, but soon not to be — will conceive (in the usual way) and bear a son named Immanuel, and that before that boy grows up, the threat from Syria and Israel will be gone. (By the way, “Immanuel” would not at that time immediately imply “Messiah”, as it does now. It is only because Matthew, guided by the Holy Spirit, spells it out for us that we make that linkage today.)
Here we have a prophecy that obviously has two distinct applications and fulfillments. There is the local and rather immediate, short-term fulfillment for Ahaz and also the significantly broader long-term (even eternal) fulfillment in Christ. Both are valid. We will see similar “dual-meaning” prophecies as we continue through the Scriptures. (In fact, we’ve already seen another example. It should be clear that Hosea 11:1 speaks of the Exodus under Moses, yet Matthew 2:15 quotes it in reference to Jesus. Again, both are valid.) As we move forward we should bear in mind that prophecy is often like this. We have the short-term view, and the long-term view. We also have the first and second Advents of Christ: a humble baby born in Bethlehem, and the Lord of Lords; one Christ, but two significantly different appearances.
All of that goes to say that interpretation of prophecy can be a tricky business, and we therefore need to let Scripture interpret Scripture. And meanwhile we can stand in awe of our God and the richness of His Word. Isn’t it amazing that He can address Ahaz’s immediate situation and yet simultaneously point to Christ? Isn’t it amazing that He can speak across time, over thousands of years, into your heart — and into mine?