Untitled Sermon (9)

The Meaning of Prophecy – The primary difficulty for most modern readers of the prophets stems from an inaccurate understanding of the words “prophet” and “prophecy.” The word prophet refers to one who tells forth (or proclaims), as well as one who foretells.257 But we often limit the meaning of prophecy to foretelling the future, so many Christians refer to the prophets only for predictions about Christ’s first coming, or his second coming, and the end times as though prediction of events far distant to their own day was their main concern.

It should be pointed out that less than 2% of Old Testament prophecy is messianic. Less than 5% specifically concerns the New Covenant age. And less than 1% concern events still future to us.258 The prophets did indeed announce the future. But it was usually the immediate future of Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations they announced – not our future. One of the keys to understanding the Prophets, therefore, is to recognize that for us to see their prophecies fulfilled, we must often look back on times that were still future to them, but for us are past.259

To see the prophets as primarily predictors of future events is to miss their primary function, which was, in fact, to speak for God to their contemporaries. https://bible.org/seriespage/understanding-writing-prophets

A prophet in the Old Testament was someone who was used by God to communicate His message to the world. Prophets were also called “seers” because they could “see,” spiritually speaking, as God gave them insight (1 Samuel 9:9). The prophets can be divided into the “writing prophets” such as Isaiah, Daniel, Amos, and Malachi; and the “non-writing prophets” such as Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29), Micaiah (2 Chronicles 18:7), and Elisha (1 Kings 19:16). There are also some anonymous prophets in the Old Testament, such as the unnamed prophet in Judges 6:7–10. The prophets came from a variety of backgrounds, spoke to different audiences, possessed unique styles, and used assorted methods. Most of the Old Testament prophets’ messages concerned the people of Israel; if other nations were mentioned in the oracles, it was usually in connection to those nations’ dealings with Israel. Most prophets of God were men, but the Old Testament also mentions prophetesses such as Miriam (Exodus 15:20, ESV), Deborah (Judges 4:4, ESV), and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14, ESV). All prophets shared some characteristics that made their ministries “prophetic.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/prophet-Old-Testament.html

JUDAH : Uzziah —> Jotham —> Ahaz —> Hezekiah

Parallel Historical Passage (2 Ki 15:37-16:20) (2 Chron 28)

Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary i. The Moment of Decision (7:1–17)

The abiding truth of this passage is that faith in the Lord and in his promises is a practical approach to life however great the crisis.

Many modern English translations render ʿalmâ as “virgin” (ESV, NASB, HCSB, NIV, etc.), while others use “young woman” or something similar. In Hebrew there is a word that would better denote virginity (בְּתוּלָה), as well as a word that would more clearly refer to a young woman (אִשָּׁה), so why this word in this context?

John Oswalt, in his NICOT volume on Isaiah, is helpful on this point. He reminds us that it is “not possible to be dogmatic as to why Isaiah used the ambiguous ʿalmâ here instead of the unambiguous beṯûlâ.” He notes that the typical meaning prescribed to ʿalmâ is “a young woman of marriageable age,” (quite similar to the English “maiden”) “with the clear implication that the conception is a natural one” (Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, 211). As he is quick to point out, however, many conservative scholars demonstrate that the word is not used to reference a married woman in the Old Testament; thus it must refer to a “sexually mature, but unmarried, woman.” In the Hebrew culture, this would certainly also imply virginity. Oswalt goes on to discuss the Septuagint translation of the word and a possible dual-focus.

Such an understanding has the significant virtue of explaining the origin of the LXX parthénos, “virgin,” something those commentators opting for “a young woman of marriageable age” do not mention. Unless ʿalmâ had overtones of virginity about it, the LXX translation is inexplicable. . . . Possibly, then, it is the dual focus of the oracle that explains the use of ʿalmâ here. In the short term, the virgin conception does not seem to have had primary importance. Rather, the significance is that a child conceived at that moment would still be immature when the two threatening nations would have been destroyed (vv. 16, 22). Had Isaiah used beṯûlâ here, Ahaz would probably have been so caught up with that thought that he would have missed the specific linkage to his own time. (Oswalt, 212)

Whatever our stance on multiple fulfillment in light of Isaiah’s Immanuel, we can stand firm on Matthew 1:23📷, knowing that this prophecy finds its final and ultimate fulfillment in the birth of Jesus the Christ, God with us. Like in Isaiah, the birth of Jesus was a sign of the destruction of an oppressing kingdom. Oswalt rightly notes, God’s presence with his people can have both positive and negative effects, bringing both joy and sorrow, “depending upon the people’s character.” As Isaiah’s prophecy brought about a positive (destruction of the northern kingdoms) and a negative (the terrifying reign of the Assyrian king), so too Jesus’ birth brings about joy for those found in him and sorrow for the unrepentant who reject him.