Body: | Bible Prophecy Fulfilled: Isaiah 7:14 Virgin Birth
Midrashic dual prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 as a template to decode the Olivet
Discourse:
1. The famous Isa 7:14 prophecy of the virgin had
100% fulfillment in Isaiah 8:3-4 in 732 BC, just a few years before the
Assyrian captivity of 723 BC.
a. Isaiah had a child with his prophetess
wife shortly before king Pekah died in 732BC as fulfillment of the prophecy
(Isaiah 8:1-4)
2. We only learn Isaiah 7:14 is a messianic
prophecy when Matthew comes along and applies it to Mary and Jesus in
Matthew 1:23.
a. Yet the Temple scholars in Jerusalem
understood it to be messianic and chose to translate the Greek Septuagint
"virgin" as opposed to maiden.
b. "It is also fair to point out that
Matthew's interpretive method, throughout his writings, is quite typical
of the best of ancient Jewish interpretation, reflecting literal
interpretations, allegorical interpretations, plays on words, and Midrashic
allusions. Thus, in the first two chapters alone, he cites Micah 5:1-2
(in Matt. 2:5-6), interpreted as a direct prophecy of the birth of the
Messiah in Bethlehem; Hosea 11:1 (in Matt. 2:15), interpreted as a
prophetic parallel (in other words, as it happened to Israel in its
infancy, so also did it happen to Yeshua in his infancy; see vol. 4, 5.2);
Jeremiah 31:15 (in Matt. 2:18), where Rachel is heard allegorically and
poetically weeping for her children once again; and then, in all
probability, Isaiah 11:1 and several other prophetic passages (in Matt.
2:23) as a play on words related to a title of the Messiah in the Tanakh
(see vol. 4, 5.3). For Matthew-rightly so-the Hebrew Bible was the
Messiah's Bible, and therefore, given that (1) Yeshua was literally
Immanuel, God with us, (2) the Immanuel prophecy was clearly directed to
the house of David, (3) Miriam, Yeshua's mother was an ʿalmah who had
never known a man, and (4) the surrounding context in Isaiah contained
highly significant Messianic prophecies, it is no wonder that Matthew
pointed to Isaiah 7:14 as being "fulfilled" in the birth of Jesus the
Messiah. Who else fulfilled it? Or put another way, since Matthew knew
beyond a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah and since he knew that Yeshua was
born of a virgin, was he wrong to quote Isaiah 7:14 in reference to
Yeshua's miraculous birth? Was it not another important link in the chain
of promises and prophecies given to David and his line?" (Answering
Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections, Michael L.
Brown, Isaiah 7:14, p27, 2003 AD)
3. Christians today know it is messianic because it
is identified as such in Acts 2:30. Even so, the text quoted in Acts by
Peter only indirectly references 2 Sam 7. The primary messianic prophecies
were Ps 132:11 and Ps 89:3f because they reference an "oath" and 2 Sam
7 does not mention any oath.
4. Neither Isaiah or Joseph called the promised
child "Emmanuel"
a. Isaiah called the child
"Maher-shalal-hash-baz" (Isaiah 8:3) The land was called Immanuel in
Isaiah 8:8.
b. Joseph called the child Jesus: Matthew 1:25
5. Two kings forsaken:
a. The prophetic statement "when the child
is young, the land whose two kings you dread (cf. 2 Kings 16:5) will be
forsaken (ie. Rezin king of Aram and Pekah king of Israel)" (Isa 7:16)
was fulfilled in 732 BC when Pekah was killed by Hoshea and shortly
thereafter Rezin was killed.
b. Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser III
(aka Pul) for protection against Rezin, king of Damascus. Rezin is killed
by the Assyrian king. The same year Pekah is killed: 2 Kings 16:5-18; 2
Chron 28:19-27. Ahaz made a model of the pagan altar in Damascus in the
temple in Jerusalem and worshipped the Aramean pagan gods.
c. The messianic fulfillment involved the
death of not two, but one dreaded king Herod the Great in 1 BC, who a few
months before his death ordering the slaughter of the children of
Bethlehem.
6. Selecting portions of a prophecy for its
secondary fulfillment is typical Midrashic style and is useful as a guide
in decoding the Olivet Discourse.
a. Neither child was called Immanuel.
b. Two kings were forsaken in the original
fulfillment (Pekin and Rezin), but only one at the time of Jesus (Herod the
Great).
7. This is typical Midrashic style and is useful as
a guide in decoding the Olivet Discourse.
By Steve Rudd 2020: Contact the author for comments, input or
corrections.
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