On Mission with God: Immanuel
• Isa 7:14 This Hebrew name occurs three times in the OT with two times being in Isa 7 & 8
• The name implies that Jesus is leaving heaven and coming to be with us here on earth.
The structure of the name: The name is really made up of three parts.
• The first part being the “im” at the beginning. This is a Hebrew preposition that means “with”
• The second part is the “nu” sound in the middle of the name, a plural ending on the preposition “im.”
• The last part of the name is El, a common word that can mean majesty and power.
o This word was generally used to refer to the deities of the nation’s surrounding Israel.
• With this name Immanuel, God sets Himself apart from the common beliefs of what the other gods are like.
The Context of the Mission Isa 7:1 These foreign countries coming against Judah represent something spiritual.
o And at this point in the history of Judah, there is nothing there worth conquering.
• These two kings represent the temptations of man.
o The name Rezin means “to open the eyes or senses.”
o The name Pekah means “good or pleasurable”
• Gen 3:2-6 When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, their eyes were opened to see good and evil.
o But that was never theirs to see. They were to focus on God, and let Him sort out good and evil.
• What really happened here, is that the devil could now become the focus of their attention.
Practical application here:
• Often times we tend to focus on a physical problem. But God is way more concerned with the spiritual issue.
o So, God sends a spiritual answer to the physical problem.
o The physical problems were merely symptomatic of their/our spiritual issues.
• God is in a mission to give us spiritual solutions to spiritual problems.
The Name in the NT: Matt 1:22 This is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isa 7.
• It is important to note that he will be called Immanuel, which speaks of His mission.
• But His name, will be Yehoshua In Hebrew, or Iesous in Greek.
o Which is where we get Jesus from.
The context of the mission: Luke 2:4-8
• In Isa 7 God spoke the name Immanuel to the nation and to the kings.
• But when Immanuel actually appears, he appears among the common and lowly people.
So what does it mean to me?
• One concept that I don’t want us to miss is that God wanted to be with us.
• The Character of God we see in this name, is the extent that He is willing to go to be with us.
How do I join Him on Mission?
• First, we have to let God be on mission in us.
• Second, we can join Jesus on mission to the common people.
On Mission With God: Immanuel
