Behold, The Virgin Will Conceive, and You Shall Call His Name ...Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz
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| Russian Icon of the Prophet Isaiah |
It's that time of year again, and as this season of advent is upon us, I was finding myself thinking about...Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.
Many people are not aware of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, but the very fact that he was born, says a lot about prophecy and the manner in which it should be interpreted.
King Ahaz of Judah had a problem with the Syrians. Their king, Rezin, had allied himself with the king of Israel's son, Pekah, and together they were attempting to sack Jerusalem. The Lord knew this, and told His prophet, Isaiah, to go and meet Ahaz, and to tell him not to worry or become faint-hearted, for the plans of Rezin and Pekah would not prevail.
Upon conveying the Lord's message, Isaiah told Ahaz to ask a sign of the Lord to prove the truth of the message. Ahaz responded by saying he would not test God, and Isaiah, accusing him of wearying God, proclaimed:
"Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know the refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house--days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah." Is. 7:13-17
And then,...
" 'Moreover the Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.'
Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; for before the child shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.' " Is. 8:1-4
So, Isaiah prophesied of a child born for those in Judah, and his coming would be a sign that Jehovah would protect them and destroy their enemies. To a Jew reading this prophecy before Christ, the prophecy was fulfilled quite literally. A child was born. The enemies were destroyed. God Was With Them, Immanuel.
(Ah, but you say, "What about the virgin? This was not fulfilled because the prophetess was not a virgin." The simple way to clear this up brings us into a controversial discussion about Hebrew words and their meaning. The original word in Hebrew is Adamah, a word which can simply mean a young girl of child-bearing age which has not yet had a child. This is why the majority of new Bibles in English render this phrase as "young woman", and also why many King James only advocates condemn those translations as a demonic twisting of the scriptures, attempting to deny the deity of Christ. This is not the case at all. Matthew was using the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, which translated adamah by the greek word, parthenos, a word that very well can imply virginity.)
If you are dissatisfied with this interpretation of Isaiah's prophecy, then you are remembering the apostle Matthew's interpretation of it:
"So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying 'Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.' " Matthew 1:22-23
What we have is an old testament prophecy that was fulfilled immediately, physically, but somewhat partially and less than satisfactorily. Viewed from our position this side of Christ, the prophecy makes perfect sense, for it wasn't ultimately a prophecy concerning Judah and its enemies only - it was a prophecy that ultimately spoke of Christ and His defeating the final enemy - death and sin. The original was physical, the ultimate is spiritual. The original was specific, the ultimate was universal. The original was a type of the ultimate, a foreshadowing pointing the way to Christ Himself, as do the rest of the old testament scriptures.
I believe it is in this manner that we must read and interpret the prophecies of the old testament - they were all fulfilled somewhat immediately, physically, and less than satisfactorily. It is in this manner that I come to heads with those who wish to stop at the physical interpretation only, and then say they are the ones taking the Bible literally - and therefore the only ones interpreting correctly. This calls into question Christ himself, who spoke with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, expounding to them "in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Everything prophetic points to Christ. We should take our cue and point to Him with our lives as well.
Thank-you, and God Bless you all this Christmas season!