A Son is Given

This post begins a week-long look at the titles of the Messiah used in the “Christmas” passages of Scripture. The posts will be as follows:

Today: miscellaneous terms

Tuesday: Immanuel

Wednesday: Wonderful Counselor

Thursday: Mighty God

Friday: Everlasting Father

Saturday: Prince of Peace

Sunday: Jesus

There are several miscellaneous nouns that are used throughout Scripture to refer to the Messiah. For our purposes we will focus on those found in Isaiah 7:14, 9:16, and Micah 5:2.

“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

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” Isaiah 9:6a

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2

Child: This designation from Is. 9:6 is an indication that this Child’s destiny is determined from a very young age. When we look at the Is. 7:14 text, we see that the indentification of this Child as "Immanuel" is from an even younger "age"-- conception. The use of this particular noun, especially coupled with the following “son,” provides an indication that this child is especially unique.

Son: Initially, this is an indication that this unique individual will be male (sorry to point out the obvious, but this is becoming an ever-increasing problem in today’s gender-neutral society). In the context of the passages, this Son is not merely any Jewish son. Rather, He is of the line of David, the ruling line of Israel. Along with the other titles coming up in the next few days, we see this Son is chosen to Rule in Israel on the throne of David.

The One to be Ruler: This indicates the purpose of the Child. What is interesting in this passage (Micah 5:2) is not the designation as ruler but rather the description of the ruler as One “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” This very clearly indicates that this Ruler is not merely another sinful, fallible human king from the line of David, but One who is eternal.

Summary: God's choice to use these particular words in the prophecies concerning the Messiah tell us that hundreds of years before the birth of the Lord Jesus, He is identified as a child – that is, He would not come as a full-grown adult, or as some type of glorious Being to whom everyone would gravitate. This Child is a matchless Son, uniquely placed and equipped to be Israel’s King. Amazingly, this Child, this Son, having an actual birth in lowly Bethlehem, is not Someone who began life as the child of an unwed mother and was taught the royal life, but is the One who has no beginning and no end and has no need of learning. He simply is.

Application: Israel tended to get caught up in emancipation—they intensely desired their freedom from imperial Rome. In their thinking, their freedom-savior would be a radical, war-minded adult ready to lead his people to war with Rome. Anyone who came along to give them that hope was looked upon as that savior. They weren’t looking for a Child. They weren’t looking in Bethlehem. They weren’t looking in a cave. They weren’t looking with the sheep.

Are we any different? Sure, we recognize the Child. We have learned from Israel’s “mistake.” I can’t help but think, though, that we too often see the Child and miss the Eternal One. We focus on the baby in the manger and miss the King of Kings, the One who is, who was, and is to come. Is this Child your King?