Posts Tagged: Immanuel

Wrong Question? Right question? No question!

On July 4, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 

But Moses said to God, “Who am I . . . ?” that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

And He (i.e., the LORD) said, “Certainly I will be with you . . .” (Exodus 3:11-12).

Moses was asking the wrong question.  He was asking who he was.  Who was Moses to go to Pharaoh, and tell him to let God’s people go from their slavery?

The right question was this: “God, will You go with me?”

Actually, Moses didn’t even need to ask this question.  The LORD God was going with Moses, whether or not Moses asked!

Have you ever been asked—or told—to do impossible things?  Have you ever asked the question, “Who am I to do this?”

Wrong question!  If God tells us to do something, God will go with us.

The with-us-ness of God is one of the most comforting and empowering truths of the universe.  And it wasn’t just Moses that God was with.  God was with Israel when they went through the fires and floods (Isaiah 43:2).

For Christians, Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s with-us-ness.  Joseph, Mary’s husband, was thinking about divorcing his betrothed wife.  She was pregnant, and Joseph was quite certain that the child was not his.

However, an angel appeared to him in a dream.  I’ll let Matthew tell this story.

“But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

‘BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL’ which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US.’”

I was puzzled by this passage for years.  Name him “Jesus.”  This fulfills the prophecy that the child will be called “Immanuel.”

Matthew explains that the name “Jesus” (which literally means “the LORD will deliver”) means that Jesus will primarily deliver his people from their sins.  It should be noted that even (especially?) God’s people need to be forgiven.  And the name “Immanuel” means “God-with-us.”

However, there is a problem:  Name him “Jesus,” to fulfill the prophecy that he will be called “Immanuel.”

What!  That sounds like someone saying, “Name him ‘George,’ since it was predicted that he would be named ‘Timothy’!”

But eventually, I got it: THE ONLY WAY FOR GOD TO BE WITH US IS FOR GOD TO DELIVER US FROM OUR SINS.

I have heard it said this way.  I have no idea who said it, but it cannot be said better.  “God is not against us for our sins; rather, God is for us against our sins.”

Who are you to do something impossible, like dealing with the messes you’ve endured or created?  Wrong question!  God is with you!  And that’s not a question.  It is a glorious reality!

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