Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
December 20, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Isaiah 7:10-14
This reading is messianic par excellence. King Ahaz has entered an alliance with the Assyrians. Isaiah has warned the king to rely on the Lord and he won’t need the Assyrians’ help. God offers to give Ahaz a sign of his care for his people. Ahaz effectively responds, “Let’s keep God out of this. I can handle things myself.” Isaiah says that God will give the king a sign anyway. “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel” meaning “God with us.”
We don’t know to whom Isaiah was referring, but Christian believers have always interpreted the prophecy as referring to the virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus the Messiah. God was with his people then. He still is now.
