“When he [King Herod] had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:…’” 

Matthew 1:22-23

In these verses, there are actually two prophecies, not one. First, a virgin will conceive. We’ve already considered the wonder of any conception and development of a baby, let alone that of a virgin, and we’ve looked at how God made this happen. The second prophecy is of His name — Immanuel, “which means, ‘God with us.’”

The prophet underscores two things we’ve already touched on in these two weeks together. First, there is a God. That should go without saying in the context of this devotional guide, but it still needs to be underlined. Daily our faith is assaulted with just the opposite assertion. However, several of the interviewees in Strobel’s The Case for Faith contend that the more scientists learn, the less many can believe the complexity of life and the universe is a fortuitous accident. Walter Bradley quotes James Tour as saying, “‘I stand in awe of God because of what he has done through his creation,’ he said. ‘Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God.’”¹⁶ There is a God. One God. If there were not, December would just be the middle of winter, and Christmas would not exist.

However, December is not just the middle of winter.  We are taught we are the product of billions of years of accidents culminating in us. In contrast, the prophet asserts that God not only is, but He is with us in the Man, Jesus Christ. If mathematics shows the accuracy of prophecies concerning Jesus would be statistically impossible as mere coincidence in the life of one man, I would suggest it is unwise to rely on any voice other than the prophets to tell us about the reality and involvement of God. Don’t get distracted today. God is here.
 
 
Jay W. Hill