Matt. 1:23 - 2:19

Two days in a row! Woo-hoo!

There are four prophesies in this section, the first two are awesome. The first is from Isaiah 7 and the second is from Micah 5.


14 So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). (Message)

2 But you, Bethlehem, David’s country, the runt of the litter, from you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He’ll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished. (Message)

These passages are really cool to read in the context of the birth of Christ. The part that is the most amazing is that Herod had a lot of research done into the prophesies and so there were a lot of Jewish scribes and chief priests who must have known what was going on as they researched this for Herod. The Bible does not record any of them going to see the baby for themselves. Laziness? Indifference? Disbelief? I can't imagine how they would not be curious enough to check it out.

The second two prophesies in this reading are different to me. They are originally found in Hosea 11:1 and Jeremiah 31:15. When I read the source text for these it doesn't make any sense to me. They make sense in Matthew 2 but when you go back and read the original they appear to be taken completely out of context. In Hosea 11:1 the "Son" in question is certainly not a reference to Jesus as evidenced by Hosea 11:2. The last prophesy appears to be talking about the Israelites being exiled from Jerusalem. That one I'm not sure about, it seems like it could have many interpretations, which I don't like. Maybe I am off my understanding of this, I need to talk to someone who knows more about the original texts.