In this in-depth Bible study, we encourage you to “think outside the box” in order to learn the true meaning of the prophetic passage in Isaiah 7:14 (and context).
Now, it would appear that mankind has “thought outside of the box” when it comes to religion today. After all, they have built a church on practically every street corner in town. They have made it so easy to attend the “church of your choice”, and hear the common religious traditions that have been handed down for generations. But do these religious organizations truly take on the challenge of rightly dividing God’s Word?
We challenge you to lay aside preconceived beliefs, and study Isaiah 7:14-16 not just as isolated passages, but as puzzle pieces that must be fitted together.
Isaiah 7:14-16 (KJV)
7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
There are many generalized questions that this text brings to mind:
- Why does the Bible tells us many details about some ancient historical accounts, and yet shows us very little about many other major events?
- Why has God caused some seemingly minor events to be written down, while other major events are totally omitted from scriptural coverage?
- Why are some events of Jesus’ life described several times in the gospels, while vast areas of His life are not mentioned at all?
- Why are so many of the scriptural accounts in the old testament writings written in such a hard-to-understand manner?
There are also many specific questions that this text brings to mind:
- How can anyone eat butter and honey, and thereby learn to refuse evil?
- The verses that follow include men with arrows and bows moving into a place just because it was grown up with briers and thorns, and God whistling (hissing) for a fly in the uttermost part of Egypt and for a bee in the land of Assyria… what does THAT mean?
- And how can such a context fit the thought of Jesus’ virgin birth?
We will study these topics and many others, including the thought of Bethlehem (Jesus’ birthplace) as a “house of bread” and the “spiritual sandwich” with butter and honey (YUM!) the Lord is serving us in these last days.
There is a GREAT need for God’s people to know how to tell if someone is “rightly dividing the word of truth”, and therefore properly interpreting the Scriptures. Are YOU up to The Challenge?
Read: The Challenge
See Also:
What Jesus Said That Few Believe
Most religions today contradict Jesus as to what being “born again” really means.
The Eternal Danger of the Letter
A big aspect of “rightly dividing the word of truth” is to know WHICH Scriptures are symbolic, and which are to be taken at “face value”.
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