Archive for house of David

Gabriel Visits a Virgin

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags , , , , , , on January 5, 2020 by paulthepoke

Luke 1:27 …to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

Luke says Mary is a “virgin”. This is the Greek word παρθένος/parthenos. Let’s focus on a couple of definitions from Strong’s and Helps Word Studies.

Strong’s defines the term as a maiden, virgin; extended to men who have not known women.

Helps states properly, a virgin; a woman who has never had sexual relations; a female (virgin), beyond puberty but not yet married.

παρθένος/parthenos is noted 15 times in the New Testament. Three (3) times the term is used in reference to Mary. The virgin is going to give birth to a child. For Jews of the day, the idea of a virgin giving birth would bring Isaiah 7:14 to mind. Prophecy is going to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The Hebrew term for virgin is “almah“. Strong’s defines the word as a young woman, a virgin, a maiden. Almah is noted seven (7) times in the Old Testament. It is translated as maid, maiden, or virgin.

Historically, there has been much debate over the meaning of the term almah in Isaiah 7:14. Many Old Testament commentators take the term to mean “the concealed one”.

When the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek in the Septuagint, almah was translated to αρθένος/parthenos. In both cases (Hebrew and Greek), there is a definite article before both terms. In English, we know this as “the” virgin.

I take it Greek Orthodox scholars understand. See the link below for great detail of linguistic study.

https://www.goarch.org/-/the-word-almah-in-isaiah-7-14

Mary herself makes the claim she is a virgin. Many translators use the term “virgin” in Luke 1:34. The text is literally translated below as…

Luke 1:34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I do not know a man?”

~

…of the house of David.

The genealogies of Luke 3 and Matthew 1 are clear. Jesus is of the line of David. It does not matter which parent, Mary or Joseph. Both have direct links to David. Luke is making the case. The Child to be born of the virgin Mary is of the line of David. The Messiah is promised from 2 Samuel 7, roughly 1,000 years and 14 generations before the conception of the Child.

2 Samuel 7:8-17 “Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’” In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

Isaiah 11:1 Jesus, The Branch

Posted in Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 29, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

The “shoot” or “branch” that will bear fruit is Jesus. His story is the central theme of the Bible. The first mention of His coming and necessity of His arrival is told in the Garden of Eden. The context is the fall of mankind and the choice of sin. God is talking to Satan in Genesis 3:15 “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” We know this person is going be a male and He will be a human. He is the offspring of the woman.

As the narrative moves forward, we learn the Savior will come from the tribe of Judah of nation Israel. He will be a king. The scepter or sword indicates His military power. Multiple sources indicate Shiloh is a Hebrew word that has an uncertain meaning. Some take it to mean “tranquility” or “secure”. He will be obeyed. Genesis 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

We further learn He will come from a little town in Israel, Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He is eternal. Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”

Jesse is David’s father. Other prophets verify He is to come from the line of David. Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

The people of Israel, the Jews will be returning to their land. We learn He will come in “the last days”. Note, “the last days” are equated with the Jews returning to the their home land of Israel. By definition, we are in “the last days” as of December 2013. They have yet to seek their king. Hosea 3:5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

The Apostle Luke verifies Jesus is God’s promised Savior in Acts 13:23 “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus…

Witnesses in the throne room of Heaven, in the presence of the Trinity, verify Jesus is of the tribe of Judah and of the family tree of David. Revelation 5:5 and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

Jesus Himself confirms He is the One. Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Isaiah 7:10-14 What if God Personally Granted You a Request?

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , on February 16, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 7:10 Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

Now imagine if this was you in Ahaz’s position. The God of the universe is approaching you personally and talking to you. This is not a televangelist who claims to have the inside track on talking to God. This is the real deal. What if God really approached you? This happened to Ahaz.

Isaiah 7:11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

God places no limits on the request. Whatever you want to know! What would you ask God? Have you thought about it?

Isaiah 7:12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”

For starters, Ahaz is not answering God’s question. God is not asking to be tested. God is granting him a request. God is not impressed with the piety. This is not a challenge or a test for God.

Isaiah 7:13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?

At this point, Isaiah interjects with Ahaz. Wake up! Isaiah is reminding Ahaz he is in the promised and protected line of the kingdom. Ahaz is in the family tree of David. This is what God promised David and his house. 2 Samuel 7:8-16. “Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”

God then reveals to Ahaz His own sign. This leader and king I am speaking of, He will be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Talk about testing the guy’s faith…

Isaiah 7:1-2 Family Feud

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 7:1 Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.

Effectively, the northern kingdom of Israel has formed an alliance with Aram, modern day Syria. The northern kingdom has turned against family, the southern kingdom of Judah. This takes place in roughly 735 BC. The northern alliance decides to go south and attack Jerusalem. The campaign was not a success.

The primary characters are the following. Ahaz is the king of the Judah in the south. His name means “he has grasped”. He was the eleventh king of Judah. Ahaz was a direct ancestor to Jesus Christ. He was not a good king. He was wicked and turned to idolatry. He believed in mulitculturalism and introduced other religions and foreigners. Ahaz also turned against his family in the north. He formed an alliance with the Assyrians and Tiglath-pileser in response to the alliance in the north that was formed against him. Ahaz was king for sixteen years and died when he was 35 (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible People).

Pekah is the king of northern Israel. His name means “opened”. He was the nineteenth king of Israel and he reigned for nine years. He gained power by plotting and executing an assassination of King Pekahiah. He was not a good king. Pekah was power hungry. As God would have it, Pekah lost his life and crown with a conspiracy. Hoshea conspired and killed Pekah (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible People).

Rezin is the king of Aram, modern day Syria. His name means “firm”. He was the last king of Syria. The line ends with him (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible People).

Isaiah 7:2 When it was reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.

Ahaz is in the house of David. We know this because of the genealogies documented throughout the Old Testament. Specifically, a complete genealogy of Christ is stated in Matthew 1. Ahaz, David, and Jesus are all documented to be in the same family tree.

The meaning of Aram or Arameans is “exalted”. The exalted ones had moved into the hill country of northern Israel. Ephraim is a name used for the northern kingdom in Isaiah. Ephraim is a tribe of Jews that is from the second son of Joseph back in Genesis.

This action by the northern alliance is clearly unsettling to the king and his people in the south. Their inner soul or being shook. The Hebrew word for shook is nuwa’. According to Strong’s Concordance it means: to wave, quiver, vibrate, swing, stagger, tremble, be unstable, to totter, or go tottering. Bravery was not a strong suit of Ahaz and he was perceived to be weak.

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