For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

“A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;”   When my husband and I got married, we knew that the chances of us having children of our own was very slim.  We were resigned to the idea of a tidy life without the joys that child-filled Christmases bring. So when despite all medical powers of prediction, we discovered we were pregnant with our oldest child, we understood what joy could be in the words “A child will be born to us.”  

In some amazing and powerful way, Israel was pregnant (Revelation 12:1-6).  She would eventually give birth to the much longed for son.  This was the child of promise the people had been waiting for since God promised Abraham “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). 

We mustn’t read over the words too quickly.  This baby had been longed for not for 10 years but for thousands.  He wasn’t coming to complete an ordinary family but the numerous-as-the-stars-family of Abraham.  He is the longed for son not only of Israel but all the nations. Isaiah sends out the world’s most joyful pregnancy announcement-“For a child will be born to us!”

Helene