The Immanuel Solution
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Isaiah 7:14 ESV
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Christmas is when we celebrate the extraordinary way God came down to us. In fact, the very name He used tells us so: Immanuel . . . God is with us. This week, we’ll explore a little more about what that means.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 NIV
“So the word of God became a human being and lived among us.”
John 1:14 PHILLIPS
I have a devotional book called The Book of Mysteries by Johnathan Cahn, a Messianic Jewish rabbi and pastor. In it, he offers many insights into the Scriptures based on the meanings of Hebrew words and traditions. It is written from the point of view of a traveler who encounters a mysterious teacher in the middle of the desert. Here is an excerpt from an entry titled, “EEM-ANU-EL”:
“‘I’m going to teach you how to speak Hebrew,’ said the teacher, ‘or at least one sentence.’
‘I’m ready.’
‘The Hebrew word for with is eem. And the word for us is anu.’
‘Eem . . . anu,’ I said.
‘And the word for God is El.’
‘El.’
‘So how would you say ‘With us is God’? he asked.
‘Eem . . . anu . . . El.’
‘Say it again.’
‘Eem . . . anu . . . El. Eem anu El . . . Immanuel!'”
Johnathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
The name the prophet Isaiah foretold of the Son to be born to a virgin was more than just a name. It was a statement of who that Son would be: God with us. As Christians, this isn’t really news to us. After all, this is what we celebrate every Christmas — God taking on human form and coming down to live among us. But Johnathan Cahn goes further than just giving us a Hebrew language lesson. He reminds us that by taking on this name, Jesus’ life on earth became a declaration of this reality in all situations.
When Jesus was sorrowful, it was Immanuel in sorrow, reminding us that God is with us in sorrow. When Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, it was Immanuel in the storm, reminding us that God is with us in the storm. When Jesus was despised and rejected, it was Immanuel in rejection — God is with us in rejection. When He hung on the cross in judgment, it was Immanuel in judgment — God is with us in judgment. And when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He showed us Immanuel forever — God is with us forever!
So, no matter what we face, we can remember that God is with us. That’s what Jesus, who was called Immanuel, showed us through His life on earth. He is with us and He always will be.
“Immanuel came into the world and to every circumstance of life so that we could say, ‘Eem anu El, God is with us . . . in every place, in every moment, always . . . and forever.'”
Johnathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
John 1:4-5 NIV
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Another entry in The Book of Mysteries, titled “THE IMMANUEL SOLUTION,” teaches us a lesson we can learn by considering an empty cup:
“It was early evening, just after dinner. The teacher and I were sitting by the campfire along with others. He was holding a cup.
‘An empty cup,’ he said. ‘How do we get rid of its emptiness? There’s only one way . . . by filling it.
. . . How did God accomplish salvation? By removing evil from the world? No . . . by His presence, by coming into the world, by becoming God with us, Immanuel.'”
Johnathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
We can’t remove emptiness by taking away the emptiness. We can only remove emptiness by filling it. This is a truth about cups. And it is a truth about us. God didn’t solve the problem of darkness in this world by removing the darkness. He did it by shining a light into the darkness.
Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12), and He is Immanuel, God with us. Johnathan Cahn reminds us that we can’t overcome sin and darkness by focusing on sin and darkness, but by focusing on the Light. By focusing on God’s presence in our lives. By being filled with it. Only then will the emptiness go away. That’s the truth of Immanuel.
“You overcome emptiness by dwelling on His presence. You solve your problem, not by dwelling on your problem, but by dwelling on the Answer . . . by being filled up with the Answer. . . . It’s as simple and as deep . . . as pouring water into a cup . . . the Immanuel Solution.”
Johnathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries
“‘I am the Lordโs servant,’ Mary answered.
Luke 1:38 NIV
‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.”
Mary chose to let Immanuel live in her. We are offered the same choice. God is with us, but it is up to us to let Him in. When we let Immanuel into our hearts and lives, we find the answer to the darkness and emptiness that exists in this world. We find the Immanuel Solution!
“When approached by an angel, Mary simply said, ‘Yes, be born in me!’ We are in the same position as Mary and Joseph. God wants to live in us. Take down the ‘no vacancy’ sign and say the same thing Mary did: ‘Yes, be born in me. Make my heart your home.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
This week’s Scripture passages focus on God’s presence with us. Christ became a human being and lived among us to show us what Immanuel really means. He is with us in every situation and He is the answer to anything we face. When we let Him into our hearts, His Spirit lives in us and shines a light in every dark corner. He came down to be with us, and He promises to be with us forever. So, this Christmas, let’s embrace the solution He offers us and invite Him in to fill us with His loving presence: O come, O come, Immanuel!
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Matthew 1:22-23 NIV
‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).”
References:
- Cahn, Jonathan. The Book of Mysteries. Front Line, 2018.
- Frazee, Randy. The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of Godโs Story. Zondervan, 2017.
- “‘๐บ ๐ฎ๐๐๐, ๐บ ๐ฎ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐’ ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ LIVE ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ //…” YouTube, uploaded by Joshua Aaron, 13 October 2019, https://youtu.be/yFoFOZmSIfY?si=puTgrWH8vbdjciXg.
- The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.
Images:
- Star featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
- Nativity Scene image by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash (edited)
- Star of David image by Mauistik from Pixabay
- Cup image by Kari Shea on Unsplash
- Heart Ornament image by โค Monika ๐ ๐ Schrรถder โค from Pixabay (edited)
- Star Cookie image by Silvia from Pixabay (edited)
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!