f the living God,
who palpably wishes to reveal to him that He is a living God,
sacrifices his son to the dead idol Moloch, who never yet gave the
smallest sign of life! In this mirror we may see the condition of human
nature.--The circumstance that it is not Ahaz, but the house of David
that is addressed, indicates that the deed is a deed of the whole
house.--The Prophet says, "_My God_," _i.e._, the God whose faithful
servant I am, and in whom ye hypocrites have no more any share. In Ver.
11, the Prophet had still called Him the God of Ahaz.

Ver. 14. "_Therefore the Lord himself giveth you a sign: Behold the
Virgin is with child, and heareth a Son, and thou callest his name
Immanuel._"

Ahaz had refused the proffered sign; the whole depth of his apostacy
had become manifest; no further regard was to be had to him. But it was
necessary to strengthen those who feared God, in their confidence in
the Lord, and in their hope in him. For this reason, the Prophet gives
a sign, even against the will of Ahaz, by which the announcement of the
deliverance from the two kings was confirmed. Your weak, prostrate
faith, he says, may erect itself on the certain fact that, in the Son
of the Virgin, the Lord will some day be with us in the truest manner,
and may perceive therein a guarantee and a pledge of the lower help in
the present danger also.--"Therefore"--because ye will not fix upon a
sign. _Reinke_, in the ably written Monograph on this passage, assigns
to [Hebrew: lkN] the signification, "nevertheless," which is not
supported by the _usus loquendi_.--[Hebrew: itN] must be translated as
a Present; for the pregnancy of the Virgin and birth of Immanuel are
present to [Pg 44] the Prophet; and the fact cannot serve as a sign, in
so far as it manifests itself outwardly, but only in so far as, by
being foretold, it is realized as present.--[Hebrew: hva] _He_, _i.e._,
of His own accord without any co-operation, such as would have taken
place if Ahaz had asked the sign.--[Hebrew: lkM] refers by its form to
the house of David; but in determining the sign, it is not the real
condition of its representative at that time which is regarded, but as
he ought to be. In substance, the sign given to ungodly Ahaz is
destined for believers only.--[Hebrew: hnh] "behold" indicates the
energy with which the Prophet anticipates the future; in his spirit
it becomes to him the immediate present. Thus it was understood as
early as by _Chrysostom_: [G