OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS

At the very heart of Advent is the anticipation and celebration of the incarnation—of God's being present with us. Our Old Testament lessons for the fourth week of Advent turn directly on this central theme.  Isaiah 7:10-16 is a prophecy that anticipates Immanuel ("with us is God"), and Psalm 80 is a communal petition for God to be present.

Isaiah 7:10-16 - "The Sign of Immanuel"
Setting.   Isaiah 7:10-16 is a central Old Testament text for Christians. It was already given a central place in the formation of the Gospel of Matthew (where  Isaiah 7:14 is quoted as a prophecy about the birth of Jesus), and it has continued to play a central role in our Advent worship throughout Christian history.

Toward the end of the eighth century B.C.E. a number of Judah's neighbors,…