Did you make it – or was it given to you? Well, actually I’d like to say I made it. But I really didn’t – it was given to me.
If something was given to you, you couldn’t claim that you made it yourself – right? Well, this was the point Isaiah was making when he said in Chapter 9, verse 6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us.”
Now Isaiah was referring to the coming of Messiah, whose name would be called “Mighty God.” So he makes careful distinction between the child who was “born” and the son who was “given.” You see, the child was born, but the Son was never born. He is the eternal, second member of the Triune Godhead. Micah 5:2 says that “His goings forth have been from of old, from…eternity.” The “child” is a reference to our Lord’s humanity, and as a child He was “born.” The Son, however, is a reference to our Lord’s deity. And as the Son, He was not born – He was “given.”
This word “given” is a word that means “to give, or grant, or yield.” But in the “niphal” form of the Hebrew verb, it has the meaning of “to be given; to be delivered; to be placed.”
The Son was placed in Mary’s womb. He was given by the Father to be united with humanity. He was delivered out of heaven to enter the realm of earth. So, strictly speaking, Isaiah says “For a child will be born to us,” but “the Son will be given to us.”
Say, do you remember John 3:16? – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”