Context – The nation of Israel had been split into northern and southern kingdoms for generations, and the northern kingdom was planning to overpower Jerusalem in the south. To a terrified king Ahaz in the south, Isaiah brings God’s message of hope for their time and an even bigger sign for the future:

Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Context – This is the beginning of the incarnation (which means “taking on flesh” or “God becoming human”). While people mainly speak about Jesus’ virgin birth (as confirmed in Matthew 1:25), here we see the beginning of His human life with His virgin conception:

Luke 1:26b-28,30b-31,34-35 & Matthew 1:19-23 – God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you”… 30b “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus… 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God… Mt 1:19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Context – Paul is using a metaphor with the church at Galatia that compares the position of a slave and a child to the master of the house. Both are in subjection under guardians until the child comes of age. And, until Christ came, we were all held under the law and in slavery to sin:

Galatians 4:4-7 – But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

• What is so significant about Jesus’ virgin conception and birth? 
• Why was Jesus called “Immanuel”?
• How do we go from being slaves of sin to heirs with Jesus?