And then I stumble upon Isaiah 7:13-16:
In my footnotes, it points out that the prophecy has a double fulfillment, and one of them is that an unmarried woman from Ahaz's house would marry and have a son named Immanuel, and that the oppression from his enemies would end before the child was old enough to talk and eat solid food. It said the other prophecy was of the virgin birth of Christ.Then Isaiah said, "Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted."
So, I visited this site to get a list of Messianic prophecies, and some of them have been bothering me because they don't sound like prophecies when you first read them. Yes, they happened to Jesus, too, but were they originally written for Him? In other words, I guess I'm wondering if Christians found "prophecies" in the OT simply because they were looking for them. Now, I know there are other, more specific prophecies that DO concern the Messiah. I'm just curious about the ones that don't seem to be directly about Him. Here are some examples:
Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)
BUT there are some Psalms that do seem very specific. For instance:Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. (Psalm 35:11)
I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:17-18)
They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Psalm 69:21)
This one is very interesting to me, because crucifixion wasn't popular in David's time. Therefore, it would be weird to describe his enemies piercing his hands and feet. Who runs up to somebody with a spear and gets them in the palm?For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalm 22:16)
So, I'm not denying that the OT is full of prophecies for Jesus; but I am curious as to how many actually ARE prophecies, and how many are the product of Christians who already made up their mind reading too much into the Scriptures. I feel really weird asking this, though, because I know Jesus Himself quoted some of the Psalms...
Anyway, I'd really appreciate the insight.
