“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV) Four hundred years is a long time for God to remain silent. Yet, in the time leading up to the birth of the Savior, God was still. The Israelites had returned to their homeland after captivity in Babylon, but it seemed the glory years of the nation were over. Now, 400 years later, they inhabited their own land but lived under Roman rule. Even worse, since the prophet Malachi spoke his final words…