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Overview

The reader is introduced to the first narrative portion of Isaiah. Political drama is looming. Ahaz, the king of Judah, is very concerned about the alliance of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Syria. Why? Because they joined up to invade Judah and conquer its capital, Jerusalem. King Ahaz in response, decides to trust in man rather than God. God sends Isaiah to rebuke the King. 

Isaiah 7:1

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it.

Ahaz ruled from 731–715 B.C. He was a bad king. I mean, like a real evil king. He worshipped false gods. He even sacrificed his son to Molech, the Canaanite god. One scholar wrote, “He was a cowardly, superstitious and hypocritical ruler, one of the worst kings Judah ever had.” (Bultema). The nation of Judah is far from God. Their king is a large part of the problem. 

Isaiah 7:3-7

And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 

“Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.

Interesting. God told Isaiah to bring his son, Shear-jashub, to his meeting with the king. Why? That is not normal. The answer lies in the meaning of Shear-jashub—A remnant shall return. It has already been prophesied that destruction is coming. A day of judgment is coming. The deportation of Judah will occur in 586 B.C. But even then, God promises that a remnant will return. The Messiah, the lion of Judah, will arise from the ashes. The presence of Isaiah’s son was meant to remind Judah’s king that God will fulfill his plans. Listen to YHWH, King Ahaz. 

Isaiah 7:10-17

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

This event is also spoken of in 2 Kings 16. I would read it. It will help bring some color and context. 

Here in these verses God told Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz seems to humbly decline. That is not what is happening here. He is feigning piety—because he does not want to seek the Lord. He does not want to hear His voice or obey His words. So then, Isaiah gives this legendary prophecy about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son. His name will be Immanuel. Which means “God with us”.

This is a lot of debate regarding verse 14. The prophecy. The correct translation of the word “almah”, which can mean “young woman” or “virgin”. But here is the bottom line, Matthew 1:23 tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Isaiah prophesied this and 700 years later it was fulfilled. The Bible is trustworthy. The Bible is amazing. The Bible can be trusted because its source is from the very mouth of God. 

One last thing, the end of verse 17 mentions Assyria. If you read 2 Kings 16, it would all make sense. Ahaz decided to phone in a call to the King of Assyria, asking for help, rather than trusting in God. And then, by doing a deal with the devil, Ahaz had to remove a significant amount of treasure from the house of the Lord to seal the deal. Wow. Not only did Ahaz not trust in God, he took God’s money to pay off a pagan nation. 

The rest of chapter 7 is once again talking about the future day of the Lord. Judgment will come. Judah will fall, but a remnant will return. But now there is the hope of Immanuel. 

So I ask you these questions. “Where are you placing your hope?” Are you placing it in human wisdom and earthly power or in God? Isaiah chose God. Ahaz chose man. How about you?