Isaiah 7

(Note: VB stands for Victor Buksbazen, the commentary mentioned earlier.)

We come now to one of the real high points of Isaiah, the Immanuel Prophecy of Isa. 7-12.  In it’s entirety most people are not aware of these chapters though many can quote 7:14 and 9:6-7 because they hear them at Christmas.  Others may be familiar with Jesus as the stone of stumbling, about the lion laying down with the lamb and something they hear at Christmas about Naphtali and Zebulun.  All these are here.  But you will be far richer if you see them all in their context.

Here is how the story starts.  The Syrians (Damascus, King Rezin) and Israel (Samaria, King Pekah) are ganging up on Jerusalem (capital of Judah) and the people and King Ahaz are afraid.  Rezin and Pekah have already ransacked the rest of Judah and are headed to Zion to replace the David King with someone names the son of Tabel.  (Read more detail in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chron. 28.)  Ahaz is evil.  He is reaching out to the Assyrians to come to his aid instead of trusting God.  Nevertheless God sends Isaiah to tell him everything will be okay.  

Isaiah takes his son Shear-Jashub (his name means A Remnant Shall Return) and meets Ahaz, not at the palace but near the aqueduct that carried water from the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s water source.  He tells Ahaz God’s message, including telling him that within 65 years Ephraim, his enemy, will no longer even be a people.  This really happened as this chronology indicates (VB, p147f).  Do the math.  It’s 65 years!

·        734BC: Isaiah met Ahaz

·        732BC: Damascus was captured and Rezin killed.

·        722BC: Samaria was captures and a large part of her population carried off into captivity.

·        669BC: Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, put a complete end to Samaria by carrying off the rest of the ten northern tribes to Assyria and resettling Samaria with colonists who became known as “Samaritans”.

Then Isaiah says, “Ask me for a sign from God.”  Now this may seem odd but it is clearly what we call a God-thing!  Evil Ahaz refuses to ask, sounding a bit pious, but actually it’s his disregard for God and His prophet.  So Isaiah gives him one anyway.  The sign is the verse you learned as a child, Isa. 7:14, Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.  Isaiah says before this Child grows up the two kings you fear will be gone and the King of Assyria will be your problem (7:16-25).

The first thing Ahaz needs to know is, interestingly, the first thing we need to know.  7:9: If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.  He needs to trust God.  He needs to lead his people to trust God.  But as you can already see, Ahaz doesn’t have a heart for trusting God.  Do we?

More tomorrow about the virgin and Immanuel.