Elungata
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 28, 2011
- 40,205
- 33,224
Isaiah 7:1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
Allow me to set the scene. In 743 BC, Israel was still divided into two nations, Israel and Judah. Ahaz was 20 years old at the time and had just succeeded his father as the King of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 28:1, 2 Kings 16:2).
Allow me to set the scene. In 743 BC, Israel was still divided into two nations, Israel and Judah. Ahaz was 20 years old at the time and had just succeeded his father as the King of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 28:1, 2 Kings 16:2).
To the north of Judah were Ahaz’s rowdy neighbors, King Pekah and King Rezin. Pekah ruled Israel (sometimes referred to as Ephraim, because Ephraim was the primary tribe), and Rezin ruled Syria (sometimes referred to as Aram or Damascus, because Damascus was located in Syria at the time). These three nations were stacked on one another like an ice cream cone, with Syria on top, Israel in the middle, and Judah on the bottom.
To the east lived a big-bad-wolf named Assyria; a rising superpower that wanted to devour this tasty ice cream cone. Concerned about this threat, King Pekah (Israel) and King Rezin (Syria) agreed to join forces to fight Assyria if necessary, but King Ahaz (Judah) refused to join their coalition (most likely due to past tensions).
In what is now referred to as the Syro-Ephraimite War(736 BC-732 BC), Israel and Syria attacked areas of Judah with some success ( 2 Chronicles 28:5-6), but neither was able to independently capture Ahaz or the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:1, 2 Kings 16:5, 2 Chronicles 28:16), so they decided to join forces.
Isaiah 7:2Now the house of David was told, “Aram [Syria] has allied itself with Ephraim [Israel]”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
When King Ahaz heard about their collaboration, he feared the worst.
Ahaz was no friend of God, but Ahaz did represent the Davidic line, so it’s said that God took pity on him and sent Isaiah to reassure him that these two tyrants would not overthrow him.
Isaiah 7:3Then theLordsaid to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.4Say to him, ‘Be careful,keep calm and don’t be afraid.
Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.5Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,6“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”
The two kings to the north wanted to defeat King Ahaz and capture Jerusalem so they could share the spoils and put someone else in power whowouldhelp them in their fight against Assyria.
God tells Ahaz to keep calm, and to not be afraid, and refers to the northern kingdoms as “two smoldering stubs of firewood” that are on their way out.
Isaiah 7:7Yet this is what the SovereignLordsays:“‘It will not take place,it will not happen,8for the head of Aram is Damascus,and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.Within sixty-five yearsEphraim will be too shattered to be a people.9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.If you do not stand firm in your faith,you will not stand at all.’
Again, God reassures Ahaz that this invasion will not happen. Isaiah also gives us an important time-frame for this prophecy: within 65 years, the tribe ofEphraim (Israel) will be shattered.
Isaiah 7:10Again theLordspoke to Ahaz,11“Ask theLordyour God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put theLordto the test.”
God offers Ahaz a sign to verify what Isaiah has spoken and to strengthen his faith. Normally Ahaz would’ve been correct not to test god, but since God was offering, God (presumably) knew Ahaz needed a sign. When Ahaz refuses God’s offer, Isaiah rebukes him for acting as if he didn’t need one.
Isaiah 7:13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?
14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.15He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,16forbefore the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
If it seems a little odd to jump from a story about Ahaz and his naughty neighbors to the north, to a prophecy about the virgin birth of Jesus, that’s probably because it is. Let’s take a look at what has been prophesied so far and see if Jesus fits the bill.
Allow me to set the scene. In 743 BC, Israel was still divided into two nations, Israel and Judah. Ahaz was 20 years old at the time and had just succeeded his father as the King of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 28:1, 2 Kings 16:2).
Allow me to set the scene. In 743 BC, Israel was still divided into two nations, Israel and Judah. Ahaz was 20 years old at the time and had just succeeded his father as the King of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 28:1, 2 Kings 16:2).
To the north of Judah were Ahaz’s rowdy neighbors, King Pekah and King Rezin. Pekah ruled Israel (sometimes referred to as Ephraim, because Ephraim was the primary tribe), and Rezin ruled Syria (sometimes referred to as Aram or Damascus, because Damascus was located in Syria at the time). These three nations were stacked on one another like an ice cream cone, with Syria on top, Israel in the middle, and Judah on the bottom.
To the east lived a big-bad-wolf named Assyria; a rising superpower that wanted to devour this tasty ice cream cone. Concerned about this threat, King Pekah (Israel) and King Rezin (Syria) agreed to join forces to fight Assyria if necessary, but King Ahaz (Judah) refused to join their coalition (most likely due to past tensions).
In what is now referred to as the Syro-Ephraimite War(736 BC-732 BC), Israel and Syria attacked areas of Judah with some success ( 2 Chronicles 28:5-6), but neither was able to independently capture Ahaz or the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:1, 2 Kings 16:5, 2 Chronicles 28:16), so they decided to join forces.
Isaiah 7:2Now the house of David was told, “Aram [Syria] has allied itself with Ephraim [Israel]”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
When King Ahaz heard about their collaboration, he feared the worst.
Ahaz was no friend of God, but Ahaz did represent the Davidic line, so it’s said that God took pity on him and sent Isaiah to reassure him that these two tyrants would not overthrow him.
Isaiah 7:3Then theLordsaid to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.4Say to him, ‘Be careful,keep calm and don’t be afraid.
Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.5Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,6“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”
The two kings to the north wanted to defeat King Ahaz and capture Jerusalem so they could share the spoils and put someone else in power whowouldhelp them in their fight against Assyria.
God tells Ahaz to keep calm, and to not be afraid, and refers to the northern kingdoms as “two smoldering stubs of firewood” that are on their way out.
Isaiah 7:7Yet this is what the SovereignLordsays:“‘It will not take place,it will not happen,8for the head of Aram is Damascus,and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.Within sixty-five yearsEphraim will be too shattered to be a people.9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.If you do not stand firm in your faith,you will not stand at all.’
Again, God reassures Ahaz that this invasion will not happen. Isaiah also gives us an important time-frame for this prophecy: within 65 years, the tribe ofEphraim (Israel) will be shattered.
Isaiah 7:10Again theLordspoke to Ahaz,11“Ask theLordyour God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put theLordto the test.”
God offers Ahaz a sign to verify what Isaiah has spoken and to strengthen his faith. Normally Ahaz would’ve been correct not to test god, but since God was offering, God (presumably) knew Ahaz needed a sign. When Ahaz refuses God’s offer, Isaiah rebukes him for acting as if he didn’t need one.
Isaiah 7:13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?
14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.15He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,16forbefore the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
If it seems a little odd to jump from a story about Ahaz and his naughty neighbors to the north, to a prophecy about the virgin birth of Jesus, that’s probably because it is. Let’s take a look at what has been prophesied so far and see if Jesus fits the bill.