By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH CHAPTER 7

JEHOVAH'S DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL,
(Isa. 7:1-12:6)

A SIGN FOR AHAZ

    This chapter is set in the period of a struggle between Judah and the coalition made up of Syria and Ephraim (the 10 tribes of Israel). Ahaz, king of Judah, is terrified by the expectation of imminent invasion, when the prophet comes with a word designed for his comfort. If he will only trust in Jehovah, Judah will be delivered. He is even urged to "ask a sign" of Jehovah's good intention, but refuses. Then, he is given a sign - far-reaching in its significance, but one that the king may see and believe. The birth of a child will signify Jehovah's presence with, and preservation of, Judah.

   And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

    1. Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah king of Israel, have come to wage war against Jerusalem, but have not been able to prevail, (vs. 1, 6-7).
    2. When Ahaz hears of the coalition between Syria and Ephraim against Judah, his heart, and the hearts of his people, begin to shake - as a tree before a mighty wind, (vs. 2).
    3. The Lord sends Isaiah to the frightened king, along with his firstborn son - whose symbolic name was a pledge of Jehovah's faithful preservation of a holy remnant of His believing people. "Shearjashub" means "A remnant shall return"; that is "Repent!" (vs. 3).
    4. The king is to be careful, but calm and fearless before these two "tails of smoking firebrands", (vs. 4; comp. 30:15; 10:24; 25:4).
    5. It is their intention to create a schism in Judah and set up the son of Tabeal as king in Jerusalem; but they will not succeed. This is the Lord's own word about it, (vs. 5-7; comp. 8:10; 28:13; Psa. 2:4-6).
    6. In verses 8-9a the prophet reveals that within 65 years the northern kingdom (Ephraim, or Israel) will be shattered as a nation.
    7. If Ahaz is to be secure, he must have firm confidence in Jehovah, his God, (vs. 9b; comp. 5:24; 8:6-8; 30:12-14; 2 Chron. 20:20-24). But Ahaz wants no part of a faith-walk!

   Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

    1. Speaking through the prophet, the Lord challenges Ahaz to ask for a sign - to assure his heart that the prophetic word is utterly trustworthy, (vs. 10-11; 37:30; 38:7-8; 55:13; 2 Kings 19:29-31).
    2. But, the king's mind is made up; he is not interested in any word from the Lord. Furthermore, he WILL NOT ask; AHAZ will not tempt THE LORD! (Not recognizing that his disobedience, in refusing to ask, is doing just that.) Instead, he takes the fatal step of sending a large tribute to Tiglath-pileser (the Assyrian) - asking his aid, (2 Kings 16:7-8).
    3. Isaiah rebukes the king for this outrage (vs. 13; comp. 1:14; 43:24), and tells him that he WILL HAVE a sign: the God of the prophet ("My God", comp. 25:1) is DETERMINED that he will have it!
    4. The prophecy recorded in verses 14-15 is far-reaching, and of deep significance - having a two-fold fulfillment: one near, and symbolic; the other ultimate, complete and glorious.
      a. The near fulfillment (as a sign of Ahaz) will be revealed in the birth or a second child (a son) to be conceived shortly by the prophetess (Isaiah's own wife). His divinely-given name, "Maher-shal-al-hash-baz", meaning "the spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth", suggests the imminent overthrow of the Syro-Ephraimite coalition of which Ahaz is so miserably afraid. The very name of this "sign-child" (as related to Judah's enemies) is adequate assurance to the prophet (and should be to the king) that "God is with us"!
      b. The distant, ultimate fulfillment (for the glory of the "house of David") will be realized in the incarnation of the very Son of God (born of a virgin) to sit on the re-established throne of His father David, and to rule gloriously - not only over a re-united Israel, but over all the earth, (Luke 1:32-33).
    5. Let there be no misunderstanding: THIS AUTHOR FIRMLY BELIEVES IN THE MIRACULOUS, VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST - Son of Man and Son of God! He does NOT believe, however, that God ever intended that Isaiah 7:14 should become a theological battlefield on which the issue of that virgin birth should be decided. Intellectual honesty, and contextual evidence, forces him to take a stand that is somewhat different from that sincerely held by many of his beloved brethren.
      a. Considerable controversy has raged, among respected and competent commentators, with regard to the usage of the Hebrew word "almah" in this passage. Much of it has been highly emotional, and involved more rhetoric than reason. Some assert (as Criswell, in his footnotes on this passage) that "In the seven instances in which it appears, it is not once used of anyone other than a 'virgin', (Gen. 24:23; Ex. 2:8; Psa. 68:25; Prov. 30:19; Song. 1:3; 6:8)." Yet, there seems little concern that in three of these passages (even in the King James version) it is rendered "maid" (Ex. 2:8; Prov. 30:19) and "damsels" (Psa. 68:25).
      b. Others have suggested, with equal conviction, that to insist on the rendering of "virgin", in this passage, is to force New Testament interpretation on Old Testament revelation. And that such interpretation totally ignores the contextual usage - wherein it was to be a "sign" for Ahaz - whatever future implication it might hold for the "house of David".
      c. Whatever view one may hold on the basic meaning of "almah", the immediate context (and near fulfillment, as a "sign" for Ahaz) requires a rendering consistent with the conception and birth of a SECOND "sign-child" to the wife of the prophet.
      d. Though "the prophetess" (through whom the sign was given to Ahaz) could NOT be regarded as a "virgin"(8:3-4,8); Matthew, alluding to the passage centuries later (in connection with the birth of Jesus), is perfectly justified (under the Spirit's direction) in using "parthenos" (Gk. Matt. 1:23) the strongest possible word for "virgin" afforded by the Greek language - as he records the angelic revelation to the heavyhearted Joseph. (Nor is it unusual for New Testament writers to exercise great liberty in unfolding from Old Testament passages far richer and fuller meaning than was possible, or even proper, in their original contexts.) cp. Psa. 68:18 with Eph. 4:8 and Psa. 40:6 with Heb. 10:5.
      e. The absurdity advocated by some - that every, pious daughter in Israel kept herself pure in the hope that she might be selected as the "virgin" through which Messiah would be born - is evident in the TOTAL UNAWARENESS of the virgin Mary that such a thing was even POSSIBLE! (Lk. 1:34).
      f. The import of this prophecy, in all its glorious fullness, will be realized ONLY in the coming millennial era, when Jesus, the Messiah, rules as King of kings, and Lord of lords.

   The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

    1. Contrary to Scofield's notes, the prophet here turns his face (not toward Judah, but) toward the northern kingdom of Israel and announces such trouble as Ephraim has not experienced since departing from Judah, (I Kings 12:16).
    2. This judgment the Lord will bring upon the northern kingdom through the instrumentality of the king of Assyria, (8:7-8; 10:5-6; 2 Chron. 28:20).
    3. Hordes of Egyptians and Assyrians, comparable to flies and bees, will settle down so thickly that the whole land will be covered, (vs. 18-19).
    4. With a razor that is hired (the king of Assyria) the Lord will shave: the head, hair of the feet, and beard of Israel - involving great indignity and insufferable humiliation, (vs. 20).
    5. "A young cow and two sheep" appear to suggest poverty, (vs. 21; comp. 14:30; 27:10).
    6. Cultivated fields, which have brought them wealth, will be over-run by thorns and briars - sustaining only sheep and oxen, (vs. 23-25; comp. 5:10; 32:13-14); forgetfulness of the Lord always brings men to ruin!