Isaiah 7:1-17: Word to Judah, The Moment of Decision
Picture this. You are the king of a small nation, being threatened for the first time in generations by a huge empire, bent on conquest. Actually, the situation is worse. The other small kingdoms around you, seeing the empire headed your way, have decided they need to unify against this threat. They demand that you join them in fighting the powerful empire. To force you to join their effort, they have banded together to attack you and place a puppet king in your place. What do you do?
That situation may be too foreign to most people. We aren’t most of us kings. However, we do have responsibilities and positions in this world. We do face threats and the prospect of threats. What do you do when there is a political situation at work? What do you do when you are being treated unfairly? What do you do when people in your neighborhood form factions and fight perceived threats from others?
Do we, the people of God, engage in worldly squabbles? Do we side with one side or another? Do we join in attacks on others to save our own skin? Or, do we do what is right and trust God to sort things out? Who do you trust?
This is the situation Ahaz is facing. He can side with Syria and Israel against Assyria. He can side with Assyria against his neighbors. OR, he can do neither and trust God to take care of His people. Isaiah is sent by God to Ahaz with a warning:
“Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint…” Ahaz is supposed to trust in God, not worldly powers. God even tells Isaiah, “Ask God for a sign.” God wants to reassure Ahaz that His word is trustworthy. What is Ahaz’s response? “I will not test YHWH God.” That sounds pious. Perhaps it is. The problem with piety, is that it is often self-serving and disingenuous. Sure, you are not supposed to test God, but when He tells you to ask for a sign, obedience is better that piety!
God gives a sign anyway. This is one of the most well-known and widely discussed passages in scripture:
“The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The Bible itself clarifies an aspect of this sign. It is the far-reaching prophecy that God would fulfill His promises and send a Messiah, born of a virgin, to save His people. However, as is often the case with prophecy, there are multiple dimensions to this sign. In Ahaz’s day, before the time that it will take for a young lady to get pregnant, bear a son, and that son to be old enough to know right and wrong, the threat facing Judah will be no more. Assyria is going to take those nations away. What is more, since Ahaz will not trust God to protect Judah, and since Judah is engaged in all the sin that Isaiah has talked about in chapters 1-5 so far, Judah too is going to face punishment from God…
Who do you trust?
That situation may be too foreign to most people. We aren’t most of us kings. However, we do have responsibilities and positions in this world. We do face threats and the prospect of threats. What do you do when there is a political situation at work? What do you do when you are being treated unfairly? What do you do when people in your neighborhood form factions and fight perceived threats from others?
Do we, the people of God, engage in worldly squabbles? Do we side with one side or another? Do we join in attacks on others to save our own skin? Or, do we do what is right and trust God to sort things out? Who do you trust?
This is the situation Ahaz is facing. He can side with Syria and Israel against Assyria. He can side with Assyria against his neighbors. OR, he can do neither and trust God to take care of His people. Isaiah is sent by God to Ahaz with a warning:
“Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint…” Ahaz is supposed to trust in God, not worldly powers. God even tells Isaiah, “Ask God for a sign.” God wants to reassure Ahaz that His word is trustworthy. What is Ahaz’s response? “I will not test YHWH God.” That sounds pious. Perhaps it is. The problem with piety, is that it is often self-serving and disingenuous. Sure, you are not supposed to test God, but when He tells you to ask for a sign, obedience is better that piety!
God gives a sign anyway. This is one of the most well-known and widely discussed passages in scripture:
“The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The Bible itself clarifies an aspect of this sign. It is the far-reaching prophecy that God would fulfill His promises and send a Messiah, born of a virgin, to save His people. However, as is often the case with prophecy, there are multiple dimensions to this sign. In Ahaz’s day, before the time that it will take for a young lady to get pregnant, bear a son, and that son to be old enough to know right and wrong, the threat facing Judah will be no more. Assyria is going to take those nations away. What is more, since Ahaz will not trust God to protect Judah, and since Judah is engaged in all the sin that Isaiah has talked about in chapters 1-5 so far, Judah too is going to face punishment from God…
Who do you trust?
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