ISAIAH 7-8: “The Ministry Of Isaiah To King Ahaz and
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we looked at
Isaiah’s calling to the prophetic office
1.1.1.
We saw that it was during
the year of king Uzziah’s death when the people had become lukewarm in the
relationship with the Lord
1.1.2.
Isaiah had a vision of the
Lord in the glory of His holiness
1.1.3.
Isaiah realized his own
sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people around him
1.1.4.
Isaiah volunteered to go as
the Lord’s representative
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at Isaiah’s ministry to King Ahaz who was the son of Uzziah’s son
Jotham
1.2.1.
There were tremendous
pressures on Ahaz at this time
1.2.1.1.The nation of
1.2.1.2.The nation of
1.2.1.3.Now,
1.2.1.3.1.About 733BC these two kings besieged Jerusalem, and 2 Kings 16:5 tells
about when these two kings came together and besieged Judea, “5 Then Rezin
king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to
wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.”
1.2.1.3.2.We know that one of David’s descendants had to remain on the throne
until the Messiah came because He was prophesied to be a descendant of David’s
and to rule with an everlasting kingdom upon the throne
1.2.1.4.In the south,
1.2.1.4.1.Ahaz wondered if he should rely upon Egypt and form an alliance with
them against the Israeli/Syria alliance and Assyria
1.2.2.
Isaiah’s message
1.2.2.1.In chapter 7, Isaiah tries to get Ahaz to simply trust God and to avoid
forming any alliance with the kings of the earth, but rather to trust
whole-heartedly in the Lord for deliverance
1.2.2.2.Isaiah tells Ahaz that judgment from the Lord will occur if he places
his trust in any nation rather than upon the Lord
1.2.2.3.In chapter 8, we see that Isaiah tries to get the people of
2.
VS 7:1-2 - “1 Now it came about in the days
of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the
king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to
Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.2 When it was
reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,”
his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake
with the wind.” - Isaiah tells us that the kings of
2.1.
After Uzziah’s death, Jotham reigned for
perhaps 14 years, however Isaiah does not record any prophetic activity during
his entire reign. Now, Jotham’s son Ahaz
was king of
2.2.
King Ahaz reigned probably in the years 743 –
727BC. This march on
2.3.
As was stated above, the kings of
2.4.
The two kings could not conquer
2.5.
Isaiah records that king Ahaz’ heart along
with the heart of the people shook violently with fear because of this advance
of these two kings.
3.
VS 7:3-4 - “3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah,
“Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the
conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field,4 and say to
him, ‘Take care, and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because
of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of
Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.” - Isaiah tells us how the Lord told him to go
up to Ahaz and tell him not to be afraid of these kings
3.1.
Isaiah gave his two sons names which typified
the message that God had given him, thus whenever he or anyone referred to
these sons they would be reminded of the message that the Lord had given to
him.
3.1.1.
At the Lord’s prompting, Isaiah took his son
‘Shear-jashub’ with him to meet Ahaz.
This son’s name meant, “A remnant shall return.” Isaiah’s message was one of judgment against
the nation of Israel, but one that also told that the Lord would return a
faithful remnant to the land after their being conquered and held captive in
Babylon.
3.2.
The Lord told Isaiah that these two kings
were not to be feared, for they were mere ‘smoldering firebrands’, there was no
real fire for which they were capable of for the Lord’s hand was against them.
4.
VS 7:5-6 - “5 ‘Because Aram, with Ephraim
and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,6 “Let us go up
against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls,
and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”” - Isaiah tells us that the Kings
of Israel and Syria planned to place Tabeel, a Syrian, to be king in place of
King Ahaz in Judea
4.1.
The Lord is revealing to Isaiah what the
plans of these two kings are.
5.
VS 7:7-9 - “7 thus says the Lord God, “It
shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.8 “For the head of Aram is Damascus
and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be
shattered, so that it is no longer a people),9 and the head of Ephraim is
Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not
believe, you surely shall not last.”’”” - Isaiah tells us that the Lord assures that
this plan of these two kings will not stand
5.1.
The Lord reveals to Isaiah how Ahaz can be
sure that the plan of these two kings will not prevail against
6.
VS 7:10-13 - “10 Then the Lord spoke again to
Ahaz, saying,11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep
as Sheol or high as heaven.”12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the
Lord!”13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing
for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as
well?” - The
Lord moves Isaiah to tell King Ahaz to ask the Lord for a sign to prove that the
words which Isaiah has spoken to him are true and will come to pass
6.1.
There are times in the scriptures when asking
for a sign is the result of sinful unbelief, and therefore the Lord does not
desire this type of seeking for a sign.
6.1.1.
For instance, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and
scribes for seeking for a sign because their hearts were wicked and they would
not have believed had they received any sign of their choosing. In fact, they were seeing signs all of the
time yet continued in their unbelief.
6.2.
There are other times in the scriptures when
asking for a sign is not condemned by the Lord, and He in fact obliges the
request.
6.2.1.
Gideon asked for the sign upon the fleece so
that he could know for sure that the words of the Lord, concerning his leading
the nation to conquer her enemies, was truly from the Lord.
6.2.1.1.In
Gideon’s case he received two confirmations of God’s words through the signs
which he asked for, and then he believed God’s words and went and performed his
calling.
6.3.
Here, Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign
because he knew that the Lord would answer that request if it was asked in
faith. Ahaz should then obey the Lord if
He answered by confirming via this sign.
6.4.
Ahaz seemed to give a pious response to
Isaiah’s request. He told Isaiah that he
would not ask a sign from the Lord because this would be to put the Lord to a
test, something that is condemned in the scripture.
6.4.1.
During Jesus’ temptations by the devil, the
devil asked Him to throw Himself off of the temple for the scriptures promised
that the angels would protect Him.
However, Jesus responded that you should not put the Lord to a
test. This type of testing means to
unnecessarily cause the Lord to have to act on your behalf and reveal His
supernatural power to protect you.
6.4.2.
People put God to the test when they simply
don’t believe His word and promises.
6.4.3.
Ahaz’s words seemed pious however they were
really the result of his unbelief and disobedience. He didn’t want to ask the Lord for a sign
because he didn’t want to be accountable to do what the Lord wanted him to
do. Ahaz was determined to do whatever
he had purposed in his own heart, and to trust in the arm of man for his help,
not in the Lord and He alone.
6.5.
Isaiah warns the entire nation of
6.5.1.
We Christians need to take it to heart that
we must not allow unbelief to rule in our hearts, else we shall also be testing
the Lord. We must place our trust in the
faithfulness of God and His promise to fulfill every word that He has promised
in His word.
6.6.
Faith and obedience are married to one
another. If we truly believe God we will
and must also be obedient to Him.
Likewise, there is no obedience to the Lord that does not come out of
faith.
6.6.1.
God puts His people to the test at times in
order to see if they are willing to be obedient to Him. King Ahaz and the people of
6.6.2.
We as Christians need to consider whether or
not we also are willing to trust the Lord with our life. He has done so much for us, and revealed His
power and love in so many ways to us (especially as we read the scriptures),
now the question is whether or not we are going to now trust Him with our
lives.
6.6.2.1.Are
we willing now to trust that God knows best in our lives, and thus obedience is
the best and only option we will consider.
7.
VS 7:14-16 - “14 “Therefore the Lord Himself
will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and
she will call His name Immanuel.15 “He will eat curds and honey at the time He
knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.16 “For before the boy will know
enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will
be forsaken.” - Isaiah tells us that Ahaz (and the rest of
the nation of
7.1.
There are consequences to all of our actions
in this world, good or bad depending upon the things that we do in our
lives. For us as God’s people, there are
consequences that we will face for our sin and unbelief (see Col. 3:25), and
here we see that King Ahaz and the nation of Israel will as a result of their
unbelief and disobedience receive a sign from the Lord.
7.2.
This sign is the sign of the virgin birth of
the Messiah.
7.2.1.
Isaiah tells us that it is a ‘virgin’ who
will be with child and bear a son.
7.2.1.1.This
Hebrew word that is used for ‘virgin’ can also be translated as young maiden,
however everywhere it is used in the scriptures, and outside, the young woman
referenced is a virgin, therefore ‘virgin’ is a good translation here.
7.2.1.2.The
virgin birth was first announced by God in Genesis chapter 3 when the Lord told
Eve that her ‘seed’ (singular) would bruise the serpent (the devil) upon the
head (the devil’s authority and power were overthrown upon the cross of
7.3.
This child was to be given the name
‘Immanuel’, which is translated, “God with us, ” (see Matt. 1:23). This verse prophesies the divinity of the
Messiah.
7.3.1.
This name is a title which the Messiah was to
have, and which describes in detail the Lord Jesus. He truly was God in the flesh, totally man
but also totally God.
7.3.2.
Hebrews 1:3-14
is one of many passages that reveal the divine nature of Jesus, that He was in
fact God in the flesh, “3 And He is the radiance
of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things
by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty on high;4 having become as much better than the
angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.5 For to which of
the angels did He ever say, “Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee” ?And
again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me” ? 6 And when He again brings the first-born
into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says, “Who makes His
angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O
God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His
kingdom. 9 “Thou hast loved
righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee With the oil of gladness
above Thy companions.” 10 And, “Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the
foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Thy hands; 11 They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment, 12
And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up;
As a garment they will also be changed.
But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever
said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies A footstool for Thy
feet” ? 14 Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit
salvation?”
7.3.3.
John in
his gospel, chapter 1, is another passage that speaks of the divinity of
Jesus. There Jesus is typified as being
before anything was created, and being the exact expression or “word” of God,
and then becoming flesh.
7.4.
Churds are any food that is made from butter
or milk, and thus we see the humility of the Lord’s life in that He came and
ate the food of the most common people, churds and honey.
7.4.1.
Isaiah seems to be indicating that because
King Ahaz was choosing to trust in the arm of man rather than be obedient to
God and trust in Him alone as God would have it, a consequence of his action
was that the Messiah would come and instead of reigning upon a glorious throne
over Israel, He would come and live in humility and poverty.
7.5.
The coming of this son will occur some 600
years later, and thus Isaiah tells us that these two kings will fall long
before this son of a virgin learns to do good.
7.6.
This sign given to the nation will test them,
for the Lord will require the hearts of the people to read the scripture
because the Messiah will not come to them in the way in which they will expect
Him. They will want a political Messiah
who will lead them and conquer the nations, however the King that they will
receive will come by virgin birth and come to live a life of humility and
poverty. This Messiah will be the stone
which the builders will stumble over, for they will not be expecting Him to be the
chief corner stone.
8.
VS 7:17-25 - “17 “The Lord will bring on you,
on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since
the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”18 And it will
come about in that day, that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the
remotest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of
Assyria.19 And they will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the
ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering
places. 20 In that day the Lord will
shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the
king of
8.1.
This day of judgment from the Lord for the
nation of
8.2.
The nation of
8.3.
The nation of Assyria will be more organized,
as typified by the bee, however like swarms of attacking bees the nation of
Assyria will come upon the
8.3.1.
The nation of
8.3.2.
The nation of Judea will be conquered not by
Assyria though, but by
8.3.3.
After Babylon conquers Judea the cities will
be burned down and there will only be left some cultivating of the land, some
raising of cattle, some growing of grapes, however not much else will be
happening.
9.
VS 8:1-4 - “1 Then the Lord said to me,
“Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is
the booty, speedy is the prey.2 “And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses
for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”3 So I
approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the
Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz;4 for before the boy knows how
to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of
Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”” - Isaiah tells us that the Lord
gave him another message, and the Lord directed Isaiah to name his second son
after this message
9.1.
Isaiah’s ministry in chapter 7 was to king
Ahaz, whom Isaiah challenged to have faith in the Lord and to show his faith by
being obedient to the Lord and trusting in the Lord alone to be his help. In chapter 8, Isaiah’s ministry is to the
people of
9.2.
Isaiah tells us that the Lord’s message to
the nation of
9.2.1.
The name that the Lord told Isaiah to name
this second son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, is a name that means the same as this
message Isaiah was to write on the large tablet.
9.2.2.
The message is that the Lord is going to
cause the nation to fall quickly and there is nothing that they will be able to
do about it.
9.3.
‘The prophetess’ is Isaiah’s wife, and she
has this name even though she herself may have only been considered a
prophetess because she was married to a prophet.
9.4.
Isaiah tells us that even before this son
that the Lord will give him knows how to cry out, ‘My Father’, or ‘My Mother’,
that the
9.4.1.
King Ahaz was worried about
9.5.
We see later on in history that the Lord
slays the Assyrian army when they come to attack Judea under the rule of
Hezekiah, and Hezekiah seeks the Lord for deliverance, and that instead of
Assyria it is actually the nation of
9.5.1.
The northern
10.
VS 8:5-7 - “5 And again the Lord spoke to me
further, saying, 6 “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing
waters of Shiloah,And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 “Now
therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant
waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and
go over all its banks.” - The Lord tells Isaiah that these two kings
will fall to the king of
10.1.
There is a bit of a mystery about what the
‘gently flowing waters of Shiloah’ refer to in these verses, however the best
explanation that I have heard is that since Jerusalem’s water supply came to it
via an underground waterway that this referred to the water supply into the
city, however that it also then pictured the healing waters of refreshing that
came from being the people of the living God.
10.1.1.It
was because the king of
10.2.
Isaiah speaks in these verses about the King
of Assyria and his forces as being a like ‘strong and abundant waters of the
11.
VS 8:8 - “8 “Then it will sweep on into
11.1.
It appears that the king of Assyria and his
armies would travel through Judea and even fight battles upon the
11.2.
Isaiah tells us that even though the waters
of the invading armies of Judea would overflow into
11.3.
There is very interesting language used here
in this verse as Isaiah refers to the Assyrian’s filing out all over the
11.3.1.Immanuel
was the name of the divine child to be born of the virgin announced in Isaiah
7:14, and it is interesting that Isaiah uses that name here. Some commentators have tried to make the
Isaiah 7:14 verse refer to someone in Isaiah’s day, perhaps even one of his
sons, however I think that this view really has come out of unbelief. I believe this for a couple of reasons:
11.3.1.1.The
New Testament is clear that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us that Isaiah 7:14
refers to the Messiah to be born of a virgin.
11.3.1.2.Neither
of Isaiah’s sons were given the name of Immanuel, rather their names were very
specifically dictated by the Lord and were to serve other ends.
11.3.1.3.No
other person contemporary to Isaiah could have this fit him.
12.
VS 8:9-10 - “9 “Be broken, O peoples, and be
shattered; And give ear, all remote
places of the earth. Gird yourselves,
yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet
be shattered. 10 “Devise a plan but it
will be thwarted; State a proposal, but
it will not stand, For God is with us.”” - Isaiah tells us that the Lord is telling him
that all nations and peoples and remote places of the earth shall be overrun
12.1.
God used nations to carry out His judgments
in history-past, and here He is using Assyria to judge the nations, however
12.2.
The Lord tells Isaiah that the devises and
plans of men will be thwarted and they will not be able to avoid this
overflowing of the nation of
13.
VS 8:11-13 - “11 For thus the Lord spoke to me
with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people,
saying, 12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a
conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. 13 “It is the Lord of hosts whom you should
regard as holy. And He shall be your
fear, And He shall be your dread.” - Isaiah tells us that the Lord spoke to him that
he was not to walk in the way of the people who are fearful of the future
13.1.
The people in Judea were looking to the
wisdom of this world for answers, and they were trying to surmise what might be
the wisest thing for
13.1.1.So
many today are also looking for their help and hope in every place but the
Lord, and in fact many in the church are looking to the arm of the flesh for
wisdom and security when the should be looking to the Lord. God wants us to trust in Him and Him alone
for our help, wisdom, and protection. He
wants to also show Himself strong on our behalf if we will just give Him a
chance to do so.
13.2.
The Lord tells Isaiah to tell the people that
it is the Lord of Hosts who is holy and whom they should fear, not the arm of
man.
13.2.1.Jesus
said that since man can only kill the body but God can kill and then send the
body to hell, it is better to fear God not man.
14.
VS 8:14-16 - “14 “Then He shall become a
sanctuary; But to both the houses of
14.1.
The Lord is putting both houses of
14.1.1.Again,
as I mentioned in the previous chapter, the Lord teaches us and reveals Himself
to us and then at some point in time He asks us whether or not we will believe
Him and trust Him with our lives. He
tests us as to whether or not we are willing to let go of our life and let Him
have the reigns?
14.2.
We know that the Old Testament scriptures
teach us that the Lord planned all along to put
14.2.1.Jesus
quoted Psalm 118:22 in
Matt. 21:42, for instance, “22 The stone which the
builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”
14.3.
Isaiah had disciples evidently, for he says
to his disciples in verse 16 to bind up his testimony and to seal it in a
scroll for later reference and use.
15.
VS 8:17-18 - “17 And I will wait for the Lord
who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for
Him.18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and
wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.” - Isaiah tells us that he is
going to wait for the Lord to fulfill His word
15.1.
God is going to judge
15.2.
Isaiah tells us that both he as well as his
sons are for ‘signs and wonders in
15.2.1.We
can see this in their names:
15.2.1.1.Isaiah’s
name meant, “Yahweh is salvation”
15.2.1.2.Isaiah’s
son Shear-jashub’s name meant, ‘A remnant
will return’
15.2.1.3.Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz meant, ‘Hasten the
booty, speed the spoil’
15.2.2.We can see this in the prophetic word spoken through
Isaiah concerning
16.
VS 8:19-22 - “19 And when they say to you, “Consult the
mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult
their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?20 To the law
and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is
because they have no dawn.21 And they will pass through the land hard-pressed
and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be
enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.22 Then they
will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of
anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.” - Isaiah speaks against those in the nation who
resorted to mediums and spiritists in order to know what the future held or
what decisions that they should make
16.1.
When the
nation of
16.1.1.For instance, King Saul went to the witch of Endor in
order that he might receive a word from Samuel the deceased prophet, and they
Lord judged him for this sin.
16.2.
Isaiah mocks the mediums and spiritists
calling them those ‘who whisper and mutter’.
16.2.1.
This probably refers to the fact that they
worked much like magicians or illusionists upon impressionable people. They would perhaps make sounds or utterings
much like a ventriloquist would in order to make their clients think that they
were actually in communication with the dead.
16.3.
Isaiah tells us that if people do not affirm
His word that ‘they have no dawn’, indicating that there is no hope for
tomorrow in them, no light of a better day when those in God’s kingdom shall
reign with Him.
16.4.
Isaiah further tells us that those who would
not acknowledge his words as from the Lord would have a hard path to walk down
for they would be ‘hard-pressed and famished’, and they would also be
‘hungry…enraged and curse their king and their God’. In fact, Isaiah tells us that they will look
and behold ‘distress and darkness’ and that they would even eventually be
‘driven into darkness’.