Isaiah 7:1-9

Isaiah 7:1–9 KJV 1900

1 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. 2 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. 3 Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; 4 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. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, Have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6 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: 7 Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8 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. 9 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.

Introduction

We once again find a Judean king being threatened by Israel. 1-2

This time, however, war actually breaks out between the two kingdoms.

Ahaz, the ungodly grandson of Uzziah is attacked by Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel.

Judah became the target when Ahaz refused to ally with the Syrians and the nation of Israel in fighting against the Assyrians.

When Isaiah writes this, there has already been a major battle between the three nations where Judah lost 120,000 men.

Ahaz, the king, was also briefly captured, but was able to escape.

The armies of Israel and Syria had besieged Jerusalem, but they had been unable to take it.

Ahaz is now back in Jerusalem and Isaiah gives us a peak into the condition of the king and the city.

First, look at how the people respond to the prospect of having to face Israel and Syria together.

Verse 2 tells us that the king and the people’s hearts were moved like trees blowing in the wind.

As the wind sways the trees of the forest, so fear swayed Ahaz’ quaking heart.

When fear agitates our spirit, we are not at our best.

God sends Isaiah to try and comfort the unsettled king.

This is interesting because, unlike Asa from this morning, Ahaz had a history of wickedness.

He definitely didn’t deserve any help from God.

God sends Isaiah anyways to encourage the king. 3

God tells Isaiah to bring his son with him.

Isaiah’s children all had prophetic names.

This son was named Shearjashub.

The name Shearjashub means “the remnant shall return.”

The boys presence and name are meant to serve as a sign of hope.

God also tells Isaiah where to meet the king.

He is to meet him at one of the cities water sources.

Ahaz, after the siege will be interested in examining how to secure water for the next attack.

Cities like Jerusalem could survive a seige for years as long the water didn’t run dry.

Interestingly, God distinguishes this water source as being near the fuller’s field.

Fullers were clothes washers.

Listen to this description of fullers in this time period.

A fullers field was where the men would go to trod upon, beat, and knead clothes with cold water to get them clean.

Ahaz may have been wicked, but the fact that God knew that he would be checking on the water shows that he wasn’t lazy.

He was a man of action.

He wanted to check personally on the water supply.

He needed to be doing something.

That characteristic will play a part in his response to God.

God tells Isaiah to let the king know that Israel and Syria are not worth getting worked up over. 4-9

How should Ahaz react? 4

Take heed

Watch out.

Faith and fear are contrary to each other and Ahaz had allowed himself and the people to be overcome with fear.

Watch yourself.

Ahaz was concerned about the city, but not as concerned as God.

He was concerned about the continuation of his reign, but not as concerned as God.

Be quiet

Be still.

Be calm.

An agitated spirit does not comport with true faith.

Fear not

Neither be fainthearted

Stop letting your heart be thrown about by fear because of these two kings.

Find something firm to hold to.

This message should have been sufficient foundation to stabilize Ahaz’s spirit.

How dangerous are Israel and Syria? 4

They are firebrands.

At one time there was fire and flame.

Now, there is only smoking tails of wood.

Gone is the strength and the wood is charred.

Not to be feared.

Actually, both kings would be dead within 2 years time.

God knows their plan. 5-6

He knows they have conspired together.

He knows they plan to replace Ahaz with a puppet king that will do their bidding.

In this passage and the next, God refers to Ahaz as the house of David.

Though he was wicked, he was a recipient of the promises to David.

Tabeal could not be king, because God was preserving the Davidic line for the time being.

God has already decided what will come of their schemes. 7-9

It won’t work.

It shall not stand.

It shall not come to pass.

God reveals a direct denial of Israel and Syria’s plans.

Everything will stay the way it is.

Rezin will be king of Syria, and Syria only.

His capital will remain in Damascus.

Israel, won’t even be around in 65 years.

Until then, Pekah will be king.

He will reign from Samaria.

Judah and Jerusalem will not be ruled by or from Samaria or Damascus.

Ahaz just needs to believe. 9

Something interesting about this phrase.

The word believe and established are the same Hebrew word.

The word means to believe/stand firm.

God had offered Ahaz something firm to stand on.

If he would believe it, accept it as true, then he would be stabilized.

If he believed the promises of God, it would change his reaction to the threats against him.

History tells us that Ahaz does not heed God’s message.

Remember this all started because Ahaz would not go to war with Israel and Syria against Assyria.

Ahaz goes and cries to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser.

He tells the king how he has been attacked for not joining the coalition against him.

Assyria makes an alliance with Judah against Israel and Syria.

This alliance has detrimental affects on the people.

Ahaz alters the altar in the Temple of God so that it can be used to worship the gods of Assyria.

All Ahaz had to do was believe God, and he would have been preserved and protected.

Instead he forms an alliance with an unholy people and leads the people away from the true God.

Faith in God has always been central to a relationship with God.

We know that without faith it is impossible to please Him.

Do we remember that anything that is not of faith is sin?

This is all great and well in theory, but how are we doing when it comes to applying this principle to real life?

When we are actually called upon to act in faith and believe God in the face of adversity, do we do it?

Do we esteem Him to be trustworthy in all things?

Do we try to shore up our bets?

We go back to the message this morning.

Is God trustworthy or do we rely on men?

Isaiah delivered a call to faith.

Tonight I ask you to believe God and see if He won’t establish you.