The Lord is At Hand
Background
Isaiah’s meeting with Ahaz should have encouraged his faith in Yahweh to deliver Judah from its present predicament. Instead, Ahaz discounts the reassurance Yahweh offers, and compounds his sin by refusing a divine sign. The sign of Immanuel has implications for the immediate future: Within a year or two—the time it would take for a woman to conceive, give birth, and rear a young boy—the threat from the Syro-Ephraimite alliance will have passed. The ultimate fulfillment of the sign points to the future restoration of God’s relationship with His people through the miraculous birth of God in human form (Matt 1:23).
Ahaz’s Unbelief, Isaiah’s Sign Children (7:1–8:22). During the Syro-Ephraimitic war, Aram (Syria) and the Northern Kingdom threatened to replace Judah’s king, Ahaz, with a nearby ruler. Isaiah urged the king to trust in the Lord’s promises to the Davidic dynasty. While Ahaz was inspecting the city’s water system in preparation for a siege, Isaiah and his son, Shear-jashub, met the king. The names of the prophet (Isaiah means the LORD saves) and his son (Shear-jashub means a remnant will return) were symbolic, indicating that God was fully capable of preserving His people through the crisis.
Isaiah challenged Ahaz to ask for a sign of confirmation. When Ahaz refused, Isaiah announced that the Lord would give the king a sign. In the near future a child would be born and named “Immanuel” (meaning God is with us). The name would be appropriate because he would be a living proof of God’s providential presence with His people. Before the child could distinguish right from wrong, the Lord would deliver Judah from the Aramean-Israelite coalition, demonstrating His sovereignty over Judah’s destiny.
However, due to Ahaz’s unbelief, this time of deliverance would be shortlived. To punish the king for his lack of faith the Lord would bring upon the land a crisis far worse than the Aramean-Israelite threat. Ironically, the Assyrians, to whom Ahaz looked for help (2 Kgs. 16:7–9), would invade the land and decimate its population. The curds and honey eaten by Immanuel, which at first appeared to be signs of divine blessing, would now attest to the land’s desolate condition.
Matthew 1:22–23 states that the birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. However, one must not conclude from this that the ancient Immanuel prophecy refers exclusively to Jesus. The circumstances surrounding the prophecy demand a more immediate fulfillment as well. The context of Isaiah 7:14 indicates that a child would be born in the days of Ahaz who would serve as a sign to that generation of God’s providential control of international events and of His people’s destiny. This child, who was a sign of God’s presence with His people, foreshadowed Jesus, who is “God with us” in the fullest possible sense. Matthew’s use of the Immanuel prophecy is consistent with the way he used the Old Testament elsewhere in the early chapters of his Gospel. Matthew 2:14–15 applies Hosea 11:1, which in its context speaks of the historical exodus of Israel out of Egypt, to Jesus’ flight to Egypt as an infant. Matthew presented Jesus as a new or ideal Israel, whose experience in early life is patterned after that of the nation Israel. According to Matthew 2:17–18, Herod’s slaughter of the innocent children of Bethlehem fulfilled Jeremiah 31:15, which in its context describes the mothers of Ramah (not Bethlehem) weeping as their children were carried off into exile. Herod’s action fulfilled Jeremiah 31:15 in that the event described by Jeremiah establishes a pattern to which Herod’s oppressive deeds correspond in their character.
Assyria was growing stronger and threatening the other nations, so Israel and Syria joined forces to protect themselves. They wanted Judah to line up with them, but she would not. Actually, Ahaz was secretly bargaining with Assyria to protect him (2 Kings 16:1–9). The nation was frightened because Syria and Israel were about to attack and there seemed to be no way of escape.
B. The promise (vv. 3–9).
God sent Isaiah and his son Shear-jashub (“The remnant shall return”) to meet King Ahaz while the ruler was inspecting the Jerusalem water supply. Isaiah gave the king a message of hope and confidence: “Don’t be afraid of Syria and Israel, for within sixty-five years they will be broken.” This prophecy came true: Assyria defeated Syria (Damascus) in 732, and Israel (Ephraim, Samaria) in 721, within the allotted time given.
C. The sign (vv. 10–16).
Ahaz acted very pious by refusing to receive a sign from God. So, the Lord turned from Ahaz and gave a sign to the entire house of David (v. 13). This sign was fulfilled ultimately in the birth of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:23). He was born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:31–35). To make the word “virgin” in v. 14 into the word “young woman” is to twist the Scriptures. His name was “Immanuel,” which means “God is with us” (see 8:8 and 10). Jesus Christ is God come in human flesh, yet without sin (John 1:14). He is not merely a “good man” or a “great teacher”; He is the very Son of God. To deny this is to deny the Word of God (1 John 4:1–6).
It is possible (but not necessary) that there was some kind of an immediate fulfillment of the prophecy as a sign to the king and the nation. This does not mean a miraculous virgin birth, since only Jesus Christ could be born in that manner. But it does suggest that a Jewish virgin was wed and within the next year gave birth to a child. Before this child could reach the legal Jewish age of accountability (12 years old), the enemy nations of Israel and Syria would be defeated. If this sign was given in 735 B.C., as it probably was, then by 721 the promise would be fulfilled. As we have seen, Syria fell in 732 and Samaria in 721. It is possible that the “sign child” was born to Isaiah’s wife; the record is given in 8:1–8. This would mean that the prophet’s first wife (the mother of Shear-jashub, 7:3) had died, and that the prophet married the second wife shortly after uttering this prophecy. In spite of King Ahaz’s unbelief and scheming (he robbed the temple to bribe Assyria—2 Chron. 28:21, 24–25), God graciously delivered Judah from her enemies. But Judah was left enslaved to Assyria, and only a divine intervention in Hezekiah’s day delivered the nation (see Isa. 36–37).
II. Israel Will Be Defeated by Assyria (7:17–10:34)
From 7:17 on, Isaiah is talking to apostate Israel and Pekah, her king. He warns the Northern Kingdom that Assyria will come upon them and completely ruin them, leaving the land in poverty and ruin instead of fullness of blessing. It was at this point that the “sign child” was born (8:1–4), and named Maher-shalal-hash-baz—“speed to the spoil, haste to the prey.” His name emphasized the coming ruin of Samaria and Syria (8:4). Israel’s confederacy with Syria would not protect the people (8:11–15); they needed to join with Jehovah and let Him be their stone of safety. They needed to get back to the law (8:20).
In 9:1–7 Isaiah gives a second prediction of the coming Messiah; see Matt. 4:13–16. The areas mentioned in 9:1 suffered the most when Assyria swept over Israel, but they would be the ones to see the light of Messiah. In vv. 3–5, the prophet looks down the years to the time when Israel would rejoice, when burdens would be lifted, when the weapons of warfare would be burned as fuel—the time when Jesus Christ would reign as Prince of Peace. See here the humanity of Christ (“a Child is born”) and the deity of Christ (“a Son is given”). Then the prophet jumps from His humble birth to His glorious reign, when He shall rule from Jerusalem and there shall be perfect peace.
In 9:8–10:34, Isaiah continues to warn Israel of her impending doom. He also warns Assyria not to become proud of her victories, for she is but a tool in the hands of God. Her day of defeat will come too. We may see in Assyria a type of the Antichrist who will gather all nations against Jerusalem at the Battle of Armageddon. Just as God defeated Assyria with His miraculous power, so He will defeat Satan and his united armies (Rev. 19).
III. Israel and Judah Will Unite in the Kingdom (11–12)
Note 11:12—the divided nations will one day unite and return to their land in peace. In 11:1–3 we have a picture of Jesus Christ, “the Branch.” In 6:13 we saw the nation “chopped down” as a tree, with the stump remaining; now we see Christ coming from the stump to save the people. Jesus Christ is the legal descendant of David; He is “rooted” in Judah as a Jew Himself. He is called “the Branch of the Lord” in 4:2, “a righteous Branch” in Jer. 23:5; “my servant the Branch” in Zech. 3:8; and “the man whose name is the Branch” in Zech. 6:12. The Hebrew word netzer (“branch”) ties in with the name given to Jesus in Matt. 2:23—“the Nazarene.”
The four Gospels describe “the Branch” for us as follows: Matthew—David’s righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5); Mark—my servant the Branch (Zech. 3:8); Luke—the man whose name is the Branch (Zech. 6:12); and John—the Branch of Jehovah (Isa. 4:2). Thus Jesus Christ will one day fulfill the OT promises God gave to the Jews and will reign over His kingdom in glory and victory (Rom. 15:8–12). We see all three Persons of the Godhead in 11:2—“The Spirit of the Lord (Jehovah) shall rest upon Him (Christ).” There is a seven-fold ministry of the Spirit here. Certainly the Holy Spirit empowered Christ in His ministry here on earth (John 3:34); and the Spirit shall also empower us today to enable us to serve Christ and glorify Him (Acts 1:8). From 11:4 on, we have a description of the glorious kingdom that Christ will establish when He returns to reign. It will be a time of honest judgment when sin will immediately be dealt with. Nature shall be restored (Rom. 8:18–25), and there will be no more curse. Violence and war will be gone. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (v. 9); see Isa. 6:3 and Hab. 2:14. Please do not “spiritualize” these promises. To steal them from the Jew and apply them to the church is to twist the Scriptures. These are literal promises of a literal kingdom over which Christ shall reign one day.
In 11:10 we are told that Christ will call the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The miracle of crossing the Red Sea at the Exodus will be repeated in the last days so that Israel will be able to return to her land (11:11–16). People once laughed at these promises, but now that Israel possesses her own land and Holy City, their fulfillment seems near. Chapter 12 is the nation’s song of victory. They sang this song when they were delivered from Egypt (Ex. 15:2), and also when they returned after the exile to rebuild the temple (Ps. 118:14). They will sing it again when they go back to their land in victory and glory when Jesus shall reign over a world of peace and prosperity.
Isaiah preached these messages during the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732 B.C.) in Ahaz’s reign. The material was structured with alternating judgment (7:1–8:22 and 9:8–10:34) and hope themes (9:1–7 and 11:1–12:6). Three false perspectives (Ahaz’s, Israel’s, and Assyria’s) were exposed in the negative sections, while a great messianic hope unfolded in the positive messages.
The negative sermons described the judgment on God’s people (7:1–8:22). This happened when Syria and Israel (also called Ephraim) attacked Judah because she did not join an anti-Assyrian coalition (7:1–9). The people of Judah felt helpless (7:1–2), but Isaiah externalized a new divine perspective of hope. Calm can replace fear because God will defeat Israel and Syria (7:3–4, 7–9). Isaiah’s interaction with Ahaz challenged him to accept the viewpoint of the divine King, but King Ahaz would not trust in God’s ability to control his enemies (7:11–12). Ahaz trusted in the military power of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7).
Isaiah preached these messages during the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732 B.C.) in Ahaz’s reign. The material was structured with alternating judgment (7:1–8:22 and 9:8–10:34) and hope themes (9:1–7 and 11:1–12:6). Three false perspectives (Ahaz’s, Israel’s, and Assyria’s) were exposed in the negative sections, while a great messianic hope unfolded in the positive messages.
The negative sermons described the judgment on God’s people (7:1–8:22). This happened when Syria and Israel (also called Ephraim) attacked Judah because she did not join an anti-Assyrian coalition (7:1–9). The people of Judah felt helpless (7:1–2), but Isaiah externalized a new divine perspective of hope. Calm can replace fear because God will defeat Israel and Syria (7:3–4, 7–9). Isaiah’s interaction with Ahaz challenged him to accept the viewpoint of the divine King, but King Ahaz would not trust in God’s ability to control his enemies (7:11–12). Ahaz trusted in the military power of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7).