Isaiah 7

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Isaiah 7 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

War has broken out and Jerusalem is under attack. Amazingly, God shows King Ahaz mercy by commanding him to stay calm and courageous, even though he was a terribly immoral king.

The Lord sends Isaiah with his son Shear-jashub to meet with King Ahaz. The specific sending of Sheat-jashub is not a coincidence. His name means, “the remnant shall return (or turn).” This alone was what Ahaz needed to hear. He was in a vulnerable position and repentance was necessary.

The bottom-line message: “If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.”‘ What a statement! God was drawing a line in the sand with King Ahaz. He intended to protect him, and promised a blessing, However, it was contingent upon his faith.

This warning serves to remind us, positively, of the power of faith. Faith is encouraged and strengthened by difficulties. Faith faces what to the natural mind are impossibilities, and, resting on the promises of God, relies upon Him to fulfill His counsel concerning them and to turn the obstacles to account for His glory.

W.E. Vine

Ahaz, however, did the opposite. Under a disguise of piety, Ahaz decided he would not “test the Lord.” It was pitiful. It was a huge mistake. Ahaz, in a sense, threw the baby out with the bathwater. He assumed that he was better off not seeking the Lord, and then justified it with a “religious tone.” Oh, how we justify things in the name of religion. As long as it sounds “religious,” it must be good, right?

Interestingly, since Ahaz refused a sign, the Lord would give one anyway. It would come through the prophet Isaiah and would signal the coming Messiah.

“Judah could not be destroyed, for our Lord was to spring out of Judah; and this was the sign that Judah must stand, because Immanuel must be born of that nation, and the time for this great event was fixed by the Lord. …God meant to cut off both those kings, and he did so. This was a very wonderful prophecy, and ought to have filled Ahaz with great delight, and with confidence in God; but it did nothing of the kind.”

C.H. Spurgeon

This passage makes me wonder – what future events are hanging in the balance because of our selfishness? Ahaz didn’t want to hear it. He wanted to do his own thing. Even when faced with a military attack, Ahaz preferred to tremble than to call on the Lord. Where are we refusing to step up to the plate? Where are we neglecting the responsibility of the Lord’s calling?