Isaiah 7 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 7

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

7:1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with¹ Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz² and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

3 And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub³ your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it⁴ for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord GOD:

  “‘It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.
8   For the head of Syria is Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
  And within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9   And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
  If you⁵ are not firm in faith,
    you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your⁶ God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” 13 And he⁷ said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.⁸ 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18 In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.⁹

20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River¹⁰—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels¹¹ of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Footnotes

[1] 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon
[2] 7:2 Hebrew his heart
[3] 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return
[4] 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open
[5] 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14
[6] 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17
[7] 7:13 That is, Isaiah
[8] 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us
[9] 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles
[10] 7:20 That is, the Euphrates
[11] 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Commentary

v1-2: Some parts of Isaiah's ministry are linked more closely with the history of his day. Aram (Syria) and Israel (also called Ephraim) had allied themselves against Judah. But God had been merciful to His people, and they could not overpower the city, 2 Kings 16.5.

v3: Isaiah's first son bore the name of a prophecy, "A remnant will return." Thus, Isaiah's message to the people remained in the person of his son.

v4-6: The message to Ahaz the king, "Don't be afraid. Do not lose heart." The opposing armies, the two firebrands, would not succeed in their ambition to divide Judah. Isaiah refers to a conspiracy amongst the surrounding nations, to replace Ahaz with the line of Tabeel – God’s promise was that this conspiracy would fail.

v7-9: The promise that Rezin and Pekah would not be successful was not due to Judah's godliness, but rather their ungodliness, compare Deut 9.5-6. God's promises to His people rested more on His faithfulness than on theirs.

During Pekah's reign in Israel, Assyria began to capture parts of the nation, 2 Kings 15.29. Within 65 years, Israel was totally defeated by Assyria.

There was also a challenge to Ahaz here, about his standing firm in his faith in God. He might miss out on personal blessing, but God's promises would not fail. When we retain fear and doubt, we fail to move in faith.

v10-13: See 2 Kings 16-2.4; Ahaz was disobedient. He tried to provide a spiritual response to excuse his disobedience. Even in the O.T. God was seeking to teach His people about His character, rather than imposing a strict set of rules.

v14: The Lord God would give the sign of the virgin anyway, irrespective of Ahaz's unbelief.

v15: A reference to Christ's perfect righteousness and discernment.

v16-17: The land that Ahaz dreaded was the confederation of Israel and Aram, see 8.4. They had produced great fear in Judah, as the people were shaken (v2). Yet those lands would be laid waste; fulfilled 2 Kings 16.9; 17.5-6. There was some fulfilment through Hezekiah, but the greater fulfilment is in Christ. See chapters 36-39, which describe Assyria's later attack on Judah.

v18-19: The fly in Egypt, the bee in Assyria; referring to the armies of those nations. The Lord God would whistle, see in 5.26, and those armies would have to come.

v20: The army of Assyria, hired by the Lord, to shave (depopulate) the area. The Lord has to hire a nation of judgment, because His own people were full or mercy.

v21-22: Since there would be fewer people, the available food would be more plentiful.

v23-25: The land of Judah would, however, become desolate and fruitless, with domesticated animals running loose. This desolation reflected the spiritual poverty of the people.

These chapters describe a thirty year period of history;

744 BC, Ahaz reigns in Judah;
732, Hezekiah reigns in Judah; see also 2 Kings 18.1;
724, siege of Samaria begins, 2 Kings 17.5;
721, defeat of Samaria, 2 Kings 17.6;
712, Assyria attacks Judah, 2 Kings 18.13.