Isaiah 7. Isaiah received a commission to present God s word to Israel, a word they weren t permitted to understand

Transcription

1 Isaiah 7 Isaiah received a cmmissin t present Gd s wrd t Israel, a wrd they weren t permitted t understand They entered int a cvenant with Gd t keep His law When they brke it, Gd was nt nly within His rights t bring judgment, He was required t d s The Law gave Gd the pprtunity t declare His judgment n Israel during Isaiah s time He wuld bring abut the arrival f new Gentile kingdms, use them t exact Israel s punishment This perid f judgment wuld last nt just thrugh Isaiah s lifetime, but all the way until a Messiah wuld cme But even that wuldn t end their punishment Fr the sake f Gentiles, Gd wuld withut mercy n Israel even past the cming f their Messiah As Jhn explained... Jhn 12:37 But thugh He had perfrmed s many signs befre them, yet they were nt believing in Him. Jhn 12:38 This was t fulfill the wrd f Isaiah the prphet which he spke: LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED? Jhn 12:39 Fr this reasn they culd nt believe, fr Isaiah said again, Jhn 12:40 HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM. Jhn 12:41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glry, and he spke f Him. In a future day when the day is right fr Jesus return, Gd will remember His lphle in Lev 26 and bring mercy t Israel And then they will knw what they currently d nt knw 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Isaiah 7! 2 Rm. 11:30 Fr just as yu nce were disbedient t Gd, but nw have been shwn mercy because f their disbedience, Rm. 11:31 s these als nw have been disbedient, that because f the mercy shwn t yu they als may nw be shwn mercy. Rm. 11:32 Fr Gd has shut up all in disbedience s that He may shw mercy t all. With Isaiah s cmmissining established, he mves next t a series f chapters (7-12) cmmnly called the bk f Immanuel, The name cmes frm three uses f the name Immanuel t describe a cming Messiah r savir fr Israel In chapter 7, we see the birth f Immanuel prmised In chapter 9, we see the birth is viewed as having already happened In chapter 11 Immanuel is reigning as King Thrughut these chapters Isaiah writes in a way that is s artful and intricate, it s simply a marvel The mre I read it, the mre I felt like I was seeing the wisdm f Gd n full display Isaiah tells f future histrical events in Judah and nrthern Israel, while weaving in references t Gd either delivering them t judgment r prtecting them And in these references, we find numerus references t Christ S that these references instantly take n duble meaning, and the majesty f hw bth meanings wrk tgether makes Shakespeare lk like schlyard pet Chapters 7-9 play n a mtif f children, which cincides with a reference t the birth f the Messiah The first event described is the cming Assyrian invasin f the nrthern kingdm and it s threat t Judah Is. 7:1 Nw it came abut in the days f Ahaz, the sn f Jtham, the sn f Uzziah, king f Judah, that Rezin the king f Aram and Pekah the sn f Remaliah, king f Israel, went up t Jerusalem t wage war against it, but culd nt cnquer it Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Isaiah 7! 3 King Ahaz was the grandsn f King Uzziah Terrible king Wrshipped pagan gds Sacrificed his wn sn in a pagan temple Placed an idlatrus altar in the temple During the reign f King Ahaz, the Suthern kingdm f Judah was under siege frm tw enemies allied tgether against the Huse f David. The natin f Syria had jined frces with the Nrthern Kingdm f Israel t battle against Judah, In 734 BC their armies traveled suth and attacked Jerusalem. Their military gal was t frce Judah t jin their alliance against a grwing threat frm the nrthern empire f Assyria. King Ahaz refused t jin their alliance, and instead he defended Jerusalem against Syria and Israel. Thugh they were utnumbered, the Suthern Kingdm successfully beat back the invaders and saved their belved Jerusalem. Unfrtunately, King Ahaz still faced a difficult situatin. The armies f Israel and Syria had been repelled, Yet they hadn't been defeated. They regruped in Ephraim t the nrth within the Nrthern Kingdm f Israel t prepare fr a secnd attack. The prspect f mre attacks left the natin f Judah trembling fearfully And King Ahaz searching fr a way t preserve his kingdm and defeat his enemies nce and fr all. Isaiah describes the fear in Judah this way: 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Isaiah 7! 4 Is. 7:2 When it was reprted t the huse f David, saying, The Arameans have camped in Ephraim, his heart and the hearts f his peple shk as the trees f the frest shake with the wind. King Ahaz's ptins were limited. Judah's army wasn't strng enugh t defeat a secnd attack, New threats were emerging in Edm and in Philistia. The king culd seek his wn alliance with Assyria r Egypt, r Judah culd remain neutral and try t defend itself alne. At this bleak mment, the faithfulness f ur Lrd appears. The Lrd sends His prphet Isaiah t visit King Ahaz with a better ffer. Isaiah is accmpanied by his tddler sn Shearjashub, which becmes significant later The Lrd reveals t Ahaz that He had been the One t defend Jerusalem against the first attack, And the Lrd prmises Ahaz He is prepared t defend the natin again. Isaiah explains Gd's ffer this way: Is. 7:3 Then the LORD said t Isaiah, G ut nw t meet Ahaz, yu and yur sn Shear-jashub, at the end f the cnduit f the upper pl, n the highway t the fuller s field, Is. 7:4 and say t him, Take care and be calm, have n fear and d nt be fainthearted because f these tw stubs f smldering firebrands, n accunt f the fierce anger f Rezin and Aram and the sn f Remaliah. Is. 7:5 Because Aram, with Ephraim and the sn f Remaliah, has planned evil against yu, saying, Is. 7:6 Let us g up against Judah and terrrize it, and make fr urselves a breach in its walls and set up the sn f Tabeel as king in the midst f it, Is. 7:7 thus says the Lrd GOD: It shall nt stand nr shall it cme t pass. Is. 7:8 Fr the head f Aram is Damascus and the head f Damascus is Rezin (nw within anther 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, s that it is n lnger a peple), Is. 7:9 and the head f Ephraim is Samaria and the head f Samaria is the sn f Remaliah. If yu will nt believe, yu surely shall nt last. The Lrd send Isaiah and his sn, whse name means a remnant shall return Gd says tell the king t be calm and nt afraid 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Isaiah 7! 5 The tw natins that came up against Jerusalem are but smldering stubs nw Gd was prepared t stp their repeated attacks The head f these cuntries was their gvernment and the head f gvernment were these men And the implicatin is that Gd can cntrl these men, and in fact they serve as king because Gd has placed them there And Gd pinted states they are the head f their cuntries, NOT the head f Judah Meaning their plan will never succeed And Isaiah adds that in 65 years Ephraim wn t even be a peple any lnger Speaking f nrthern Israel Assyrian will cnquer them in 14 years after this prphecy, yet it will take anther 51 years befre Assyrian deprts and scatters the inhabitants f Israel S Gd was assuring Ahaz that Ephraim s days are numbered as it is As Isaiah explains, the Lrd's ffer held ne cnditin. He wuld stp the invading armies frm the nrth but the king must believe in the Lrd's ffer f prtectin. The king must place his trust exclusively in the Lrd's prtectin. He must nt seek ther alliances r make backup plans fr defending the city. It was an "all r nthing" ffer. As Isaiah says in verse 9: if yu will nt believe (in Gd's prmise t defend the city), yu surely shall nt last. Meaning, Gd wuld eventually destry Ahaz s reign and if the king didn t believe Gd s prmise 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Isaiah 7! 6 Gd wuld still hld ff these attackers fr the sake f His prmise t the huse f David But a failure t believe wuld bring a future destructin fr Ahaz as king Isaiah uses anther play n wrds in Hebrew Ex.: Dn t cnfide/ dn t abide, dn t believe, dn t receive This was a demanding cnditin The Lrd knew that the King's faith wuld waiver under the pressure f the mment. Even the strngest faith wuld have wavered in the face f the appraching armies and the prspect f certain defeat, S surely the king wuld questin whether he shuld frg taking actin t defend the city. Hw culd he be expected t sit idle while a pwerful enemy advances upn his natin? Because the Lrd knew the king wuld need assurance t rest in His prmise, in mercy and grace the Lrd invites King Ahaz t request a sign. The Lrd's ffer t Ahaz is recrded in Isaiah: Is. 7:10 Then the LORD spke again t Ahaz, saying, Is. 7:11 Ask a sign fr yurself frm the LORD yur Gd; make it deep as Shel r high as heaven. Gd tld Ahaz he culd ask fr any sign he wanted, And the Lrd wuld perfrm the sign t cnfirm His prmise. A sign is generally a miraculus manifestatin f Gd's pwer intended t cnfirm His prmises and prve His pwer t keep His wrd Fr example, the Lrd gave Nah the sign f a rainbw as prf f His prmise never t fld the wrld again. S what did Ahaz d in respnse t the Lrd's gracius ffer? What miraculus sign did he request t blster his faith? 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Isaiah 7! 7 Surprisingly, he refused t name any sign. Isaiah recrds his respnse in the next verse: Is. 7:12 But Ahaz said, I will nt ask, nr will I test the LORD! At first reading, Ahaz's respnse sunds very respectful. After all, desn't scripture teach a man shuldn't test the Lrd (Deut 6:16)? Deut. 6:16 Yu shall nt put the LORD yur Gd t the test, as yu tested Him at Massah. Even King Ahaz himself cites the Law's restrictin as his reasn fr spurning the prphet, In reality King Ahaz was simply making excuses t Isaiah. When the Lrd ffers us an pprtunity t request a sign, it's nt a test t take Him up n His ffer. On the cntrary, it's a shw f faith when we are willing t accept a sign. Sadly, King Ahaz had n such faith Apparently, King Ahaz had already decided t seek anther way t defend the city, Ahaz had cme t believe that Assyrian was a cuntry he culd bargain with and he had decided t seek an alliance with Assyrian against Syria and Israel S he wasn't interested in relying n the Lrd's prmise t defend Jerusalem. Rather than cnfess his lack f trust in Gd, the king speaks hypcritically, pretending t be respectful by quting the Law, Yet secretly dubting the Lrd's prmise t defend the city. Ahaz trusted in himself rather than in Gd. Naturally, the Lrd saw thrugh the King's pius act, And by the wrds f Isaiah, the Lrd answers Ahaz this way: 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Isaiah 7! 8 Is. 7:13 Then he said, Listen nw, O huse f David! Is it t slight a thing fr yu t try the patience f men, that yu will try the patience f my Gd as well? Is. 7:14 Therefre the Lrd Himself will give yu a sign: Behld, a virgin will be with child and bear a sn, and she will call His name Immanuel. Is. 7:15 He will eat curds and hney at the time He knws enugh t refuse evil and chse gd. Scripture says that King Ahaz was a man wh tried the patience f men Nw he had the audacity t try Gd s patience t Therefre Gd decides the sign At this pint we need t bserve sme subtle changes in Isaiah s wrds and the underlying Hebrew In verse 13 Isaiah begins t address the huse f David Up t this pint everything has been spken t Ahaz persnally And all the persnal references have been in the singular Yu, singular But nw, Isaiah begins t speak t the Huse f David And every Hebrew prnun is nw in the plural Read it in the plural yu t see hw it changes The sign invlves a virgin - a yung wman wh has never married - will bear a sn whse name will be With us Gd While the Sn is still eating fd cmmn t infants, He already knw t refuse evil and chse gd Meaning He will be sinless frm birth and arrive under miraculus circumstances We knw this refers t the birth f Jesus 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Isaiah 7! 9 Matt. 1:18 Nw the birth f Jesus Christ was as fllws: when His mther Mary had been betrthed t Jseph, befre they came tgether she was fund t be with child by the Hly Spirit. Matt. 1:19 And Jseph her husband, being a righteus man and nt wanting t disgrace her, planned t send her away secretly. Matt. 1:20 But when he had cnsidered this, behld, an angel f the Lrd appeared t him in a dream, saying, Jseph, sn f David, d nt be afraid t take Mary as yur wife; fr the Child wh has been cnceived in her is f the Hly Spirit. Matt. 1:21 She will bear a Sn; and yu shall call His name Jesus, fr He will save His peple frm their sins. Matt. 1:22 Nw all this tk place t fulfill what was spken by the Lrd thrugh the prphet: Matt. 1:23 BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, which translated means, GOD WITH US. Interestingly, the Hebrew definitive article says the virgin, nt a virgin Using the definitive article f the implies this is the virgin spken f earlier Since there is n reference t a virgin in any earlier verse f Isaiah, it leaves us asking what ther prminent mentin f a virgin wuld have been familiar t Isaiah and his audience The nly ther mentin f a virgin birth in all the Old Testament cmes in Genesis 3:15 Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity Between yu and the wman, And between yur seed and her seed; <- - the wman s seed = virgin birth He shall bruise yu n the head, And yu shall bruise him n the heel. Isaiah says the virgin t emphasize this is the fulfillment f Gd s earlier prmise t prvide a slutin fr man s sin Just as Matthew explains There has been a lt f debate ver whether this prmise might als related t smething in Ahaz s day The very nature f a sign frm Gd requires that it be smething miraculus 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Isaiah 7! 10 If it were natural and nrmal, then it wuldn t carry much weight as a sign r prf S the birth f a child frm a virgin fits the requirements fr a sign Yet if the nly time a virgin birth has ever happened was 700 years later at Jesus birth, hw can this prphecy be cnsidered a sign fr Ahaz? Well, first remember that the wrds f this prphecy were spken in the plural t the huse f David, nt t Ahaz singularly S these verses are spken beynd the mment as a sign t Israel regarding Gd s deliverance He had ffered Ahaz a sign fr Gd s deliverance in Ahaz s day But when Ahaz refused t ask, Gd prmised a sign t the entire disbedient natin Specifically, that the Thrne f David wuld see it s eternal King cme as prmised Secndly, Gd des give Ahaz a sign fr his time, in the very next verses It s hard t see, because Gd has wven it int Isaiah s wrds s artfully Is. 7:16 Fr befre the by will knw enugh t refuse evil and chse gd, the land whse tw kings yu dread will be frsaken. Is. 7:17 The LORD will bring n yu, n yur peple, and n yur father s huse such days as have never cme since the day that Ephraim separated frm Judah, the king f Assyria. First thing t ntice is that the Hebrew prnun fr yu returns t the singular in these verses Isaiah has begun t talk t Ahaz persnally nw Secndly, The wrd fr child in verse 14 is harah, which means an infant The wrd fr by in verse 16 is naar, which means lad r tddler Isaiah is talking abut a different by nw He s talking abut the yung sn he s brught with him t this meeting with Ahaz 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Isaiah 7! 11 Shearjashub s name means a remnant will return Befre this by is ld enugh t d the right thing, the tw kings will be dispatched by Gd If the reference was still talking abut Jesus, then the descriptin wuld make n sense There was never a time when Jesus was t yung t knw t refuse evil Isaiah just described him as a by wh culd refuse evil frm birth This is a different by wh knws sin It s Isaiah s sn Gd is keeping his prmise t destry these kingdms because He was faithful t His prmise t David But Ahaz didn t demnstrate faith in Gd s prmise, s Gd was ging t cut him ff Since he was willing t get int bed with Assyrian, he was nw ging t have t lie in it Thugh Gd wuld dispse these tw threatening kings, He wuld allw Assyrian t invade Judah just lng enugh t cause Ahaz distress thugh He allwed Ahaz t survive the attacks 2Chr. 28:19 Fr the LORD humbled Judah because f Ahaz king f Israel, fr he had brught abut a lack f restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful t the LORD. 2Chr. 28:20 S Tilgath-pilneser king f Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead f strengthening him. 2Chr. 28:21 Althugh Ahaz tk a prtin ut f the huse f the LORD and ut f the palace f the king and f the princes, and gave it t the king f Assyria, it did nt help him. 2Chr. 28:22 Nw in the time f his distress this same King Ahaz became yet mre unfaithful t the LORD. 2Chr. 28:23 Fr he sacrificed t the gds f Damascus which had defeated him, and said, Because the gds f the kings f Aram helped them, I will sacrifice t them that they may help me. But they became the dwnfall f him and all Israel. 2Chr. 28:24 Mrever, when Ahaz gathered tgether the utensils f the huse f Gd, he cut the utensils f the huse f Gd in pieces; and he clsed the drs f the huse f the LORD and made altars fr himself in every crner f Jerusalem. 2Chr. 28:25 In every city f Judah he made high places t burn incense t ther gds, and prvked the LORD, the Gd f his fathers, t anger Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Isaiah 7! 12 Isaiah describes that invasin in the rest f chapter 7 Is. 7:18 In that day the LORD will whistle fr the fly that is in the remtest part f the rivers f Egypt and fr the bee that is in the land f Assyria. Is. 7:19 They will all cme and settle n the steep ravines, n the ledges f the cliffs, n all the thrn bushes and n all the watering places. Is. 7:20 In that day the Lrd will shave with a razr, hired frm regins beynd the Euphrates (that is, with the king f Assyria), the head and the hair f the legs; and it will als remve the beard. Is. 7:21 Nw in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair f sheep; Is. 7:22 and because f the abundance f the milk prduced he will eat curds, fr everyne that is left within the land will eat curds and hney. Is. 7:23 And it will cme abut in that day, that every place where there used t be a thusand vines, valued at a thusand shekels f silver, will becme briars and thrns. Is. 7:24 Peple will cme there with bws and arrws because all the land will be briars and thrns. Is. 7:25 As fr all the hills which used t be cultivated with the he, yu will nt g there fr fear f briars and thrns; but they will becme a place fr pasturing xen and fr sheep t trample. Isaiah describes armies meeting fr battle like flies and bees settling n Judah Assyria will have cnquered Syria and Israel and will March suth tward Egypt Meanwhile, Egypt will March nrth t engage the appraching Assyria in battle They will meet in Judah, and the battle will rage there The result f the battle is ttal destructin f the land Few cattle, s that they must be preserved fr milk prductin All the vineyards will be reduced t thrn bushes in which peple will hunt fr game This destructin cmes upn Judah because their leader refused t believe in Gd s prmises f deliverance There are tw interesting sequels t this stry First, tw decades later Ahaz s sn, Hezekiah was king still struggling under Assyrian dminatin brught upn the natin because his father refused t trust Gd 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Isaiah 7! 13 Hezekiah repeats his father s mistake by rebelling against Gd s instructins This time by rebellin against Assyria thugh Gd tells Hezekiah t nt t rebel Gd brings the Assyrians back again t Judah destrying many cities The cme up t Jerusalem and seize the city Is. 36:1 Nw in the furteenth year f King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king f Assyria came up against all the frtified cities f Judah and seized them. Is. 36:2 And the king f Assyria sent Rabshakeh frm Lachish t Jerusalem t King Hezekiah with a large army. And he std by the cnduit f the upper pl n the highway f the fuller s field. Did yu ntice the lcatin? Hezekiah met the prime minister f Assyrian at the same spt where his wn father had cmmitted the sin that resulted in Assyria s dminatin f Judah The secnd sequel relates t the virgin birth When Ahaz std and heard Gd prmise t prtect his natin, he ffered a sign t Ahaz as prf that Gd s prvisin wuld be sufficient and they shuld trust in it Judah s leadership in the persn f Ahaz rejected Gd s sign And because Ahaz rejected Gd s sign, Gd brught judgmetn nt nly against the man Ahaz, but als upn his entire natin that he represented And Gd used a Gentile natin t exact that punishment by utterly destrying the cities Seven centuries later, (ntice the number seven), Gd brught the sign Isaiah prmised A virgin birth in Bethlehem Gd gave the natin the sign f a child brn f a virgin as His prf f his prmise t deliver the natin f Israel frm it s enemies, including the ultimate enemy, Satan, the serpent f ld But the leaders f Israel didn t accept that prvisin 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Isaiah 7! 14 They rejected Gd s sign, the Child Immanuel, And when Israel s leadership rejected their Gd s sign, Gd brught a sign f His wn Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prphets and stnes thse sent t her! Hw ften I wanted t gather yur children tgether, just as a hen gathers her brd under her wings, and yu wuld nt have it! Luke 13:35 Behld, yur huse is left t yu deslate; and I say t yu, yu will nt see Me until the time cmes when yu say, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! Gd used a Gentile natin - the Rman Empire - t bring utter destructin upn Jerusalem and the peple f Israel, scattering them as Assyria had scattered the nrthern kingdm centuries earlier Oh, the depths f Gd s wisdm 2009 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.