The Syro-Ephraimitic Uprising. Ahaz Receives a Sign. Isaiah 7:1-25

Transcription

1 1 The Syro-Ephraimitic Uprising Ahaz Receives a Sign Isaiah 7:1-25

2 2 Text: Isaiah 7:1-25, The Syro-Ephraimitic Uprising Ahaz Receives a Sign 1. During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. 2. It was reported to the family of David, Syria has allied with Ephraim. They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 3. So the Lord told Isaiah, Go out with your son Shearjashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 4. Tell him, Make sure you stay calm! Don t be afraid! Don t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5. Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. 6. They say, Let s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king. 7. For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: It will not take place; it will not happen.

3 For Syria s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. 9. Ephraim s leader is Samaria, and Samaria s leader is the son of Remaliah. If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure. 10. The Lord again spoke to Ahaz: 11. Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous. 12. But Ahaz responded, I don t want to ask; I don t want to put the Lord to a test. 13. So Isaiah replied, Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 14. For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. 15. He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right. 16. Here is why this will be so: Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land whose two kings you fear will be desolate. 17. The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah the king of Assyria! 18. At that time the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.

4 All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. 20. At that time the sovereign master will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the head and the pubic hair; it will also shave off the beard. 21. At that time a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 22. From the abundance of milk they produce, he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 23. At that time every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun with thorns and briers. 24. With bow and arrow men will hunt there, for the whole land will be covered with thorns and briers. 25. They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them. (NET) Introduction: I. Hamilton s excellent commentary on Isaiah 7:1-25 includes the following background information:... A. Isaiah 7:1-9: The backdrop of these events is the Syro-Ephraimite war ( BCE).

5 Resin, king of Aram of Syria and Pekah, king of Israel (or Ephraim), rebelled against Tigtath-pileser of Assyria who was a growing power in the area. 3. Because Ahaz, king of Judah, refused their invitation to join their alliance against Tiglath-pileser III, Pekah and Resin marched against Jerusalem to dethrone Ahaz and put a puppet king more to their liking on the throne in Jerusalem. 4. God sent Isaiah to calm the fears of Ahaz telling him to trust in the Lord rather than in the Assyrians. B. Isaiah 7:10-25: Isaiah was sent again to Ahaz to tell him to ask for a miraculous sign to show the Lord would be with him in these trying times. 2. Ahaz refused to comply with this directive whereupon God told him if he made an alliance with the Assyrians, God would severely punish Ahaz, Judah and Jerusalem and the people living there. II. Hailey also provided the following excellent background information for an understanding of chapter 7:... A. Five years before Uzziah s death (740 B.C.), Tiglathpileser III, a general in the Assyrian army, seized the throne of that nation; he ruled from 745 to 727 B.C. Immediately making his bid for world domination, he thrust westward, striking terror in the hearts of the kings of Syria and Israel.

6 6 In times past these two nations had warned against each other; but now, with a common enemy, they formed an alliance for protection against the approaching Assyrians. Apparently they sought to involve Jotham, and later Ahaz, in a coalition with them. Evidently Jotham refused, for they came up against him; but nothing more is known of this effort. B. Hailey further wrote, The full force of the determination of king Rezin of Syria and king Pekah of Israel to make an alliance with Judah came in the days of Ahaz, who ruled from B.C. II. Smith provides the following background information:... A. The Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser III grew in power and posed a serious threat to all countries in the area. B. King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Damascus formed an alliance to oppose the Assyrian threat while king Ahaz of Judah remained neutral. C. Pekah and Rezin attacked Ahaz in an attempt to force him to join their alliance in which attack many were killed and many others were taken captive, but later released. 1. The attempt to force Ahaz to join the Syro- Ephraimite alliance failed. D. Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-pileser III for help and he came to Ahaz s assistance.

7 In 732 B.C. Tiglath-pileser III captured Damascus and many towns in Israel. 2. A vassal king, Hoshea, was placed on the throne of Israel. 3. Isaiah 7-12 can be dated to B.C. E. Historical background is provided by the books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles as follows: Kings 16:1-20, In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham s son Ahaz became king over Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David. He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your dependent.

8 8 March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me. Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; he attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people to Kir and executed Rezin. When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. When the king arrived back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and offered a sacrifice on it. He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord s temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar. King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, On the large altar offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and

9 9 other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use. So Uriah the priest did exactly as King Ahaz ordered. King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took The Sea down from the bronze bulls that supported it and put it on the pavement. He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria. The rest of the events of Ahaz s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. Ahaz passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. (NET) 2. 2 Chronicles 28:1-27, Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly

10 10 defeated him. In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king s second-in-command. The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it back to Samaria. Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. And now you are planning to enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you! So some of the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle. They said to them, Don t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel. So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. Men were assigned to take the

11 11 prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn t walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria. At that time King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help. The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the lowlands and the Negev. They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. The Lord humiliated Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very unfaithful to the Lord. King Tiglathpileser of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support. Ahaz gathered riches from the Lord s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help. During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. He reasoned, Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me. But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. Ahaz gathered the items in God s temple and removed them. He shut the

12 12 Commentary: doors of the Lord s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors. The rest of the events of Ahaz s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Ahaz passed away and was buried in the City of David; they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. (NET) Isaiah 7:1, During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it. (NET) I. During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, king Rezin of Syria and king Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel... A. Ahaz: Ahaz was the 11 th king of Judah, a son of King Jotham and a grandson of King Uzziah. a. 2 Kings 15:32-38, In the second year of the reign of Israel s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah s son Jotham became king over Judah. He was twenty-five years old

13 13 when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord s temple. The rest of the events of Jotham s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king. (NET) b. 2 Kings 16:1-20, In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham s son Ahaz became king over Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David. He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. At that

14 14 time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your dependent. March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me. Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; he attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people to Kir and executed Rezin. When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. When the king arrived back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and offered a sacrifice on it. He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and

15 15 sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord s temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar. King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, On the large altar offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use. So Uriah the priest did exactly as King Ahaz ordered. King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took The Sea down from the bronze bulls that supported it and put it on the pavement. He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria. The rest of the events of Ahaz s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. Ahaz passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. (NET) c. 2 Chronicles 28:1-27, Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he

16 16 reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king s second-in-command. The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it back to Samaria. Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly

17 17 that God has taken notice. And now you are planning to enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you! So some of the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle. They said to them, Don t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel. So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn t walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria. At that time King Ahaz asked the king of Assyria for help. The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives. The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the lowlands and the Negev. They captured

18 18 and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages. The Lord humiliated Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, for he encouraged Judah to sin and was very unfaithful to the Lord. King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support. Ahaz gathered riches from the Lord s temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help. During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. He reasoned, Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me. But they caused him and all Israel to stumble. Ahaz gathered the items in God s temple and removed them. He shut the doors of the Lord s temple and erected altars on every street corner in Jerusalem. In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifices to other gods. He angered the Lord God of his ancestors. The rest of the events of Ahaz s reign, including his accomplishments from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Ahaz passed away and was buried in the City of David; they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of

19 19 Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. (NET) 2. Ahaz was an ungodly king who promoted the worship of Molech with its pagan rites of human sacrifice. a. 2 Chronicles 28:1-4, Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel; he also made images of the Baals. He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. (NET) 3. Ahaz was 20 years of age when he began to reign and he reigned for 16 years, beginning about 735 B.C. a. The Pulpit Commentary dates the reign of Ahaz to B.C. 4. Early in his reign Ahaz adopted policies that favored Assyria. When he refused to join the anti-assyrian alliance of Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria, they invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, threatening to

20 20 dethrone Ahaz and replace him with a puppet king. Pekah and Rezin killed 120,000 people and took 200,000 captives. However, through the intervention of Obed the prophet, the captives were released immediately. a. 2 Chronicles 28:5-15, The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king s second-incommand. The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it back to Samaria. Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. And now you are planning to enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send

21 21 back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you! So some of the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle. They said to them, Don t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel. So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn t walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria. (NET) b. 2 Kings 16:5-6, At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) (NET)

22 At his death, Ahaz was buried without honor at Jerusalem. a. 2 Chronicles 28:27, Ahaz passed away and was buried in the City of David; they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king. (NET) 6. Credit: All the above facts regarding Ahaz are direct quotations from Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. B. Rezin: Rezin, the king of Syria, was killed by Tiglath-Pilezer III, king of Assyria, in 732 B.C. 2. Rezin allied himself with Pekah, king of Israel, to try to take away Judah s throne from Ahaz and the line of David. a. 2 Kings 15:37, In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. (NET) b. 2 Kings 16:5-9, At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat

23 23 for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your dependent. March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me. Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; he attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people to Kir and executed Rezin. (NET) 3. Together Rezin and Pekah besieged Jerusalem, but they were unable to capture Ahaz s stronghold. 4. Ahaz, rather than trusting the Lord, appealed for help to Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, by sending him silver and gold from the Temple and Ahaz s palace. 5. The Assyrian king marched against Damascus and besieged it in 734 B.C. After a two-year siege, Damascus fell to the Assyrians, Rezin was killed by Tiglath-pileser, and the Syrians were carried away as captives. 6. Credit: All the above facts regarding Rezin are direct quotations from Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

24 24 C. Pekah: Pekah was a son of Remaliah and the 18 th king of Israel who reigned B.C. a. 2 Kings 15:25-31, His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king. The rest of the events of Pekahiah s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. In the fifty-second year of King Azariah s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. During Pekah s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah. The rest of the events of Pekah s reign, including all his

25 25 accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. (NET) b. 2 Chronicles 28:5-15, The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed the king s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the supervisor of the palace, and Elkanah, the king s second-incommand. The Israelites seized from their brothers 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a huge amount of plunder and took it back to Samaria. Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. And now you are planning to enslave the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Yet are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Now listen to me! Send back those you have seized from your brothers, for the Lord is very angry at you!

26 26 So some of the Ephraimite family leaders, Azariah son of Jehochanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jechizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai confronted those returning from the battle. They said to them, Don t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel. So the soldiers released the captives and the plunder before the officials and the entire assembly. Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. They put the ones who couldn t walk on donkeys. They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria. (NET) c. Coffman and Bailey indicated the designation of Pekah as the son of Remaliah is regarded as a reference of contempt, that Pekah was a nobody. 2. Pekah became king after he assassinated King Pekahiah. Pekah continued to lead Israel in the idolatrous ways of Jeroboam.

27 Pekah took the throne at the time when Tiglath- Pileser III, king of Assyria, was advancing toward Israel. 4. To resist the threat, Pekah formed an alliance with Rezin, king of Syria. Pekah also tried voluntarily and by force to enlist Judah as an ally, but failed in both approaches. He, however, slew many people of Judah and took many others captive although the captives were soon released. a. The confederation of Syria and Ephraim was formed in the time of Jotham, but it was in the very beginning of the reign of Ahaz that Judah was invaded, Clarke wrote. i. 2 Kings 15:37, In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. (NET) ii. Isaiah 1:7-9, Your land is devastated, your cities burned with fire. Right before your eyes your crops are being destroyed by foreign invaders. They leave behind devastation and destruction. Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city. If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly

28 28 become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah. (NET) 5. Tiglath-Pileser III marched against Syria. Damascus was captured and Rezin was killed. The Assyrians also invaded northern Israel and their inhabitants deported to Assyria. 6. Pekah was left with a stricken nation. Soon Hoshea conspired against Pekah and assassinated him. 7. Credit: All of the above facts regarding Pekah are direct quotations from Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. II. marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it.* A. *NET Footnote: Or perhaps they were unable to attack it. B. Briley wrote, From the beginning of the reign of Ahaz in 736 B.C., the threat of an invasion of Palestine by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser has been very real. The reason King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel planned to attack Jerusalem was either to force Ahaz into a coalition with them against Assyria on to replace him with someone who will. 1. Ahaz did right to resist joining the coalition with Rezin and Pekah. (See Briley.)

29 However, his fear was misplaced as he, a king of the house of David, was heir to the Davidic promises. (See Briley.) a. 2 Samuel 7:11-16, and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you. When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will stand before me permanently; your dynasty will be permanent. (NET) Isaiah 7:2, It was reported to the family of David, Syria has allied with Ephraim. They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. (NET) I. It was reported to the family* of David, Syria has allied with Ephraim.

30 30 A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew house. 1. Isaiah 7:13, 17, So Isaiah replied, Pay attention, family of David. Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah the king of Assyria! (NET) 2. Isaiah 8:17, I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of Jacob; I will wait for him. (NET) 3. Isaiah 10:20, At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. (NET) B. News of this significance would quickly become known and transmitted by Judah s intelligence to the officials in Jerusalem. II. They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. A. Hailey noted that Ahaz and the people associated with him were fearful because they were faithless and that such men of faith as David would never have feared Rezin and Pekah.

31 31 B. Fear gripped the royal family of Judah when news arrived of the impending invasion by the forces of Rezin and Pekah, Smith wrote. 1. This was a major threat which emotionally shook the government in Jerusalem especially because of previous defeats at the hands of Syria and Ephraim separately. C. God sent Isaiah to encourage Ahaz during this crisis. (Smith) 1. This encouragement was given by seven means. (Smith) D. Coffman wrote, Each of the hostile powers mentioned here had already defeated Ahaz Chronicles 28:5-6, The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. (NET) 2. The threat of the coming attack was dated 735 B.C. by Kidner via Coffman.

32 32 Isaiah 7:3, So the Lord told Isaiah, Go out with your son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. (NET) I. So the Lord told Isaiah, Go out with your son Shear-jashub* and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. A. *NET footnote: Shear-jashub means a remnant will return in Hebrew. 1. The name of Isaiah s son indicated that those living in Jerusalem would be captured, but that a remnant would return from exile. B. God sent Isaiah and his son, Shear-jashub, to meet Ahaz, king of Judah, indicating that troubled times lay ahead for Judah. (See Coffman.) C. They were to meet at the end of the conduct of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth; that is, the fuller s field. 1. Briley noted it was at this very place that Hezekiah s representatives would later face a similar test of faith from the commander of the army of Sennacherib, King of Assyria. a. Isaiah 36:2, The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah

33 33 in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. (NET) b. In a siege, a water source was absolutely essential. 2. Hailey wrote that while the exact location of the meeting place is not certainly known, it is thought that the pool in question is the Pool of Shiloah (New Testament-Siloam) which is located below Zion in the southeastern section of Jerusalem. a. 2 Kings 18:17, The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. (NET) b. 2 Chronicles 32:3, 4, 30, he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him. A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. They reasoned, Why

34 34 should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water? Hezekiah dammed up the source of the waters of the Upper Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did. (NET) 3. In an attack, water was absolutely essential for survival and here Ahaz gave his attention to this water source. D. First, Isaiah offered encouragement through a symbolic name, Shear-jashub (a remnant shall return). (Smith) 1. Briley noted that while God would not completely destroy his people, he would almost do so preserving only a remnant. Isaiah 7:4, Tell him, Make sure you stay calm! Don t be afraid! Don t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. (NET) I. Tell him, Make sure you stay calm! Don t be afraid! Don t be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah. A. Here the faith, courage and optimism of Isaiah is contrasted with the lack of faith, trembling and pessimism of Ahab. (See Hailey.)

35 Isaiah 30:15, For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, but you are unwilling. (NET) B. Isaiah is to tell King Ahaz that Rezin and Pekah are nothing to be feared, that they are burned out, they are like two burned sticks or stumps, smoking after the fire, with their power gone. (Hailey) 1. These burned-out sticks presented no threat to Ahaz and Judah. (See Coffman.) C. Second, encouragement came through four commands; viz., take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be faint-hearted. (Smith) D. Third, Isaiah brought encouragement through the use of a metaphor in which the fierce anger of Pekah and Rezin is compared to smoldering firebrands which no longer presented any danger. (See Smith.) 1. Pekah is referenced here as a nobody who is the son of a nobody, which means he is here spoken of derisively and contemptuously. (See the Pulpit Commentary.) Isaiah 7:5, Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. (NET)

36 36 I. Syria has plotted with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah to bring about your demise. A. Hailey understood Isaiah s referring to Pekah, not by name, but as the son of Remaliah as evidence of the tremendous disdain with which Isaiah regarded the king of Israel. B. Isaiah was to inform Ahaz that the kings of Syria and of Israel had plotted to kill him and to place their puppet on the throne in Jerusalem who would do their bidding. Isaiah 7:6, They say, Let s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king. (NET) I. They say, Let s attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we ll set up the son of Tabeel as its king. A. Hamilton suggested that Tabeel was perhaps an offspring of Uzziah or Jotham by a Syrian woman from Tabeel, a town in Syria. B. Hailey wrote that Tabeel was apparently a Syrian although he may have been a son of Uzziah. C. The purpose was to change the government in Jerusalem to one favorable to Ephraim and Syria, not to conquer and occupy it. Isaiah 7:7, For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: It will not take place; it will not happen. (NET)

37 37 I. For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: It will not take place; it will not happen. A. God gave assurance to Ahaz that Pekah and Rezin would not be able to dethrone him. B. Fourth, Isaiah made a promise of encouragement, that the Davidic dynasty would not be overthrown. (See Smith.) 1. 2 Samuel 7:11-16, and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you. When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will stand before me permanently; your dynasty will be permanent. (NET) 2. Psalm 89:27-37, I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, the most exalted of the earth s kings. I will always extend my loyal love to him,

38 38 and my covenant with him is secure. I will give him an eternal dynasty, and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. If his sons reject my law and disobey my regulations, if they break my rules and do not keep my commandments, I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, their sin by inflicting them with bruises. But I will not remove my loyal love from him, nor be unfaithful to my promise. I will not break my covenant or go back on what I promised. Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness, I will never deceive David. His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun, it will remain stable, like the moon, his throne will endure like the skies. (Selah) (NET) C. What more comforting words from the sovereign master, the Lord, could anyone want? What you fear will not happen! 1. All Ahaz had to do was to believe God. 2. Regrettably, Ahaz was a man of little faith and he continued to worry and to make serious alliance errors which resulted in trouble for Judah. Ahaz should not have entered a foreign alliance with Assyria. D. The reason Ephraim and Syria would not succeed was that these countries had human heads while Judah s head was God. (See Coffman.)

39 39 Isaiah 7:8, For Syria s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. (NET) I. For Syria s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. A. Rezin s authority would not extend beyond Syria, Damascus being the capital. 1. Syria s head was merely a man. B. Fifth, Isaiah made a longer range prediction which brought further encouragement which promised that within sixty-five years Ephraim would cease to be a distinct people. II. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation. A. Ephraim, that is, the Northern kingdom of Israel, would exist as a nation less than sixty-five years from the time of this meeting between Isaiah and Ahaz. 1. This sixty-five (65) years according to Motyer as cited by Briley, references B.C. or, as The Pulpit Commentary reads B.C. 2. This information should have relieved Ahaz s anxiety if he had faith in God s promise through Isaiah. 3. The Assyrian s conquered the Northern Kingdom in B.C.

40 40 a. 1 Kings 17:24, The woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you. (NET) b. Esar-haddon who ruled Assyria, B.C., participated in the resettling of Samaria with foreigners after this capital of the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyrian forces in B.C. This was an example of the Assyrian policy of Intermingling Cultures in the nations they conquered to make them weak and compliant. (Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) B. Clarke wrote, It was sixty-five years from the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, when this prophecy was delivered, to the total depopulation of the kingdom of Israel by Esarhaddon, who carried away the remains of the ten tribes which had been left by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, and who planted the country with new inhabitants. That the country was not wholly stripped of its inhabitants by Shalmaneser appears from many passages Chronicles 34:6, 7, 33, In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel

41 41 to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors. (NET) 2. 2 Chronicles 35:18, A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. (NET) 3. 2 Kings 23:19, 20, Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. (NET) 4. 2 Chronicles 33:11, So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria. They seized Manasseh, put hooks in his nose, bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon. (NET) 5. Ezra 4:2, they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them, Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King