A Sign For Ahaz (7:1-25)
Neal Pollard
This chapter is in narrative form, chronicling the attack by the king of Syria and the king of Israel against the kingdom of Judah. Wicked Ahaz has succeeded his father, Uzziah (see 6:1), and these two northern neighbors allied together to come against him. We read about this in 2 Kings 15:37 and 2 Kings 16:5. Those passages do not reveal the tremendous fear which Isaiah says Ahaz felt (2), but instead shows his wicked reliance on Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. He bribes him with the temple treasures, and the Assyrian despot invades Syria, exiles its people, and kills Rezin, king of Syria (2 Ki. 16:9).
The focus of Isaiah is not in the resulting treaty with Assyria or the gross idolatry of Ahaz that followed, but on the Lord’s message of deliverance for Judah that would come with a unique and remarkable sign. Notice what Isaiah seven reveals.
Reassurance (3-9). Though the heart of Ahaz and his people “shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (2), Isaiah promises him that he has nothing to fear (3). Isaiah says, “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…” (4). Not only would their plot against him fail, but Israel would be shattered from being a people within 65 years (9)! This is the first of several specific prophecies where Isaiah points to people and events by name or specific timelines. This foretelling of the future, as well as the message, should have been all the comfort and assurance God’s people needed. Incredibly, Ahaz, in the face of such a message, still stubbornly clung to idols and iniquity instead of turning to the Great I Am. Notice that Isaiah said that Ahaz would benefit if he believed, but that otherwise he would not last (9). He would not last!
Reinforcement (10-17). The Lord delivers a second message to Ahaz, promising a sign to the unrighteous king (10). God told him no sign he asked would be too great (11), and the king hypocritically says that he would not tempt God by asking a sign (12; but he tempted God by gross idolatry and child sacrifice). Despite his unwillingness to ask, God gives him a sign anyway. While there is much we do not know in this promise to Ahaz, like who the woman is and which king is meant in the immediate context of Ahaz’s lineage, we do know Who is ultimately promised by this. Matthew quotes this, showing Jesus’ birth to the virgin named Mary, fulfills it (Mat. 1:23). Much of what describes this promised one to be born applies to Jesus (cf. 8:8; 9:1-7), living a nomadic lifestyle, enduring difficulties, and knowing good and evil (15-16). Yet, there must be one to whom this applies before Jesus since God through Isaiah places his birth in the timeline of the current oppression at the hands of Syria and Israel (17-19). The good news for Judah is that this one would be righteous, in contrast to wicked Ahaz.
Reference (18-25). Notice the repeated phrase, “in that day,” signaled with the phrase “such days” in verse 17. Isaiah repeats the phrase, “in that day,” four times (18,20,21,23). The promise of a better spiritual time lay ahead, which would benefit the righteous who did believe Isaiah’s message.
Isaiah is a literary marathon runner, laying out a message of hope and judgment in the uneven times in which he lived. He would live to see Ahaz’s grandson, Hezekiah, show a righteousness as distinguished as Ahaz’s iniquity. Through it all, God’s word would hold true and could not be thwarted.
The Preacher Pollard Blog 