The Threat Against Jerusalem
Study note
Around 735 BC, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel (also called Ephraim) formed an alliance to fight against Assyria. They wanted Judah to join them, and when King Ahaz refused, they planned to invade Judah and replace Ahaz with a puppet king. Ahaz and all the people of Jerusalem were terrified. God sent Isaiah and his son Shear-jashub (whose name means 'a remnant will return') to meet Ahaz at the water supply, a strategically important location. God's message was simple: don't be afraid. These two enemies are just 'smoking stumps of firewood,' almost burned out. Their plan will not succeed.
1 While Ahaz, the son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched toward Jerusalem to attack it. But they could not capture it. And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2 When the royal family of David got word that Syria and Israel had teamed up, Ahaz and his people were terrified. Their hearts shook like trees blowing back and forth in a strong wind. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
3 Then the Lord told Isaiah, "Go out and meet King Ahaz. Bring your son Shear-jashub with you. You will find him by the water channel that flows from the upper pool, near the road that leads to the washerman's field." Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;
4 Tell him, "Stay calm and do not panic. There is no reason to be afraid. Do not lose courage because of Rezin from Syria and the son of Remaliah. They are nothing but two smoking stumps of firewood, burning out fast, even though they are fuming mad." And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5 "Yes, Syria, Israel, and the son of Remaliah have hatched an evil plot against you. They said," Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6 "'Let us invade Judah and fill the people with fear. Let us break through the walls and put the son of Tabeal on the throne as our puppet king.'" Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
7 But the Lord God says, "It is not going to happen. Their plan will fail." Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
8 "The capital of Syria is just Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is just Rezin -- nothing more. Within sixty-five years, Israel will be smashed to pieces. It will be too broken to even be a people." For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
9 "The capital of Israel is just Samaria, and the leader of Samaria is just the son of Remaliah. If you do not hold firm to your faith, you will not be able to stand at all." And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
The Sign of Immanuel
Study note
God offered Ahaz any sign he wanted, no matter how extraordinary, to prove that God would protect Judah. But Ahaz refused, pretending to be humble by saying he would not test God. In reality, Ahaz had already decided to seek help from Assyria instead of trusting God. Isaiah was frustrated and declared that God would give a sign anyway: a virgin would conceive and bear a son called Immanuel, meaning 'God is with us.' Before this child was old enough to know right from wrong, both enemy kings would be gone. The Hebrew word used here means 'young woman,' while the Greek Old Testament translated it as 'virgin.' Many scholars see both an immediate sign for Ahaz's own day and an ultimate fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:23).
10 Then the Lord sent another message to Ahaz: Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 "Ask the Lord your God for a miraculous sign. Ask for anything at all — something as deep as the world below or as high as the sky above." Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz refused: "No, I will not ask. I refuse to test the Lord." But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
13 Then Isaiah said, "All then, listen up, house of David! Is wearing out people's patience not enough for you? Do you truly have to wear out God's patience too?" And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14 So the Lord himself will give you a sign. A young woman will have a baby boy. She has never been with a man. She will name him Immanuel. That means 'God is with us.' Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 By the time this child is old enough to know right from wrong, he will be eating simple food like butter and honey. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 But before this child even knows right from wrong, the lands of both kings you are scared of will be deserted and empty. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
Study note
Because Ahaz chose to trust Assyria instead of God, the Lord warns that Assyria itself will become the real threat. God will 'whistle' for the armies of Egypt and Assyria, picturing them as swarms of flies and bees that will fill the land. The king of Assyria will be like a razor that shaves the entire land bare, a symbol of total humiliation. The once-productive vineyards will become fields of thorns and briers. People will survive only on the milk and honey that come from grazing a few animals in the wasteland.
17 The Lord is going to bring terrible times on you, your people, and your royal family. It will be worse than anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He is going to send the king of Assyria against you. The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
18 When that day comes, the Lord will whistle for the flies from the far-off rivers of Egypt and the bees from Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will swarm in and settle everywhere. They will fill the steep valleys and cracks in the rocks. They will cover every thornbush and every water hole. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
20 When that day comes, the Lord will use the king of Assyria like a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River. He will shave your head, the hair on your legs, and even your beard. It will be a time of total disgrace. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
21 When that day comes, the only animals a person will be able to keep alive will be one young cow and two sheep. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
22 But those few animals will give plenty of milk, so the survivors will have enough butter to eat. Everyone still in the land will live on butter and honey. And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
23 When that day comes, every place that used to have a thousand grapevines worth a thousand silver coins will be full of thorns and weeds. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
24 People will only go there carrying bows and arrows. The whole land will be nothing but thornbushes and weeds. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25 None of the hills that used to be farmed will be visited anymore because of all the thorns. They will only be good for letting cattle roam and sheep wander. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.