ISAIAH 7:116

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ISAIAH 71-16
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1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was
king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son
of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight
against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower
it.  2 Now the house of David was told, "Aram has
allied itself with Ephraim" so the hearts of
Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of
the forest are shaken by the wind.
Ahaz was a wicked king of Judah, worshipping
other gods and even sacrificing his son to Molech
(2 Kings 161-4). The only good thing Ahaz seemed
to do was father Hezekiah, who became a good king
of Judah.
The attack on Jerusalem was ultimately
unsuccessful, but the war against Judah took a
great toll against the southern kingdom. 2
Chronicles 286 documents the damage For Pekah
the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty
thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men,
because they had forsaken the LORD God of their
fathers. 2 Chronicles 285 says that the Syrian
army carried away a great multitude of them as
captives.
King Ahaz and his people react with fear instead
of with trust in God. They are shaken and
unstable in their hearts.
In this, the people of Judah really are the
people of Ahaz (his people), not the people of
the LORD. God was not shaken or unsettled by this
threat. If the king of Judah and the people of
Judah had put their trust in the LORD, they would
have had the peace of God in this conflict.
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 3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out, you and
your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of
the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to
the Washerman's Field. 4 Say to him, 'Be careful,
keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart
because of these two smoldering stubs of
firewoodbecause of the fierce anger of Rezin and
Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim
and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin,
saying, 6 "Let us invade Judah let us tear it
apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the
son of Tabeel king over it." 7 Yet this is what
the Sovereign LORD says ?       " 'It will not
take place, ?       it will not happen,  8 for
the head of Aram is Damascus, ?       and the
head of Damascus is only Rezin. ?       Within
sixty-five years ?       Ephraim will be too
shattered to be a people.  9 The head of Ephraim
is Samaria, ?       and the head of Samaria is
only Remaliah's son. ?       If you do not stand
firm in your faith, ?       you will not stand at
all.'
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You and Shear-Jashub your son Isaiah was told to
take his son, named Shear-Jashub, and bring a
word from the LORD to Ahaz. He brought his son as
a walking object lesson, because the name
Shear-Jashub means, A Remnant Shall Return.
God wanted Ahaz to know that because of the kind
of ungodly trust he put in the king of Assyria,
Judah would eventually be taken into captivity,
and only a remnant would return.
At the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool,
on the highway to the Fullers Field These
seemingly irrelevant details make an important
point. All this happened to real people at a real
time and in real places. This isnt make believe
or fairy tales. This is real.
Take heed, and be quiet Seemingly, Ahaz needed
to pay attention (take heed) and stop his talking
about the problem (be quiet). He needed to trust
God, and take courage in the LORD (do not fear or
be fainthearted).
If you will not believe, surely you shall not be
established Here is the challenge to Ahaz. God
has promised, now the king of Judah must believe.
If he will not believe, it will not affect the
outcome of the attack against Jerusalem. God has
already decreed that their attack would not
succeed. But it would affect the course of Ahazs
life and reign as king (surely you shall not be
established).
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Through the prophet Isaiah, God invites Ahaz to
ask for a sign. God has just challenged Ahaz to
believe and be blessed, and now God offers to
give Ahaz a basis for belief - a sign for
yourself.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, I will not put
the LORD to the test! This sounds very spiritual
from Ahaz. He almost seems to say what Jesus said
in Matthew 47 You shall not tempt the LORD
your God. Though the words are similar, the
hearts are far apart. Ahaz refused to ask for a
sign, because when God fulfilled the sign, he
would be obligated to believe.
Again, perhaps Ahaz was bitter against the LORD,
because of all the disaster Judah had already
been through at the hands of Israel and Syria.
Perhaps his mind is, I want nothing to do with
the God who allowed it to get this bad.
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13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of
David! Is it not enough to try the patience of
men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign
The virgin will be with child and will give birth
to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will
eat curds and honey when he knows enough to
reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But
before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong
and choose the right, the land of the two kings
you dread will be laid waste.
The rulers of Judah treated other people poorly,
but they treated the LORD even more poorly.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you as sign
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel. This is one of
the most famous prophecies regarding the birth of
Jesus the Messiah in the Bible. It also
illustrates a principle of prophecy, that
prophecy may have both a near fulfillment and a
far fulfillment.
The near fulfillment of this prophecy centered
around Ahaz, Jerusalem, and the attack from
Israel and Syria. Simply put, God would give
Ahaz a sign that within a few years, both Israel
and Syria would be crushed. This was a sign of
deliverance to Ahaz.
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The far or ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy
goes far beyond Ahaz, to announce the miraculous
virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the
Holy Spirit says so through Matthew Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and
they shall call His name Immanuel, which is
translated, God with us. (Matthew 123)
We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the
prophecy is addressed not only to Ahaz, but also
to Davids entire house (O house of David!).
We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it
says the virgin shall conceive, and that
conception would be a sign to Davids entire
house. Those who deny the virgin birth of Jesus
like to point out that the Hebrew word translated
virgin (almah) can also be translated as young
woman. The idea is that Isaiah was simply saying
that a young woman would give birth, not a
virgin. While the near fulfillment may have
reference to a young woman giving birth, the far
or ultimate fulfillment clearly points to a woman
miraculously conceiving and giving birth. This is
especially clear because the Old Testament never
uses the word in a context other than virgin.
We know this passage speaks of Jesus because it
says He will be known as Immanuel, meaning God
with Us. This was true of Jesus in fact, not
only as a title. Immanuel speaks both of the
deity of Jesus (God with us) and His
identification and nearness to man (God with us).
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THE MESSIAH AND HIS RULE

• Isaiah 111-126