by Larry Ferrell | January 12, 2018
The question mark put against the doctrine of hope by chapter 5 was erased by Isaiah’s own experience. His sin was as the sin of the people (6:5). If the Lord dealt with Isaiah’s sin, will He not deal with theirs? Hope is restored (6:13b). Isaiah proceeds now to work this out. First, the moment of decision has come. Isaiah found himself faced with the Word of God and the challenge to respond (6:8); so it would be for the people. For them the point of no return had arrived. Secondly, membership of the people of the Lord must now be evidenced by personal decision and commitment. It’s not a matter of nationality. In these chapters (7:1-11:16) the doctrine of the believing remnant flowers. Thirdly, the dying kingship of Uzziah provides the foil for the hope to come: David’s house is sinking fast but the promised King will come.

The setting this encounter between Isaiah and Ahaz is briefly sketched in verses 1-2. A resurgent Assyria has begun to push west and south into Palestine. The kings of Israel and Syria have formed an anti-Assyrian pact and are determined to force Judah to join them by deposing Ahaz and installing a puppet king in his place (v. 6). Ahaz is torn between two fears. He is panic-stricken in the face of the invasion by Syria and Israel (v. 2), but he is even more fearful of joining them against Assyria. When Isaiah confronts him he appears to have already decided to try to hold out in the hope of finding security through submission to Assyria. Isaiah offers him a radical alternative: forswear all alliances and trust wholly in the Lord (vv. 7-9). In view of Ahaz’s refusal to do this (vv. 10-11), Isaiah announces that Judah will soon be overrun and devastated by that very Assyria that Ahaz has foolishly decided to turn to for help (vv. 17-20).

Verses 13-16 are clearly the theological key to the chapter. The encounter with Ahaz in verses 1-12 leads up to them, and verses 17-25 which follow are an extended commentary on them. It’s certain that verse 14 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, but what is its meaning here in its immediate context? In chapter 6:9-10 Isaiah was told to make the ears of the rebellious people dull and to close their eyes. Here in chapter 7 we see Isaiah doing this to Ahaz. Ahaz has rejected the clear word of the prophet (vv. 7-9) and the offer of a clear sign to confirm it (vv. 10-12). Therefore Ahaz is given a sign which is veiled, a sign which he cannot understand (vv. 13-16).

But the sign is not meaningless. It can be understood, but only from the perspective of faith, and again chapter 6 provides the key. The final verse of that chapter spoke of a righteous remnant, a “holy seed” that would survive the coming judgment. At the beginning of chapter 7 Isaiah is pointedly told to take his son Shear-Jashub with him as he goes to meet Ahaz. “Shear-Jashub” means ‘a remnant shall return’ or ‘a remnant shall repent’. Both are possible, but since the immediate context here is one of faith verses unbelief rather than exile and return, the latter meaning is almost certainly the primary one. Isaiah comes to challenge Ahaz to repent and join the remnant who believes, but he refuses. The Immanuel saying of verse 14 is therefore given to Ahaz as a veiled message of judgment.

Two important themes from the previous chapters are strongly developed here in chapter 7. The first is the Lord’s supreme, universal sovereignty, which was so forcibly set before us in 6:1-3. Here in chapter 7 we see Him exercising that sovereignty as He summons the nations to do His bidding. The second theme is closely related to the first, namely, the absolute necessity of wholehearted reliance upon the Lord. In chapter 2 the alternative to such trust was reliance upon man; here that general notion is developed in terms of trusting in the nations (especially Assyria) for protection instead of the Lord. The choice is put squarely to Ahaz in verse 9b: “If you will not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Whatever we rely on instead of trusting in God will eventually turn and devour us.

Isaiah 7:1-25 Reflection Questions:
Have you ever been in a situation similar to Ahaz and to put all your trust in the Lord?
What would be some of today’s examples of “Assyria” and “Syria & Israel” that we face?
Are you receiving signs (dreams & visions) or Words from God that you are ignoring?
What are you relying on instead of God that you might need to repent from?

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