7. Isaiah Chapter Seven
Isaiah Chapter 7
After the death of Uzziah (Isaiah 6:1) and during the reign of Jotham, Isaiah was given no written prophecy to record. Jotham, probably exercised by his father’s death, sought to be conformed to God’s Law. Evil went on in the nation (2 Chronicles 27:2), and Ahaz broke out into open defiance of God. And now a new series of prophecies is committed to His messenger. The kings of Syria and Israel combined to invade Judah and attack Jerusalem, but were frustrated. The northern tribes were at least as guilty as Judah. In Isaiah 7:2 Ephraim stands for Israel (as distinct from Judah), for Ephraim was the paramount tribe of Israel and was a rival to Judah. A second expedition was planned by the allies, and the house of David was moved that is to say, trembled with fear, "as trees are moved with the wind."
Isaiah was therefore commanded to take his son Shear-jashub and to go to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, at the road of the fuller’s field (Isaiah 7:3). This would be on the west of Jerusalem, and the king was probably carrying out operations to prevent the foe from a water supply while yet retaining its use for the city.
Shear-jashub means "the remnant shall return (or turn)." This forms a continuation of the message given in Isaiah 6:13, marking the unity of the distinct prophecies. The name was designed to be to Ahaz both an inducement to him to turn to God himself, and a warning that, if he refused to do so, he would have no part in the restoration of that part of the nation described as the remnant.
God in His longsuffering was showing Ahaz mercy in spite of his iniquity. He promises him that the northern confederacy will be overthrown, and Ephraim would be broken in pieces (Isaiah 7:4-9). Yet let him beware lest, persisting in his unbelief, he would be excluded from the promised blessing: "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established," or, to bring out the similarity of the expressions in the two clauses, "If ye are not firm in faith, ye shall not be made firm in fact." This warning serves to remind us, positively, of the power of faith. Faith is encouraged and strengthened by difficulties. Faith faces what to the natural mind are impossibilities, and, resting on the promises of God, relies upon Him to fulfill His counsel concerning them and to turn the obstacles to account for His glory.
Ahaz did the opposite. He was no true child of Abraham. When the Lord invited him to ask a sign from Him, as a pledge of the fulfillment of His word, seeking it whether from below "the depth" (an allusive remonstrance against his resort to necromancy), or from heaven ("the height above"), he replied, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord" (Isaiah 7:11-12). This was self will under the guise of piety, and received the Lord’s rebuke through Isaiah, "And he said [addressing Ahaz], Hear ye now, O house of David (the royal line of privilege and honor, now represented by this degenerate king); is it a small thing for you to weary men [i.e., Isaiah, himself and others with him, who mourned over the rebellious attitude of the king], but will he weary my God also?" (Isaiah 7:13). Would he make it impossible for God to grant the mercy of repentance and restoration? As Ahaz refused to ask for a sign, the Lord would give one of His own choosing, and a sign the range of which would extend to circumstances far beyond those of the time of Ahaz, and would bring to a culmination the prophecies and promises relating to "the house of David." Ahaz and men of that sort would have no share in the blessings and glories of the fulfillment of the sign: "behold, a [Heb., the] virgin shall conceive, and bear a son [the present tenses in the Hebrew vividly convey the future event in its certainty, as if it were already accomplished], and shall call His Name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
"Behold," in Isaiah, always introduces something relating to future circumstances. The choice of the word almah is significant, as distinct from bethulah (a maiden living with her parents and whose marriage was not impending); it denotes one who is mature and ready for marriage. The various conditions relating to the prophecy are such that the only possible fulfillment is that recorded in Matthew 1:22-23 and Luke 1:31-35. An outstanding feature of Old Testament prophecies is that they connect events chronologically separated. Conditions more immediately relating to Assyria were developed under subsequent powers successively, culminating in the Roman, under which Immanuel was born. The circumstances depicted by Isaiah as prevailing in the land continued up to and in Immanuel’s day. This sign would be "in the depth," for Immanuel (God with us, or, as in the order in the original, with us is God) would be one condescending to become man, and to go down into the depths of vicarious judgment and death. It would be also "in the height," for Immanuel would be "very God" (see Isaiah 7:11 and Isaiah 8:10).
"Butter and honey shall He eat when He knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (Isaiah 7:15, r.v.). This is indicative of impoverishment. Thickened milk and honey were the food of desert wanderers. They were, of course, not the only articles of food; but instead of abundance of provisions there would be comparative scarcity. Such was the condition at the birth and in the childhood of Christ. There was no luxury in the home in Nazareth. "He became poor." The r.v. correctly gives the time indication, that, namely, of the days of his childhood. This rendering is confirmed by the context in Isaiah 7:16. Before the period of the early lifetime of Immanuel, He the only One who alone perfectly knew to refuse evil and choose good, the land, instead of being full of oliveyards, cornfields and vineyards, would be reduced to comparative poverty. The desolation began in the time of Ahaz. The two kings of Syria and Israel, of whom Ahaz was afraid, were overpowered by the Assyrians. Their attack upon Judah followed (Isaiah 7:17), and though recovery was granted in Hezekiah’s reign, it was only temporary. The Egyptians ("the fly") and the Assyrians ("the bee") jointly devastated the land, fulfilling Isaiah 7:18-19. The King of Assyria is spoken of as a hired razor (Isaiah 7:20). Ahaz had determined to hire him for help. God would hire him (the sarcasm is noteworthy) for destruction. Judah would be shaved in a manner bringing the utmost shame. The head, the hair of the feet, the beard would be shorn, indicating respectively the removal of kingly authority, national independence and the priesthood.
Again the Nazirite had to shave his head, were he defiled (Numbers 6:9). Israel as a Nazirite nation, set apart to God, had become defiled. The leper had to shave all his hair (Leviticus 14:9). Israel had become leprous. The Levite, after contact with the dead, had to be completely shaved (Numbers 8:7). Levitical service must be made to cease. But not forever. "God did not cast off (i.e., irremediably) His people whom He foreknew."
Yet as a result of the destruction wrought by national foes, there would be poverty; instead of abundance of milk, just the thickened milk, or curd, and wild honey; instead of a flourishing vineyard, "briers and thorns." As for the hills formerly digged with the mattock (the verb in the first clause of Isaiah 7:25 should be rendered in the past tense), men would go there apprehensive of briars and thorns, not for agricultural purposes, but with arrows and bows. Oxen would roam about wherever they could, and lesser cattle would tread down any growth (Isaiah 7:21-25). Where a company of God’s people departs from the right ways of the Lord, fruitless and noxious products are sure to develop, and there will be spiritual barrenness instead of fertility that glorifies God. Bows and arrows suggest strife, instead of "the whole armor of God" that wards off and defeats the spiritual foe.