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Isaiah's
Contextual Box
1
In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,
king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the
son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to
wage war against it, and they could not conquer it. 2
When the house of David was told, "Syria is in league
with Ephraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook
as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 3
And the YAHWEH said to Isaiah: "Go forth to meet Ahaz,
you (Isaiah) and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of
the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field, 4
and say to him, `Take heed,
be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of
these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin
and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5
Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,
has devised evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah
and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son
of Tabeel as king in the midst of it," 10
Again YAHWEH spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask a sign from YAHWEH your
elohiym;
let it be deep as Sheol or high as one may ascend." 12
But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the YAHWEH
to the test." 13
And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little
for you to weary men, that you weary my elohiym
also? 14 Therefore the master himself will give you a sign.
Behold, a young woman is pregnant and bearing
a son, and she shall call his name Immanu EL (El is with
us). 15
He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and
choose the good. 16
For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good,
the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be
deserted. 17
YAHWEH will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your
father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim
departed from Judah -- the king of Assyria."
It is generally agreed that the historical material
in Isaiah begins with this chapter (7).
This section begins with Ahaz, king of Judah, facing an impending attack from
the alliance between the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Syria.
The political reality that brought on this alliance was the
imminent expansion of the Assyrian Empire.
The threat presented by Tiglath-pilezer created alliances among
all the Palestinian nations so they could present a united front against
the advancing Assyrians. Judah,
however, under this same threat, did not join the above alliance.
Therefore, Ahaz was deemed an opponent by the nations of the
alliance. King Resin of
Syria and King Pekah of Israel proposed to depose Ahaz and replace him
with a king who would follow their policies.
Although their first assault against Judah appeared successful,
it eventually failed (also see 2 Chronicles 28:4-6). Isaiah
tells us that YAHWEH would have protected Ahaz if he had trusted in him,
but Ahaz chose to trust in his own political solution instead.
Ahaz took gold and silver from the Temple and sent it to
Tiglath-pilezer who had already begun his attack on Israel (Northern
Kingdom). Tiglath-pilezer
had probably already deported the tribes east of the Jordan into
Assyrian Media by this point in time.
Isaiah then goes to Ahaz and tells him to trust in YAHWEH and
that YAHWEH has a sign for him. The
sign that he gives Ahaz is recorded in Isaiah 7:14-16: Behold, a young woman is
pregnant and is bearing a son, and she shall call
his name Immanu EL (El is with us). 15
He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and
choose the good. 16
For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good,
the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be
deserted. Notice
that this sign is to Ahaz and that the young woman is already
pregnant - she may even be at the stage of giving birth at the
time Isaiah is speaking to Ahaz.
The nation will be affected by the choice that Ahaz makes.
The dangers are imminent dangers to the people of Judah.
But Ahaz did not trust in YAHWEH even though Isaiah gave the
assurance in Isaiah 8:4: For before the child [Isaiah's son] shall have
knowledge to call, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and
the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away by the king of Assyria. Ahaz did not trust YAHWEH, but asked for help from the king of Assyria. Tiglath-pilezer invaded Syria, put King Rezin to death and defeated most of Israel (Northern Kingdom), which reduced the Divided Kingdoms by two thirds of their tribes. Only Samaria and the area around it were still under the control of the king who was now a vassal of the king of Assyria. Galilee was devastated at the same time and people from other nations were brought by forced immigration to take the place of the deported Israelites. Just about nine years later, the next king of Assyria would bring an end to the Northern Kingdom with the fall of Samaria in 722 BCE. |
