1And 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.
The first verse of chapter 7 is a summary of the climax of crisis events that took place during the reign of the wicked king Ahaz. The northern kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria (Hebrew: “Aram”) had already begun to show aggression against the southern kingdom of Judah during the reign of Ahaz’s father Jotham. In that context, II Kings 15:37 says, “In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.” God allowed Rezin and Pekah to do great harm during the reign of Ahaz because of the sins of Ahaz and of the people of Judah:
“Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him [Ahaz] into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.” (II Chronicles 28:5-6)
Also, Pekah and Rezin set their eyes on the city of Jerusalem. The summary in II Kings 16:5 is like that in Isaiah 7:1: “Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.”
2And 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.
In this verse, “the house of David” refers to the king of the region of Judah. The heart of king Ahaz and the heart of his people were greatly afraid of the alliance which had been formed by their northern neighbors Ephraim and Syria. (The whole northern kingdom of Israel is sometimes referred to by the name of Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph.) The mercy shown by God to Ahaz, as expressed in the following verses, is surely because he was of the house of David.
3Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;
The setting of Isaiah’s meeting with Ahaz is very significant. Surely God in His sovereignty arranged this meeting at that place. First, the “end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field” denotes a place of flowing water and of a highway to a fuller’s field. A “fuller” is a person who washes garments. Isaiah was sent to meet Ahaz in a place where thirst could be quenched and where there was a path to cleansing. God was giving Ahaz an opportunity to repent. Later, in the time of Ahaz’s son Hezekiah, the troops of the king of Assyria would amass at precisely this same place: “And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field” (II Kings 18:17; see also Isaiah 36:2).
The setting was also very significant in that Isaiah was told to take with him his son Shearjashub. The Hebrew name “Sh’ar yashuv” means “a remnant will return.” It is interesting that throughout Isaiah’s encounter with Ahaz and throughout the rest of the book of Isaiah, the name Shearjashub is never mentioned again. Yet, this boy’s silent presence at this encounter provides an important theme of this chapter. The same Hebrew words are found in Isaiah 10:21: “The remnant shall return (sh’ar yashuv), even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” God promised that a remnant of the people of Israel would return to faith in the mighty God; their return to faith would allow that remnant to return to live in the land of Israel in peace.
The link at the end of the conduit to the upper pool between a threatened attack by Ephraim and Syria in the time of Ahaz and another threatened attack by Assyrian troops in the time of Hezekiah is also significant. This link tells us that the revelation in this chapter may have in view more than one time frame and more than one event.
4and 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. 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,6let 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:
Though Ahaz had done great evil in Judah, God showed him great grace in sending Isaiah to calm his fears. The statement, “Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted” contains repeated words of comfort. God knew exactly what the enemies of Judah were planning to do, but He also knew what He would do to stop them.
7thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8For 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. 9And 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.
In verses 5-6, God said that Ephraim and Syria had a scheme to put into place a puppet government in the land of Judah. In verse 7, God said that their scheme would fail. Verses 7-9 contain two compound statements with parallel structure: (1) “[their scheme] shall not stand...[as surely as] the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin;” and (2) “within sixty-five years shall Ephraim be broken... [as surely as] the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.” Then God gave a warning to Ahaz and his people: “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” This warning is made emphatic by the presence of two forms of the same Hebrew verb. The sentence may be translated, “If ye will not stand firm, surely ye shall not be made firm.” The way for Judah to be made firm in safety was for them to stand firm in faith.
God first promised that the scheme of Ephraim and Syria to establish a puppet government in Judah would not succeed. God Himself would stop them. But instead of trusting God, Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria to help him. The Assyrian king Tilgathpil(n)eser did attack Damascus, kill Rezin, and carry many Syrians captive to Assyria. He also carried away many captives from the northern kingdom of Israel (II Kings 15:29; 16:7-9). Yet, according to II Chronicles 28:20, “Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him [Ahaz], and distressed him, but strengthened him not.” Ahaz became a tributary of the king of Assyria, as evidenced by his own gifts to Tilgathpileser (II Kings 16:8; II Chronicles 28:21) and by the period of continued subservience to Assyria at the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah (II Kings 18:7).
Secondly, God promised that “within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.” A partial deportation of the population of the northern kingdom of Israel took place at the hands of the Assyrian king Tilgathpileser, as mentioned above. The deportation was later completed by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser (II Kings 17:1, 3-6). Two other Assyrian kings mentioned in Scripture, Sargon (Isaiah 20:1) and Sennacherib (II Kings 18:13) ruled after Shalmaneser. The prophecy of sixty-five years would be fulfilled when a still later Assyrian king, Esarhaddon, brought in people from the Assyrian empire to live in Israel in the place of those who were deported (II Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:1-2).
As Isaiah will tell Ahaz in verses 17-25 of this chapter, Assyria, to whom Ahaz wrongly looked for help, would later also attack Judah.
10Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
Again, the LORD showed great grace to Ahaz, even offering to give him a confirming sign that the scheming of Ephraim and Syria would not succeed and that Ephraim would be broken as a people within sixty-five years. With this offer, Ahaz was given opportunity to turn to the LORD in faith. God even referred to Himself as “the LORD thy God;” that is, as the God of Ahaz. But Ahaz, in pride and unbelief, refused God’s offer, answering in false piety, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.”
13And 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? 14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah answers Ahaz. He asks Ahaz, who at that time represented the house of David, if making other men weary was not enough. Isaiah may have been speaking of himself as a person who had been made weary by the ways of Ahaz. But God would not have more of Ahaz’s wearying behavior; He Himself would give Ahaz a sign.
It seems very significant that these verses are spoken to “you” (plural), but verses 16 and 17 are spoken to “thee” (singular). In verse 13, Isaiah begins, “O house of David.” These verses are spoken to the whole Davidic line, not just to king Ahaz. The sign that the Lord is about to give will have a fulfillment beyond the lifetime of this king. Ahaz was receiving this sign, not because he had pleased the Lord, but because he belonged to the house of David.
The Lord said, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The verbal forms in the Hebrew text of this prophecy are “conceived” (or “is pregnant”), “is bearing,” and “called” because the prophecy envisions the promise as done. The Hebrew text of this verse says, “thou (feminine singular) called His name Immanuel.” The “thou” in this clause likely refers to Jerusalem rather than to Mary. When the day comes that Jerusalem calls this promised son “Immanuel,” there will be deliverance for the nation. God was promising the house of David that no attempt by Ephraim and Syria – or by anyone else – to supplant the reign of the house of David would ever succeed. God’s sign that such would never take place was that the virgin of this prophecy would bear a son whose name would be called “Immanuel” (“immanu” [with us], “el” [God]). God will be with His people to deliver them. And, as will be progressively revealed in this book and in the rest of the Scriptures, the son born to the virgin will Himself forever possess the throne of David.
An important part of this sign is that a virgin will conceive and bear the promised son. The Hebrew word used here is also found in the following passages:
Genesis 24:43-44 : “Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink and she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.”
Clearly, the servant of Abraham, who was sent to find a wife for Isaac, would be required to choose a young woman who was a virgin.
Exodus 2:8 : “And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.”
The “maid” (the same Hebrew word for “virgin”) was Miriam, Moses’ sister, who was, according to the context, still living at home with her parents.
Proverbs 30:18-19 : “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.”
The “maid” (the same Hebrew word for “virgin”) in this verse is a young woman being courted by a young man. According to the Law of Moses, if a man married a woman and it was proven that she was not a virgin, she was to be stoned (Deuteronomy 22:20-21). Clearly, the verse in Proverbs assumes that the young woman being courted is a virgin.
Also, it is certain that Matthew in the New Testament understood Isaiah 7:14 to be speaking of a virgin; he quotes this verse in Matthew 1:23 as finding fulfillment in the words of the angel to Joseph, “fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20).
15Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16For 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. 17The 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.
Verses 13 and 14 were addressed to the whole house of David, not just to Ahaz. Verses 15-17 are addressed just to Ahaz, not to the whole house of David. The switch from plural to singular confirms this difference. Verse 16 begins with the connecting word “for,” indicating that verses 15 and 16 belong together.
The child who will be called Immanuel will come as a sign to the house of David. The child in verses 15-17 will prefigure Immanuel in the near-time experience of king Ahaz. The identity of this child will not become clear until chapter 8. Isaiah said that this child will enjoy the blessings of butter and honey while he is yet very young, meaning that by that time, the oppression by Ephraim and Syria would be broken and there would again be blessing in the land of Judah. Isaiah said specifically that by that time, “the land that thou [Ahaz] abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.” God will remove both Pekah in the northern kingdom of Israel and Rezin in Syria.
But, the word of comfort to Ahaz in verses 15-16 quickly became in verse 17 a word of impending judgment. God will bring the king of Assyria against Ahaz, his people, and his father’s house. Ahaz sought help from the king of Assyria, but God would use the king of Assyria to judge Ahaz:
“And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.” (II Chronicles 28:20-21)
Isaiah told Ahaz that God would also bring the king of Assyria against the house of Ahaz’s father. In the fourteenth year of the reign of Ahaz’s son Hezekiah, Sennacherib “[came] up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them” (II Kings 18:13). Verse 17 stands in contrast to verse 13 in that the judgment is prophesied to be against the house of Ahaz’s father, not against the house of David.
18And 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. 19And 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. 20In 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.
The prophecy given by Isaiah to Ahaz concerning an impending attack on Judah by the king of Assyria had short-term fulfillments during the reigns of Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh (II Chronicles 33:11), but verse 18 makes doubly clear that there yet remains a future attack by Assyria on Israel. First, verses 18, 20 (Hebrew text), 21 and 23 each include the phrase “in that day,” a reference ultimately to the future Day of the LORD. Second, the prophecy in verse 18 will not have been fulfilled until both Egypt and Assyria enter Israel at the same time. There is no record of such a battle in the past. There was conflict between Egypt against Babylon, who had overthrown Assyria, during the reign of the good king Josiah. Josiah fought with the king of Egypt in the valley of Megiddo (much to the north of Judah) and died in that battle (II Kings 23:29-30; II Chronicles 35:20-24). But the related warring of Egypt and the remnants of Assyria against Babylon took place near the Euphrates River, not in Israel.
The prophet Daniel, however, spoke of a future day when a king from the north and a king from the south will wage war against one another on the soil of Israel:
“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” (Daniel 11:40-41)
God said that He would “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.” He said that “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.” In the conflict between the king of the north (the Antichrist) and the king of the south (Egypt and its allies), the king of the north “shall enter also into the glorious land” (Israel).
But can the one Daniel called the king of the north be the same as the one Isaiah called “the king of Assyria”? Didn’t Assyria long ago cease to exist as a kingdom? It is significant that in Ezra 6:22, the Persian king Darius is called “the king of Assyria.” The title “king of Assyria” can refer to whoever currently reigns in the former kingdom of Assyria. In the future, that person will be the Antichrist. God will allow him to “shave...the head and the hair of the feet,” and to “consume the beard” of Israel. As Ahaz tried to hire Assyria to help him against Ephraim and Syria, God will “hire” the future king of Assyria to accomplish His judgment against Israel. Then God will judge that wicked king.
21And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; 22and 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. 23And 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. 24With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25And 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.
The phrase “in that day” is again found in both verses 21 and 23. Verse 21 gives a promise of butter and honey in the future that parallels the short-term promise found in verse 15. As in Job 20:17, butter and honey are indicators of blessing. Verses 21-25 explain the significance of Isaiah’s bringing along his son Shearjashub (“a remnant will return”) to his meeting with king Ahaz. After God has shaved the land “with a razor that is hired” (verse 20), a believing remnant of Israel will return to the land. Not much will be left in the land at that point. There might be only one bull or one ram in a community. But even though a man might own only one young cow and two sheep, with God’s blessing they will produce such an abundance of milk that the man will be able to have butter. Honey will also be easy to find.
According to verses 23-25, the land as a whole will have been given over to briers and thorns – so much so that people will come with bows and arrows to hunt game in places that used to be the finest of vineyards. Yet, the remnant will work the ground, reclaim the hills, and use them “for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.”
The devastation which will be caused by the king of Assyria “in that day” will be the final fulfillment of God’s words in Isaiah 5:5-6: “And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.”
But the good news in chapter 7 is that a remnant will return. After the attacks by Ephraim and Syria in the time of Ahaz, after the attacks by Assyria in the time of Hezekiah, after the attacks by Babylon and carrying away of Judah into captivity, after the dispersion by Rome in 70 A.D., and after the future attack by the Antichrist, “Shearjashub!” – a remnant will return.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.