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Isaiah 7_1-25 Session 9.pdf

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War against Jerusalem and counsel to Ahaz (vv.7:1-7:9)

• The historical setting of the war against Jerusalem (v. 1)
  • The Timing: The days of Ahaz
    • Ahaz was the son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, reigning as king of Judah in Jerusalem (2 Kings 15:32-38; 16:1-2; 2 Chron. 27:1-9; 28:1).
    • His reign places this event after Isaiah's throne-room vision in the year Uzziah died (Isa. 6:1), and during the rising pressure of Assyria under Tiglath-pileser III (2 Kings 16:7-9).
    • Ahaz was not a faithful Davidic king. Scripture says he "did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God" and even walked in the ways of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 16:2-4; 2 Chron. 28:1-4).
  • The Enemies: Rezin and Pekah
    • Rezin was king of Syria, or Aram, with Damascus as his royal city (2 Kings 16:5; Isa. 7:8).
    • Pekah the son of Remaliah was king of Israel, meaning the northern kingdom, sometimes called Ephraim in this chapter (2 Kings 15:27; Isa. 7:2, 5, 8-9).
    • These two kings formed a coalition against Judah in what is commonly called the Syro-Ephraimite crisis.
      • Syria and Israel wanted to pressure Judah, and Isaiah 7:6 later states their intention to set "the son of Tabeal" as king in Jerusalem.
      • This was therefore not merely a border raid, but an attempted political overthrow of the Davidic throne.
  • The Target: Jerusalem
    • "Jerusalem" was the royal city of Judah and the city of David's throne.
    • The attack against Jerusalem is especially important because the Davidic covenant promised an enduring royal house through David's line (2 Sam. 7:12-16). The threat in Isaiah 7 is therefore both military and covenantal.
  • The Outcome: They could not prevail
    • Though they "could not prevail against it," this does not mean Judah suffered no damage in the broader conflict. Second Chronicles 28 describes severe losses for Judah during Ahaz's reign (2 Chron. 28:5-8).
    • The point in Isaiah 7:1 is narrower: the coalition did not succeed in taking Jerusalem or replacing the Davidic king.
    • Verse 1 therefore sets up the central issue of the chapter: Ahaz faces a real historical crisis, but the Lord's word through Isaiah will call him to trust divine promise rather than political calculation.
• The fear of the house of David (v. 2)
  • The Report: Syria is confederate with Ephraim
    • The message was brought to "the house of David," which refers to Ahaz and the royal household of Judah.
    • This wording keeps the Davidic issue in view. The crisis is not only about Ahaz as an individual king, but about the threatened royal line through which the Lord had promised an enduring throne (2 Sam. 7:12-16).
    • The report was that "Syria is confederate with Ephraim," meaning that Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel had joined forces against Judah.
  • The Name: Ephraim as Israel
    • "Ephraim" is used here for the northern kingdom of Israel.
      • Ephraim was one of Joseph's sons and became one of the dominant tribes in the northern kingdom (Gen. 48:13-20; Josh. 16:1-10).
      • This is not the first time the name is used for the northern kingdom. Hosea, for example, repeatedly uses "Ephraim" as a representative name for Israel (Hos. 4:17; 5:3, 5; 6:4).
    • In Isaiah 7 itself, the identification is made clear because "Ephraim" is associated with Samaria and Pekah the son of Remaliah (Isa. 7:8-9).
  • The Response: Their hearts were moved
    • The fear is understandable historically, because Judah was facing a coordinated attack from two neighboring powers.
    • Yet theologically, this fear exposes the central problem of the chapter: the Davidic king is moved by political danger before he is moved by confidence in the Lord's promise.
  • The Simile: Trees of the wood moved with the wind, used to display the "shivering timbers" of the hearts of Judah.
• The Lord sends Isaiah to Ahaz with a word of steadiness (vv. 3-4)
  • The Messenger: Isaiah and Shear-jashub
    • The Lord commands Isaiah to go out to meet Ahaz, showing that the word of the Lord enters the political crisis directly.
    • Isaiah is told to take "Shear-jashub thy son" with him.
      • We know very little else about Shear-jashub personally. He is named only here, though Isaiah later says, "Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel" (Isa. 8:18).
      • His name means something like "a remnant shall return."
      • The name itself is probably part of the message to Ahaz: judgment is real, but the Lord will not let the house of David or the nation be utterly erased.
      • This makes Shear-jashub a living sign, just as Isaiah's later son Mahershalalhashbaz will also carry a prophetic message in his name (Isa. 8:1-4).
  • The Location: The conduit of the upper pool
    • Isaiah is to meet Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field."
    • This location was connected with Jerusalem's water supply. In a siege crisis, water access would be a major military concern.
    • Ahaz may have been inspecting or securing the city's water system because of the threat from Syria and Ephraim.
    • The same general location appears later when the Rabshakeh confronts Jerusalem during the Assyrian crisis in Hezekiah's day (Isa. 36:2; 2 Kings 18:17).
  • The Command: Take heed, be quiet, fear not
    • The Lord gives Ahaz three closely related commands: "Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted."
    • "Take heed" calls Ahaz to careful attention, not panic.
    • "Be quiet" does not mean passivity in every sense, but settled confidence rather than frantic political maneuvering.
    • "Fear not" directly answers the trembling hearts of verse 2.
    • The command presses the central question of the chapter: will Ahaz trust the Lord's word, or will he seek security through Assyria?
  • The Description: Two tails of smoking firebrands
    • Rezin and Pekah are described as "the two tails of these smoking firebrands."
    • This is intentionally dismissive language.
      • A firebrand is a burning stick, but these are not portrayed as strong blazing torches.
      • They are "smoking" firebrands, already mostly spent, irritating and threatening in appearance but near the end of their force.
      • Calling them "tails" emphasizes their weakness and remainder-status; they are the last smoking ends, not the full fire.
    • Their "fierce anger" is real, but it is not ultimate. The anger of Rezin and the son of Remaliah cannot overthrow what the Lord has promised to preserve.
• The evil counsel of Syria and Ephraim (vv. 5-6)
  • The Conspiracy: Evil counsel against Judah
    • The Lord identifies the plan of Syria, Ephraim, and "the son of Remaliah" as evil counsel.
    • Ephraim and "the son of Remaliah" are not two separate northern powers. "Ephraim" names the northern kingdom corporately, while "the son of Remaliah" identifies its king, Pekah.
    • Isaiah may avoid the royal name "Pekah" here in order to diminish him rhetorically: he is not treated with full royal dignity, but reduced to his patronymic, "the son of Remaliah" (Isa. 7:4-5, 9; 8:6).
      • This fits the tone of verse 4, where Rezin and Pekah are dismissed as "two tails of these smoking firebrands."
      • Remaliah himself is otherwise known only as Pekah's father; Scripture records no independent role for him in the crisis (2 Kings 15:25, 27, 30).
    • This should not be connected with the modern West Bank city of Ramallah. Ramallah is usually explained from "ram" and "Allah," meaning "hill of God" or a similar Arabic/Aramaic construction, not from the biblical name Remaliah.
    • Verse 5 shifts the issue from international politics to rebellion against the Lord's covenant purposes.
    • Rezin and Pekah are not only attacking Ahaz; they are attempting to overturn the Davidic throne in Jerusalem.
  • The Historical Accounts: Kings and Chronicles
    • Second Kings 16:5-9 gives the basic account: Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel came up against Jerusalem, besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
    • Second Chronicles 28:5-15 gives the broader devastation of the war, including Judah's defeat, many captives, and the prophetic rebuke through Oded that led Israel to return the captives.
    • Second Chronicles 28:16-21 also records Ahaz's appeal to Assyria, showing the very political solution that Isaiah's message is designed to confront.
    • These accounts should be read together: Kings emphasizes that Jerusalem itself was not taken, while Chronicles emphasizes that Judah still suffered severely because of Ahaz's unfaithfulness.
  • The Goal: Let us make a breach therein
    • The phrase "let us make a breach therein" means they intended to break into Judah, and more specifically to force open Jerusalem's defenses.
    • Making a breach into Jerusalem would not have been easy.
      • Jerusalem was a fortified hill city with walls, elevation, and defensive advantages.
      • The meeting place at the conduit of the upper pool already hints that water supply was a major strategic issue in such a siege.
      • Later history shows the difficulty of taking Jerusalem: Assyria threatened it under Hezekiah but did not take it (Isa. 36-37), while Babylon eventually took it only after a prolonged siege (2 Kings 25:1-4).
    • Thus the plan was ambitious. Rezin and Pekah wanted more than intimidation; they wanted to break the city open and impose a new political order.
  • The Puppet King: The son of Tabeal
    • Their stated plan was to "set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal."
    • We do not know with certainty who this man was. He is not otherwise clearly identified in Scripture.
    • He was likely a proposed puppet ruler acceptable to Syria and Israel, perhaps someone with court connections or regional legitimacy sufficient to replace Ahaz.
    • The point is clear even if his identity is not: Rezin and Pekah intended to remove the reigning Davidic king and install their own man in Jerusalem.
• The Lord's answer to the conspiracy (vv. 7-9)

Sign of Immanuel and consequences for the land (vv.7:10-7:25)

• The LORD speaks to Ahaz and offers a sign (vv.10-13)
• The sign of a virgin conceiving and bearing Immanuel (vv.14-16).
• The LORD brings days of Assyrian invasion (vv.17-20)
• Life during the days of desolation and scarcity (vv.21-22)
• The land becomes briers and thorns with arrows and bows (vv.23-25)