Monday, January 11
While Ahaz was weighing his political options to meet the threat from Israel and Syria, God knew some things he did not. For one thing, it was God who had allowed trouble to come upon him in order to discipline him and bring him to his senses (2 Chronicles 28:5, 19). Moreover, although appealing to Tiglath-pileser for help seemed logical and attractive from a human standpoint, God knew it would bring the Davidic kingdom of Judah under foreign control from which she could never recover.
The stakes were staggeringly high. So, the Lord sent Isaiah to intercept the king (apparently as he was inspecting Jerusalem’s water supply in preparation for a siege) in order to persuade him not to contact the Assyrian leader.
Why did the Lord tell Isaiah to take his son, Shear—jashub, with him (Isaiah 7:3)?
Ahaz would be startled when Isaiah greeted him and introduced his son, named “A Remnant Shall Return.” Remnant of whom? Shall return from what? Because the boy’s father was a prophet, the name sounded like an ominous message from God about people going into captivity. Or was it about returning to God in the sense of repenting (the verb “return” also carries the meaning of repentance)? The message from God to Ahaz was: It means what you make it mean! Turn from your sins or go into captivity, and from captivity a remnant will return. The decision is yours!
How did God’s message address the king’s situation? Isaiah 7:4-9.
The threat from Syria and Israel would pass and Judah would be spared. Powers that looked to Ahaz like huge, fiery volcanoes were in God’s sight only “two tails of these smoking firebrands” (Isaiah 7:4). There was no need for Ahaz to appeal to Assyria for help.
But in order to make the right decision, Ahaz needed to trust the Lord and His promises. He needed to believe in order to be established (Isaiah 7:9). The words for “believe” and “be established” are from the same Hebrew root, from which come also the word for “truth” (that which is reliable) and the word Amen (affirming that which is true/reliable). Ahaz needed to be sure in order to be made sure; he needed to rely in order to be reliable.
Look at that last section of Isaiah 7:9. Why are faith and belief so important in order to be “established”? Established in what? How does this principle apply in the life of the Christian?
