a7:1–39:8
c7:1–12:6
d7:1-2
e2 Kgs 16:5
f7–10
g7:1-25
h2 Kgs 16:7-10
iIsa 7:12
j7:1
k2 Chr 28:5-8
l2 Kgs 15:37
m16:5
n7:2
o37:6-7
p14-20
q7:3
r36:2
s7:4
t7:6
u7:8
v2 Kgs 17:24-34
w7:9
x2 Chr 20:20
yIsa 36–38

‏ Isaiah 7:1-9

Summary for Isa 7:3-9: 7:1–39:8  a In this long section of the book, the nation of Israel was confronted with a vision of God, similar to how Isaiah was confronted in ch 6  b.
Summary for Isa 7:1-12:6: 7:1–12:6  c The historical context of these prophecies involved Assyria’s rise to power and the alliance between Syria and Israel as enemies of Judah (7:1-2  d; see 2 Kgs 16:5  e). Assyria became God’s rod to punish Syria, Israel, and Judah (Isa 7–10  f).
Summary for Isa 7:1-25: 7:1-25  g At one point in his reign, Ahaz found himself in a crisis. The leaders of Syria and Israel attacked Judah. They planned to replace Ahaz and force Judah to join them in their resistance against Assyria. Ahaz responded by calling Assyria in to help him (2 Kgs 16:7-10  h), thus refusing Isaiah’s challenge to trust the Lord instead (Isa 7:12  i). Although the Assyrians squelched the alliance of Syria and Israel, leading to the eventual downfall of both those nations, they also soon set their sights on total domination of Judah. 7:1  j Rezin was king of Syria. Damascus was Syria’s capital city.

• Pekah was king of Israel 740–732 BC. He was a renowned warrior (2 Chr 28:5-8  k).

• Pekah and Rezin began to attack Jerusalem while Jotham was king (750–732 BC), and they intensified their efforts during the early years of young King Ahaz (2 Kgs 15:37  l; 16:5  m).
7:2  n hearts ... trembled with fear: In contrast, Ahaz’s son King Hezekiah faced the Assyrians some thirty years later with great faith (701 BC; see 37:6-7  o, 14-20  p).
7:3  q The aqueduct was a place where political negotiations took place later during Hezekiah’s reign (see 36:2  r).
7:4  s he doesn’t need to fear: This was a “fear not” prophecy (common in Isaiah) in which the Lord assured his people of his presence and purpose.

• two burned-out embers: If Ahaz had God’s perspective, he would have seen that Rezin and Pekah were minor threats who were about to be extinguished.
7:6  t The son of Tabeel, otherwise unknown, was obviously sympathetic to Israel’s and Syria’s resistance against Assyria.
7:8  u The Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal had Israel resettled with people from other places within sixty-five years (by 670 BC; see 2 Kgs 17:24-34  v).

• Damascus was crushed and completely destroyed by 732 BC, and Samaria was crushed by 722 BC.
7:9  w The last sentence is a play on two Hebrew words: If you do not have faith (ta’aminu), you will not stand firm (te’amenu). Firm trust in the Lord is utterly essential, especially for a leader of God’s people (see also 2 Chr 20:20  x), and it must be firmly acted upon in order to demonstrate that it exists. Ahaz and his contemporaries trusted their enemy (Assyria) rather than God. By contrast, Hezekiah later demonstrated his faith in the Lord in a similar context (see Isa 36–38  y).
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