Isaiah: Chapter 7

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

December 23, 2021 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

Isaiah, Chapter 7 falls naturally into three sections. In Verses 1-9, Ahaz, king of Judah, is threatened by Israel and Syria but is assured their attack would be in vain. In Verses 10-16, God gives a sure sign by the promise of the long-expected Messiah. In Verses 17-25, the folly and sin of seeking support from Assyria are reproved. We are not particularly interested in a history lesson of what happened in Isaiah's time. However, we are very much interested in God's eternal principles from Isaiah, Chapter 7, that apply to us today.

As a background, Genesis, Chapter 14 describes the first war among men on earth. Four "good" kings defeated five "bad" or "evil" kings and took Lot captive. It is important to note that Abraham was not part of either side because both sides represent the flesh or natural man. He was on the Lord's side. When Abraham heard that the four good kings had captured Lot, he and 318 of his trained men pursued, overtook, probably slaughtered thousands of the "good" folks and rescued Lot. That event will soon be repeated in our day, only in the spiritual realm. It will be fulfilled when the priests, the ministers of the Lord, finally weep between the porch and the altar (Joel 2:17). Sadly, that event will not occur until much more serious persecution confronts us Christians.

Adam was forbidden to eat of the tree of the knowledge of both "good" and "evil." Why? because when he ate the forbidden fruit, he chose to use his own carnal reasoning rather than depend upon God by faith.

After the death of King Solomon, around 930 B.C., the kingdom split into a northern kingdom called Israel, with Samaria as its capital, and a southern kingdom called Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital. Both of the two kingdoms claimed that the temple of God, along with the ark, belonged with them.

Fast forward to April 1861, the start of the Civil War in the United States. That war lasted almost exactly four years. The northern kingdom "won" that war over the Confederacy. An editorial in The Washington Post newspaper this past December 19 is titled, "We are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe." The first physical battle of our current civil war occurred on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. We may or may not see another physical civil war in the United States. However, we certainly will see more skirmishes and more bloodshed. The real civil war is in the spiritual realm. Good and evil will always battle each other because of human nature. But we Christians dare not be part of either!

Do we see a pattern of this ongoing war? A famous quotation is, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Human nature never learns from history. Human nature says "I am right; you are wrong. It is my way or the highway." But only the Lord Himself is "right." Now let us see this same example from Isaiah, Chapter 7. As an introduction, Ahaz was an extremely wicked king of Judah for 16 years. As a result, the judgment of God smote Judah with a very great slaughter through the kings of Israel, the northern kingdom, and Syria. That is recorded in 2 Chronicles 28, Verses 1 through 5. Sin is always destructive. We also know, from Romans 6:23, that the wages of sin is death. Spiritual death comes before natural death. That truth is evident when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. Then, in 2 Chronicles 28:6-8, "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. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria."

Please note that the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand people of Judah .... their brethren! Today, in the United States, Democrats fight against Democrats, Republicans fight against Republicans, and we see a vast multitude of denominations, non-denominations, charismatics, and house churches, all claiming they are Christians, all claiming they believe the Bible is the word of God, and all claiming their doctrine and practices are right and others are not right.

God frequently uses ungodly men to punish others who are as bad as themselves.

Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." 

With this as a background, now let us turn to Verse 1 of Isaiah, Chapter 7.

1 And 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.

In other words, after Israel had killed 120,000 men of Judah and took captive 200,000 more, apparently Israel wanted to utterly destroy Judah. But God said, "enough is enough." Both Acts 5:39 and Acts 23:9 are very clear that to fight against God and His will, is always a losing proposition. When the Lord sovereignly apprehended Saul of Tarsus, Jesus told him that it is hard to kick against the pricks.

2 And 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.

Ephraim was the major tribe of the Northern Kingdom. Being in great distress and confusion, the people of Judah and their king gave up all hope because they were looking with their natural eyes. They had made God their enemy and did not know how to make Him their friend.

3 Then 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;

Shearjashub, Isaiah's oldest son, means "a remnant shall return." The upper pool supplied water to Jerusalem. Without water in the natural realm, we will soon die. Without living water, we will spiritually die.

4 And 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.

Ahaz, in fear, called them two powerful princes. But the prophet, Isaiah, said they are only tails of smoking firebrands which are already burnt out. Faith is absolutely necessary to quiet and compose the mind during trials. The two kingdoms of Syria and Israel were nearly expiring. Pekah was the next to last king of Israel. God has work for the firebrands of the earth and they consume everything before them, but when their work is fulfilled, they will be extinguished in smoke. A good example of this is what some call Joel's army, which was actually God's great army, and which devastated God's chosen people in four stages, as recorded in Joel, Chapter 1. Why does God at times allow destruction even among His chosen people? hopefully to persuade them and us to repent. That is exactly what is going on with the current Covid pandemic.

The name, Pekah, means "he who opens the eyes." Every person created by God is created for a specific purpose, and their God-given name is designed to reflect that specific purpose. Sadly, Pekah never lived up to his name. Pekah actually was a captain in the army of Pekahiah, the king of Israel, against whom he conspired and slew in order to reign in his stead. Note that Verse 1 speaks of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. However, starting with Verse 4 of Isaiah 7, the name of Pekah is never mentioned again. He is simply called the son of Remaliah. That may mean that Pekah was blotted out of God's book of life. This is another example of the amazing word of God.

More generally, there seems to be at least four categories of giving of names:

(1) Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names or to make a name for himself/herself.

Some folks name businesses, houses, lands, streets, boats, cars, and children after our self. This is usually motivated by a proud desire to perpetuate our own name. Such was certainly the case for Linda's father, who built his own empire and which he desired for it to continue forever.

(2) Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names, but this is later overturned by the sovereignty of God. For example, God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul.


(3) Man, in a right relationship with the Lord, seeks the will of God for the name of an offspring, and gives the God-desired name.


(4) God sovereignly provides the name, without man asking. Two prominent cases in this category are John the Baptist (Luke 1:13): "and thou shalt call his name John"; and Jesus (Luke 1:31): "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

Dominion and the right to "name" originally given to Adam, but lost in the fall, now belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of His redemption purchased at the cross of Calvary.

Any believer walks in a very precarious position when he begins to make a "name" for himself. It is a very easy thing to make a name for yourself, but it requires some compromises along the way. Anyone who has an apparent gift that appeals to the senses (such as healing or miracles) or a reasonable message of "truth" (or even a word that sounds pleasant to the ears) can relatively quickly establish audiences in numerous places. Before long, you can become a speaker at the large conferences and make yourself nationally known. Currently, in the United States, perhaps hundreds of such "names" will one day be humbled by God in the sight of man. Some already have been. Many of these "names" may surprise you. I remember one such man who years ago had developed a nationally-known "name." Then he was humbled (because of his own deeds) in the sight of other believers. Apparently in a state of repentance, the man received a word from the Lord that, "the Lord has allowed this thing to overtake you such that you will be less known to man, but more known of God." Unfortunately, after a season of repentance, it appears that man fell into another snare, which also is related to making a name for yourself. How do I know? Because the Lord sent me one Sunday morning to "his" church to see for myself. Why did the Lord want me to see the snare that brother is in now? to pray for him. I am sure he is not aware of his present entrapment. Only a sovereign touch from the Lord will set him free.

Even if man begins to acquire a "name," but not through his own efforts, there is still potential peril, although of a different variety. Such a person is subjected to significant attacks by the enemy. There is no better example than Jesus Himself. Not only did Jesus not make a name for Himself, He MADE Himself of NO reputation (Philippians 2:7). Perhaps a better translation of that verse is that "He emptied Himself." Jesus never sought the applause of men. But the name of Jesus is the name above ALL names! the name to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Now, the principle that we should learn from the life of Pekah has been clearly stated by Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:16. "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"

The same principle applies to each of us Christians. Woe is unto me if I do not fulfill the purpose for which God created me.

Jesus said, in Luke 17:10, "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

I have been very blessed in that the Lord clearly made known to me fifty years ago my specific function in the body of Christ. I am reasonably certain that many Christians do not know their specific function in the body of Christ. However, a hand does not have to know that it is called a hand in order to function as a hand. Nevertheless, I believe the Lord is more interested in our character than our outward ministry, whatever that may be. Becoming and being is more important than doing. The Lord can make a jackass to speak, if necessary.

Back to Verse 5 of Isaiah, Chapter 7.

5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

6 Let 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:

So Israel wanted to utterly defeat Judah and put one of their own men as king of Judah. That was just another re-run of Babylon, as recorded in Genesis 11, Verses 2-4. "Let us make us a name, we are right; let us make everyone like us." That has been the goal of every evil dictator throughout history. That is the goal of many politicians in America. That is the goal of both radical Islam and the goal of the Roman Catholic church. 

7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

8 For 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.

That which Ahaz thought was most formidable was made the ground of their defeat, because they took evil counsel against the Lord, which is an offence to God. God gives His word that the attempt will not succeed. Man purposes to have his way, but God will always ultimately have His own way. It was folly for those to be trying to ruin their neighbors, who were themselves near to ruin.

9 And 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.

The prophet must teach them to despise their enemies and to depend upon God in faith. Note the conditional "if." Hebrews 3:19 says that the great multitude who came out of Egypt could not enter the Promised land because of unbelief.

Hebrews 3:12, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." 

10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

Note the phrase, "the LORD thy God" In Verses 10 and 11, God extended His grace to Ahaz one last time.

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

Ahaz said that he would not ask for a sign because that would make him obligated to God. Whether we humans know it or not, we all are obligated to God in many ways. In the natural realm we humans have a number of what are called involuntary muscles... in other words we cannot control parts of our natural body. For example... the heart, lungs, the iris of our eyes, our digestive system, the urinary tract, and blood vessels. God keeps our involuntary muscles under His control. We cannot take our next breath except by the grace of God.

Secret disaffection to God is often disguised with the outward appearance of respect for Him; and those who are resolved that they will not trust God sometimes pretend they will not tempt Him. That is called hypocrisy.

13 And 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?

The prophet reproved Ahaz and his court for the little value they had for Divine revelation. Nothing is more grievous to God than distrust, but the unbelief of man will never make the promise of God of no effect. Historically and scripturally, the chosen people of God rarely accept the word of God through a true prophet.

14 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

The Lord Himself shall give a sign. No matter how great the distress and danger may be, the Messiah is to be born of the house of David. Therefore, Judah cannot be destroyed while that blessing is yet to come through you. It shall be brought to pass in a glorious manner. The strongest consolation in time of trouble is derived from Christ, our relation to Him, our interest in Him, our expectations of Him, and from Him.

"Immanuel" means "God with us." The birth of Immanuel to the virgin Mary fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, the sign given to Ahaz about seven hundred years earlier. "Immanuel" occurs two more times in Isaiah, Chapter 8, Verses 8 and 10. That prophecy was confirmed in Matthew 1:19-21, "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins."

The name "Jesus" means "Yahweh saves" or "Yahweh is salvation." The name, "Yahweh," occurs more than 6800 times in the Old Testament. The English language doesn't have an exact translation of the word "Yahweh," so in our Old Testament we see it written as "LORD" in all capital letters. In Jewish tradition, "Yahweh" is too sacred a name to utter out loud. It means the self-existing or eternal One. There is no conflict between calling His name Immanuel and calling His name Jesus. "Immanuel" seems to be who He is, and "Jesus" seems to convey both who He is and what He has done for mankind.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

The word here rendered as "butter" does not mean butter as we know it today. It means curds or thick, curdled milk, which was very common in that area. Obviously, no one will know to refuse evil and choose the good simply by eating butter and honey. The more probable interpretation is, "Curds and honey shall He eat until He knows to refuse the evil and choose the good." Curds and honey was the usual food of infants; that means that the child should be nourished in the customary manner. It emphasizes the humanity of Jesus, just as Verse 14 of Isaiah, Chapter 7, emphasizes His Deity. Of course, we know very little about Jesus in His early childhood days. Luke 2:40 gives a summary statement describing Jesus' development from infancy to age 12. "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him." Then, from Luke 2:51-52, "And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." 

Back to Verse 16 of Isaiah, Chapter 7.

16 For 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.

Then follows a sign of the speedy destruction of the princes, now a terror to Judah. "Before this child," so it may be read; "this child which I have now in my arms," (Shear-jashub, the prophet's own son, Verse 3), shall be three or four years older, these enemies' forces shall be forsaken of both their kings. The prophecy is so solemn, as given by God Himself after Ahaz rejected the offer, that it must have raised hopes far beyond what the present occasion suggested. And, if the prospect of the coming of the Divine Savior was a never-failing support to the hopes of believers in those days, what greater cause have we to be thankful that the Word was made flesh! May we trust in and love Him, and allow His nature and character to be formed within us.

To understand the last few verses of Isaiah, Chapter 7, we must see what Ahaz actually did.

2 Chronicles 28:16, "At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him."

 

In other words, Ahaz said, "OK, Israel, if you are getting Syria to help you to defeat me, I will get Assyria to help me to defeat you. Soon afterwards, Assyria did take Israel captive.

Back to Verse 17 of Isaiah, Chapter 7. 

17 The 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.

18 And 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.

19 And 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.

20 In 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.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

22 And 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.

Who is left in the land? the remnant ... the overcomers. What is the land? not a geographical piece of real estate in the Middle East. It is the Promised Land.. a land that flows with milk and honey. Twenty different times in the Old Testament, the Lord tells His chosen people that their inheritance is a land flowing with milk and honey. The first occurrence is recorded in Exodus 3:7-8, "And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

Back to Verse 23 of Isaiah, Chapter 7. 

23 And 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.
24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
25 And 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.

Those who will not believe the promises of God can expect to hear the alarms of His threatenings and see the terribleness of His judgments, for who can resist or escape His judgments? The Lord shall sweep all His enemies away, and whomsoever He uses in any service for Him, He will pay. Agriculture would cease. Sorrows of every kind will come upon all who neglect so great of a great salvation.

Hebrews 2:1-4, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" 

If we remain unfruitful under the means of grace, the Lord will say, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth forever. However, let us allow the Holy Spirit to bring us to that place where we walk in Deuteronomy 6:4-15, 

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name.

14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Amen.