Another king comes upon the scene in Isaiah 7. This time, the protagonist is King Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah. His reign leads the nation into abominations performed by the surrounding nations. When the kings of Aram and Israel wage war against his nation, Ahaz is so overcome by fear that the Lord sends a message through the prophet Isaiah in order to encourage him to trust in Him: the plans of those nations are not going to succeed. But Ahaz needs to believe; otherwise, he will not see God’s liberation of Israel. This study is divided into three sections, entitled: (1) the challenge of King Ahaz, (2) the Lord looks after the king, and (3) look quietly.
Part II: Commentary
The Challenge of King Ahaz.
The Bible says that Ahaz is not a good king. He “did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God” (2 Kings 16:2). The biblical record is explicit concerning his performance: “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places” (2 Kings 16:3, 4, NASB). He was a harmful influence to the nation of Judah. As happened in other cases, when kings start to walk far away from the Lord, problems arise in their lives and in their nation. It is also evident in the first section of the book, “Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him” (Isa. 3:11, NASB). Both records, the book of Isaiah and the second book of the Kings, state “that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it” (Isa. 7:1; compare 2 Kings 16:5). When King Ahaz realizes the enormity of the threat he is under and the possibility of a military confrontation with the surrounding nations, “his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind” (Isa. 7:2).
Sometimes, God’s own people forget that the Lord expects faithfulness from those who have entered into a covenantal relationship with Him. Thus, God in His dark providences permits hard circumstances to come upon His people as a means of awakening them to their need of seeking the Lord and returning to His light. “He arises to make the earth tremble” (Isa. 2:19, NASB). “The LORD arises to contend, and stands to judge the people. The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people” (Isa. 3:13, 14, NASB). In “these verses Isaiah moves to an indictment of the leadership. They are acting irresponsibly and unjustly, destroying the very thing entrusted to them. This theme of foolish leadership, especially on the level of elders and princes, recurs throughout the book (7:1–17; 14:4–21; 22:15–25; 28; 29; 32:3–8), and it is against this backdrop that the longing for, and the promise of, one who will rule in justice and righteousness stands out.”—John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), p. 137. Fear paralyzes the king. Dire though the circumstances facing him may be, the impending threat constitutes a precious opportunity to come back to the Lord.
The Lord Looks After the King.
In Isaiah 7:3, Isaiah offers an interesting description of God’s care. The narrative does not say that the king seeks the Lord, it is the Lord who takes the initiative. The verse says, “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz.” The Lord is portrayed in this chapter as the God who goes out, through the prophet, to meet a fearful man. The reader can see a similar attitude from God in the Garden of Eden, in which we see God Himself “walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze . . . The LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Gen. 3:8, 9, NRSV). Both of them, Adam and Ahaz, though the causes are different, are justifiably afraid.
Another remarkable detail in this episode is that Isaiah receives instructions as to where he could meet the king. “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, . . . at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field” (Isa. 7:3). This verse not only provides a clear affirmation of God’s foreknowledge; it also tells us about the watch care of the Lord over all of our steps in our life journey as individuals. The Bible is full of stories wherein we can see how God sends His prophets to give a word of hope, or sometimes a word of reproach, to His beloved servants. Under whatever circumstance, God’s purpose, in the end, is to help His people to trust Him and be faithful to Him.
Look Quietly.
We saw in verse 2 that King Ahaz panics over the thought of impending war. The whole nation trembles along with their monarch. However, what is God’s perspective about this situation? Sometimes we fail in our finite perspective to perceive God’s character. We think that He is concerned only with the spiritual matters of our lives. However, the Bible shows us that our Lord is a God who looks after His children in all of life’s spheres, including secular matters or issues apparently not connected to spiritual aspects.
“From Ahaz’s point of view Syria and Ephraim constitute a major threat, but from God’s point of view they are negligible and need not occupy the king’s time. It is not always easy to gain the divine perspective. Yet, unless we seek it, we are always in danger of paying too much attention to the passing and paying too little attention to the significant. Furthermore, apart from a diligent search for God’s perspective in every circumstance, we conclude too easily that God is concerned only about spiritual affairs and not about practical matters, a fallacy which leads eventually to the loss of God in all affairs.”—John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39: The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 196.
In Isaiah 7:4, God instructs His prophet to communicate with the king. “And say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah” (NASB). Sometimes, we ask how we can deal with life amid unwanted circumstances. The Bible says, “Take care and be calm” (NASB). Other translations include “take heed, and be quiet” (KJV) and “be careful, keep calm” (NIV). In the Hebrew language, the clause “take heed, and be quiet” consists of two words, hiššāmer wᵉhašqeṭ. The first word comes from the verbal root šmr, which, in this case, could be translated as “to be on one’s guard, be attentive, take care.”—Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 4, p. 1584.
It seems that the implicit council from the Lord to the king is to abstain from all noise or activity that would shut out God’s voice, and to stay on guard. The other word in the Hebrew sentence is šqṭ, which because of its verbal form is better translated as a reflexive verb “to keep the peace. . . to keep oneself quiet” (Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 4, p. 1641) or “to show quietness” (David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew [Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2011], vol. 8, p. 550). In short, a suggested translation for hiššāmer wᵉhašqeṭ could be “look quietly.”
The exhortations and promises from verse 4 to the end of the section (Isa. 7:9) offer enough reason for trusting in the Lord’s promises. First, God bids the king to “fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands” (Isa. 7:4). So, Rezim and Pekah, the kings of Syro-Ephraimite coalition, might make a little smoke; but such fire would be neglible. Second, while it is true that the coalition “has planned evil against you” (Isa. 7:5, NASB), “it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass” (Isa. 7:7), says the Lord. And God emphasizes, you need to trust, because “if you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all” (Isa. 7:9, NRSV). George B. Gray properly comments on this section, pointing out that “Isaiah condemns two things in Ahaz: his fear, for it is needless; his faith in material resources—here typified by a secure water supply in time of siege; the only faith that will secure the real solidity of the state is faith in Yahweh.”—George B. Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, I—XXVII, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975), vol. 1, p. 118.
In some circumstances in life, the most important thing is not what happens in our external environment, nor what our sight can contemplate, but what happens in our inner life. Thus, we must pray for, and cultivate, the capacity to understand from God’s perspective what is happening around us.
Part III: Life Application
King Ahaz, along with his people, face some severe challenges as they gauge the risk of war with the Syro-Ephraimite alliance. Sometimes, life puts us in situations that threaten us. What important or practical steps are necessary for us to follow in order to best cope with these circumstances?
In the second part, the study explores the particular care of God in meeting King Ahaz’s needs. The Lord sends His messenger to meet the king “in the highway of the fuller’s field” (Isa. 7:3). What lessons can we learn from this episode?
In the third section, we learn how God encourages the king to trust not in material things but in His help. His words to the king are “look quietly.” How is it compatible with Ellen G. White’s counsel below?
“You may be perplexed in business; your prospects may grow darker and darker, and you may be threatened with loss; but do not become discouraged; cast your care upon God, and remain calm and cheerful. Pray for wisdom to manage your affairs with discretion, and thus prevent loss and disaster. Do all you can on your part to bring about favorable results. Jesus has promised His aid, but not apart from our effort. When, relying upon our Helper, you have done all you can, accept the result cheerfully.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 122.
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Study Focus: Isaiah 7:1-9
Part I: Overview
Another king comes upon the scene in Isaiah 7. This time, the protagonist is King Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah. His reign leads the nation into abominations performed by the surrounding nations. When the kings of Aram and Israel wage war against his nation, Ahaz is so overcome by fear that the Lord sends a message through the prophet Isaiah in order to encourage him to trust in Him: the plans of those nations are not going to succeed. But Ahaz needs to believe; otherwise, he will not see God’s liberation of Israel. This study is divided into three sections, entitled: (1) the challenge of King Ahaz, (2) the Lord looks after the king, and (3) look quietly.
Part II: Commentary
The Challenge of King Ahaz.
The Bible says that Ahaz is not a good king. He “did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God” (2 Kings 16:2). The biblical record is explicit concerning his performance: “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places” (2 Kings 16:3, 4, NASB). He was a harmful influence to the nation of Judah. As happened in other cases, when kings start to walk far away from the Lord, problems arise in their lives and in their nation. It is also evident in the first section of the book, “Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him” (Isa. 3:11, NASB). Both records, the book of Isaiah and the second book of the Kings, state “that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it” (Isa. 7:1; compare 2 Kings 16:5). When King Ahaz realizes the enormity of the threat he is under and the possibility of a military confrontation with the surrounding nations, “his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind” (Isa. 7:2).
Sometimes, God’s own people forget that the Lord expects faithfulness from those who have entered into a covenantal relationship with Him. Thus, God in His dark providences permits hard circumstances to come upon His people as a means of awakening them to their need of seeking the Lord and returning to His light. “He arises to make the earth tremble” (Isa. 2:19, NASB). “The LORD arises to contend, and stands to judge the people. The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people” (Isa. 3:13, 14, NASB). In “these verses Isaiah moves to an indictment of the leadership. They are acting irresponsibly and unjustly, destroying the very thing entrusted to them. This theme of foolish leadership, especially on the level of elders and princes, recurs throughout the book (7:1–17; 14:4–21; 22:15–25; 28; 29; 32:3–8), and it is against this backdrop that the longing for, and the promise of, one who will rule in justice and righteousness stands out.”—John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), p. 137. Fear paralyzes the king. Dire though the circumstances facing him may be, the impending threat constitutes a precious opportunity to come back to the Lord.
The Lord Looks After the King.
In Isaiah 7:3, Isaiah offers an interesting description of God’s care. The narrative does not say that the king seeks the Lord, it is the Lord who takes the initiative. The verse says, “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz.” The Lord is portrayed in this chapter as the God who goes out, through the prophet, to meet a fearful man. The reader can see a similar attitude from God in the Garden of Eden, in which we see God Himself “walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze . . . The LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Gen. 3:8, 9, NRSV). Both of them, Adam and Ahaz, though the causes are different, are justifiably afraid.
Another remarkable detail in this episode is that Isaiah receives instructions as to where he could meet the king. “Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, . . . at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field” (Isa. 7:3). This verse not only provides a clear affirmation of God’s foreknowledge; it also tells us about the watch care of the Lord over all of our steps in our life journey as individuals. The Bible is full of stories wherein we can see how God sends His prophets to give a word of hope, or sometimes a word of reproach, to His beloved servants. Under whatever circumstance, God’s purpose, in the end, is to help His people to trust Him and be faithful to Him.
Look Quietly.
We saw in verse 2 that King Ahaz panics over the thought of impending war. The whole nation trembles along with their monarch. However, what is God’s perspective about this situation? Sometimes we fail in our finite perspective to perceive God’s character. We think that He is concerned only with the spiritual matters of our lives. However, the Bible shows us that our Lord is a God who looks after His children in all of life’s spheres, including secular matters or issues apparently not connected to spiritual aspects.
“From Ahaz’s point of view Syria and Ephraim constitute a major threat, but from God’s point of view they are negligible and need not occupy the king’s time. It is not always easy to gain the divine perspective. Yet, unless we seek it, we are always in danger of paying too much attention to the passing and paying too little attention to the significant. Furthermore, apart from a diligent search for God’s perspective in every circumstance, we conclude too easily that God is concerned only about spiritual affairs and not about practical matters, a fallacy which leads eventually to the loss of God in all affairs.”—John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39: The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 196.
In Isaiah 7:4, God instructs His prophet to communicate with the king. “And say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah” (NASB). Sometimes, we ask how we can deal with life amid unwanted circumstances. The Bible says, “Take care and be calm” (NASB). Other translations include “take heed, and be quiet” (KJV) and “be careful, keep calm” (NIV). In the Hebrew language, the clause “take heed, and be quiet” consists of two words, hiššāmer wᵉhašqeṭ. The first word comes from the verbal root šmr, which, in this case, could be translated as “to be on one’s guard, be attentive, take care.”—Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 4, p. 1584.
It seems that the implicit council from the Lord to the king is to abstain from all noise or activity that would shut out God’s voice, and to stay on guard. The other word in the Hebrew sentence is šqṭ, which because of its verbal form is better translated as a reflexive verb “to keep the peace. . . to keep oneself quiet” (Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 4, p. 1641) or “to show quietness” (David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew [Sheffield, England: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2011], vol. 8, p. 550). In short, a suggested translation for hiššāmer wᵉhašqeṭ could be “look quietly.”
The exhortations and promises from verse 4 to the end of the section (Isa. 7:9) offer enough reason for trusting in the Lord’s promises. First, God bids the king to “fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands” (Isa. 7:4). So, Rezim and Pekah, the kings of Syro-Ephraimite coalition, might make a little smoke; but such fire would be neglible. Second, while it is true that the coalition “has planned evil against you” (Isa. 7:5, NASB), “it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass” (Isa. 7:7), says the Lord. And God emphasizes, you need to trust, because “if you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all” (Isa. 7:9, NRSV). George B. Gray properly comments on this section, pointing out that “Isaiah condemns two things in Ahaz: his fear, for it is needless; his faith in material resources—here typified by a secure water supply in time of siege; the only faith that will secure the real solidity of the state is faith in Yahweh.”—George B. Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, I—XXVII, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975), vol. 1, p. 118.
In some circumstances in life, the most important thing is not what happens in our external environment, nor what our sight can contemplate, but what happens in our inner life. Thus, we must pray for, and cultivate, the capacity to understand from God’s perspective what is happening around us.
Part III: Life Application
In the third section, we learn how God encourages the king to trust not in material things but in His help. His words to the king are “look quietly.” How is it compatible with Ellen G. White’s counsel below?
“You may be perplexed in business; your prospects may grow darker and darker, and you may be threatened with loss; but do not become discouraged; cast your care upon God, and remain calm and cheerful. Pray for wisdom to manage your affairs with discretion, and thus prevent loss and disaster. Do all you can on your part to bring about favorable results. Jesus has promised His aid, but not apart from our effort. When, relying upon our Helper, you have done all you can, accept the result cheerfully.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 122.