ISAIAH LESSON 9


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 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."

     Ahaz was a wicked king. Jotham, his father, was a better man. He
rebuilt the temple gates. Uzziah did what was right, as well. We find
in this a desire to change rulership over Jerusalem. Jerusalem is
God's, so they did not overthrow Jerusalem, and Ahaz remained as their
ruler. These two, Rezin and Pekah, did not overthrow Ahaz.

     Isaiah 7:2 "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."

     It was told to the descendent of David that these two evil
groups, Israel and Syria, had made an agreement to overthrow the king
of Judah and rule in Jerusalem themselves. Notice in this, that
Ephraim is actually speaking of Israel at this point. The blowing wind
shakes the tree. The news of the confederacy of these two caused Ahaz
to fear in his heart.

     Isaiah 7:3 "Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet
Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the
upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;"

     The son of Isaiah was named Shear-Jashub, which means a remnant
shall return. The fact that Isaiah took his son with him to meet Ahaz
could have been to encourage Ahaz, that truly a remnant would return.,
even though they were overtaken. This conduit was a way to gather
water and bring it underground to the city. Water was caught in the
high places and funnelled into pools for use, especially when they
were under siege.

     Isaiah 7:4 "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."

     The two tails were Pekah and Rezin.  Notice, that Ahaz was not to
panic, but have faith. Ahaz was to be strong in the Lord, not
fainthearted. In this instance here, there was a great deal of smoke,
and very little fire. At best, their confederacy was shaky. Pekah was
the general of Pekahiah. Pekah had killed him and taken his job. Both
men were very evil. It is only fair that Pekah's successor killed
Pekah, as well.

     Isaiah 7:5 "Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have
taken evil counsel against thee, saying,"

     The son of Remaliah was Pekah. They are against Ahaz, of course.
     Isaiah 7:6 "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:"

     We see from this, they were not as interested in destroying
Judah, as they were of overthrowing Judah's king and putting a king of
their own liking in Judah. Tabeal seems to be a Syrian name. "Tabeal"
means pleasing to God. The "breach" could be a break in the wall, or
it could be a break in the confidence of the people in Ahaz.

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

     This particular conspiracy against Judah and its king will not be
successful. Jerusalem will remain in the same hands for now.

     Isaiah 7:8 "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."

     All of this is just saying, that Syria is headed up by a mortal
man who is no match for God, who is the head of Judah. The overthrow
of Ephraim as a distinct race of people was accomplished in 65 years
after this prophecy is spoken. Ephraim is later on spoken of in a
spiritual sense.

     Isaiah 7:9 "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 Samaritans inner-married so much, that they nearly destroyed
the entire race of people. This is a call for Ahaz to stand firm in
the faith. To doubt would bring destruction, but faith would remove
this mountain of problems the evil neighbors had brought. Ahaz {like
us} should have faith in God's ability, not his own.

     Isaiah 7:10  "Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,"
Isaiah 7:11 "Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the
depth, or in the height above."

     God is trying to encourage Ahaz by offering to give him a sign.
The fact of the depth and height above, shows that nothing is
impossible to God. Look at "thy God". The Lord is trying to let Ahaz
know that He is Ahaz's God. It is not always the correct thing to ask
the LORD for a sign, but in this particular case, God told Ahaz He
would show him a sign to help him have faith.

     Isaiah 7:12 "But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt
the LORD."

     Even though God offered Ahaz a sign, Ahaz refused, believing he
might be tempting the LORD. We know that Gideon asked for a sign from
God and got his sign. It helped Gideon have enough faith to believe
God could use him. Gideon's lack of faith was in his own ability. He
just wanted to be sure that God had truly called him. He had no lack
of faith in God's ability, just his own. Ahaz would have been better
off to handle this as Gideon did.

     Isaiah 7:13 "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?"

     "House of David" was mentioned here, because God had promised
that there would be a ruler from the house of David on this throne.
Also, this message is not just to Ahaz, but to all of the house of
David, as well. Refusing God is a very dangerous thing to do. This is
not a man that Ahaz has said no to, but to God.

     Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel."

     This, of course is the promise of the Messiah. This is the One we
call Jesus Christ being prophesied to be born of a virgin. The name
"Immanuel" means God with us. In fact, God the Word, became God the
Son, when He was born of the virgin Mary and the Spirit of God. His
flesh was as a man, but the Spirit within that flesh was of God. The
prophecy of Messiah being in this particular place, seems to be
awkward. We must remember the terrible things, mentioned here of
Judah, come to an end. Messiah, the Son born of the virgin Mary, is
the hope for their future. It gives them something to look forward to
in this time of gloom. It is a promise that God will visit Judah
again. I do not believe it is out of place at all. This is a little
glimmer of hope that God has not forsaken them.

     Isaiah 7:15 "Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to
refuse the evil, and choose the good."

     Butter and honey was not all that Jesus ate, but is a symbol here
to show that He would be in an humble family here on the earth. Jesus
always knew right from wrong, He did not have to be taught that. In
fact, He is the Truth. He alone is righteous in His own behalf. The
righteousness of a Christian is because we have taken on His
righteousness. This is speaking of time, and not the personality of
Jesus.

     Isaiah 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."

     Verse 16 happens even before the birth of Jesus, so you can see
it is not speaking of a condition of Jesus, but a time. Of course, the
land that he abhorrest is Syria and Samaria. They became overthrown
spiritually, as well as physically.

     Isaiah 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."

     Since Ahaz will not use God's help, destruction will come. He is
comparing the time with the time when the 10 tribes broke away from
the twelve, just leaving the two, of which Judah was one. This
terrible happening is not just on Ahaz, but all of his people. This is
speaking of terrible times to come. This will happen prior to the
birth of Jesus.

     Isaiah 7:18 "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."
Isaiah 7:19 "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."

     This is not speaking of the armies which will come against them,
but natural disaster to crops and the land. Notice, also, this plague
comes from God, not Satan. Please notice that God just has to hiss
{call} the fly and bee, and they will come. They are subject to God.
It does not matter how far away they are, they must obey the voice of
God. Satan is not the ruler, ultimately, God is.

     Isaiah 7:20 "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."

     This is not a man being shaved, but a land. It speaks of the
utter destruction and barrenness.

     Isaiah 7:21 "And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man
shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;"

     This is just saying that the remnant, who are left, will live a
very meager life, sustained by, perhaps, one cow and two sheep.
Poverty has overtaken those who are left, and they wander with their
families just barely getting by.

     Isaiah 7:22 "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."

     Milk, butter and honey will be their food. We see from this, that
it is possible to get by on just a very little bit. God will bless the
cow, and it will give an abundance of milk to help them survive. This
will not be a prosperous life, but one of survival. The honey will be
found wild. This is the land God had promised them, when they came out
of Egypt. He had said it would be a land of milk and honey.

     Isaiah 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."

     "Silverlings" is possibly speaking of silver shekels. The
vineyard with 1000 vines would have been very valuable. God has
striken the vineyard, and all of the vines have died. Nothing but
briars and thorns grow where the vines used to flourish.

     Isaiah 7:24 "With arrows and with bows shall [men] come thither;
because all the land shall become briers and thorns."

     The "arrows and bows" speak of a hunter out to kill some wild
game. The land that is grown up with briars is a good place for wild
game to hide. It is no good for cultivation, and the farmers have
moved.

     Isaiah 7:25 "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."

     A "mattock" is a hoe. This is, possibly, speaking of an area that
had been cultivated with a hoe in the past. This is, possibly, saying
that it would be a place the cattle could go into to find something to
eat, but would not be fit for man. The lesser cattle could be speaking
of wild animals similar to a deer. They like to hide in briar
thickets. A person navigating the same briars and thorns would
probably get stuck.































                          Isaiah 9 Questions


1.  Who was Ahaz's father?
2.  Which of them was the better man?
3.  Who was king of Syria at the time mentioned here?
4.  Why were they not able to overthrow Jerusalem at this time?
5.  Who was confederate with Syria?
6.  His heart was moved as what?
7.  Who is Ephraim speaking of in verse 2?
8.  What was the name of Isaiah's son?
9.  What did his name mean?
10. Why did Isaiah take his son with him to meet Ahaz?
11. What instruction from God did Isaiah give Ahaz in verse 4?
12. Who were the two tails?
13. There was a great deal of _______, and very little ______.
14. Who was the son of Remaliah?
15. What could the breach in verse 6 be?
16. What were these enemies really interested in doing?
17. What does "Tabeal" mean?
18. The head of Syria is __________.
19. In how many years from the time Isaiah spoke the prophecy, will
    Ephraim be broken?
20. Whose ability should Ahaz have faith in?
21. What unusual thing did God tell Ahaz to do?
22. Did he do it?
23. Ahaz would have been better off to handle this as ________ did.
24. Why was "house of David" mentioned in verse 13?
25. What sign did God give them?
26. What is this prophetic of?
27. What does "Immanuel" mean?
28. Why does the author believe the promise of Messiah, here, is not
    out of place?
29. What is the "butter and honey" in verse 15 saying?
30. In what time frame does verse 16 occur?
31. What day is this terrible day compared to?
32. What will the LORD do in that day to call the fly?
33. What is verse 20 really talking about?
34. What does verse 21 mean, when it speaks of a cow and 2 sheep?
35. What will the remnant eat?
36. What does "silverlings" in verse 23 mean?
37. What grows in place of the vineyard?
38. The "arrows and bows" indicate what?
39. What is a "mattock"?
40. What could hide in the briars without harm?