Isaiah 7:1–9:7

The plot was of a very determined character. Those kings wanted nothing less than to wipe out the house of David and to set up a person called "the son of Tabeal." Little as they intended it, this was in reality a blow at the promised Messiah. If they did not mean this, Satan did; he was the real author of the movement, without question. This became at once a case for the Lord to deal with. It touched the carrying out of His purposes.

These statements do not clash with what 2 Kings 16:5 records — that these allied kings "could not conquer him." They could not get into the city, nor reach the king personally, though they entered the land. "God delivered him," and "they smote him," means his people and kingdom… The aim of "these two smoldering stumps of firebrands" was to remove king Ahaz from the throne and put "the son of Tabeal" in his place — probably a Syrian, since it is not a Hebrew name… This was doubtless Satan's plot, if not man's, to destroy David's dynasty. For this reason God did not deliver Jerusalem into their hands.

There they were in great fear, where there was no fear — and this, sadly, in Jerusalem and David's house. No wonder: the heir of David's throne did not walk like David his father, but in the ways of the kings of Israel or worse. He drew Judah with him into serious transgression against the Lord. Panic-stricken, yet in no way driven by his distress to God… the prophet meets Ahaz.

But God takes care of His own purposes; no power on earth or in hell can frustrate them. He intends David's son and heir to rule over all in the coming day. So He would preserve the line to the end. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). So God sent the prophet to Ahaz to assure him about the evil plan of his enemies: "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass." Ephraim would be broken within 65 years, in spite of the alliance with Syria.

The Lord sends Isaiah to meet the king. The prophet comes with his son Shear-jashub, whose name means "the remnant shall return." He speaks in grace to this wicked king… But how touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says, "Fear not" to the man who for his own part had everything to fear.

Put this birth as far off as you please from the time of Ahaz. Doing so only makes the voice of God in prophecy and the sure mercies of David more obvious… Immanuel was an unfailing assurance that no alliance could put down David's house for good. Messiah, Son of David, is the divine guarantee. The virgin must bear Him of that line. The virgin's Son must also be, in some true though mysterious way, God Himself… Barely three more years passed before the kings of Israel and Syria fell to the treachery or the power of their enemies.

Isaiah 7 takes us into some historical details of the reign of Ahaz. 2 Kings 15 and 16 record them. He did much evil, and now an alliance threatened him: Pekah, who had seized the throne of the ten tribes, and Rezin of Syria. If they had killed or removed Ahaz, they would have broken the line of descent through which Christ came as a man. Matthew 1:9 shows that line.

There they were in great fear, where there was nothing to fear — and this, sad to say, in Jerusalem and in David's house. No wonder: the heir of David's throne did not walk like David his father. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel or worse, and he drew Judah with him into serious wrongdoing against Jehovah. Ahaz was panic-stricken, yet his distress in no way drove him to God. There the prophet meets him.

Pekah, king of Israel, had turned away from God. He had formed an alliance with the king of Syria against Jerusalem, and this filled the hearts of Ahaz and his people with terror... They had no power to stand against such powerful enemies, and God was not in all their thoughts.

Those kings wanted nothing less than the wiping out of the house of David, and the setting up of a man called "the son of Tabeal." However little they intended it, this was in fact a blow at the promised Messiah. If they did not mean this, Satan did. He was without doubt the real author of the movement. This became at once a case for Jehovah to deal with. It touched the fulfilment of His purposes. True, the house of David was in a terrible state. David's heir was an evil man, one of the worst that ever sat on the throne of Judah.

The people, being unfaithful, have no strength against their enemies. But there, in circumstances where all hope is taken away, God presents the promise that the remnant would be sustained by the testimony of God Himself... where there is a lack of faith, the heart is fearful before the enemy, even before a powerless enemy.

The danger they faced comes to nothing. But if we seek any support at all in something of this world, God abandons us. He leaves us to the consequences of the tie we have chosen. So Pekah and Rezin had no strength against Judah, because God would not hand Jerusalem over to these allied kings. But Ahaz, fearful and unbelieving, rests on Assyria — and in the end it is from the Assyrian that Judah needs deliverance.

The Lord spoke this promise when the house of David was discouraged and disheartened. King Ahaz, instead of trusting the Lord, went on in unbelief... Messiah is to be born, He is to come from Judah, and from the house of David. How could he, the king, fear destruction and extermination? This was the comfort of the sign.

Ahaz was panic-stricken, yet his distress did not drive him to God at all. The prophet met him on the very same spot where Rabshakeh later spoke his blasphemies against Jehovah — "the aqueduct of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field."

Now the house of David, the last support of the people in responsibility, has also failed in faithfulness. Ahaz has forsaken Jehovah, and set up the altar of a strange god in the temple of Jehovah. In Isaiah 7 the Spirit of God directs the prophet to the king, and addresses him. Isaiah was to go and meet him, with Shear-jashub his son — a symbolic child whose name means "the remnant shall return." … The two points of this prophetic announcement are the gift of Immanuel, the virgin's Son, and the complete desolation of the land by Assyria. These are the keys to the whole prophecy of Isaiah.

It is very interesting and instructive to see that the name given to one of Isaiah's sons, Shear-jashub, means "the remnant shall return." He was a pledge that the enemies of Judah would oppress them, but would not finally prevail against them (chapter 7).

The Lord sends Isaiah to meet the king, and He speaks in grace to this wicked king… But how touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says "Fear not" to the man who had everything to fear.

It is certain that the prophet's child Shear-jashub had the character of a "sign" (see Isaiah 8:18), though of course very distinct from God's great sign, the virgin's Son. From verse 16 the king was to learn this: before the boy was old enough to tell right from wrong, the allied kings must disappear from the scene. And so they did. Less than three years later the kings of Israel and Syria fell to the treachery or the might of their enemies.

Notice a remarkable fact. We begin where we began in the first section, "by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field" (Isaiah 36:2 and 7:3). It was there that the Lord first promised the "sign in the depth" and "in the height." He first spoke of that sign to Ahaz the king in Isaiah 7. Now the sign of this section comes on Ahaz's own dial — "a sign from the Lord," on "the sundial of Ahaz."

How touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says, "Fear not" to him who on his part had everything to fear.

The king might have considered his enemies fierce burning firebrands but, as the LORD told him through Isaiah, they were only smoking firebrands. There was no reason to fear or to be fainthearted. The LORD said about all the 'evil counsels' of Ahaz' enemies: 'It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass' (v. 7).

Ahaz cowered before the two smoking stumps of firebrands — the scornful name Jehovah gave to the fierce anger of the combined kings of Israel and Syria.

Those kings had nothing less in mind than wiping out the house of David and setting up a man called "the son of Tabeal." Little as they meant it, this was a blow at the promised Messiah... It is true that the house of David was in a terrible state. David's heir was an evil man, one of the worst who ever sat on the throne of Judah (2 Chron. 28:1-5, 22-25). As far as he himself went, there was no reason for Jehovah to step in. Ahaz and Judah deserved the worst their enemies could do to them.

It was not merely that their enterprise, if successful, must vex Judah, but set aside David's line. It was a blow at the Messiah, little as they might have thought of this; and the oath and honour of God were thus at stake.

God knew every detail, as He lets Ahaz see. Whatever Syria, Damascus, or Rezin might plan, it was not what God willed. Everything turns on this. What the Christian needs is a conscious sense of relationship with God: then there is nothing to fear. What the people have to dread is not the strength of the enemy, but their own sin, which makes them weak.

Our fear that evil will come on us makes us look for support in what seems to us a safe path. God then uses those very things to discipline us. The kings of Israel and of Syria came against Judah of their own will. God stops them. Ahaz and his people would lean on the king of Assyria; and God makes the Assyrian come against them in the end.

What inner peace it would give us if we learned more how to 'be quiet' in our different circumstances and put our confidence in the LORD who is able to help. The same thought appears at the very start of Israel's history: 'Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord' (Ex. 14:13)... 'It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD' (Lam. 3:26). Should it be less true in our day? Surely not.

The king of Israel had once been at war with Syria. Now he is its ally. No doubt he wanted, on the one side, to free himself from the yoke of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who, as we have seen, had stripped him of a large part of his land. He also wanted to win back what Judah had taken from him, while he served the plans of his ally.

Their venture, if it succeeded, would not merely trouble Judah. It would set aside David's line… so the oath and honour of God were at stake.

These kings aimed at nothing less than wiping out the house of David and setting up a man called "the son of Tabeal." Little as they intended it, this was truly a blow at the promised Messiah. If they did not mean this, Satan did; he was without doubt the true author of the movement.

God points out the intentions of the two kings (v. 4-6), intentions Ahaz may not have known. But God also has His king at Jerusalem, and they will not succeed in setting up another… God knew every detail, and He lets Ahaz see it. Whatever Syria, Damascus, or Rezin might plan, it was not what God willed. Everything turns on this.

The people do not have to dread the strength of the enemy. What weakens them is their own sin. The danger before them comes to nothing. But if we look for support in anything of this world, God abandons us. He leaves us to face the results of the tie we have chosen.

But God takes care of His own purposes; no power on earth or in hell can frustrate them. He intends David's son and heir to rule the whole world in the coming day. So He would preserve the line to the end. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful — He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

The attempt to destroy seemed terrible to those it aimed at, all the more because their conscience was bad. Yet it led at once to God revealing the doom of the destroyers. The confederacy came to nothing. The Syrian chief could not shield Ephraim, who was more guilty still. God had sentenced Ephraim — yes, to be broken within sixty-five years, so that it would no longer be a people. That is just what happened (2 Kings 17).

But how touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him. He promises him deliverance. He tells him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says, "Fear not" to a man who had every reason to fear.

God might rescue Ahaz from the present danger. But unless he turned to the word of the Lord and rested on it, he would not escape the punishment he deserved.

God points out the intentions of the two kings (vv. 4-6), intentions which Ahaz perhaps did not know. But God also has His king at Jerusalem, and they will not succeed in setting up another... God knew all the details, as He gives Ahaz to see. Whatever Syria, Damascus, or Rezin might plan, it was not what God willed. On this everything turns... It is not the strength of the enemy that the people must dread, but their own sin, which weakens them.

Tabeal means "the goodness of El," which was the name of the opposing king in Isaiah 7:6.

The plot was a very determined one. These kings wanted nothing less than to wipe out the house of David and to set up a man called "the son of Tabeal." However little they intended it, this was a real blow at the promised Messiah. If they did not mean it, Satan did; he was beyond doubt the one behind the movement. This became at once a case for Jehovah to deal with. It touched the accomplishment of His purposes.

David's heir was an evil man, one of the worst that ever sat on the throne of Judah. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason for Jehovah to step in. Ahaz and Judah deserved the worst their enemies could do to them.

The prophet urged Ahaz to ask a sign, and Ahaz refused. Then the Lord gave him a sign: the virgin who would conceive and give birth to a son and call His name Emmanuel. It is a prediction concerning the virgin birth of Israel's Redeemer King, the Son of God. The thought is this: how can Jerusalem and Judah perish as long as He, the Messiah, David's Son and David's Lord, has not come?

The occasion was the offensive and godless alliance of Rezin, king of Syria, with Pekah, son of Remaliah and king of Israel, against Judah and Ahaz... There they were in great fear, where there was no cause for fear — and this, of all places, in Jerusalem and David's house. No wonder: the heir of David's throne did not walk like David his father. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, or worse, and drew Judah with him into serious sin against Jehovah.

The power of the allied kings of Israel and Syria seems to have attracted the people of Judah. They despised the weakness of the house of David, for God was little in their thoughts. The people of Judah and Jerusalem seem to have favoured this alliance. In it the kings proposed to set aside the house of David in favour of the son of Tabeal... But these were not God's thoughts. In His mercy He would not yet put out the lamp of David's house.

God assured Ahaz that this unholy alliance would not stand, but He also said to Ahaz, "The Lord will bring upon you... the king of Assyria" (verse 17). Instead of relying on Jehovah to deal with these two kings who made war with him, Ahaz sent for help to the king of Assyria.

The aim of "the two smoldering stumps of firebrands" was to dethrone king Ahaz and put "the son of Tabeal" in his place. He was probably a Syrian; it is not a Hebrew name. This was surely Satan's plot, if not man's, to destroy the line of David. For this reason God did not hand Jerusalem over to them.

How could He look on in peace at a compact between apostate Israel and heathen Syria? Their plan, if it succeeded, would not only trouble Judah. It would set aside David's line. It was a blow at the Messiah, little as they may have thought of this; and the oath and honour of God were therefore at stake.

But God takes care of His own purposes; no power on earth or in hell can frustrate them. He intends David's son and heir to rule the whole world in the coming day. So He would preserve the line to the end. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). So the prophet was sent to Ahaz to assure him about the evil plan of his enemies: "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass."

God knew all the details, as He shows Ahaz. Whatever Syria, Damascus, or Rezin might plan, it was not what God willed. On this everything turns. What the Christian needs is to know the relationship he has with God: then there is nothing to fear. The people should not dread the strength of the enemy, but their own sin, which weakens them.

The king may have seen his enemies as fierce, burning firebrands. But the LORD told him through Isaiah that they were only smoldering firebrands. There was no reason to fear or to be fainthearted. The LORD said about all the "evil counsels" of Ahaz' enemies: "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass" (v. 7).

Terrible as the failure had been, the LORD was ready to meet the heart that would respond to His faithfulness and trust in Him… He looked for some response from the heart before Him — some feeble "Amen" to His faithful word, a little link of faith. That would allow Him, so to speak, to bring about all He had promised. But no response came.

But God takes care of His own purposes; no power on earth or in hell can frustrate them. He intends David's son and heir to have universal dominion in the coming day; He would therefore preserve the line until the end. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). So God sent the prophet to Ahaz to assure him about the evil plan of his enemies: "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass." Ephraim would be broken within 65 years, despite its alliance with pagan Syria.

God shows comfort to His people. He knows perfectly all that is happening, and He despises the strength of the enemy. He knows who Pekah and Rezin are, and that Damascus is head of Syria. When God sends our enemies to discipline us, we have no strength against them. God knows every difficulty. What is missing is the faith that gives perfect security.

Isaiah prophesied that in sixty-five years Ephraim would be broken and would no longer be a people (Isa. 7:8). He said this in 742 B.C. Samaria fell and Israel went into captivity in 721 B.C. So the prophecy no doubt pointed to Esarhaddon planting a colony of foreigners in Samaria in 678 B.C. That fulfils the sixty-five years. This also agrees with the prophecy saying "the head of Ephraim is Samaria."

Compare, for instance, three predictions. Jeremiah foretold the seventy years' captivity (Jer. 29:10). Isaiah foretold that within sixty-five years Ephraim would be broken and would not be a people (Isa. 7:8). Ezekiel foretold the desolation of the land of Egypt for forty years (Ezek. 29:11-12). These are plain instances of chronological prophecy.

How blessed are the ways of God! The attack seemed terrible to those it targeted, all the more because their conscience was bad. Yet at once it brought out the doom of the attackers themselves. The confederacy came to nothing. The Syrian leader could not shield Ephraim, who was more guilty still. Ephraim's sentence was fixed: within sixty-five years it would be so broken that it would not be a people. And that is exactly how it turned out (2 Kings 17).

Whatever Syria, Damascus, or Rezin might plan, it was not what God willed. On this all turns. What the Christian needs is a conscious relationship with God: then there is nothing to fear. The people should not dread the strength of the enemy, but their own sin, which weakens them. The danger they face ends in nothing. But if we look for any support at all in something of this world, God abandons us. He leaves us to the consequences of the support we have chosen. But Ahaz, afraid and unbelieving, leaned on Assyria — and it was from the Assyrian that Judah would need deliverance.

How touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says, "Fear not" to him who on his part had everything to fear.

He looked for some response from the heart in front of Him — some faint "Amen" to His faithful word, one small link of faith, to allow Him, so to speak, to carry out all He had promised. But there was no response. So He would test this faithless man again.

God offers a sign to the feeble-hearted Ahaz and to the people seeking a prop apart from God. To the worldly man He would show all the grace and power He possibly could. And He would make His children feel that their unbelief and unfaithfulness have no excuse.

Faith would not ask for a sign, because it does not need one; faith walks alone with God.

How often the hypocrisy of unbelief tries in this way to hide its contempt for the Lord. Its presumption really despises the word of His grace, and yet it puts on the dress of greater reverence and humility.

Ahaz shrinks from coming too near God, and from having real proof that God was there. He is afraid he would then have to follow Him, drop the outward supports of his unbelief, and give up everything but God. Nothing frightens the people who belong to God only outwardly more than nearness to God. His nearness is a blessing without limit, yet the heart dreads it, because it will not give up what God condemns.

The Lord, wearied by his ways, told him to ask a sign, either in the depth or in the height above. What sign could he ask of the Lord? And what sign could any of us ask of the Lord? Surely our depth would be very shallow and our height very low.

Ahaz, of "the house of David," would not ask for the sign "either in the depth, or in the height." God therefore says, in effect: I will give the sign Myself without your asking! I will give it both in the depth and in the height; and, as we see from other Scriptures, in that very "house of David."

Was it not the most wonderful grace to make such a promise to such a man? Yet in truth grace condemns unbelief and all other sin as the law never did or could. If Ahaz had asked for any sign within his own reach on earth or in heaven, it would have fallen unimaginably short of God's! If man refuses to ask through unbelief, God still gives a sign for His own glory: the virgin's Son, the woman's Seed, Immanuel!

But how touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Be careful, be quiet" — let Me act. He says "Do not fear" to a man who, for his part, had everything to fear.

He would show the worldly man all the grace and power that He can possibly show. And He would make His children feel that their unbelief and unfaithfulness have no excuse.

We can truly say that faith never aims more rightly than when it aims high and draws with a bold hand. "Ask a sign of the LORD your God," says the prophet to the king, "ask it either in the depth, or in the height above" — range through the divine resources, and use them. What king Ahaz would not do, wearying the Lord by his reserve, unbelief, and slowness of heart, Abraham does and continues to do.

Ahaz was a hypocrite. In mock modesty he refused to ask for a sign. He used a pious phrase in his refusal, saying, "I will not tempt the Lord." But he was not asked to "tempt God." God Himself had told him to ask for a sign. Unbelief and self-will were at the bottom of his blank refusal, though covered under this pious phrase.

Ahaz shrinks from being too near God. He does not want real proof that God was there. He is afraid he would then have to follow Him, give up the outward supports of his unbelief, and let go of everything but God. Those who belong to God only outwardly dread nothing so much as nearness to God. His nearness is a blessing without limit, yet the heart dreads it, because it will not give up what God condemns.

Ahaz, of "the house of David," would not ask for the sign "either in the depth, or in the height." So God says, in effect: I will give the sign Myself, without your asking! I will give it both in the depth and in the height; and, as we see from other Scriptures, in that very "house of David."

We can imagine no greater height than God. Jesus was "God manifest in the flesh." And we can imagine no greater depth, in a way, than Immanuel — God with us. He came into this world for purposes that included His shameful death on the tree. God's throne is in the height; Christ's cross is in the depth.

Ahaz was a hypocrite. In mock modesty he refused to ask for a sign. He used a pious phrase in his refusal, saying, "I will not put the LORD to the test." But he was not asked to put God to the test. God Himself had told him to ask for a sign. Unbelief and self-will were at the bottom of his blank refusal, though covered under this pious phrase. And he was not the last of religious unbelievers to use the same expression, and for a like purpose.

How often the hypocrisy of unbelief tries in this way to hide its contempt for the LORD. Through presumption, which despises the word of His grace, it dresses itself up in superior reverence and humility.

God tells the king to ask a sign below or above (vv. 10, 11); but Ahaz (v. 12) shrinks from being too near God, and from having real proof that God was there. He is afraid that he would then have to follow Him, to give up the outward supports of his unbelief, and to give up everything but God. There is nothing that the outward people of God dread so much as nearness to God. His nearness is a blessing without limit, yet the heart dreads it, because it will not give up what God condemns.

Hezekiah acted in the opposite way to his father Ahaz. Isaiah had warned Ahaz not to fear the attack of Rezin, king of Syria, and of Pekah, son of Remaliah. The prophet urged him to ask the LORD for a sign that His promise would be kept. But Ahaz preferred to turn to the Assyrian.

Ahaz coloured his unbelief and his disobedience with an appearance of piety. To put the LORD to the test would be to distrust Him. In fact Ahaz did much more than distrust Him: he did not believe the word of the LORD.

We learn from Kings and Chronicles that King Ahaz did not walk in the steps of his father David, but acted according to the abominations of the nations around. The Lord, wearied by his ways, told him to ask a sign, either in the depth or in the height above. What sign could he ask of the Lord? And what sign could any of us ask of the Lord? Surely our depth would be very shallow and our height of very small elevation.

The heart of Ahaz had turned to false gods. Hardened in this way, he refused the offered help, though under the pretence of piety. He could not deceive the Searcher of hearts. After a solemn warning the prophet announced that the Lord Himself would give a sign. "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." … David's house might fail in their responsibility, as they seriously did, and forfeit everything. But on that very ground God could step in, acting from His own heart and according to His purposes.

How we read in this, on the one hand, man's utter inability to please God or reach up to His thoughts. On the other hand, despite all that man is, God is set on blessing him, and Christ is His Resource in doing so.

The wicked king Ahaz has rejected God's gracious offer of a sign. His pious excuse was that asking would be tempting God. Jehovah then turns from him and speaks to the house of David. He looks beyond the present trouble, which was really a small matter. In that chapter and the two that follow, He gives a magnificent promise of the coming of Immanuel... In verse 11 God speaks to Ahaz: "Ask for yourself." He refuses. Then He addresses the house of David in verses 13 and 14, in the plural. In verses 16 and 17 He addresses Ahaz again, in the singular.

How often the hypocrisy of unbelief tries in this way to hide its contempt for Jehovah! Its presumption really despises the word of His grace, yet it puts on the clothing of superior reverence and humility. The prophet, however, sees through the trick put forward by an evil heart of unbelief. He now calls the house of David to hear. They must hear not only his reproof, but what the Lord Himself was going to give. Ahaz shrank from God even in His goodness. Flesh never trusts God. It is bent on its own will and instinctively avoids grace, which must assert and give effect to the will of God.

But the unbelieving king refused the offer. His wicked heart dreaded the consequences of such a sign. He did not want to be near to God and get a sign that God was near to him. He felt that in such a case he would have to abandon what God condemns and give up the alliance with the Assyrian.

The house of David had not only wearied men, but had wearied God also. Ahaz feels God coming near, and shrinks back from the offered sign under a form of piety. God then takes up the matter in grace, as to Messiah, but in the revelation of judgment.

In the person of Ahaz the family of David completely abandons its faithfulness... The family of David itself fails in this way, and every hope is ruined. At that point prophecy brings in the promise of Christ to be the support of the faithful. This sign was to be in the family of David itself.

Was it not the most wonderful grace so to promise to such a man? Yet in truth grace condemns unbelief and all other sin as the law never did and never could. Had Ahaz asked any sign within his range of earth and heaven, how immeasurably short of God's it would have been! If man refuses to ask through unbelief, God does not fail to give a sign for His own glory: the virgin's Son, Immanuel!

Ahaz, the king of Judah, feared for Jerusalem and the royal line. He had no cause to fear, for God had promised David a son to come from his own body — the one King David called his Lord, the root and offspring of David. The house of David was perfectly secure. So the unbelief of Ahaz became the occasion for this great prediction.

Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah, King of Israel, had joined forces against Judah and Jerusalem. They meant to set aside the royal line of David, and with it the Messiah, and to put the son of Tabeal on the throne (v. 6). Even so, "thus says the Lord God: It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass" (v. 7).

Ahaz did not like God to draw too near. God answered it with Immanuel — God with us… Was it not the most wonderful grace to promise this to such a man? Yet grace condemns unbelief and every other sin as the law never did and never could. If Ahaz had asked for any sign he could imagine on earth or in heaven, it would have fallen far short of God's sign. If man refuses to ask through unbelief, God does not fail to give a sign for His own glory: the virgin's Son, the woman's Seed, Immanuel!

The Virgin's Son becomes THE SIGN, given by God in "the depth" and in "the height" too. Who but the blessed God, infinite in wisdom, could have thought of such a sign or given it? Look at "the depth" of human weakness: that wonderful baby held on the virgin's lap. Yet even there His name tells us of "the height" of His glory — "Immanuel," "God with us."

Here the context needs the word to mean virgin, and nothing less. There is no sign or wonder in a young married woman bearing a son. People knew from the very start that the One who would rescue mankind from the serpent, our enemy, must be born of a woman in some unusual way… The virgin's Son is Immanuel, the Lord Jehovah.

Christ came, and the prophecy was fulfilled. After that, the Jews worked hard to deny that the Hebrew word means virgin. They said it meant only a young woman, and unbelievers still follow them today. But the Greek version of the Old Testament was made by Jews long before that prejudice arose. They translated the word by the Greek word that can only mean virgin. That one fact undoes the whole attack on the prophecy.

The idea that Hezekiah was the virgin's son cannot stand. Ahaz reigned sixteen years, and Hezekiah was twenty-five when he began to reign. So Hezekiah was already a boy of at least eight before his father's reign began. Isaiah could not have foretold his birth to Ahaz, who was on the throne by then.

The royal line of David's house was to continue until the Messiah came, but how much further the sign goes! He would be not only the virgin's son, the woman's seed of Genesis 3:15, but "Immanuel." Matthew's Gospel opens by showing Him to be the son of David (v. 1). Then this first quotation from the Old Testament shows Him to be more than a man born by a miracle. He is God Himself come down in grace.

This was enough. God had promised that the Messiah would come from David's line. So God kept the house of David safe until the appointed hour, unworthy as it was… My whole aim is to point to one fact, so full of comfort to the believing heart: God's purposes never fail, however great man's sin may be.

Man would have counted it enough to promise that his son Hezekiah, and then his son, and so on, would succeed him... So for the Jew everything centres on the Messiah. Not only will a remnant return; the promised Seed, the virgin's Son, will be born. Put this birth as far off from Ahaz's day as you please — that only makes the voice of God in prophecy, and the sure mercies promised to David, stand out more clearly... But Immanuel was an assurance that could not fail: no alliance of enemies could ever put down David's house.

Verse 15 is hard to make out, but we believe it means this. The coming One, though "GOD with us," was born of the virgin. So He would grow up in body and in mind by the laws that govern human life. This we see to be the case in Luke 2:40-52.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was once a little baby. And as He grew up, He learned the taste of things in the same way you have. He ate "butter and honey." He learned to "refuse the evil," and to "choose the good" (Isa. 7:14-16). He had the feelings of a child. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He was without sin... He was holy; the only holy child, the only holy man, that ever walked this earth.

His lowliness. He who was rich became poor for our sake. This poverty seems to be shown in Isaiah 7:15, "butter and honey shall He eat."

Butter is the cream of the milk in solid form. It pictures the Word of God made good to the soul through exercise (churning). It is the Word itself. Honey pictures the ministry of the Word... What the teachers of the law gave that was truly from God was honey, and the Lord received it. But the butter came first — God's own Word made good to the soul in personal exercise. If the blessed Son of Man needed this, how much more do we need both the Word itself and the ministry of the Word, so that we can tell good from evil and choose the good.

Here Emmanuel is present, refusing the evil and choosing the good, just as this prophecy said He would. In this we do not have the glories He will inherit as the son of David and Abraham. We have what He is in Himself and in character — He is God with us. God revealed in human flesh, a man among men. Unlike every name in the family line, His name stays untarnished by any evil thing. He chose the good and refused the evil. He loved righteousness and hated wickedness, as Hebrews 1 puts it, and so He drew out the full and delighted approval of God.

It has been noticed that the "son" Immanuel of verse 14 does not appear to be "the youth" of verse 16. That second one refers rather to Shear-jashub, the prophet's own child, who seems to have come with him for this reason... It is worth noting that the Hebrew word here is not strictly "son" or "child," but "the youth" or "lad"... From verse 16 the king was to learn that before the youth (almost certainly Shear-jashub) was old enough to tell right from wrong, the allied kings must disappear from the scene. And so they did.

Isaiah 7 takes us into some historical details of the reign of Ahaz, which 2 Kings 15 and 16 record. Ahaz did much evil. Now an alliance threatened him: Pekah, who had seized the throne of the ten tribes of Israel, and Rezin of Syria. If they had killed or removed Ahaz, they would have broken the line of descent through which Christ came as a man, as Matthew 1:9 shows. God was not going to allow this. So He told Isaiah to take his young son, Shear-Jashub, which means "The remnant shall return," and intercept Ahaz.

The "son" Immanuel in verse 14 appears not to be "the youth" of verse 16. Those words refer rather to Shear-jashub, who for this reason seems to have come with the prophet. It is worth noting that the Hebrew here is not strictly "son" or "child," but "the youth" or "lad"… From verse 16 the king was to learn this: before the youth (almost certainly Shear-jashub) was old enough to tell right from wrong, the allied kings must disappear from the scene.

But before the second son to be born to the prophet would know how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings Ahaz dreaded would be deserted… This prophecy came true literally, and the plan of these kings to make "the son of Tabeal" king over Judah came to nothing.

People have asked: how could this be a sign to Ahaz, since this event did not take place until centuries later? The announcement of such a child's birth was present evidence to faith. Whatever schemes men might make, the remnant could count on God… There are two prophetic children: one (Shear-jashub) a figure of the remnant, and Immanuel… Isaiah 7:16 doubtless refers to Shear-jashub. Before this child could have grown up, Hoshea had killed Pekah, and the king of Assyria had taken Damascus and killed Rezin. 2 Kings 15:30; 2 Kings 16:9.

Verse 11 is spoken to Ahaz — "Ask." He refuses. Then God speaks to the house of David in verses 13 and 14: "Ye, you, ye, you," in the plural. In verses 16 and 17 He speaks to Ahaz again: "Thou, thee, thy," singular. So verses 16 and 17 contain a different prophecy from verses 13, 14, 15; and "the child" of verse 16 is not the same as "the son" of verse 14.

It is only fair to add that some Christians, who clearly see God becoming man here, take all the verses (14-16) to refer to Immanuel… Others take the youth or lad of verse 16 to mean any young child, not one in particular. But whatever the small differences of detail, the one great fact stands out, clear and majestic.

As to Isaiah 7:16… I fully believe it to be a prophecy of Christ, as Matthew has declared it. What set this prophecy going was the attack of Rezin and Pekah.

Emmanuel is present here, refusing the evil and choosing the good, just as this prophecy said He would. In this we do not see the glories He will inherit as the son of David and Abraham. We see what He is in Himself and in character — He is God with us. God shown in human flesh, a man among men. Unlike every name in the family line, His name stays untouched by any evil thing.

How touching is the patient grace God has toward this evil king! He reassures him instead of crushing him; He announces deliverance to him; He says to him, "Take heed and be quiet" — let Me act. He says "Fear not" to the man who had everything to fear.

The two kings caused fear to Ahaz; but the one he sought to rest on is sent as a chastening on him. There is what one should fear — that God should take the rod... God would be our strength; the heart of man never wishes it. Our fear of coming evil makes us look for support in what seems to us a safe path. And these are the very things God uses to chastise us. The kings of Israel and of Syria came against Judah of their own will. God stops them. Ahaz and his people would lean on the king of Assyria; and God makes the Assyrian come against them in the end.

How often the hypocrisy of unbelief hides its contempt of the Lord this way! Its presumption really despises the word of His grace, yet it puts on the appearance of greater reverence and humility. The prophet, however, sees through the trick put forward by an evil heart of unbelief... Ahaz shrank from God even in His goodness. Flesh never trusts God.

Ephraim, led by Jeroboam — an Ephraimite — then takes leadership of the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David. A new kingdom is formed, and every one of their nineteen kings abandons the Lord.

The promise about the virgin's son went to "the house of David" (v. 13). The threat of chastisement came "upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house" (v. 17)... If David's house was to be preserved, personal and national wrongdoing had to be dealt with fully. So the Lord would whistle for the fly from Egypt, and for the bee from Assyria. The Lord would shave Judah with His hired Assyrian razor, and leave her poor and desolate.

The king of Assyria came, but instead of really helping him, "distressed him." He took the treasure Ahaz "stripped" for him from the house of the Lord... It was just as the prophet Isaiah had warned him... He trusted in man and leaned on human strength, and his heart turned away from the Lord. So he brought the resulting curse and barrenness on himself and his kingdom. "And in the time of his distress he trespassed yet more against the Lord." How different was his great ancestor David! "In my distress," he says, "I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God."

The careful reader will notice how the Assyrian's first invasion of the land brought complete desolation by its unchecked success (Isa. 7:17). It only pictures another assault in the last days, when he and his allies will be utterly broken in pieces. They may take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; they may speak the word, but it will not stand; "for God is with us" (Immanuel).

The two kings caused Ahaz to fear; but God sends the one he tried to rest on as a chastening on him. There is what one should fear — that God should take the rod. He will whistle for the enemy, for the fly far off in Egypt, for the bee in Assyria... God would be our strength; the heart of man never wishes it. The fear we have of evil coming on us makes us look for support in what seems to us a way without danger; and these are the very things God uses to chastise us. The kings of Israel and of Syria came against Judah of their own will. God stops them. Ahaz and his people would lean on the king of Assyria; and God makes the Assyrian come against them in the end.

Scripture often uses the word "hiss" to express the idea of summoning (see, for example, Isa. 5:26; Isa. 7:18), and teaches here that the Lord in His own way will get the attention of His scattered people, make His mighty call reach their hearts...

"Hiss" is a sharp, penetrating sound to call attention and get an immediate response.

The stings of the flies in the East are very painful, and torment the animals almost to madness. The word zebub is thought to be part of the word BAAL-ZEBUB, the idol-god of Ekron, "the lord of the fly," who people believed could protect them from its bite.

Scripture pictures them chasing and surrounding an enemy, and people have often felt how painful their attacks are. Deut. 1:44; Judges 14:8; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18.

Hezekiah's faith might delay the judgement on Judah, and the king of Assyria was rebuked for a time. But even Josiah, faithful as he was, suffered for his rash opposition to "the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt". And "the bee that is in the land of Assyria" stung even harder when Jehovah called it.

God gave the promise about the virgin's son to "the house of David" (v. 13). He addressed the threat of chastisement to "you and your people, and your father's house" (v. 17)... If David's house was to be preserved, God had to deal fully with wickedness in individuals and in the nation. So Jehovah would whistle for the fly from Egypt (fulfilled in the days of Josiah), and for the bee from Assyria... On the same principle God will deal with Christendom shortly, "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Peter 4:17)... But His purposes will not fall to the ground.

The two kings made Ahaz afraid; but the one he tried to lean on is sent as a chastening upon him. There is what a man should fear — that God should take up the rod. He will whistle for the enemy, for the fly far off in Egypt, for the bee in Assyria. God would be our strength, but the heart of man never wishes it. Our fear of some evil coming on us makes us look for support in what seems a safe path. These are the very things God uses to chastise us. Ahaz and his people would lean on the king of Assyria, and in the end God makes the Assyrian come against them.

The alliance Ahaz dreaded came to nothing; but the Assyrian he leaned on became the rod for the guilty king and people. God will be the refuge of His people, and He turns the resource of unbelief into their scourge.

God used the Syrians and the Philistines to "devour Israel with open mouth." He allowed tribal war between Ephraim and Manasseh, and conflict between the ten tribes and the house of David (Isa. 9:12, 21). But the Assyrian was God's chief instrument for chastising both houses of Israel. In chapter 10 God says, "O Assyrian, the rod of My anger, and the staff in their hand is My indignation. I will send him … I will give him a charge … to tread them down like the mire of the streets" (Isa. 10:5-6). The proud Assyrian does not realise that he is God's instrument, and thinks he is accomplishing his own will.

Critics are, I believe, agreed that in Isa. 7:19 the word which stands second here means, not "bushes," as our common version reads, but "pastures."

The stings of the flies in the East are very painful, and torment the animals almost to madness.

Scripture pictures them chasing and surrounding an enemy, and many have felt how painful their attacks are. Deut. 1:44; Judges 14:8; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18. Bees are everywhere in Palestine. They nest in the woods and in the clefts of the rocks. That habit fits the description of the land as "flowing with milk and honey."

Hezekiah's faith might delay Judah's judgement, and the king of Assyria was rebuked for a season. But even Josiah, faithful as he was, suffered for his rash opposition to "the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt." And "the bee that is in the land of Assyria" stung even harder when the LORD called it.

God would use both the Egyptians and the Assyrians to punish His people, but the Assyrian would be the chief instrument (7:18-20)… So this prophecy came true very soon after. The complete fulfilment may still come in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

Where there had been many, there would be few. Where prosperity and plenty had been known, briers and thorns would spread. All this has come true to the letter, as we know. God will deal with Christendom on the same principle before long: "The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God" (1 Peter 4:17)… But His purposes will not fall to the ground.

Ahaz prefers to trust the king of Assyria against Pekah and Rezin rather than to trust the Lord and obey Him. This explains his answer to Isaiah. He had sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, calling himself his servant and his son, and asking him to come up and save him from the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who had risen up against him. Then Ahaz took the silver and the gold found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.

So the alliance Ahaz dreaded came to nothing; but the Assyrian on whom he leaned became the rod for the guilty king and people. God will be the refuge of His people, and He turns the resource of unbelief into their scourge.

There is what one should fear — that God should take the rod. He will whistle for the enemy, for the fly far off in Egypt, for the bee in Assyria. He will shave as with a hired razor, so as to sweep everything clean (vv. 17–20). God would be our strength; the heart of man never wishes it. The fear we have of evil coming on us makes us look for support in what seems to us a way without danger; and these are the very things God uses to chastise us.

The figure of shaving as with a razor is expressive and obvious; but here it is worked out in striking detail. It is not the head only that is stripped bare, but the least and lowest and smallest parts of the nation's body. The beard stands for what people at that time felt as the deepest dishonour.

The Israelites always cultivated the beard and valued it highly. The law forbade them to "mar the corners of their beards," Lev. 19:27, and a priest was not to shave off the corner of his beard as a sign of mourning. Lev. 21:5. King Hanun inflicted a deep insult when he marred the beards of David's ambassadors. 2 Sam. 10:4… God's judgement on Israel is compared to the beard being consumed by a razor, Isa. 7:20.

Shishak was only His whip. So was the Assyrian at a later date, whom God, through His prophet Isaiah, calls "the rod of My anger" and "a razor that is hired." In troubles like these, if there is to be blessing, we must see beyond the instrument and know the hand that uses it.

David made a proud blunder: he numbered the people without reference to God. He was then given the choice of three forms of chastisement. He said, "I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man" (1 Chron. 21:13). The "hired razor" can be very cruel (Isa. 7:20).

God would use both the Egyptians and the Assyrians to punish His people, but the Assyrian would be the chief instrument. Jehovah would use him as a man uses a razor, and would make desolate the land that once flowed with milk and honey. In the mercy of God, Jerusalem escaped the ravages of Sennacherib. Yet he still "came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (Isa. 36:1). So this prophecy was fulfilled very soon after, though the complete fulfilment may come in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

The two kings made Ahaz afraid; but the one he tried to rest on is sent as a chastening upon him. That is what a person should fear — that God should take up the rod. He will whistle for the enemy, for the fly far off in Egypt, for the bee in Assyria. He will shave as with a hired razor, so as to sweep everything clean (vv. 17-20). God would be our strength; the heart of man never wants it. We fear that evil will come on us. So we look for support in what seems to us a way without danger. And these are the very things God uses to chastise us.

The closing verses give a vivid picture of what the plundering left behind. A farming people are reduced to a handful of stragglers. They live on what grazing animals give, which costs little or no labour.

We must not confuse two things. A land flowing with milk and honey was the normal state of the land and the people. This is a man here or there keeping a young cow and two sheep, and yet from that scanty stock finding such an abundance of milk that he eats curds or butter. No corn, wine, or oil. No grapes or olives, figs or pomegranates. No trading of harvest or livestock produce for goods among a large and thriving population.

The words used do not necessarily mean the female, except in Isaiah 7:21. The same Hebrew stands for "bullock," "herd," and so on, and the context shows the gender.

God would use both the Egyptians and the Assyrians to punish His people, but the Assyrian would be the chief instrument (7:18-20)... So this prophecy came true very soon afterwards, though there may be a complete fulfilment in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

The Lord would shave Judah with His hired Assyrian razor, and leave her poor and desolate. Where there had been many, there would be few. Where prosperity and plenty had been known, briars and thorns would be everywhere. All this has been fulfilled to the letter, as we know. God's dealings with Christendom will soon follow the same principle, "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Peter 4:17).

We already have the two great parties that the prophecy deals with, Immanuel and the Assyrian. The virgin would conceive a Son — Messiah, Immanuel. The Lord would bring upon the unworthy son of David the king of Assyria, the only one he had looked to for help. The humblest Jew ought to have cried to the Lord.

The closing verses give a vivid picture of what plundering leaves behind. A farming people are cut down to a handful of stragglers. They live on what their animals give, which costs little or no work. We must not confuse two things. One is a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the normal state of the land and people. The other is a man here or there keeping one young cow and two sheep, and yet getting so much milk from that small stock that he eats curds, or butter. There is no grain, wine, or oil; no grapes or olives, figs or pomegranates; no trading of crops or livestock for other goods among a large and thriving population. Instead there are thorns and briars where the richest vineyards used to be.

The two kings caused Ahaz to fear; but the one he tried to lean on is sent as a chastening upon him. There is the thing one should fear — that God should take up the rod. He will whistle for the enemy, for the fly far off in Egypt, for the bee in Assyria. He will shave as with a hired razor, so as to sweep everything clean (vv. 17-20). God would be our strength; the heart of man never wishes it. The fear we have of evil coming on us makes us look for support in something that seems safe. But these are the very things God uses to discipline us.

His lowliness. He who was rich became poor for our sake. This poverty seems to be shown in Isaiah 7:15: "He shall eat curds and honey." His lowliness is predicted more fully in 53:2: "For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him."

The Egyptians and the Assyrians would both be used by God to punish His people, but the Assyrian would be the chief instrument (7:18-20). The LORD would use the Assyrian as a man uses a razor, and would make desolate the land that once flowed with milk and honey. In the mercy of God, Jerusalem escaped the destruction Sennacherib brought, though he "came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (Isa. 36:1). So this prophecy was fulfilled very soon after, though the complete fulfilment may come in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

So Ahaz, in verses 17-25, had to hear God's righteous sentence on himself and his wicked people. God gave the promise about the virgin's son to "the house of David" (v. 13); He addressed the threat of discipline to "you and your people and your father's house" (v. 17). If David's house was to stand, God had to deal fully with sin in the individual and in the nation. The LORD would shave Judah with His hired Assyrian razor, and leave her poor and desolate. Where there had been many, there would be few, and where there had been prosperity and plenty, briers and thorns would spread.

So the alliance Ahaz dreaded came to nothing; but the Assyrian he leaned on became the rod for the guilty king and people. God will be the refuge of His people, and He turns the resource of unbelief into their scourge.

It is always what the will of man seeks that becomes the instrument of discipline. When the attacks on the people of God flow only from the will of man, there is nothing to fear. Beware of dreading the nearness of God: that is to be far from the source of all blessings.

Found only in Isaiah 7:23, and the Hebrew is the same as 'silver,' and 'pieces of silver,' as money.

The closing verses give a vivid picture of the results of plunder. A farming people become a handful of stragglers, living on what their animals give, which costs little or no labour... There is no grain, wine, or oil; no grapes or olives, figs or pomegranates; no trading of harvest or livestock produce for goods among a large and thriving population. Instead, thorns and briers grow where the richest vineyards had been, a man goes there with arrows and a bow, and land once carefully tilled is given over to cattle, large or small.

It shows how plentiful the fruits of the curse are — the curse pronounced in Eden because of the sin of man. Those fruits will be gone in the millennium, when the myrtle and trees like it take their place.

God's promise of abundant harvests to Israel was conditional on their obedience. Like every other blessing held on those terms, the harvests were lost through the nation's unfaithfulness. Thorns and briers were to be brought forth — the fruits of sin. But the reign of righteousness is coming. Then "instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 55:13).

In the mercy of God, Jerusalem escaped the ravages of Sennacherib, though he "came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (Isaiah 36:1). So this prophecy came true very soon after, though there may be the complete fulfilment in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

The best of vineyards becomes a bed of briars and thorns. Men cannot pass through unprotected by bows and arrows, and the carefully tended hills are turned into a place for oxen and lesser cattle... The closing verses paint a vivid picture of what plundering leaves behind. A farming people are now a handful of stragglers, living on herding produce that costs little or no labour. There is no corn, wine, or oil. There are no grapes or olives, figs or pomegranates. There is no trading of harvest or livestock for goods among a large and thriving population.

The two kings caused Ahaz to fear; but the one he tried to lean on is sent as a chastening upon him. (See 2 Kings 16.) That is what we should fear — that God should take up the rod... God would be our strength; the heart of man never wants it. Our fear that evil will come on us makes us look for support in what seems to us a safe road. And those are the very things God uses to chastise us.

If David's house was to be preserved, individual and national sin had to be dealt with fully... Where there had been many, there would be few. Where prosperity and plenty had been known, briers and thorns would abound. All this has been fulfilled to the letter, as we know. God will deal with Christendom on the same principle before long: "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Peter 4:17).

"And now I will tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or hoed, but briers and thorns shall come up."... There was no failure on God's part. He had set Israel in the most favourable position. He separated them to Himself, removed stumbling blocks, and crowned them with favours. He granted not only protection but every means of blessing.

God would use both the Egyptians and the Assyrians to punish His people, but the Assyrian would be the chief instrument (7:18–20). The LORD would use the Assyrian as a man uses a razor. He would leave desolate the land that once flowed with milk and honey... So this prophecy came true very soon afterwards, though a complete fulfilment may still come in the last days, before the coming of the Lord.

The land would bring forth thorns and briers — the fruits of sin. But when the reign of righteousness begins, "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress. Instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle. It shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isa. 55:13).

The two kings made Ahaz afraid; but God sends the very one he leaned on to chasten him. That is what we should fear — that God should take up the rod. God would be our strength; the heart of man never wishes it. We fear that evil will come on us. So we look for support in what looks to us like a safe road. And these are the very things God uses to chastise us. The kings of Israel and of Syria came against Judah of their own will. God stopped them. Ahaz and his people would lean on the king of Assyria; and in the end God makes the Assyrian come against them.

The closing verses give a vivid picture of what plundering does. A farming people shrink to a handful of stragglers. They live on herd produce that costs little or no labour. We must not confuse two things. One is a land flowing with milk and honey, the normal state of the land and people. The other is a man here or there keeping a young cow and two sheep, yet getting so much milk from that scanty stock that he eats curds. No grain, wine, or oil. No grapes or olives, figs or pomegranates. No trading of harvest or livestock for goods among a large and thriving population. Instead there are thorns and briars where the richest vineyards had been. A man goes there with bow and arrows, and land once tilled with care now goes to cattle great or small.

mader, probably a hoe or spade. Isa. 7:25.

The word tson means small cattle, that is, sheep and goats. The word seh has the same meaning: Genesis 30:32; Ezekiel 34:17-22. In Isaiah 7:25 it is translated "lesser cattle," and in Isaiah 43:23 "small cattle."

About a dozen different words are translated 'thorns' and 'thistles.' That shows how plentiful these results of the curse are in this sin-stained world… Thorns are often mentioned as growing up in places given over to desolation.

Where there had been many, there would be few. Where the people had known prosperity and plenty, briers and thorns would abound. All this has come true to the letter, as we know. God will soon deal with Christendom on the same principle: "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Peter 4:17)… But His purposes will not fall to the ground.

Isaiah calls the land of Israel, Palestine, "Immanuel's land" (8:8). Desolation has come upon it because of the transgressions of the people. It is now an unfruitful land, a land of wastes and ruins. But there is a glorious future for Immanuel's land. He lived His blessed life there. He shed His blood and died there. He will also make it a glorious land.

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Habakkuk all say the Lord charged them to put their predictions in writing: "The LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters…" (Isa. 8:1)… These passages show the authority on which the writers recorded their sayings. They also show that they wrote what the Lord commanded them to write.

Symbolic name given to one of Isaiah's sons. Isa. 8:1-4. It means "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." The child was to be called this because the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away before the king of Assyria — and all this before the child knew how to cry "My father" or "My mother." See 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:9.

The Lord directs the prophet to name the child who would be born Maher-shalal-hash-baz, as a sign of what would soon take place. The name pictures the ravenous character of the Assyrian.

"And I took faithful witnesses to record for me: Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz" (vv. 1-3)… And all this, as the inspired history proves, was fulfilled to the letter.

The names are significant… Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are just as full of meaning. Urijah (Jehovah is light), Zechariah (Jehovah remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of Jehovah).

Still, the grace of God remains toward His people. His punishment comes; but if He brings the Assyrian, He promises Immanuel at the same time. If Maher-shalal-hashbaz points to the Assyrian speeding to the spoil and hurrying the prey, God still cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land… Human nature looks for support in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence when there is only God for tomorrow.

These chapters make it plain that Shear-jashub (the remnant shall return) was already born… It is just as plain that Maher-shalal-hash-baz was still to be born of the prophetess. Both names set out great events of lasting interest to Israel. One pledges the return of the remnant; the other points to the Assyrian attack and what would follow… But between the two comes a completely different promise: the virgin's Son. Any fair reading of it rules out both the king and the prophet with their children.

"And the Lord said to me, Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, for Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I took (or will take) faithful witnesses to record this, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." … "For before the child knows how to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria" (v. 4). And all this, as the inspired history proves, came true to the letter.

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Habakkuk all say the Lord charged them to write down what they predicted. "The Lord said to me, Take a large scroll, and write in it with a man's pen…" (Isa. 8:1)… "The Lord answered me and said: Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, so that he may run who reads it" (Hab. 2:2). These passages show the authority on which the writers recorded their sayings. They also show that they wrote what the Lord commanded them to write.

We may judge of its importance from this. Moses presses it on Israel's attention again and again. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the Holy Spirit in the apostle Paul, in two of his epistles, insist on the principle of "two or three witnesses," in every case. One witness, however trustworthy, is not enough to decide a case… Let us remember that God is wiser than we are. It is always our truest wisdom, and our greatest moral security, to hold fast to His unerring word.

The priest Isaiah used as a faithful witness to record his prophecies. Isa. 8:2. At the king's order he built an altar in Jerusalem, copying one that Ahaz had seen in Damascus, 2 Kings 16:10-16, where he is called Urijah.

King Ahaz finds in Urijah the high priest a willing tool for his idol-worshipping plans. Untrue to his name (light of Jehovah), he obeys his king's orders without conscience.

The names Zechariah and Berechiah were well-known names in the priestly family. In Isaiah 8:2 Isaiah's faithful witnesses are Uriah and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah — that is, Berechiah. Berechiah seems to have been the name of the head of the family. Matthew could therefore call Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of Berechiah too, tracing him back to his ancestor.

A symbolic name given to one of Isaiah's sons, Isaiah 8:1-4. It means "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." The child was given this name for a reason. Before he could cry "My father" or "My mother," the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away before the king of Assyria. See 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:9.

"Then the LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I got reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me" (vv. 1-2)… And all this, as the inspired history proves, was fulfilled to the letter.

The names are significant… Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are equally full of meaning. Urijah (the LORD is light), Zechariah (the LORD remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of the LORD).

These chapters make it as plain as can be. Shear-jashub (= the remnant shall return) was already born, and he went with the prophet, as we see at the beginning of Isaiah 7. It is equally plain that Maher-shalal-hash-baz (= hasten prey, speed spoil, Isaiah 8) was to be born of the prophetess. Both set out the great events of undying interest to Israel. One pledges the return of the remnant. The other signals the Assyrian attack and what follows… But between the two comes a wholly different promise, the virgin's Son, which in any fair reading excludes both the king and the prophet with their children. His name Immanuel (God with us) speaks of far better things.

Kimchi held that the young woman could not be Isaiah's wife. If she were, she must have been called the prophetess, as in chapter 8:3. So he took her to be the wife of Ahaz… Even Kimchi rules out Isaiah and the prophetess, since he asks how the land could then be called Immanuel's land.

Still, the grace of God stays with His people. The scourge of God comes; but if He brings the Assyrian, He promises Immanuel at the same time. If Maher-shalal-hashbaz testifies to the Assyrian hurrying to the spoil and hastening to the prey, God cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land (vv. 1-10)… This people had refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David, rejoicing in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent.

The last quotation is from Isaiah 8:18. The children the Lord had given to Isaiah were for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord. The two sons of Isaiah had received their names of significant meaning from heaven. Believers are children, belong to Him, and are signs and witnesses both to unbelieving Israel and to the world.

As a sign of what would soon happen, the Lord tells the prophet to name the child who was to be born Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The name means "Swift for spoil, hasty for prey." It describes the greedy, devouring character of the Assyrian.

The names are significant... Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are just as full of meaning: Urijah (the Lord is light), Zechariah (the Lord remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of the Lord).

The word for land or ground, "adamah," does not mean only one single country. It carries a wide range of meaning, depending on the context... Here the two kings define it as the land of both of them, not of one only. Compare Isaiah 8:4... See also 2 Kings 15:29-30; 2 Kings 16:9. So the "two kings" appear to be those of Syria and of Samaria, or Israel, and "the land" is the land belonging to each.

The Lord explains this to Isaiah, and Isaiah passes it on (v. 4). And all of it, as the history recorded in Scripture proves, came true to the letter.

Ahaz prefers to trust the king of Assyria against Pekah and Rezin rather than to trust the Lord and obey Him... So what the Lord had spoken against Israel, which had sought the support of Assyria (Hosea 5:13-14), He now speaks against Judah, who sought this same alliance. At first this trust in Assyria seemed to work well for Judah. Tiglath-pileser seized Damascus, carried away its people, and killed Rezin. The prophecy Amos gave long before (Amos 1:3-5) is now fulfilled.

We already have the two great parties the prophecy deals with: Immanuel and the Assyrian. The virgin would conceive a Son — Messiah, Immanuel. The Lord would bring upon the unworthy son of David the king of Assyria — the only one he had looked to for help. The humblest Jew ought to have cried to the Lord.

Even though Maher-shalal-hashbaz points to the Assyrian rushing to the spoil and hurrying to the prey, God cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land (vv. 1-10)... The people had despised the house of David. They took joy in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can find a support, it finds it in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence if only God is there for tomorrow... God would have us appear the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.

But the Lord God of their fathers had not yet passed the solemn sentence, "There was no remedy." He would not yet hold back His hand, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, even though they had despised His words. And again He gives another sign, another symbolic child, whose name was Maher-shalal-hash-baz — "in making speed to the spoil he hastens the prey."

The people despised the promises to the house of David — despised the waters of Shiloah, and, trusting in human strength, cried out for a confederacy. The house of David itself, despising the promises, sought help by an alliance with the Assyrian, and removed the altar of Jehovah, putting a heathen altar in its place in the temple.

This people had refused the softly flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David, rejoicing in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can have a support, it is in man, in what looks strong; it has no confidence if there is only God for tomorrow. From the moment we would rest tomorrow on a good thought of today, it is our own righteousness. God would have us be in appearance the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.

They despised the waters of Shiloah, so the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them as their master the one they leaned on. Such is the end of man's wisdom.

We are here looking at the scenes of the last days, whatever picture of them was given in the partial fulfilment near at hand. They despised the water of Shiloah. So the far different waters of the Assyrian must come, and these all but overwhelming, when He shall at length appear to vindicate His land. His incarnation had been announced to the unbelieving Ahaz as God's sign in mercy. The Assyrian fills the land in his pride, reaching even "to the neck." Yet he is not just checked and put to shame. He is utterly and for ever broken in Immanuel's land.

A pool on the south of Jerusalem near the west slope of the Kidron valley... In Isaiah 8:6 the name SHILOAH is used as a symbol. The people refused its waters that went softly, preferring Syria and the king of Israel. The strong waters of Assyria would sweep them away. In the New Testament the man born blind had clay put on his eyes and was sent to wash at Siloam, which means "sent." Christ is the Sent One. So the picture teaches us that light comes when we know Christ in His humiliation as the Sent One of God.

He was king of Syria. Together with Pekah king of Israel he attacked Ahaz, king of Judah. Isaiah was sent to comfort Ahaz, but Ahaz asked Assyria for help and sent its king silver and gold. Rezin was killed, Damascus was left in ruins, and its people were carried off into captivity.

Siloam is a pool on the south side of Jerusalem, near the west slope of the Kidron valley. In Isaiah 8:6, under the name Shiloah, it stands as a picture. The people refused its gently flowing waters and preferred Syria and the king of Israel, so the strong waters of Assyria would sweep them away. In the New Testament the man born blind had clay put on his eyes and was sent to wash at Siloam, a name that means "sent." Christ is the Sent One. So the picture teaches us that light comes when we know Christ in His humiliation as the One God sent.

But they refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. Those waters stood for the promises made to the house of David, given to cheer the heart of the faithful one until Shiloh would come. Instead they took their joy in human strength, in Rezin and Remaliah's son. So the Lord Jehovah Himself would step in. In place of the refreshing streams of Shiloah He would bring on them a fierce flood, reaching up to the neck, overflowing its channels and its banks — the King of Assyria and all his glory.

This people had refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David and taken their joy in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's quiet way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can find a support, it finds it in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence when there is only God for tomorrow... God would have us look the weakest of all, so that He alone is our strength.

The people here had no faith, any more than the king in the scene before. Both of them despised the ways and the promises of God. Man was their confidence, just as man was their fear... Their punishment would be just. The raging river, the Assyrian, would rise and overflow, and would almost swallow the land.

Because they despised the waters of Shiloah, the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them, as their master, the very one they leaned on. Such is the end of man's wisdom.

Because the nation would not remain in subjection, they must be given up to the enemy.

Once Immanuel is brought in, everything changes; the land is His. The Assyrian reaches up to the neck, because the waters of Shiloah had been despised. But Immanuel secured it all. So the prophetic Spirit moves on to the events of the last days, and Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, was only a picture of them. He shows all the plans and alliances of the nations brought to nothing because of Immanuel — God with us... And what course should the remnant follow? They are not to be shaken by the fear of the people, and they are not to join their alliances. Instead they are to set apart the Lord of hosts Himself as holy.

Then as the Shepherd of Israel He will feed His flock, for they will no longer refuse "the waters of Shiloah that flow gently."

They refused the soft-flowing waters of Shiloah — those promises to the house of David, given to cheer the heart of the faithful one until Shiloh would come. They rejoiced instead in human strength, in Rezin and Remaliah's son. So the Lord Jehovah Himself would step in. Instead of the refreshing streams of Shiloah, He would bring on them the fierce torrent that would reach to the neck, overflowing its channels and its banks — the king of Assyria and all his glory.

This people had refused the softly flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David and rejoiced in Rezin and Pekah. They did not rejoice in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can have a support, it is in man, in what looks strong; it has no confidence if there is only God for tomorrow... God would have us be in appearance the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.

They despised the waters of Shiloah. So the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them as their master the one on whom they leaned. Such is the end of man's wisdom.

This is a figure well known in the prophets, used to signify overwhelming destruction by invading hostile armies. See, for example, Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 28:2; Jer. 47:2; Dan. 11:22. It may also allude to the flood of Noah's day, when the overflowing waters swept away the corrupt and the ungodly.

The rivers represent the activity of the people under certain principles; Isa. 8:5-8. The waters of the river (v. 7) are the king of Assyria and all his glory.

We are here looking at the scenes of the last days, whatever foreshadowing there may be in the partial fulfilment near at hand. The water of Shiloah was despised, so the far different waters of the Assyrian must come, and these are all but overwhelming. Then He shall at length appear to vindicate His land — the One whose coming as a man God had announced to the unbelieving Ahaz as His sign in mercy. The Assyrian fills the land in pride, reaching even "to the neck". Yet he is not simply checked and put to shame. He is broken utterly and for ever in Immanuel's land.

This overwhelming disaster would come on the nation as a whole. But God would keep a faithful and godly remnant safe. The pledge of that deliverance was that the virgin's Son, Immanuel, is with them (v. 10). The land is Immanuel's, and He will be in the midst of His people... The godly are therefore urged not to fear what the ungodly fear, but to "sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary" (Isa. 8:12-14).

The people here had no faith, any more than the king in the earlier scene. Both of them despised the ways and the promises of God. Both their trust and their fear rested on man. Ahaz cowered before the two kings of Israel and Syria, whose fierce anger the Lord scornfully called two tails of smoking, burnt-out sticks. The people refused the softly flowing streams of Shiloah. Their punishment would be just. The violent river, the Assyrian, would rise and overflow and almost overwhelm the land.

They had despised the house of David. They rejoiced in Rezin and Pekah instead of God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If human nature can find support, it is in man, in whatever looks strong. It has no confidence when God alone is there for tomorrow.

Judah would not go unpunished. But the king of Assyria's power against Judah would be limited, for God would not allow him to take Jerusalem. This took place in the days of Hezekiah. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, took Samaria and carried Israel into captivity. Some years later, "Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (2 Kings 18:13). But when Sennacherib sent his general Rab-shakeh against Jerusalem, the Lord stepped in, saying, "I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David" (2 Kings 19:34).

Assyria did not know then, and the nations have not known since, that the land belongs primarily to Immanuel and only secondarily to the Jew.

When Immanuel came into it, though it was His land, He had no place to lay His head in it. And who was to blame for that? The people who had sold the land and themselves into bondage, and did not recognise the Kinsman-Redeemer when He lived among them.

Isaiah 8:8 foretells that the wing of the king of Assyria would fill the breadth of the land — the land of Immanuel. This happened soon after. Yet it is also a picture of the Assyrian's attacks in the last days.

This overwhelming disaster would come on the nation as a whole. But God would deliver a faithful and godly remnant. And the pledge of this deliverance was that the virgin's Son, Immanuel, is with them (v. 10). The land is Immanuel's. He will be among His people, as He was with the three young Hebrew men in the fiery furnace, and as Jesus was with His disciples on the sea.

But is it not "your land, O Immanuel"? Certainly. The king may be what he is, the people what they are, and both may badly need humbling. But will not God avenge the insult to Him who, when reviled, did not revile in return? He is not deaf to the cry of His elect: how does He feel for Immanuel and Immanuel's land? Did the people associate themselves? They might spare themselves the trouble; they shall be broken. Did all those of far countries strap on their armor? If they have no fear, let them hear their sentence from the LORD.

They despised the waters of Shiloah. So the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them, as their master, the very one they leaned on. Such is the end of man's wisdom… How busy human prudence is, and how vain! God teaches us not to start this. The nations will do all this, but their plans come to nothing, "for God is with us." The one counsel for the faithful is Immanuel… What good is a confederacy against Him?

The people — the bulk of the nation — are in league with the pagan nations. But He is with the little remnant. Because they can say "God is with us," the prophet challenges the confederacy of the wicked with scorn. "Associate yourselves," let Israel and the Gentile join hand in hand — still, "you shall be broken."

Immanuel secured everything. So the prophetic Spirit moves on to the events of the last days, of which Sennacherib was only a type. He shows all the designs and confederacies of the nations brought to nothing because of Immanuel — God is with us. It is the complete deliverance of Israel in the last days. Notice that the Assyrian appears twice. In chapter 7 he is the Lord's instrument to chastise Israel; he does his own will, and there is no question of his being broken. In chapter 8 he fills the land, but the gathering of the nations against Israel is broken and brought to nothing.

The peoples may associate themselves in competing leagues to lay hands on the land, but they will be broken in pieces, "for God is with us" — literally, "for Immanuel." Among the nations today the idea of a confederacy is strong, but this will be the end of it.

God divided their tongues and scattered them abroad. Those divided tongues were His judgment on this first great human association. An association without God, whatever its object, is really nothing but a mass of flesh, based on pride and ending in hopeless confusion. "Associate yourselves, O you peoples, and you shall be broken in pieces." So much for all human associations. May we learn to keep clear of them! May we hold instead to that one divine association — the Church of the living God. A risen Christ in glory is its living Head, the Holy Spirit its living Guide, and the Word of God its living Charter!

The destruction of them will be complete, like chaff driven away from the summer threshing floor. And the Israel of God behave themselves here as Isaiah instructs them. They do not trust in a counter-confederacy, but sanctify the Lord in their hearts, and make Him their object.

But is it not "Your land, O Immanuel"? Certainly. The king may be what he is, and the people what they are; both may need humbling. Even so, will God not avenge the insult done to Him who, when reviled, did not revile in return? He is not deaf to the cry of His elect: how does He feel for Immanuel and Immanuel's land? Did the people band together? They might spare themselves the trouble; they will be broken.

They despised the waters of Shiloah, so the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them as their master the one on whom they leaned. Such is the end of man's wisdom… How busy human prudence is, and how vain! We are taught by God not to start it. The nations will do all this, but their counsels come to nothing, "for God is with us." The one counsel for the faithful is Immanuel.

Verses 9 and 10 no doubt had an application to the day when Isaiah wrote, but their force remains. Palestine holds a very central position, and it is becoming more and more clear that its potential riches are great. The peoples may band together in rival leagues to lay hands on it. But they will be broken in pieces, "for God is with us" — literally, "for Immanuel." Christ is God. When He shows Himself in His glory, the nations will be as nothing before Him.

Immanuel once brought in, all is changed; the land is His. The Assyrian reaches even to the neck, because the waters of Shiloah had been despised. But Immanuel secured everything. So the prophetic Spirit moves on to the events of the last days, of which Sennacherib was only a type. He shows all the designs and confederacies of the nations brought to nothing because of Immanuel — God is with us.

The people — the bulk of the nation — are in league with the nations, but He is with the little remnant. Because they can say "God is with us," the prophet challenges the confederacy of the wicked with scorn.

What about these conspiracies and intrigues? It will not stand, for God is with us. This is exactly the wisdom of the Christian, I may say, whatever plots and intrigues may be going on. Never mind it; God is with us… Do not go plotting and planning to counter-plot their enemies. Sanctify the Lord God — that is, give Him His own right place in your hearts.

Some seem to think there is safety in numbers… God's ancient people were warned, in view of the passing through and overflowing of the Assyrian… So those now who keep His word and do not deny His name may be sure of that sanctuary. It is His presence with them — few though they are — who "call on the Lord from a pure heart."

He shows all the plans and alliances of the nations brought to nothing because of Immanuel — God is with us. It is the complete deliverance of Israel in the last days (Isa. 8:5-10). And as to the remnant, what course are they to follow? (Isa. 8:11, and following.) They are not to be troubled by the fear of the people, and they are not to join them in their alliances. Instead they are to sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself, and give Him all His true importance in their hearts. He will be their sanctuary in the day of their trouble.

How busy is human prudence, and how vain! God teaches us not to begin such a thing. The nations will do all this, but their plans come to nothing, "for God is with us." The one counsel for the faithful is Immanuel... What use is an alliance against Him? The Lord spoke in strength of hand... Give God all the holy heed that is due to Him. Nothing can shake us then, because nothing can shake God.

God warned Isaiah, however, against the idea of an alliance for himself and his people. It would be doubly wrong in their case, since God had given them the knowledge of Himself, and He was to be their trust. Ahaz in his day was keen on an alliance. In the last days there will be a strong alliance too — between the man who will become the wilful king and false prophet in Jerusalem, and the predicted head of the revived Roman empire. All this comes instead of the fear of the Lord.

The Lord instructed the prophet not to "walk in the way of this people"... But this at once brings in separation, marking off a remnant from the mass of the people. So we read, "And He will become a sanctuary" — that is, for all those who sanctify and fear Him. But He will also be "a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel."

There is always a remnant that believes; and by this they gather present cheer in the middle of sorrow. In truth, to feel your weakness and admit it, and so to be thrown on "the LORD of hosts Himself," is to be master of the situation. That is true whatever it looks like to the eyes and reasoning of men... Those who feared the LORD did not need an alliance, and they did not need to be alarmed at those who trusted in one. They needed to sanctify the LORD, and make Him their sanctuary.

Some seem to think there is safety in numbers. God's ancient people were warned when the Assyrian was about to overflow their land. They were not to say, "An alliance." They were to sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself, and He would become a sanctuary for them (Isa. 8). So may those now who keep His word and do not deny His name (Rev. 3:8) be sure of that sanctuary of His presence with them — few though they are — who "call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22). They find His "I will come to you," alone or together in the twos and threes, far better than any attempted association where His name, His person and His work, as Scripture clearly reveals them, do not have the first and highest place.

Say not, Confederacy (or conspiracy), of everything of which this people shall say, Confederacy; neither fear their fear, nor be in dread. The LORD of hosts, Him shall you sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He will be for a sanctuary.

How busy is human prudence, and how vain! We are taught of God not to start this. The nations will do all this, but their plans come to nothing, "for God is with us." The one counsel for the faithful is Immanuel. "Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread." Their word will not stand… What use is a confederacy against Him?

The Lord instructed the prophet not to "walk in the way of this people"… But this at once brings in separation. It marks off a remnant from the mass of the people. So we read, "And He will become a sanctuary" (for all those who sanctify and fear Him); "and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel."

This fear is not cowardice. It does not debase the mind but lifts it. It drowns all lower fears, and produces true courage to face all dangers for a good conscience and for obeying God… From this fear have sprung all the generous resolutions and patient sufferings of the saints and martyrs of God, because they dared not sin against Him. Therefore they dared prison, poverty, torture, and death for Him. So the prophet sets fleshly and godly fear as opposites, the one driving out the other… Fear not, but fear; and therefore fear so that you may not fear.

We have to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. Failing this, we take refuge in "a confederacy," some scheme of our own, for we are then unable to see things on God's side… Abraham was on the edge of the place of blessing, and not in the heart of it; and instead of the Lord being his fear and his dread, he is afraid of the king of Gerar. This leads to a confederacy, an unholy compact between Abraham and Sarah to deny Sarah her true and rightful place.

In truth, to be in felt and confessed weakness, and so to lean on "the LORD of hosts Himself," is to be master of the situation. That is true despite all appearance to the eyes and reasoning of men… Those who feared the LORD needed neither a confederacy nor alarm at those who trusted in it. What they needed was to sanctify the LORD, and make Him their sanctuary.

Isaiah, however, was warned against the idea of a confederacy for himself and his people. It would be doubly wrong in their case, since God had given them the knowledge of Himself, and He was to be their trust… Ahaz in his day was keen on a confederacy. In the last days there will be a strong confederacy between the man who will become the wilful king and false prophet in Jerusalem, and the predicted head of the revived Roman empire. And this instead of the fear of the Lord.

The LORD warned of the power of the king of Assyria, whose help Ahaz was seeking. He compared his oppressive invasions of the land of Israel to a flood of waters that would overflow, reaching even to the neck. This overwhelming disaster would come on the nation as a whole. But there would still be a faithful and godly remnant, and God would deliver them. And the pledge of this deliverance was that the virgin's Son, Immanuel, is with them. The land is Immanuel's, and He will be among His people.

Notice in passing how verse 15 shows the true force of the word "sanctify." It is not primarily "to make holy," for the Lord cannot be more holy than He is. He can, however, in our hearts be set apart in His own proper place of glory and supremacy and authority. To sanctify is to set apart.

Set a special place apart in your heart, the best place, the chief place, the first place, and give that to the Lord. Don't give it to anybody else: not to yourself, not to your spouse, not to your children, not to your work, not to your leisure. There is a place that is reserved for Him which is paramount to you in your existence.

This fear is not cowardice. It does not lower the mind, but lifts it. It drowns all lesser fears and produces true courage to face all dangers for a good conscience and for obeying God. "The righteous are bold as a lion." He dares do anything but offend God... All the brave resolutions and patient sufferings of the saints and martyrs of God have sprung from this fear. They dared not sin against Him, so they dared to be imprisoned, made poor and tortured, and to die for Him. So the prophet sets natural and godly fear as opposites, the one driving out the other... Fear not, but fear; and therefore fear so that you may not fear.

The "fear of God," then, is not a cowering fear, but rather setting the Lord always before us, not doing or undertaking anything without reference to Him. How many things we do, and perhaps never consult Him at all! As long as it is not something absolutely wrong, we seem to think we can do pretty much as we like... It is not talking much about it, but "in your hearts." It is having the heart continually in the presence of God.

We are to sanctify the Lord Himself in our hearts at such times, and have no fear as they have. Peter shows this when, referring again to this chapter, he also tells us that "the LORD of hosts" (v. 13) is "the Christ."

When the heart was in real danger of being frightened by a crowd of enemies, the way out of the difficulty was to keep the eyes firmly fixed on God... The difficulties that surround us melt, they disappear, when we have before our souls not a small Christ but a great One.

To be in weakness you feel and admit, and so to be thrown on "the LORD of hosts Himself," is to be master of the situation. That is true despite everything the eyes and reasonings of men say... Those who feared the LORD did not need a confederacy, nor alarm at those who trusted in one. They needed to sanctify the LORD, and make Him their sanctuary. Yet He would be a stone of stumbling, even to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to Jerusalem itself.

Those who feared Jehovah did not need a confederacy. They did not need to be alarmed at those who trusted in one. What they needed was to sanctify Jehovah, and make Him their sanctuary. In truth, to be in weakness you feel and admit, and so to be cast on "Jehovah of hosts Himself," is to be master of the situation — whatever it looks like to the eyes and reasoning of men. Yet He would be a stone of stumbling, even to both the houses of Israel — yes, a trap and a snare to Jerusalem itself.

The Lord of hosts was to be in the sanctuary. Where is He found? Here is where Christ comes in. He separates the remnant, being a stone of stumbling to the nation itself: for He is the Lord of hosts. He is a sanctuary for those who look to Him as such; for there is no question of atonement here. However much it is needed, it is not the subject. The Person of Christ is before us.

In Isaiah 8:14 the word for stumbling is negeph, 'the act of stumbling'. When the Lord was on earth He became this stone of stumbling to the Jews. He remains the same to them and to the house of Israel, where He is still rejected through disobedient unbelief. Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:8. … the word skandalon is used: this is literally 'the catch of a trap,' which ensnares when touched.

Immanuel is truly the sanctuary of His people. But He would become "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence" by the fact of His rejection. This is made quite plain in 1 Peter 2:8. This He is to "both the houses of Israel," though it was mainly the house of Judah that rejected Him.

This is like our Lord's first coming. There were those who sanctified Jehovah, and to whom He became a sanctuary: Simeon, Anna, Mary, Zacharias, and Elizabeth. To the unbelieving mass of the nation He was "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence" (1 Peter 2:8). For the time, the testimony was to be bound up and sealed among His disciples.

It does not say that they were appointed to sin, or to condemnation. These unbelieving and disobedient sinners were the Jewish race, long rebellious, and always exalting themselves against God. They were destined to find a rock of offence in the Lord of grace Himself, and to stumble and fall over what faith saw as the precious stone of salvation.

This is taken from Isaiah 8:13, when there was a confederacy, and a real danger that a crowd of enemies would frighten the heart. In this situation the way out of the difficulty was to keep the eyes firmly fixed upon God. I venture to say the position is the same today. The difficulties around us melt away and disappear when we have before our souls, not a small Christ, but a great One.

This is like our Lord's first coming. There were people such as Simeon, Anna, Mary, Zechariah, and Elizabeth, who honoured Jehovah as holy, and to them He became a sanctuary. But to the unbelieving mass of the nation He was "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence" (1 Peter 2:8). And for that time the testimony was to be bound up and sealed among His disciples.

Immanuel really is the sanctuary of His people. Yet He would become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence because men rejected Him. Peter makes this quite plain in 1 Peter 2:8. This He is to "both the houses of Israel," though He was rejected mainly at the hands of the house of Judah.

It does not say that they were appointed to sin, or to condemnation. These unbelieving and disobedient sinners, the Jewish people, had long been rebellious and kept exalting themselves against God. They were destined to find a rock of offence in the Lord of grace Himself, and to stumble and fall on what was, to faith, the precious stone of salvation.

In Isaiah 8:14 the word is negeph, 'the act of stumbling.'... The word skandalon is used of the same thing: it means 'the catch of a trap,' which ensnares when it is touched.

Then, in verse 44, the Lord marks the difference between the effect of the judgment that was to come on them and what would happen in the last days. They would fall on the stone of stumbling and be broken. But the stone would fall on others in judgment, and they would be crushed and ground to powder... This is a solemn testimony from the Lord's own mouth. It shows the crisis the human race was passing through then — and the crisis the soul still passes through when Jesus is announced.

Through all this, in the middle you can see a feeble few clinging to His testimony, and He owns them as His disciples, while Jehovah hid His face from the people as a whole. They become a separate remnant, when the mass stumble, fall, and are broken, snared and taken. So, in Hebrews 2:12-13, the Holy Spirit freely quotes verse 18 of this chapter with other Scriptures (Psalm 16; Psalm 22), to prove that the sanctified and the Sanctifier are "all of one."

It had come on the people of Nazareth already, as it was soon coming on both the houses of Israel, for the national stumbling had been foretold... The Stone of Israel was in lowly form then, and the proud Pharisees stumbled at Him and His sayings (Matt. 15:12), but He was soon to be exalted and to become the cornerstone (Ps. 118:22). In the day of His glory Messiah will be "marvellous" in the eyes of His people, though in His humiliation they saw no beauty in Him that they should desire Him. They will be a humble people then, and the stumbling block will be removed.

The remnant is separated, the testimony bound up and sealed (v. 16). The Eternal came Himself in the person of Jesus. He is the confidence, the sanctuary of those who believe; He is a rock that the unbelieving trip over. So a closer relationship follows: "Seal the law among my disciples."

Immanuel came. He is the sanctuary of those who had waited for Him. He is the true centre, and His people gather around Him. Here, for the first time, He Himself speaks, and calls them "my disciples." He names them so in connection with "the testimony." He states that the truth of that day — the law as well as the testimony — is handed to the remnant, now His disciples, and kept there. It was so also in the day of David's rejection. In the cave of Adullam everyone in distress, everyone in debt and everyone discontented gathered to him, and he became their captain. The prophet Gad was there too, and soon after Abiathar the priest was driven to the same company. That company now had every form of God's testimony in it: the king, the prophet, and the priest.

Isaiah 8 gives us part of the trial of Israel; and there we read of the word being sealed up among His (Immanuel's) disciples. The term "disciples" is a new name, and it marks a relationship new to the Jewish mind as a line of blessing. The old line of blessing for them was family descent from Abraham. The new one was, "You have His word."

All who were separated in heart from the widespread hypocrisy and wickedness of the times, and who longed for Jehovah to keep His promises, were in spirit the remnant of that day… The Saviour in His grace identified Himself with them. The unbelief of the nation forced Him to disown all His natural ties to them. He then stretched out His hands towards His disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 12:49-50.) Right after that, He fulfils to His disciples a quotation from Isaiah 8:16-17.

A feeble few cling to His testimony, and He owns them as His disciples, while Jehovah hid His face from the people as a whole. They become a separate remnant when the mass stumble, fall, and are broken, snared and taken. So in Heb. 2:12-13 the Holy Spirit does not hesitate to cite v. 18 with other scriptures (Ps. 16; Ps. 22), to prove the sanctified and the Sanctifier "all of one." For indeed He is not ashamed to call them brothers.

God's testimony is what sets out His mind and will for His people, what the saints of God can turn to at all times for light and guidance for their path. There was a remnant of Israel who valued God's word when the mass turned away from Jehovah into idolatry and rebellion, and among them the testimony of God was bound up, and kept for His pleasure.

How can anyone miss so plain a key? The light of God is with Christ's disciples, while the Jews have stumbled at the stumbling-stone and Jehovah hides His face from the house of Jacob. Yet the Jews will still understand these signs and wonders when they bow their stiff neck to their rejected Messiah.

The verses that follow unfold the state of things at the time Isaiah speaks. Remember again that Christ Himself is the speaker. The Letter to the Hebrews quotes parts of these two verses to show the Lord's complete identification as Man with His people, with the true remnant gathered out of the Jewish nation (Hebrews 2:13). Here is the wonderful fact. The One who was in perfect dependence as Man toward God, and so waiting on the LORD, and despised and rejected by men, was at the same time no less a person than the Immanuel of Isaiah's prophecy. And in this path of rejection He was experiencing some of the sufferings that must come before His glories.

"Many would stumble and fall and be broken." The builders would reject that chief corner stone, but "whoever believes in him will not be put to shame"... And the Lord would hide His face from the house of Jacob. "Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples"; they would learn to wait for Him while He hid His face, and to look for Him. He really has hidden His face from that once-loved house, the house of Jacob — still loved for their fathers' sakes, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

In Isaiah 8:17, the Greek version (the Septuagint) reads, "I will put My trust in Him." Taking His place as Man, the Lord identified Himself with His own in the only proper life for a man to live — the life of dependence on God.

In the eighth chapter of Isaiah the prophet is a picture of Christ, standing in the middle of ruin... The land of Israel had turned away from God, and the enemy was about to sweep over the whole of Immanuel's land like a flood. Faith can look the ruin calmly in the face. As the enemy comes in like an "overwhelming flood," faith says, "I will trust in the Lord," and expects the Spirit of the Lord to raise a banner against him. So with our Lord Jesus, who was always the perfect Man of faith on earth.

Meanwhile only a remnant of them is in relationship with Him, and they are more favoured than ever in spiritual things. The testimony is bound up and the law, or teaching, sealed among His disciples, to whom He is a sanctuary, while He hides His face from the house of Jacob in general... Meanwhile this is exactly the place of the One who became man: to trust in the LORD. It is also the place of those the LORD gave Him from among the Jews — and in principle the same is true of all Christians. He was as truly man as He was the LORD. The dependent Man was the LORD God of Israel, the sanctuary of the remnant when the nation stumbled at the Stumbling-stone.

It must always be so. Those who keep separate from evil, and who share God's mind about His Christ and about the state of things around them, will be the keepers of the testimony for the times they live in. The reason is that Christ Himself is with them.

Then it is said, "For to us a child is born," and He sits on the throne of David to give peace on the earth. All this comes after the time He had been waiting. His waiting was a result of His rejection, while God was hiding His face from the house of Jacob, as He is doing now. But that is not for ever. I point to it so that our souls may grasp the ways of God — the framework of His plan: Christ comes, is rejected, and is caught up to God... Meanwhile the times of the Gentiles are running on.

Isaiah ("the salvation of the Lord") is in the Sanctuary mount with his children, Shear-jashub ("the remnant shall return") and Maher-shalal-hash-baz ("swift for spoil, hasty for prey"). It is as if he stands before God, holding each boy by the hand, and speaks words of deep meaning: "Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me!" Now notice what he says next about himself and his children—they are for "signs and wonders!"

The Saviour identifies Himself with the remnant in this strange state of things. He trusts Jehovah perfectly, even when He seems forsaken, and He enters fully into the sorrowful position where the true remnant are found. This creates confidence in their hearts, and produces a seed of trusting ones — "the children whom the Lord has given Me" — who are a sign from Jehovah that Israel will be blessed in the end.

The next citations (from Isaiah 8:17-18) connect the godly in Israel with Christ, the great prophet, as He walks His path of reliance on God, away from all the unbelieving alliances of men. They are not called His brethren, because they were not yet marked out that way. They are not called His children exactly either, but the children whom God gave Him. This is the righteous remnant joined to the Messiah and set apart in heart from the mass of the people.

And in the middle of it all you see a feeble few holding fast to His testimony, owned as His disciples, while Jehovah hid His face from the people as a whole. They become a separate remnant, when the mass stumble, fall, and are broken, snared and taken. So, in Heb. 2:12-13, the Holy Spirit does not hesitate to quote verse 18 along with other Scriptures (Ps. 16; Ps. 22), to prove that the sanctified and the Sanctifier are "all of one."

There is always a remnant that believes, and from this they gather present cheer in the middle of sorrow. In truth, to feel and confess your weakness, and so to be thrown on "Jehovah of hosts Himself," is to be master of the situation — whatever it looks like to the eyes and reasoning of men.

Hebrews 2:13 applies Isaiah 8:18 to the saints God is calling now. They are the children God has given to Christ… The "we" in this letter is not in doubt. It does not mean Hebrews only. It means those who bore Christ's name, sanctified by His blood, and given free entry to the holiest place of all — the children given to Him. Does anyone imagine that this relationship belongs only to Christian Jews?… It is the shared but high privilege of every Christian.

Believers are children. They belong to Him, and they are signs and witnesses both to unbelieving Israel and to the world… And one day, the day of His glory, He will declare in triumph: "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." Then He will be glorified and admired in all who believed (2 Thess. 1:10), and the redeemed will be signs and wonders in an even more blessed way.

The people have lost God, who disowns them for the time being, and, seeking light but finding none, they turn to familiar spirits and wizards. But the true heart, with Christ before it, holds to God and His word: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

A remnant of Israel valued God's word when the mass turned away from the Lord into idolatry and rebellion. Among them the testimony of God was bound up, and kept for His pleasure.

WIZARD, from yiddeoni, "a knowing, wise one." The only thing said in Scripture about such people is that they "chirp and mutter." Isaiah 8:19. This was no doubt part of their incantations. The noises were meant to bewilder those who came for advice, and perhaps to stir the spirit they wished to consult into action. The advice may at times have been good, so as to draw the deluded ones more effectively under the influence of the evil spirits.

These diviners chirped and muttered in cries that were no more understandable than those of birds and animals. These are the strange, mysterious voices of the evil spirits who deceive their followers. The prophet mentions them again elsewhere: "your voice shall be as one that has a familiar spirit."

In Isaiah 8:19 God asks with indignation why people should even wish to inquire of the dead, when they could, if they were willing, inquire of their Maker.

Instead of turning in faith to the testimony of God, people consult necromancers and fortune-tellers who chirp and mutter. What kind of insanity is it that sends the living to the dead for light? What daybreak could there be for such people? They are like a blind man lost in a thick forest. Their feverish activity only brings them back to where they started, and the darkness stays as thick as ever.

The claim to put the living in touch with the dead is a monstrous fraud. The keys of Hades are in divine hands alone. Mediums cannot disturb either the just or the unjust. Yet such people really are in touch with the invisible world. But it is demons they deal with, and it is with demons the mediums link up their miserable dupes.

Like Saul, unable to get messages from God, they seek information about things unknown and unseen through the work of spirits. It is in fact a turning from God to Satan. The whole system, whether in Israel or in our own day, is Satanic.

Some people will not hear the word of God. They will not believe its clear and solemn statements about themselves, their present condition and their future destiny. A thousand departed souls could come back and tell them what they saw and heard and felt in heaven above or hell beneath, and it would still not persuade them. Nothing will convince a heart that will not bow to Scripture. As for the true believer, he has in Scripture all he can possibly want. He has no need to turn to table-turning, spirit-rapping or magic.

Verse 19 returns to what was then taking place in Israel. They were turning to the spiritist practices of the nations around them. They went to people who call up the dead and tell fortunes, trying to get guidance for the living from the dead. Yet the law and testimony was available for them, and light from God was shining in it. If they did not speak according to that, there would be "no light in them"; or, "for them there is no daybreak." The same principle is even more true for us today. The coming of Christ has greatly enlarged the word and testimony of God, held in the New Testament Scriptures. If men turn from that to the deceptive sparks made by man's wisdom and achievements, they will have no light in them. There will be no daybreak for them when Christ returns.

Suppose people will not hear the word of God. Suppose they will not believe its clear and solemn statements about themselves, their present condition, their future destiny. Then they will not be persuaded even if a thousand departed souls came back and told them what they saw and heard and felt in heaven above or in hell beneath... Nothing will convince the heart that will not bow to Scripture. As for the true believer, he has in Scripture all he could want. He has no need to turn to séances, spirit contact or magic.

But to the law and to the testimony! What light can God's Word throw on what He is still doing, and was doing then? In this case it is not like the light of a dim, flickering candle. Such a candle can do little more than make you aware of the darkness around you. The Word is a clear, bright, steady light that cannot be put out. It pierces the gloom and shines on everything around.

In their affliction they are tempted to turn to evil and false helps, such as spiritualism, clairvoyance, and the like. Instead they are to appeal to "the law and to the testimony," as Christ did in the wilderness. The written Word is to be everything to them, exposing all that was evil and preserving all that was good. For those who did not listen to that Word, nothing would be left but a night of darkness. They would pass through it distressed and starving.

He led His own away from the confused light of conscience, which judged them but never guided them. He brought them back to the pure light of His own infallible word. That word was able to guide them, to build them up, and to give them an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. "To the law and to the testimony" — this is our safeguard in a day of ruin!

Does this not warn Christians against novelties? Look at the Christian world today, and you see, with sorrow, truth given up and error chased after. This happens even in circles that once held that truth. One thing is certain. No truth is new. It may be new to me, but it cannot be new.

The closing verses show their shocking wickedness and their godless turning to the powers of darkness. They clearly had no light of their own, because they despised and abandoned the law and the testimony of the Lord. The result is deep misery, bold rage, and blasphemy against their King and their God, in all the agony of despair.

"Hard pressed." Isaiah 8:21.

The nation as a whole will have joined with the beast and gone along with idolatry. They will have received another who comes in his own name. The unclean spirit of idolatry, with seven others worse, will have entered into them. They have given up their God, rejected their Messiah, received the Antichrist, and what do they have when oppression comes?

The only question is, Who is the king in Isaiah 8:21? I suppose it is the evil king, who is mentioned in this way only in Isaiah; see Isaiah 30:33.

What has produced this distressing "trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish"? It comes straight from turning away from the true God, and from sinking into spiritualism (Isaiah 8:19), socialism and infidelity (v. 21). Denying right authority, they fret themselves and curse their king and their God.

The night of Israel is now setting in with many a dark and heavy cloud (1 Samuel 28). Samuel is dead. The Philistines are as strong and threatening as ever. David, the deliverer of the people, is forced outside the camp. And our poor king, the slave of his lusts, is all fear and confusion. He asks God, but there is no answer… It was indeed a day of darkness and trouble to Israel, as it will be one day again. There was now a forsaking of the living for the dead, and a seeking to wizards that whisper and mutter, as there will be in the distress of the last days.

Instead of daybreak there will be darkness and gloom. The two verses that close this chapter and the opening verse of Isaiah 9 describe it vividly. This darkness was there in the days of Ahaz. It existed in the day when Christ came, and it will doubtless be very marked at the end of the age. The way this prophecy is applied to the Lord Jesus and His early ministry, when we turn to Matthew 4:13-16, is very striking. What wonderful spiritual light streamed out from Him, both in His words and His miracles! It was for the blessing of those who had been sitting in darkness, whether they had eyes to see it or not.

At the second coming of the Lord, the trouble and darkness surrounding the godly remnant of Israel will be gone for ever.

They were turning to the spiritist practices of the nations around them. They asked mediums and fortune-tellers for guidance, seeking help for the living from the dead. Yet the law and the testimony was available to them, and God's light was shining in it. If they did not speak according to that, there would be "no light in them," or, "for them there is no daybreak." The principle of all this is even more true for us today. The coming of Christ has greatly enlarged the word and testimony of God, held for us in the New Testament Scriptures. If men turn from that to the false sparks made by human wisdom and achievement, there will be no light in them. There will be no daybreak for them when Christ returns.

The written Word was to be everything to them, exposing all that was evil and preserving all that was good. But those who paid no attention to that Word had nothing left but a night of darkness. They would pass through it distressed and starving. The experience would be so terrible — no relief from around, no light from above — that they would curse both their king and their God. They would look first upward, not with the look of faith, but with hopeless despair, and then down again to the earth. Trouble, darkness and gloom close the scene over those who had deliberately refused the light of God when He came in grace and humiliation.

The closing verses show their extreme wickedness and their godless turning to the powers of darkness. Their lack of light was obvious, since they despised and turned away from the law and the testimony of Jehovah. The result is intense misery, bold rage, and blasphemy against their King and their God, in all the agony of despair.

Though this will affect the nation at large, the effect on the wicked and on the saints will be very different. The nation at large will have joined with the beast and gone along with idolatry. They will have received another who came in his own name. The unclean spirit of idolatry, with seven others worse, will have entered into them. They have given up their God, rejected their Messiah, received the Antichrist — and what do they have when oppression comes?

To understand prophecy rightly, notice this. A prophecy sometimes has a partial fulfilment at the first coming of the Lord. The complete fulfilment waits for His second coming. The trouble and darkness spoken of in Isaiah 8:21-22 marked the days of the Lord's first coming. It will exist again just before He comes back… At the Lord's second coming, God will dispel for ever the trouble and darkness surrounding the godly remnant of Israel.

Let the hand of oppression press on them harder than ever before. Still there would be this difference: among the darkest and most despised in the land a great light would spring up. And how our Lord's first appearing among them proved it! It was in Galilee, not Jerusalem, that the grace of Jesus shone… But the darkest and coldest night comes before a dawn of joy and glory.

So Isaiah 7 presents Immanuel to us. He is the heir of David's house and the hope of the remnant that will return (Shearjashub). Isaiah 8 presents the land of Canaan in relation to Him. It is Immanuel's land. There the remnant is separated; and the nations are in misery and darkness, until the despised light reappears in glory (Isa. 9:1-7).

The citation of this in Matt. 4:14-16 gives much insight. There the fulfilment applies to the presence and ministry of the Lord in that region so despised, as far as the people are concerned. Let the hand of oppression press even harder than it ever had before. One thing would still be different: among the darkest and most despised in the land a great light would spring up. And how true that proved when our Lord first appeared among them! It was in Galilee, not Jerusalem, that the grace of Jesus shone.

Around B.C. 740 Tiglath-pileser carried away captive all the inhabitants of Naphtali, and others. 2 Kings 15:29. No doubt foreigners then settled the district. Once Israel's captivity was complete, they could spread southward. So the term "Galilee of the Gentiles," or nations, which does not occur until Isa. 9:1; the prophecy is quoted in Matt. 4:15.

As I understand it, the Spirit of God shows a far worse affliction coming on that land than any under the king of Babylon. The Roman, the last great power of the Gentiles, was to be the instrument of an affliction far more intense. This gives the Spirit of God occasion to bring in a partial application to Christ, because our Lord appeared under that fourth empire… This is the point the Spirit of God applies in the New Testament. Nothing could be simpler. But He does not apply what was not accomplished.

The promise was that in such circumstances a bright and glorious light would shine out in the most obscure and despised part of the land. And so it happened. Jesus came into Galilee preaching the kingdom of God, and the Pharisees of Jerusalem despised Him for it. Ignoring Jonah, who was of the land of Zebulun, they said, "Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee" (John 7:52).

Zebulun means the dweller in relationship, which is what he should have been. Long ago he fulfilled Jacob's prophecy instead. "Dwelling at the haven of the sea," he became the picture of Israel as a whole, which gave up its "dwelling alone" to mix in unfaithful trade with the nations. Now it was only "the way of the sea," as if swallowed up in its waters. Naphtali, the struggler, sat struggling no more, in a darkness that was truly the "shadow of death." But the Saviour of sinners is not stopped by this. There in the darkness was the very place for light to spring up.

And so it will be in the last days: the Galilean character belongs to the future remnant. Jerusalem will fall prey to the worst delusions and the deadliest error. But the darkest, coldest night comes before a dawn of joy and glory.

Isaiah 9 verses 6 and 7 celebrate His glorious Person and government. As Christians we have the privilege of living now in the light of the glory of Christ and of bowing to His rule, while the nation still rejects Him.

What has produced this distressing "trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish"? It is the direct outcome of turning away from the true God and sinking into spiritualism (Isa. 8:19), socialism and unbelief (v. 21). Denying right authority, they fret themselves and curse their king and their God. But a great light appears (Isa. 9:2). The darkness begins to pass away, but even to this day it has not entirely passed. It is passing, for the true light already shines!

The word here translated shadow of death means darkness, or dangers that may threaten death. It does not mean physical death itself. We find it used in the same sense elsewhere in the book of Psalms 44:19; 107:10, 14; so also Isa. 9:2; Jer. 2:6.

The quotation of this in Matt. 4:14-16 gives much insight… Let the hand of oppression press on them harder than ever before. Yet there would be this difference: among the darkest and most despised in the land a great light should spring up. And how clearly this proved true when our Lord first appeared among them! It was in Galilee, not Jerusalem, that the grace of Jesus shone. And so it will be in the last days: the Galilean character belongs to the future remnant. Jerusalem will fall prey to the worst delusions and deadliest error. But the darkest, coldest night comes before a dawn of joy and glory.

Into Galilee Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, and this was a reason for the Pharisees of Jerusalem to despise Him. Ignoring Jonah, who was from the land of Zebulun, they said, "Search and see; for out of Galilee arises no prophet" (John 7:52).

What was this great light that the people saw? The chapter from which these words are quoted tells us. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9).

Matthew 4:14-16, a quotation of Isaiah 9:1-2, was a partial fulfilment of the prophecy. As Israel's day turned into darkness, the nation had to wait. Only a coming day will bring the complete and literal fulfilment of the ancient prophecies and promises… How sad that all but a few refused the light.

The moment Isaiah announces the appearing of the Messiah as light in the middle of darkness, he looks on to its full consequences. He sees the deliverance which Messiah will bring in the last days. When the Assyrian yoke is broken, all the brightness of the glory of the divine Person of the Messiah shines out in the blessing of His people.

Those who believe in Him have been delivered from darkness and from the authority of darkness, and now rejoice in the light. It shines in the world for all, but those who believe in Him are "in the light." By believing in the light we become sons of the light… The Scriptures say the light is "in the world" and for the world, for those in darkness.

It is plain that "not increased the joy" is wrong. The margin is right, in substance, as the next clause should prove to any reader.

Matthew quotes Isaiah again (Isaiah 9:1-2 in Matthew 4:14-16), and very fittingly. He uses only the part of the prophecy that bears on Christ's first coming. But the very next words in Isaiah 9 open the coming glory of the Messiah on earth, which is still unfulfilled: "You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil." These words are foreign to gospel blessing and to heavenly glory, but they express exactly the world kingdom of our Lord at the end of the age.

The oppressor's yoke would then be broken — the yoke of their burden, the staff on his shoulder, and the rod of the Assyrian. It would be broken by Him against whom it had boasted. It would be like the day when Gideon took his 300, with empty pitchers and lamps inside.

At the close of the day, Boaz ate his food with a "merry" heart, that is, with the "joy in harvest" (Isa. 9:3) that came to him because God had so blessed his ploughing and sowing.

With Israel the harvest was linked with the Feasts, which should have kept the goodness of God always before them. Barley harvest came at the feast of firstfruits; the wheat harvest at the feast of weeks; and the vintage at the feast of tabernacles. Harvest was a joyful time, Isa. 9:3, and the poor were not to be forgotten.

In the same way the Israel to come will rejoice before Him, as in the joy of harvest and as when people divide the spoil. They will say: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).

He had been happy in the fruit of His labour. He had known the joy of harvest, as well as the toil of sowing. A poor, careless sinner had been made happy by Him.

Matthew 4:14-16 cites "Isaiah the prophet" again (Isaiah 9:1-2), and very fittingly. He uses only the part of the prophecy that bears on the first coming of Christ... The very next words in Isaiah 9 open the coming glory of Messiah here below, still unfulfilled: "You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil." These words are foreign to gospel blessing and to heavenly glory, but they exactly describe the world kingdom of our Lord at the end of the age. So the flash of light that shines next lights up the judgement that brings that kingdom in.

The Midianites did not know that it was the Lord who had handed Israel over to them. In reality they were only the rod He chose to punish His people with. As with the Assyrian: "Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!" When He has finished with His rod, He can break it, or burn it. "Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?" God very often uses Satan himself as the rod to discipline His children.

This victory over Midian is made the pattern for the final overthrow of Israel's enemies, both in the prayer of the suffering remnant (Psalm 83), and in the accomplishment as predicted by Isaiah (Isaiah 9:4).

So God alone carried out the rescue of His people. The people must have no part in it, in case they should claim it as their own. The farther we are from God, the more ready we are to take the credit for what belongs only to Him.

It would be like the day when Gideon took his 300 men, with empty jars and lamps inside them. The sword of the Lord had scattered the great armies of Midian. This would not be like the battles of a warrior, with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. It would be with burning and fuel of fire — the fire of God's judgment would be there.

Jesus will come to break "the yoke of his (Israel's) burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor." The child born to Israel, the Son given, was rejected by the nation. He will become their Saviour in that day. Then they will learn, as we have already learned, that His Name is "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

So the rescued remnant, with their faces in the dust, would learn this: the same Saviour-God had walked through the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, in the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles, in His day of humiliation. And He had passed through death to be their Saviour.

The hour of freedom and victory for Israel has come, and it is Jehovah Who has done it all. But it is not like ordinary war. The noise of human conflict and bloodshed will end, and leg armour and war-cloak will be for burning, fuel for fire. And no wonder. He stands out as their Kinsman-Redeemer, the true Son of David Whom they once rejected. He is their boast now, with every name of power and peace and blessing, and an endless reign ahead of Him.

The oppressor's yoke would then be broken — the yoke of their burden, the staff on their shoulder, and the rod of Assyria. It would be broken by the very One it had boasted against. It would be like the day when Gideon took his 300 men, with empty jars and lamps inside them. The sword of the Lord had scattered the huge armies of Midian. This would not be merely like the battles of a warrior, with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. It would be with burning and fuel of fire — the fire of God's judgment would be there.

Then comes a time of dreadful sorrow for Israel: "They will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness." And then what follows? A dreadful battle. Only this battle has the fire of God's judgment in it — "this shall be with burning and fuel of fire" — and that fire stands for God's judgment. And then come the words, "To us a child is born."

But how quick and certain the end is! At creation "He spoke and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast." So here too, in an instant, He consumes the wicked one with the breath of His mouth and destroys him with the brightness of His coming. There is no campaign here. There is no long, doubtful struggle, with victory leaning first to one side and then to the other. Isaiah says the same when he describes the Lord's coming to destroy another enemy: "Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire."

A victor normally collects the weapons of a beaten enemy and keeps them as trophies, or stores the usable ones in his armouries. Not so here. Fire destroys them. Could Israel not have some future use for this huge supply? Would it not be wise to keep it? Why keep it? These people lived in peace without walls or gates or bars, and they had not lifted a weapon to strike the enemy! God had not called them to fight. Jehovah had done the overthrow Himself... The day for sword and spear had passed.

Look at Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given." We could call this simple repetition. But in the Word of God nothing is simple repetition. The child who is born is the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God. He came down into this world as man. But the Holy Spirit adds, "a son is given." As Son He was never born. He existed from all eternity, and God gave Him to us when He came into this world.

Notice that Scripture tells us a child is born, but not that a Son is born. Some teach that the Lord only became the Son of God when He was born as a man. Had the text read that way, they would have seized on it as proof of their false teaching. But it tells us, "a son is given." The well-known gospel verse, John 3:16, agrees with this: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son."

One of the names given to this Child is "Wonderful" [Hebrew pele, meaning something that cannot be grasped or understood]. The same word appears when the Angel of Jehovah — here the Lord Himself — came to Manoah and his wife and promised them a son. Manoah wanted to honour his heavenly Visitor, so he asked Him His name. The reply was, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" (Judges 13:18).

"Counselor." He will be the Source of all counsel for those who share the government and its benefits in that day. Every good counsel has already come from Him. He is the One who said, "I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly" (Proverbs 8:14-16).

In Isaiah 9 we have the description of the Messiah, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the names given Him here is "the mighty God" (v. 6). Now turn over to chapter 10. There Isaiah gives the same name to Jehovah, "the mighty God" (v. 21). So the Old Testament itself proves that the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God, the mighty God.

This name in no way confuses the person of the Father with the person of the Son, but is a title which Messiah will take in His official glory as King of Israel. This child shall be called the Father of eternity. This title belongs to Israel — not to the other nations, and not to the church.

"The government shall be upon His shoulder." Happy day to come for the world! He will succeed where the politicians and rulers fail so sadly now. "On His shoulder" the government will be safe. But Luke 15 tells us that the sheep — the lost sinner He seeks and finds — has both "shoulders" for his security. One shoulder will do for the government of the earth, but nothing less than both for the sheep He loves so well.

Soon the Lord Jesus will come again to reign as "Prince of Peace." But He will bring that peace in through fearful judgments. People have longed for peace for ages, but their own efforts have never won it. It will come when the judgments of the Lord set all evil aside. He "made peace by the blood of his cross." He preaches peace now in the gospel. And He will bring the world a peace it has never known.

After such a description of His name, which calls for the very greatest energy of thought, we come to a quiet harbour of rest in the last word: "PRINCE OF PEACE!!" … There is "no end" to the peace which others enjoy through His rule now. But He Himself is the Prince of it, the Head, the Chief. There is none above or beyond Him. This is King David's greater Son! This is the true Solomon ("Peaceable") of Psalm 72.

Only by treating the whole passage as symbolic can this be applied to the Church, and read that way it contradicts everything else Scripture says about the Church. Taken as a literal kingdom, it fully agrees with the whole teaching of God's Word.

God would give Him the throne of His father David. Here again we see plainly that He is thought of as born, as man, in this world. … By right of birth He is heir to the promises — the earthly promises about the kingdom that belonged to the family of David. But it would all be according to the purposes and the power of God. He would reign over the house of Jacob, not only over Judah. His rule would not be a weak, short-lived power and a brief life; it would run through all the ages, and of His kingdom there would be no end.

The Messiah whom the Jews rejected now sits on the throne of God His Father. That is not His own throne, which He will take another day. Neither David nor anyone else ever sat on the Father's throne. … At His coming again He will sit on the throne of David, as this prophecy and many more say. … The move here is direct and immediate: from the first coming in grace and humiliation to the second in power and glory. The passage passes over the heavenly exaltation of Christ, and of the church in union with Him.

Applying this to the first coming of the Lord Jesus, as Matthew does, we can see that these great things have come about in a spiritual way. They are just what the Gospel brings, whether to Jew or Gentile. Israel will receive them, and so will the saved nations, in the coming day when the Lord appears in His glory. Then every oppressor will be destroyed and peace will come down on the earth.

The last lesson is the dignity of perfect authority, seen in the king against whom no one can rise up. History has known some men in whom this character stood out to a degree, but only in our Lord will it be shown in full, in the Day of His glory that is soon to come. Force alone does not achieve this. It is the power of love, of moral dignity, of faithfulness and truth, together with the infinite greatness of His Person.

The age we live in is not the day of God's government on the earth. It is the day of His grace. Government is still in the hands of the Gentiles, and God is gathering out of the nations a people for His name. The time of grace may soon end. Then God will arise to deal with the world's problems, which the sin of man has created. Bringing the whole earth into subjection will indeed be an enormous task, but as our scripture says, "The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this." We may well rejoice that so it will be.

The hour of freedom and victory for Israel is come; and Jehovah it is Who has done all. … And no wonder, when He stands out their Kinsman-Redeemer, the true but once rejected Son of David, Who is their boast now, with every name of power and peace and blessing, with an endless reign before Him, established with righteousness and judgement from henceforth and for ever. Truly "the zeal (or jealousy) of Jehovah of hosts will perform this."