Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.
Isaiah 7:15 comes straight after the sign of the virgin's Son. It shows how that Son would grow up, and it raises a hard question: how can the One called "God with us" learn anything at all? (Older translations read "butter and honey" for "curds and honey," and "that he may know" for "when he knows.")
Two allied kings were moving to remove David's line from the throne. God's answer to King Ahaz reached much further ahead:
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.
The verse describes ordinary human growth: eating, and learning to tell right from wrong. One writer admits the difficulty, then gives the plain sense:
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.
That growth was genuine, and it was also unlike anyone else's:
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.
Commentators differ on what the curds and honey stand for. One reads them as a mark of poverty:
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."
Another reads the two foods as pictures of spiritual food, taken in as the Lord listened to the teachers of the law:
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.
The verse says nothing about thrones or kingdoms. It tells you what this Son is like:
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.
The next verse repeats almost the same words about refusing evil and choosing good. That repeat has puzzled readers, and the Hebrew wording shifts:
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.
- Sign. God answered a threatened king with a Person, not a list of heirs. Immanuel is the guarantee that no alliance of enemies can ever end David's house.
- Growth. Verse 15 shows the virgin's Son growing up in body and mind by the ordinary laws of human life — a real child, seen in Luke 2:40-52.
- Food. Commentators differ. Some read the curds and honey as a mark of His poverty. Others see pictures of the Word of God and the ministry of the Word He received.
- Character. Before any throne is named, the prophecy shows what He is. He chose the good, refused the evil, and stayed untouched by any evil thing.
- Us. The Son of Man Himself was fed this way. We need the same food, so that we can tell good from evil and choose the good.
For before the child knoweth to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings thou fearest shall be forsaken.
Isaiah has just given King Ahaz a sign: a Son named Immanuel. Now the prophet starts a clock. Before one boy is old enough to tell right from wrong, the two kings that terrify Judah will be gone. But which boy does Isaiah mean, and how does a distant promise help a frightened king now?
Two neighbouring kings had cornered Ahaz. One writer explains what their plan would have destroyed:
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.
Which child does verse 16 mean? One writer answers from the Hebrew word itself:
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.
Another writer takes the boy to be the prophet's second son:
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.
This chapter holds two prophetic children, and one reference work shows how they worked for Ahaz:
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.
Older English Bibles kept two forms of "you" that modern ones drop: "ye" and "you" are plural, while "thou," "thee" and "thy" are singular. One writer reads the chapter by that clue:
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.
Commentators differ here, and one of them says so plainly:
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.
Others read the verse itself as pointing to Christ:
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.
One writer reads the refusing and the choosing of this verse as true of Christ Himself:
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.
Ahaz turned down the sign God offered him. Even so, God kept speaking to him in kindness:
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.
- Threat. Two kings moved to unseat Ahaz and break the royal line through which Christ would come.
- Sign. God answered a king who would not ask, promising Immanuel and setting a boy's childhood as the deadline for the crisis.
- Boy. The word is "youth" or "lad," and several writers take it to mean Shear-jashub, whose name means "the remnant shall return."
- Fulfilment. Within a few years Hoshea killed Pekah, and Assyria took Damascus and killed Rezin — the dreaded land emptied on schedule.
- Person. The One who truly refused evil and chose good was Immanuel — God with us, untarnished by any evil thing.