Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days which have not come since the day when Ephraim turned away from Judah -- [even] the king of Assyria.
Isaiah has just offered the sign of Immanuel to a king who refused to ask for one. Now promise turns to sentence, and the rod is the empire Ahaz chose to lean on.
The two kings who frightened Ahaz never touched him. The power he ran to for safety is the one God sends against him.
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.
Ahaz had turned the sign down with religious words: he would not test the Lord.
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.
The phrase "since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah" points back to a revolt that tore the nation in two.
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.
That split was never healed, and now Judah hears of something worse.
Preserving David's line did not mean passing over the sin in it.
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.
Ahaz lived to see it. The ally he paid for turned on him, and still he did not turn back to God.
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."
One writer looks past Ahaz's day to a later attack, and to how that one ends.
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).
- Refusal. Ahaz turned down the sign with religious words, and the prophet saw straight through the cover.
- Rod. The sentence is not random: the power he leaned on for safety is the exact thing God sends to chastise him.
- Reach. The sentence falls on the king, his people, and his father's house together.
- Record. The measure is the day the ten tribes broke away from David's house. Now something worse is coming.
- Result. Assyria distressed Ahaz instead of helping him, and still he would not turn. Beyond the desolation stands Immanuel, God with us.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly which is at the extremity of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of Assyria;
Ahaz refused to trust God against Syria and Israel, and leaned on the king of Assyria instead. Now God says He will whistle for a fly from Egypt and a bee from Assyria — and call in the very power Ahaz relied on.
Ahaz was afraid of two kings, so he bought the help of a third. God turned that arrangement inside out.
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.
Older translations say "hiss" here. Scripture uses the same word elsewhere for God calling His scattered people home.
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...
Another writer describes the sound itself:
"Hiss" is a sharp, penetrating sound to call attention and get an immediate response.
God calls both great powers, Egypt and Assyria. The creatures He picks are small, but anyone living there knew what they could do. Of the fly:
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.
The bee adds something the fly does not — not merely pain, but pursuit:
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.
The words came true, but not all at once. Faith made a difference to the timing, and even a good king felt the fly.
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.
Commentators differ on how far the verse reaches. Some see it fulfilled in the invasions that soon followed. Others allow that "there may be the complete fulfilment in the last days, before the coming of the Lord" (An Outline of Sound Words).
God had already promised Immanuel to the house of David. That promise did not cancel the sentence, and the same principle reaches His people now.
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.
- Cause. Ahaz feared two kings and leaned on a third. The support unbelief chooses is the very thing God uses to chastise.
- Call. The whistle is a summons. It is a sharp sound that expects an immediate answer, and nations come when God makes it.
- Sting. A fly and a bee are small. One torments almost to madness, the other chases and surrounds. God needs no large weapon to humble a kingdom.
- Delay. Hezekiah's faith held the judgement back for a time. Even faithful Josiah felt the fly. Faith changes the timing, but God still deals with sin.
- Constant. God promised Immanuel to David's house just before this. The judgement still fell, and His purposes still did not fall to the ground.
and they shall come and settle all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and on all thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures.
These words end a sentence of judgment on Ahaz, king of Judah, who would not trust God and hired Assyria to protect him. The swarms God whistles for cover every crevice of the land, and that raises one question: who moves the armies of the nations?
The invaders here are not a random disaster. They are the very power Ahaz hired to save him.
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.
Another writer puts the same reversal in a single line.
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.
The swarms come because God calls them. The empire is His instrument, whatever it thinks of itself.
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.
Translators have read one word in this verse two ways. Older English versions gave "bushes."
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."
That reading sharpens the picture. The swarms fill the ravines, the rock clefts, the thorn thickets and the grazing land — waste ground and good ground alike.
The two insects are not chosen for their size, but for the torment they cause.
The stings of the flies in the East are very painful, and torment the animals almost to madness.
The bee brings an irony. The rock clefts of verse 19 are the bees' own home ground.
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."
The threat did not fall all at once. Faith could delay it.
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.
Commentators differ on how far this reaches. Some see it fulfilled in the Assyrian invasions. Others expect a further fulfilment ahead.
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.
God's dealing with Ahaz is a pattern, not a one-off.
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.
- Fear — Ahaz's dread of two small kings drove him to hire Assyria; the fear of evil pushes people to lean on what looks safe.
- Choice — the protector he hired became the rod that struck him. God turns the prop of unbelief into a scourge.
- Summons — the fly and the bee move only when God whistles; the proud empire never knows it is His instrument.
- Reach — ravines, rock clefts, thorn thickets and pastures all fill up, so no corner of the land escapes.
- Purpose — God judges His own house on the same principle, yet the rod He uses never overturns His purposes.
In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.
Two kings rose up against Judah, and King Ahaz paid the king of Assyria to save him rather than trusting God. This verse names the price: the power he hired becomes a blade in God's hand, shaving Judah bare from head to feet.
The image of something "hired" is not decoration. Ahaz had literally bought the Assyrian, emptying the temple and his own treasury to do it.
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.
Ahaz got the protection he paid for. What he did not reckon with was how God would use his protector.
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.
The pattern is not only Ahaz's. Fear pushes us toward whatever looks safest.
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 picture is a body shaved bare, and the detail matters. Nothing is too small or too hidden for the blade to reach.
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.
Losing the beard carried a weight we can miss today. Israelites grew it with care, the law protected it, and an enemy cut it off to shame his victim.
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.
A razor cuts nothing by itself. Someone holds it — and the same was true of Shishak, an attacker God used before the Assyrian.
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.
Yet the instrument itself has no tenderness. God's own hand is the kinder one to fall into.
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).
History soon supplied the shaving. Writers add that its full scope may reach beyond Sennacherib's day.
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.
- Hired — Ahaz paid Assyria with temple silver and gold to save him from two kings; that payment names the razor.
- Hired against him — the protector he leaned on became the rod. God turns the resource of unbelief into a scourge.
- Hired to shave all — head, feet and beard. Not the top only, but the smallest parts, and the part that carried deepest shame.
- Hired by God — the Assyrian is only the whip; blessing comes when you see past the instrument to the hand holding it.
- Hired hands are harsh — David chose God's hand over man's, and this verse shows why: the hired razor has no mercy of its own.
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep,
Isaiah 7 ends in ruin: Ahaz has refused God's sign, the Assyrian razor is coming, and a rich kingdom is down to one cow and two sheep. Why does the God who has just promised Immanuel also promise poverty?
Two kings had frightened Ahaz, so he leaned on Assyria instead of God. The chastening in this chapter is not random. It falls from the very quarter he trusted. Our verse opens "in that day" — the day of the hired razor.
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.
A single cow and two sheep is not a farm. It is what is left when the fields, the vineyards and the workforce are gone, and the few survivors live off whatever animals can graze on their own.
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.
So much milk from one cow and two sheep sounds like blessing, not judgement. Kelly explains why it is not.
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.
Hebrew words for cattle do not usually mark the female. This verse is the exception.
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.
This judgement came quickly, and one writer adds that a fuller fulfilment may still lie ahead.
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.
Judah's ruin was not a one-off. It shows how God deals with those who carry His name.
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).
Stripped fields are not the last word. The chapter sets two figures side by side, and only one of them was ever the answer.
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.
- Refusal. Ahaz would not trust God and leaned on Assyria instead; that choice sets up everything from verse 17 on.
- Rod. The help unbelief buys becomes the rod that falls. What we run to for safety, God uses to chastise us.
- Ruin. One cow and two sheep marks a farming nation cut down to stragglers living on what needs no labour.
- Remnant. Plenty of curds is not the old "milk and honey". It is abundance from a tiny stock — plenty because so few are left to eat it.
- Rescue. The chapter names two powers: Immanuel and the Assyrian. The poorest person in the land could have cried to the first.
and it shall come to pass, from the abundance of milk they shall give, [that] he shall eat butter; for every one that remaineth in the midst of the land shall eat butter and honey.
Isaiah 7 ends with Judah's land stripped bare by the Assyrian army, and this verse tells us what the few survivors eat. Do curds and honey here mean plenty or poverty — and why does the child Immanuel, promised earlier in the chapter, eat the same food?
The words sound like abundance, but the setting is ruin. One writer draws a sharp line between a land at its best and a farm cut down to three animals:
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.
One cow and two sheep give more milk than the few who are left can drink. The fields have gone back to pasture and scrub.
The desolation is not random. King Ahaz had been afraid of Syria and Israel, and he looked to Assyria for protection instead of to God:
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.
The curds and honey of this verse are the leftovers of that shaving.
The verse does not end in total loss. Someone is still there, still eating. That surviving group runs right through these chapters:
reason: dangling "secondly", obscure line, verbless clause
Earlier in the chapter the prophet says the promised child will eat curds and honey. Older translations call it butter and honey. One writer takes that food as a mark of poverty, not luxury:
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."
Another writer sees more in the child's food: "Butter is the cream of the milk in solid form, a picture of the Word of God made good to the soul through exercise" (Leslie M. Grant).
The blow fell soon after, and one writer looks for more than one fulfilment:
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.
- Cause. Ahaz feared two kings and leaned on Assyria; the support he chose became the rod that shaved his land bare.
- Scarcity. Curds and honey here mean want, not wealth. They are herd food that costs no work, because the grain, vines and olives are gone.
- Remnant. "Everyone who is left" is the point: judgement empties the land but does not end the holy seed.
- Immanuel. The promised child eats the same humble food — the lowliness of One who was rich and became poor for our sake.
- Reach. Sennacherib's invasion fulfilled the words soon after. Some writers look for a fuller fulfilment before the Lord comes.
And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver pieces, shall become briars and thorns
King Ahaz was frightened, and he bought protection from Assyria instead of trusting God. From verse 17 on, Isaiah spells out what that choice would cost: land once worth a fortune, lost to weeds.
The judgment falls on Ahaz, and through him on the nation. One writer shows how the promise and the threat went to different hearers:
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.
Ahaz was afraid, so he leaned on Assyria — the very power God uses to strip the land bare.
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.
Another writer turns this into a warning:
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.
Older translations call the price "silverlings." A dictionary note pins down the word:
Found only in Isaiah 7:23, and the Hebrew is the same as 'silver,' and 'pieces of silver,' as money.
So the number is a price tag. A thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver marked out the best, most cultivated ground — and that is the ground the weeds take.
The surrounding verses describe survivors living off a single cow and two sheep. One commentator reads the whole picture as the collapse of a settled farming economy:
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.
The choice of weeds is not accidental. Thorns and briers carry a meaning that runs back to the beginning of the Bible:
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.
Another writer ties Israel's lost harvests to their unfaithfulness, and points to the day the ground itself is healed:
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).
How far ahead does this reach? One writer sees it fulfilled soon after Isaiah spoke, yet leaves room for more:
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.
- Cause — Ahaz would not believe God. This verse is part of the sentence on him, his people, and his father's house.
- Rod — the Assyrian he hired for safety becomes the razor that shaves the land. What the will of man seeks is what God uses to discipline.
- Price — a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver, counted in the same Hebrew word used for ordinary money. This was the best land there was.
- Ruin — a farming nation cut down to stragglers with one cow and two sheep, walking armed through fields once tilled with care.
- Reversal — thorns and briers are the fruits of the curse from Eden. The same prophet promises the myrtle in their place when righteousness reigns.
with arrows and with the bow shall they come thither, for the whole land shall become briars and thorns.
Isaiah's word to Ahaz ends in ruin, not promise: the vineyards are gone, and a man now walks that land armed. Why would God let His own land come to this, and is the ruin the last word?
The verse describes the end of settled farming life. One commentator lists the loss item by item.
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 chapter began with Ahaz afraid of two kings. He looked to Assyria for safety instead of to God.
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.
Sparing David's line did not mean sparing the nation's sin.
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).
Thorns and briers are not a random image. Earlier God had said what He would do with His vineyard. This verse is that sentence carried out on the ground.
"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.
Commentators say this came true within a generation, and that a fuller fulfilment may still be ahead.
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 ruin is real, but Isaiah does not leave the land under thorns.
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).
(Older translations read "fir tree" and "myrtle tree" here.)
- Fear. Ahaz feared two kings more than he trusted God, and looked to Assyria for cover.
- Rod. The ally he leaned on became God's rod. What he grabbed for safety turned into his scourge.
- Waste. Vineyards turned into briers. Corn, wine and oil were gone, and cattle grazed where crops once grew.
- Principle. God's judgment starts with His own people. Commentators say He will deal with Christendom the same way.
- Reversal. Thorns are the fruit of sin, not the last word. When righteousness reigns, cypress and myrtle take their place.
And all mountains that have been dug up with the hoe -- thither will they not come, from fear of briars and thorns; and they shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of small cattle.
Isaiah ends his word to King Ahaz with a picture of the countryside. Slopes that once took a hoe to keep them clear are now left to cattle and covered in thorns. Why would God let the best farmland of His own people turn to scrub? And is that ruin the last word on the land?
Ahaz feared two kings, Syria and Israel, and looked to Assyria for protection instead of to God. Commentators trace the ruin in these closing verses back to that choice. The warning in it reaches far past Ahaz.
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 verse closes a longer scene: one man with a cow and two sheep, vineyards gone to thorns, men who go out armed. Together the details show an economy stripped down to what costs no labour.
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.
The tool named here is a simple hand implement, not a plough — the gear of hillside terraces that had to be worked by hand.
mader, probably a hoe or spade. Isa. 7:25.
The animals that now wander over those terraces are not the great herds of a wealthy nation. Older translations call them "lesser cattle," which points to a specific Hebrew word.
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."
The verse makes briers and thorns the reason no one climbs those hills any more. Scripture has many names for this growth.
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.
The ruin of Judah was not a one-off. One writer applies the same principle to Christendom — the whole world of people who call themselves Christian.
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 gives this ruined ground a name. Its desolation is real, but so is its future.
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.
- Cause. Ahaz feared two kings and leaned on Assyria. The support he chose became the rod God used to chastise him.
- Rod. What we grab for safety, God can turn into His rod. That warning is for us, not only for Ahaz.
- Ruin. Hills once cleared by hand now feed grazing animals. A farming nation shrinks to a few stragglers with one cow and two sheep.
- Reach. Thorns mark the curse on a sin-stained world. And this judgment does not stop with Judah: it begins with God's own house.
- Restoration. The wasted ground is still Immanuel's land, and He who died in it will one day make it glorious.