In That Day the LORD Will Whistle
7: 18-25

In that day the LORD will whistle DIG: What images does Isaiah use here to show what Assyria will do to Judah? Which one is the most graphic to you? Why does Ahaz refuse to listen to Isaiah? Who causes this attack to take place? What did shaving the head and hair on the face signify? What does the phrase: In that day mean? Why was the abundance of milk not a good sign? What would the Land be good for? Almost two decades later, what kind of a decision did another king of Judah make? How was it different?

REFLECT: Where have you seen the sovereignty of God in your life? When was the last time you refused to listen to the LORD, only to face a crisis? What did you learn from that experience? How can you try to help others not make the same mistake? Can you remember the last time you were humiliated? When was the last time you were down-and-out because of some bad decisions you made? Did you ever have a second chance to turn the situation around? How did you handle it? Why?

These verses answer the question, “How will the coming days be unlike any since the division of the nation (7:17)?” The answer is a grim one. In that day the LORD will whistle, or signal, for the armies of Judah’s enemies to blanket the Land like swarms of bees or flies. The Judeans will be disgraced in defeat. The countryside will be so depopulated that there will be no one to eat the produce of the few remaining animals or to cultivate the once fertile hills. The Land will return to wilderness. Had Ahaz been able to believe that ADONAI is indeed present with His people, it need not have been so. But because he trusted something less than God, that object of trust now becomes the instrument of the very devastation he dreaded.²⁹

God governs this world of ours. He shapes the destinies of nations, controls the course of empires, and determines the limits of dynasties. Individually, the LORD has established His throne in heaven and His kingdom rules over all (Psalm 103:19). Consequently, ADONAI used the nations of the world to discipline Isra’el. That was Isaiah’s message before the Assyrian invasion, and about one hundred years later it would be Jeremiah’s message to Judah before the Babylonian captivity (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). Both were ignored, with dire consequences.

Earlier, Isaiah had depicted the LORD whistling for those at the ends of the earth. Saying, here they come, swiftly and speedily to devastate the land of Judah (5:26)! Now He specifies which nations those were. They were Assyria from the north, and Egypt from the south. Throughout its history, Isra’el has been caught between the civilizations of the Nile and the Mesopotamian valleys, each wanting to obtain her for their own advancement.

Because the nations of the world are controlled by the sovereignty of ADONAI, here He calls for them. In that day of judgment for Ahaz and the southern kingdom of Judah, the LORD would whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt. The annual flooding of the Nile River brought swarms of flies and the word streams in Hebrew is a technical word for Egypt’s irrigation canals. In other words, Egyptian soldiers were seen as numerous and bothersome as flies. And He would also whistle for bees from Assyria (7:18), which was well known for its beekeeping expertise. In other words, the Assyrian soldiers were as vicious as bees. Both the flies and the bees are metaphors for the swiftness of movement of the Egyptian and Assyrian hosts. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will battle each other, but the battleground will be Judah.

They will all come and settle. The Hebrew verb naha, which is used sixty-three times in the TaNaKh, always has the meaning given here, which is to settle or swarm. Their armies would be like flood waters, settling wherever they wanted. This would be frightening news to the Jews. Isaiah was saying that Judah would be swarming with Egyptians and Assyrians. They would be everywhere, even in the hardest to find places. The Land of Judah offers many such places; in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes (7:19). But it will be impossible to escape from the invaders. Thinking that God would never allow His people or His Temple to be violated (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cc – False Religion is Worthless), the Jews living in Judea would indeed be shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind when the invasion came (7:2).

Isaiah stresses again that the invasion by Assyria will not be her own decision. She will merely be a tool in the hands of the sovereign LORD. This concept was basic to Jewish survival. If they believed, as was commonly thought at the time, that when one country conquered another it meant that the gods of the victors had defeated the gods of the conquered people, then they were doomed because their God was so small. However, if they could believe the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies (CJB) when He said: Whoever touches you touches the apple of My eye (Zechariah 2:8), then they could survive any attack that would come.

In that day, which would shortly come to pass, the LORD told king Ahaz that he would use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River as judgment for Judah’s unbelief. With a change in metaphor, Assyria is compared to a razor. More than likely, this is an ironic comment on Ahaz’s alliance with Assyria. He had entered into a covenant with Assyria, who would first, like a razor, viciously attack the northern kingdom of Isra’el and Syria. But little did he know that shortly afterward that same cutting razor, in the hands of ADONAI, would turn on him and his kingdom of Judah.

Ahaz probably tried to keep his alliance with the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser a secret. Therefore, Isaiah shocked the king of Judah when he confronted him with the knowledge of the secret pact with the king of Assyria. As a true prophet of God, the secrets of the Almighty were his also. Humanly speaking, nothing could be hidden from him that the LORD wanted revealed. So it was with the alliance with the razor from beyond the River.

Isaiah informs king Ahaz that God would use that razor to figuratively shave your head and the hair on your legs, literally feet, and to take off your beards also (7:20). After the Assyrians defeated the Egyptians, they will shave Judah herself. That was the twist. The very one that Ahaz hired to shave Isra’el and Syria, will end up shaving Judah on the head, the beard and the hair on the face. In the Near East shaving one’s hair and beard was a sign of humiliation or deep distress (Job 1:20; Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 47:5 and 48:37; Ezekiel 7:18; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16). So the contrast between head and feet, the visible and hidden body hair, express the totality of the humiliation, the indignities heaped on a subject people.

Humanly speaking, Judah will have no honor left. In a similar fate, French women who were known to have consorted with German soldiers during World War II had their heads shaved and were shamed in a public display of disloyalty.

Isaiah describes the deplorable condition of the Land after the invader had left his mark upon it. In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats (7:21). This represents a time of judgment on the nation of Judah. The phrase, in that day, is often used to refer to the time of extreme judgment in the Great Tribulation just before the Messiah returns (as in 4:2). But sometimes as we see here, it refers to the near historical judgment at the end of a particular time period. Here it refers to the judgment to come on the nation of Judah very soon.

And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain alive in the Land will eat curds and honey (7:22). Agricultural activity ceased, primitive conditions returned, and the survivors of the storm and strife were living precariously on the produce of their flocks. The abundance of milk was a troubling factor, not a good one. With so many animals dying, a farmer’s young cow and two goats would have no young to nurse; therefore, the milk (and curds from it) would be plentiful for the people. Honey would also be abundant because wild flowers would grow in the deserted fields and bee swarms would be more common. All this would fulfill the sign given to Ahaz by Isaiah (7:15) that he will eat curds and honey. Although Ahaz, through his human wisdom and political maneuvering, had plunged the nation into despair, God was still with His people. The survivors, although few, would be provided for.

In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns (7:23). In addition, the farmers would have no crops because the farmland was destroyed. The vineyards would be ruined along with the farmland and only briers and thorns, would grow.

Judah would revert to wilderness. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the Land will be covered with briers and thorns (7:24). To go there without any protection would be to invite attack from wild animals. The only thing the Land would be good for was hunting. Because it was covered with briers and thorns no farming was possible.

As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run (7:25). The land would only be good for grazing cattle and sheep. In 7:23-25 the devastation of the crops is seen. The farmers would have no crops because of the ruined farmland. That which was productive becomes only useful for hunting wild game or grazing by cattle and sheep, but not for planting. The vineyards would be ruined along with the cultivated land, and only briers and thorns, mentioned three times here, would grow.

There is a fascinating sequel to this story that will be fulfilled almost two decades later. Go back and read 7:3 again. A specific spot is mentioned where the confrontation took place between Isaiah the prophet, and Ahaz the king. At that one spot Ahaz was given the option. Trust in God or trust in Assyria. Ahaz made the wrong choice and ended up under the Assyrian yoke. Later he dies and his son, Hezekiah, becomes king. Hezekiah was still laboring under the Assyrian yoke for which his father was responsible. Against Isaiah’s advice and prophecies, Hezekiah rebelled against the Assyrians, and the Assyrians raided the Land. Forty-six cities were destroyed by the Assyrian invasion. Then only Jerusalem was left. Sennacherib sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. Then the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field (36:2). At the very place where Ahaz made the fatal choice of putting Judah under the Assyrian yoke, the field commander of the Assyrian army confronted Hezekiah. But the son made the right decision that his father did not make. Hezekiah made the decision to trust ADONAI, and He delivered Hezekiah and Jerusalem, just like He had wanted to do if Ahaz had acted in faith (Chapters 36 and 37).

He Will Eat Curds and Honey
7: 15-17

He will eat curds and honey DIG: What was the sign and to whom was it given? What do you make of the curds and honey imagery? What is the age of accountability? What does that mean? How does this sign fit the crisis? Instead of peace, what will happen once Israel and Syria are out of the picture? What was the root cause of Ahaz’s error? What possible reasons can you think of that would explain why he would be so completely disinterested in God’s offer of a miraculous sign?

He will eat curds and honey REFLECT: Since Ahaz was a bad king all along, what does it mean to you in your life that the LORD would still desire to give him a sign of His mercy? Where do you get your wisdom, knowledge and understanding from? Who do you trust, worship, and obey? The world or the LORD? What evidence do you have of that in your life? Why was Ahaz a fool? What can you learn from his mistakes?

Most people in this life avoid any accountability for their actions. Some make excuses, many blame others, while most just avoid, or, as a last resort, postpone. Ahaz was no different. He had made a horrific decision to trust in the world and not to trust in ADONAI; tragically, the only One who could really save him. He had demonstrated his lack of faith by rejecting a confirming sign of Isaiah’s prophecy (7:12). Therefore, the LORD gave him two signs (whether he wanted them or not). First, the House of David would be preserved (7:13-14), and secondly, he would not be dethroned (7:15-16), but would continue to live under Assyrian domination (7:17).

In 7:10-14, Isaiah used both the Hebrew singular or plural form of you, to tell us who he is talking to, or about. In 7:10-12 he uses the singular form and was talking to Ahaz, then in 7:13-14 he uses the Hebrew plural form of you to let us know that he was referring to the House of David. Here in 7:15-17, however, Isaiah reverts back to the Hebrew singular you, because he wants to indicate that he was talking once again to Ahaz.

The king needed something that would serve as a definite sign that the prophecies of Isaiah would be fulfilled in his lifetime (7:7-9). The virgin birth was an assurance to the House of David and Ahaz would understand that he would not be dethroned. As far as God was concerned, He was honoring the position of the one who sat on the throne of David, and not honoring Ahaz personally. But the sign needed to have some historical significance to him personally. A miracle that was going to happen seven centuries later would have no meaning to him. Here the definite article is important again; it is not a boy, but the boy. Before the boy, a specific person, is old enough to make moral choices, the two kings of the confederacy will be laid waste. So the prophecy given by Isaiah will be fulfilled in a very short period of time, which is part of the test of a prophet.

But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste (7:16). The word used here cannot refer to a newly born child, it was a young boy. When we look at the immediate context we find that there is a boy mentioned back in 7:3; when Isaiah was told to meet Ahaz, God also told him to bring his son Shear-Jashub. There was a specific reason why God told Isaiah to bring his son along. While the Son born to the virgin would be a sign to the House of David, Shear-Jashub was a sign to Ahaz. And before Shear-Jashub is old enough to make moral choices, the two kings will not be a threat to Ahaz.

For Jews, 7:16 serves as an age of accountability, or the mental capability to know right from wrong, to make a decision to trust in Yeshua Messiah and be immersed into the mikveh as the bible teaches (Matthew 28:19).

Isaiah prophesied that his son, Shear-Jashub was a sign to king Ahaz (7:3). He will eat curds and honey until he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right (7:15). Within about three years, or nine months for the pregnancy and a couple of years, the boy would know the difference between right and wrong have the ability to make moral choices. At that time, Isaiah said, the land of the two kings Ahaz dreaded would be laid waste and the northern alliance between Isra’el and Syria would be broken (7:16). Not surprisingly, history proved this to be true. Pekah was attacked and assassinated by his countryman Hoshea (Second Kings 15:29-30), and Rezin (Second Kings 16:9) was put to death by Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria.

Honey was and is frequently mixed with various forms of milk products and used upon bread. When traveling, Arabs often take leather bottles full of honey for this purpose. It is considered very palatable, especially by the children (not to newborn infants). Butter is also mentioned in connection with honey in Second Samuel 17:29, Job 32:13, and Song of Solomon 4:11. We find in Proverbs 25:16 and 27 allusions to the disagreeable consequences of eating too much honey, and it is possible that experience had proved the oily nature of the butter a corrective to the sweetness of the honey. Honey and oil are named together in Deuteronomy 32:13.²⁸

Ahaz was at the crossroads of his life. Isaiah had said to him, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Now Ahaz deliberately rejected that prophecy. Just because God had assured him that the two kings would fail in their attempt to divide Judah, it did not mean that Ahaz himself would escape the consequences of his actions. Isaiah went on to tell Ahaz that because he lacked faith, he himself would suffer. The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah – He will bring the king of Assyria (7:17). Ahaz was the one who aligned Judah with Assyria to begin with. As a result, God basically said, “You want Assyria. I am going to give you Assyria.” Once the Assyrians subjugated Syria and Isra’el, they would continue southward and subjugate Judah as well. Had Ahaz believed God, the confederacy would have been broken and Judah would have been freed from the Assyrian domination. But he did not. As a result, Ahaz and Judah continued to pay tribute to Assyria (Second Kings 16:7; Second Chronicles 28:21), worship Assyrian gods (Second Chronicles 28:22-25), and live under their control. As a final indictment against this evil king, Ahaz was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the tombs of the kings (Second Chronicles 28:27).

Isaiah said that God would bring an invasion unlike any since the ten northern tribes (here called Ephraim), broke away from the two Southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah in 931 B.C. He will bring the king of Assyria. There were four other invasions against Judah since the start of the Kingdom. The first invasion was by Shishak (First Kings 14:25-26; Second Chronicles 12:2-9). A second invasion was by the Ethiopians (Second Chronicles 14:9-15). A third invasion was by the combined forces of Moab and Ammon (Second Chronicles 20:1-30), and a fourth invasion was by the combined forces of Philistines and Arabs (Second Chronicles 21:16-17). Yet this invasion by the Assyrians, led by Tiglath-Pileser, would be worse than all of them.

By risking everything, Ahaz had gambled that the Assyrian military prowess would save both him and Judah. But in doing so, he bet against God, the only One who could truly protect him and the nation. In the last analysis, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. Ahaz took some of the things from the Temple of the LORD, from the royal palace, and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him (Second Chronicles 28:20-21).

King Solomon had warned that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7a). The problem with King Ahaz was that he feared the king of Assyria more than he feared the King of Kings (Revelation 19:16). The fear of the LORD appears 11 times in Proverbs, and fear the LORD occurs 4 times. Beginning is the Hebrew or resit, which means the start. Thus, one cannot gain knowledge of spiritual things by starting at the wrong point by refusing to fear the LORD. In other words, to recognize God’s character and respond by revering, trusting, worshiping obeying and serving Him. Resit also means the capstone or the essence. The essence of true knowledge is the fear of the LORD. Apart from Him, we are ignorant of spiritual things (Romans 1:22; Ephesians 4:18; First Peter 1:14).

In contrast to those who fear God and have knowledge, fools despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1:7b). In the Hebrew, despise or buz, means to hold in contempt, to belittle or to ridicule. It is used 7 other times in Proverbs 6:30, 11:12, 13:13, 14:21, 23:9 and 22, 30:17. Of the three Hebrew words translated fool in Proverbs: ksil is characterized by a closed mind, nabal refers to one who lacks spiritual perception, and ewil is an illustration of someone who is arrogant. This was a clear picture of Ahaz. He was arrogant, lacked spiritual perception, and had a closed mind to what Isaiah was saying. In short, Ahaz was a fool.

You and I were born into that darkness. Many people don’t believe that. In fact, in a Barna poll 74 percent of Americans said that people were born neither good nor bad. That illustrates how thick the darkness is. We don’t realize how lost and helpless we naturally are, even though God’s Word plainly says: Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5).

The LORD Himself Will Give You A Sign
7: 13-14

The LORD Himself will give you a sign DIG: What is the sign that the LORD will give to Ahaz despite his refusal to ask for one? How is Matthew 1:23 the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy (see the commentary on the Life of Christ, to see link click Ap – Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son)? What does Immanuel mean? Why is that important?

REFLECT: How has the LORD gone the extra mile with you in your life? When has He shown extraordinary grace and patience with you? How did you respond? Why? When have you not responded and suffered the consequences? What did you learn from that experience? Is there anything you can do now to help others?

At the heart of our earthly existence, our heavenly Father wants the best for us. Even a sinful human father normally wants the best for his children, let alone, our perfect heavenly Father! He will go the extra mile to give us a chance to repent and be saved. The apostle Peter would say it like this: He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9b). But ADONAI will not take away our free will to reject Him. We can say no to God and make it stick. This dynamic is clearly seen here in Ha’Shem’s dealing with king Ahaz.

The LORD graciously sent His prophet Isaiah to Ahaz, king of the southern kingdom of Judah, to offer an authenticating sign so that he might believe and the nation would be saved. But after Ahaz’s stubborn refusal to ask for a sign to confirm the LORD’s prophecy, Isaiah said to him, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?” (7:13).

Here Isaiah was no longer addressing Ahaz alone; the prophet was addressing the house of David. Every you in 7:10 through 12 is singular and addresses Ahaz, but every, you in these two verses is in the plural, addressing the sign to the house of David. Therefore, because of the king’s skepticism, the sign Isaiah was giving was not to Ahaz individually, but to the house of David collectively. The human house of David was finally without hope; it has tried God’s patience too far. In fact, YHVH was worn out from trying to get this nation to act in faith during this crisis. The change from your God in 7:11 to my God here is ominous. Isaiah seems to be saying that Ahaz had rejected the very One who would have supported and established him. As a result, no longer can the prophet speak of your God, now it is only my God, who is evidently foreign to Ahaz. Sha’ul had a similar experience in his life (First Samuel 15:26-30). From this point on, however long it should take for this human Jewish dynasty to come to a complete collapse, the only hope is in ADONAI’s provision.

As a result of Ahaz’s refusal of an immediate sign during his lifetime, Isaiah looked about 700 years into the future and prophesied: The LORD Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel, meaning God with us (7:14). If the king of Judah would not ask for a sign, God, in His sovereignty, will give him one anyway. It is impossible to determine if this was the sign YHVH intended to give had Ahaz asked, or whether it was especially given in light of his refusal to ask. At any rate, it is the one he received. It confirmed Isaiah’s earlier promise in 7:4-9, but it also verified the foolishness of not trusting in that promise. That the positive side would have applied had the king of Judah received the sign in faith lends some weight to the idea that this was the intended sign. Had Ahaz received it in faith, Immanuel would have appeared to vindicate the House of David. As it was, He was to appear as a shame. They had not believed, so they received the just result of that unbelief. Nevertheless, ADONAI, in His faithfulness to His own promise, would raise up from the wreckage a true Son of David.

The demonstrative article therefore is an active participle. Isaiah uses this phrase 43 times in his book. With the exception of 48:7 every time it is used, it is referring to the future. It could be referring to something past, present, or future. By itself, it does not necessarily require a future interpretation. In the Hebrew however, if the word is used with the Hebrew active participle, it is always interpreted as a future event. And the phrase will give birth to is an active participle. So this is a future event.

Now let us look at the Hebrew word virgin. Na-tor-ah is generally translated by the word girl. It is used of virgins and non-virgins. In the case of a virgin, one example is used in First Kings 1:2, and in the case of a non-virgin, an example is used in Ruth 2:6. For most women the word for a virgin is bet-to-la, which in classical Hebrew refers to a single girl without reference to age. However, in most cases in classical Hebrew it is used of a virgin. But because the word is not always clearly a virgin, sometimes after using the term they have to use a descriptive phrase to point out that they mean virgin (Genesis 24:16; Judges 21:12). So bet-to-la means a single girl of any age. Now with that knowledge, we come to the word that is used in Isaiah, the word almah. The basic meaning of almah is a young virgin. It never refers to someone who is old. It is never used of a married woman. In the other Semitic languages, the root word always means virgin. There is no debate on this. In addition, in the Septuagint the word used is tarthenos, which is the word used for a strict virgin.

As far as how it is used in the TaNaKh, it is only found in seven places: Genesis 24:43 in reference to Rebekah where it states that she is a virgin; Exodus 2:8 in reference to Miriam the sister of Moses; Psalm 68:25 which deals with young virgins worthy to participate in a religious procession; Song of Songs 1:3 referring to women who are worthy to be desired; Song of Songs 6:8 where there is a contrast with two other groups, queens, concubines, and virgins beyond number. Queens were legal wives and their main function was to produce royal children to the throne. The concubines served the king sexually. Virgins were prospective concubines; Proverbs 30:18-19 contrasts the virgin with the adulteress in Proverbs 30:20; and finally, the passage here, Isaiah 7:14. In each reference, while some passages are clearly virgins, even the unclear passages at least allow for virginity. But nowhere does it refer to a married woman.

Because of the fact that the word virgin cannot refer to a married woman, only an unmarried woman, there are only two options when interpreting this passage. Either you have a virgin birth or an illegitimate birth. Illegitimate births are very common, no miracle there. Likewise a virgin getting married and giving birth to a child is very commonplace. Not only that, but it is YHVH doing this so you have moral problems if you associate God with something illegitimate. The entire context of the passage begs for a virgin birth. The emphasis is that in her virginity she will conceive, and that is the miracle.

The article does not mean a virgin; it means the virgin. In Hebrew grammar the usage of a definite article, when against something specific, has two rules. First, it would refer to a woman already mentioned in the immediate context. There has been no woman mentioned in the immediate context. Secondly, would be the law of previous mention. This is when some event or some person had become so familiar in the minds of the people that when the event or person is mentioned, everybody knows what or who is being discussed. For example when you say, “the Exodus”, the Jews know what you are talking about. That is similar to this passage. However, there is no woman to go to in the previous context. There must be a specific woman in the minds of the people, so if it said the woman everyone would know which woman was being referred to. Has there been such a previous mention? Yes, in Genesis 3:15. What Isaiah is doing is explaining the mystery of this passage. The Bible teaches that the Messiah’s seed, or offspring, will come after the woman, which goes contrary to all Biblical systems and principles of Jewish law. And now Isaiah explains why it is necessary. The reason Christ will have to be born after the offspring of the woman is because there is no man involved. He will be born of a virgin, and: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1:23).

There is something else in this verse. The sign was to be a boy named Immanuel. When parents name a child, it shows the thinking of the parents. The parents’ hopes and aspirations for the child can be seen in the meaning of the name they choose. Maybe it will be true, and maybe it will not be true. In Scripture, when Elohim names a child, it becomes true. And the character of this child is literally, God with us. Concerning Immanuel, there is a certain flow in the context. In Chapter 7 He is to be born, in Chapter 9 He will be viewed as having already been born, and in Chapter 11 He is reigning. By the time you get to the end of 7:9, the king of Y’hudah has been given a specific promise. The first part of the promise is that the two kings of the confederacy are doomed to failure. That does not guarantee the establishment of Ahaz personally; that would take faith on his part. But as far as the House of David there is no threat to it, the promise will remain.

What does it mean for us today that God is with us? The God of the universe is able to have a personal relationship with us. Before Christ, the Holy Spirit was not a permanent indwelling for each believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Ruach would come and go. That is why David said: Have mercy on me, O God. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:1 and 11). But with the coming of Messiah, God with us has taken on a whole new dimension. Now God lives inside of us. This is what Jesus had in mind when He said that the Ruach would indwell the apostles (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kr – The Holy Spirit Will Teach You All Things). His Tabernacle was no longer in the center of the twelve tribes (see the commentary on Exodus Ep – The Camp of the Twelve Tribes of Isra’el), but in the human heart itself.

This means we can live without fear. If YHVH lives in us through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, then neither the condemnation of our past sins nor the power of present temptation can defeat us. If God is for us, who can be against us (Psalm 56:9; Romans 8:31)? Nothing that anyone can do to us can ultimately hurt us because Immanuel has conquered death. God with us would be a great truth even if Christ had not come. But it would only be an incomplete hope. There would always be the grave, the single most inescapable reality of human experience. But Messiah has gone with us all the way, even into the tomb. And having gone in with us, He can bring us out with Him. Immanuel!²⁷

Many large cities have computerized warning signs to alert drivers to hazards ahead. I recall one occasion when I was on the freeway and a sign told me, “Accident ahead – major delay.” There was no other reason to believe there had been an accident, but I heeded the warning anyway and got off at the next exit to take another route to my destination. Returning about an hour later in the other lane, I found the sign had told the truth. There was a terrible traffic jam by that time and cars were lined up for miles. The new sign had provided a timely warning and saved me a great deal of time by letting me know what was ahead. Seven-hundred years before the coming of Messiah, the prophet Isaiah told God’s people what was ahead for them. The prophet didn’t have a computer or giant billboards, but he had the Holy Spirit and was able to predict the coming, character, and style of Christ.

Ask the LORD Your God for a Sign
7: 10-12

Ask the LORD your God for a sign DIG: Why did Ahaz have to be spoken to again? Who was speaking to him the second time? What was the purpose of the sign? What were the limitations the LORD put on this sign? Ahaz was known as an evil king, so what do you make of his response here? Is this unbelief or humility? What was his alternative plan (Second Kings 16:7-9)?

REFLECT: How does God communicate best with you? A still small voice? Art? Worship? Through Scripture? Nature? Or something else? When God the Holy Spirit comes to convict you of your sin, does He have to come back again and again, or do you repent quickly? How do you recognize His voice when He comes to you? Ahaz masked his lack of trust in God with false humility. What examples have you seen of people covering up their sin with a veneer of virtue? How does Ahaz’ refusal serve as a warning to you? Read Isaiah 7:12 and Exodus 17:1-7. How could one use Scripture to attempt to justify their own sinful nature?

Ahaz is now challenged to give God a chance to prove His trustworthiness. He was willing to strengthen the king’s faith through a sign of deliverance. As happens often in the TaNaKh, one time the prophet speaks as if he were the LORD, and another time, as is the case here, the LORD speaks as if He were the prophet. Hezekiah had asked for a sign when Isaiah prophesied of his recovery and fifteen additional years of life. The prophet gave him the sign he asked for by causing the shadow cast by the sun to go backwards ten steps instead of forwards (38:1-8).

The last time Isaiah met King Ahaz, the prophet brought along his son Shear-Jashub, whose name meant a remnant will return. By bringing his son as an object lesson, it gave Ahaz a chance to believe in God, and not in his political savvy. But if Ahaz ever got the message, he ignored it completely. Here Ahaz is spoken to again, this time by ADONAI. The stakes were being raised; the LORD was going to make Ahaz an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Therefore, as a means of strengthening his faith, ADONAI spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask the LORD your God for a sign (7:10a). When ADONAI or the LORD is used in a compound word with Elohim or God, it points us to His relationship to mankind or to the Nation. In this case, ADONAI spoke to Ahaz, so this compound name emphasizes His relationship to the king of Judah. If Ahaz would ask for a sign, its fulfillment would be a demonstrable miracle that would confirm God’s spoken word. The king could choose any miracle his heart desired, whether in the deepest depths of in the highest heights (7:10b-11). This is a figure of speech called a merism, where two extremes are mentioned with the intention to include everything in between. Other examples of merism would be: hook, line and sinker, or lock, stock and barrel. Previously, Isaiah had told Ahaz that the northern invasion that he feared so much would not happen (7:7-9). Here, with any sign of his choosing, he would have visible confirmation that Isaiah’s words were truly from ADONAI.

The word sign is used a total of 79 times in the Bible; Isaiah uses it 11 of those times. When we look at all 79 passages we see that it is used three different ways. First, it is used in the sense of heavenly bodies; the stars are used for navigation (Genesis 1:14). Secondly, it is used in the sense of positive proof. Not the miraculous, but merely positive proof (Exodus 3:13). Here YHVH speaking to Moshe says: I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. Now that in and of itself is no miracle, but it did serve as a sense of positive proof. Thirdly, it is also used in the sense of the miraculous (Exodus 4:6-9).

Every you in 7:10 through 12 is singular and only applies to Ahaz. Isaiah is emphatic: ask the LORD your God. The prophet puts Ahaz to the test. Although he invites Ahaz to test God, it is really the king himself who is being tested. ADONAI said: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all (7:9B). Will he respond to the words by believing in God and standing firm, or will he reject them? Undoubtedly, as the king of Judah, he had given lip service to the idea of faith, but now he must act upon it or deny it.

What will it take for Ahaz to believe the prophecy that has just been given? God was offering Ahaz anything he wanted. He could ask for a sign in heaven, a sign on the earth, or whatever it was going to take to convince him that this prophecy was really going to come true and He would make it happen. Unfortunately, there is never enough proof for unbelief.

Trying to appear religious, in whatever form it takes, is one of the great trappings of human existence. Quite naturally, human pride wants to look good to others, and some people think they know what will appear as being pious. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full (Matthew 6:5). The Bible teaches us: In every town in Judah Ahaz built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods, he set up altars at ever street corner in Jerusalem, even in the Temple itself (Second Chronicles 29:22-27). Therefore, King Ahaz was one of those hypocrites, trying to act religious, while courting the devil.

Even though ADONAI offered Ahaz a sign to confirm the reliability of His spoken word, it was useless. The king did not want to be convinced because his mind was already made up. The way the word sign is used here, the context of the sign was to produce faith in Ahaz (and from what we know of Ahaz that would take a miracle). But Ahaz did not want such a sign. Why? He was going to trust both his personal future and his nation’s fate to Assyria. Any sign provided by Isaiah would only be an embarrassment to him, so he attempted to avoid the dilemma with an appeal to piety.

He made a choice, which indicated his skill at diplomacy and quick thinking. The king of Y’hudah said: I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test (7:12). Now doesn’t that sound spiritual! He was actually appealing to a passage in Deuteronomy 6:16 that says: Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. So to the casual onlooker Ahaz made it appear that he did not have a problem with too little faith, but rather he possessed such a deep faith that he did not want to ask for evidence. The real sin of putting the LORD to the test is refusing to trust Him and His past faithfulness unless He prove Himself trustworthy over and over again. Nevertheless, the whole dynamic of the confrontation between YHVH, His prophet and Ahaz changed when the offer of a sign was made. From ADONAI’s point of view, nothing is more important than that His promises are met with trust.

Ahaz alluded to Scripture, just as the Adversary did when tempting Messiah (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bj – Jesus is Tempted in the Wilderness). Similar to others before and after him, the king of Judah took Deuteronomy 6:16 out of context when confronted by Isaiah. Because if the sign God was offering Ahaz really took place, it would require him to change his pro-Assyrian plans. He would have to stop trusting in Assyria and start trusting in ADONAI. For that reason alone he rejected the offer. It is always the same throughout all of history. Evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it. Where there is no faith, evidence is merely unwelcome, something to be explained away. There is never enough proof for unbelief.

The Judean king demonstrated the real danger of an outward religious appearance without faith. It is having the form of godliness but denying its power (Second Timothy 3:5), or missing the substance of the relationship with the LORD. Piety is the by-product, not the end product. Is going to church or messianic synagogue good? Is having a daily devotion good? Is avoiding lust, greed and self-indulgence good? Is moderate, inoffensive speech good? Is regular, significant giving to the cause of Messiah good? Is integrity in all one’s dealings good? The answer to all these are “of course.” But do any of them really demonstrate faith in ADONAI? The answer is “no.”

In fact, these things can be deadly substitutes for faith in the One True God. If I rely on any of these to get to heaven, I am building my house on the sand (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dy – The Wise and Foolish Builders). Faith in the LORD is surrendering to the love of YHVH demonstrated to us in God with us. The good works in our lives are merely an expression of the relationship with Immanuel, not substitutes for it, as was the case with Ahaz.²⁶

As pious as his words sounded, King Ahaz was doing the work of the Ancient Serpent by quoting Scripture for his own purposes; thus without realizing it, he revealed his unbelief. This was his moment of decision. For him and for the nation . . . there was no turning back.

The Sign For Ahaz
7: 10-17

Faced with the threats of Syria and the northern kingdom of Isra’el, Ahaz had an opportunity to trust ADONAI for deliverance. Instead he trusted Assyria, his worst enemy. The result was, as Isaiah predicted, that Assyria herself overran the Land, almost conquering Jerusalem. But that would not alter God’s ultimate plan. Assyria was but a tool in His hand, and out of the destruction that she would precipitate in would emerge a larger opportunity for the LORD to demonstrate Himself trustworthy; that would be Judah’s restoration from captivity.

If ever Y’hudah is to become the servant nation, through whom ADONAI chose to manifest Himself to the world (2:2-5; 12:4-6; 43:8-21; 60:1-3), then the most basic truth she must learn is that ADONAI can be trusted, whereas the nations cannot. If she continued to refuse dependence upon God, while attempting to depend on the nations, then she would have neither message nor hope. But if she really encountered a God who is greater than all the nations combined, and who can in fact be depended upon in every situation, then she would have something to declare. This is the issue introduced in Chapter 7 and carried on through Chapter 39. Would Judah recognize that to depend upon the nations is to lose her distinct mission to them, whereas refusal to depend upon them is to become a blessing to them? Until a person, or a nation, is convinced of ADONAI’s complete trustworthiness, they cannot lay aside the lust for their own security and become God’s servant.

In these verses Isaiah gives two specific signs: one sign was for Ahaz, and the other sign was for the house of David. Thus, it is important that we see the interplay between the house of David as a whole, and the individual Ahaz in particular. In Hebrew, there is a difference between a plural you and a singular you. For instance, if I use the word you in English, it could mean only the individual you or all of you because we do not distinguish the difference. But the Hebrew language does; there is one form for a singular and another for a plural. In 7:10-12, every you is singular and applies to Ahaz. In 7:13-14, every you is plural and applies to the house of David, with the virgin being the sign to them. In 7:15-17, every you reverts back to the singular and applies to Ahaz, with the boy being the sign to him.

Again, one of the emphases which ties The Book of Immanuel together is the use of children, with Shear-Jashub in 7:3, Immanuel in 7:14 and 8:9, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz in 8:3, Isaiah’s children in 8:18, and the royal Child in 9:5. The point is that if God’s people would change and see His light then the child Immanuel could deliver them from their enemies.

Lastly, when interpreting prophecy, it is important to understand the difference between double fulfillment and double reference. Double fulfillment says that one verse applies to both the near historical event and the far eschatological (or end times) event. But double reference refers to one person or event in one verse, followed by a second person or event in another verse blended together in such a way that they form one picture. This is true of the prophecies concerning the First and Second Coming of Yeshua the Messiah such as Zechariah 9:9 and 10. While Zechariah 9:9 talks about Messiah’s First Coming (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Aq – The Birth of Jesus), Zechariah 9:10 talks about His Second Coming (see Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah). Sometimes people do not see the 2,000-year parenthesis between the two verses.

Take Your Son Shear-Jashub to Meet Ahaz
7: 3-9

Take your son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz DIG: Why did ADONAI command this seemingly unimportant boy to accompany his father on this critical confrontation? Is this the place for a boy to be? How did Shear-Jashub become an object lesson for King Ahaz? What was Isaiah’s purpose here in going to see King Ahaz? What was the LORD trying to accomplish? What did two smoldering stubs of firewood represent? But in what way had Ahaz already taken a step that would prove his undoing? What was God trying to accomplish in His words through Isaiah? Who was He responding to? Did Elohim get through to king Ahaz? What happened as a result?

REFLECT: Is there anything that God wants you to change so that you will be able to see what He is trying to teach you? How open are you to change? Have you been willing to change things in the past? Do you resist it, or embrace it? Make a list of things you have changed in the past year. If you really thought the LORD wanted you to change something big in your life, could you do it? What situation are you facing that frightens you now? What forces are involved? On a scale of 1 to 10, how trusting of God are you in that situation? What makes it difficult for you to trust the LORD in such fearful times? When have you found that following your solution to a problem, rather than His, only made the problem worse? If Ahaz did not trust YHVH, he had no future. Have you ever made any decisions in your life on your own strength that affected your future negatively? How did you turn it around? How can you use your experience to help others? Where does your security lay?

At this point a message is given to Ahaz. He was evidently investigating Jerusalem’s water supply in preparation for the coming siege when Isaiah met him. This is a turning point for both Ahaz personally, and Judah nationally.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah His prophet, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field” (7:3). Isaiah, accompanied by his son, is directed by God to meet Ahaz outside the City. The Washerman’s Field, or Fuller’s Field, was on the western side of Tziyon, where there is still an Upper Pool (Second Chronicles 32:30). The Upper Pool was a reservoir that held water from the Gihon Spring, close to Yerushalayim. The fullers, or the cleaners and thickeners of woolen fabrics, carried on their occupation near this pool. The road, which ran past this Washerman’s Field, was the one that leads from the western gate to Joppa. This was the same exact location where, thirty-three years later, Sennacherib’s field commander would hurl insults at King Hezekiah’s Jewish delegation (36:2).

King Ahaz was there, on the west side of Yerushalayim, outside of the gates preparing for the coming of a second siege by checking the water sources and supplies. For until the time of Hezekiah (22:1-4), the City of David received its water supply over ground from the upper Gihon pool and was therefore more vulnerable. Without water, the City could not hope to endure a siege for more than a few days. It was there that the LORD instructed Isaiah to go and meet Ahaz.

And in addition, Isaiah is told to bring his son Shear-Jashub, whose name means a remnant will return. It is a name with two possible meanings: the noun comes first for emphasis, but does it mean only a remnant . . . or a guaranteed remnant . . . ? Was the name of the boy a threat of doom or a promise of survival? Isaiah was so sure it was both, unbelief that would destroy his people and trust that would save them, that he made both names a reality by bringing his son as an object lesson for the mighty king of Judah. If Ahaz got the significance of the message, he surely paid no attention to it.

One of the emphases which ties the Book of Immanuel together is the use of children, with Shear-Jashub in 7:3; Immanuel in 7:14 and 8:9; Maher-shalal-hash-baz in 8:3; Isaiah’s children in 8:18; and the royal child in 9:5. The point is that if God’s people would change and see His light, then the child Immanuel could deliver them from their enemies.

Isaiah and his son Shear-Jashub met King Ahaz on the west side of Jerusalem, outside of the gates preparing for the coming of a second siege by checking the water sources and supplies. The prophet was trying to comfort the king by telling him, “Be careful, keep calm, and don’t be afraid or lose heart” (7:4a). This was a warning to the king not to take any action that would separate himself from the LORD. He needed to be calm, and in reality, Isaiah was telling him to do nothing.

King Ahaz, however, had in mind to do plenty. He was going to play the clever politician by entering into a covenant with Assyria as his security against his two previous allies (Second Kings 16:7-9). This is exactly what Isaiah was warning Ahaz not to do! It was as if Ha’Shem was saying to the king of Judah, “Do not trust the noisy Assyrians, but trust in the quiet confidence of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” There was going to be a contrast between the quiet and the noise. This contrast is consistent throughout the book as a motif in reference to the remnant of Y’hudah.

Isaiah saw the situation differently than Ahaz. With a stinging metaphor, Isaiah showed Ahaz he had nothing to fear. King Rezin of Syria and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Isra’el, might display flaming anger, but they were merely two smoldering stubs of firewood (7:4b). Their lives would soon end. Like firewood, they would be burned up and gone in no time. Both men died two years later in 732 B.C. They had done all the damage to Judah that they were going to do. They would not be allowed to do any more. They had ravaged Judah, but they would not be allowed to take Yerushalayim.

If only Ahaz could be persuaded to stop playing politics. Assyria would crush the northern kingdoms and ADONAI would preserve Judah – as He ultimately did (37:36-37). But if Ahaz continued to rely on what he thought was his own political insight and yoke himself with Assyria, he will have bitten off way more than he could chew!

The conspiracy itself is found in the next two verses. From a strictly human point of view Ahaz had a right to be terrified. Syria and Pekah, son of the king of Isra’el, have plotted your ruin, saying: Let us invade Judah. Let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it (7:5-6). Syria and Isra’el, whose capital was in Ephraim, threatened to invade Y’hudah, split it between the two conquering nations, and set up a puppet king. In fact, Tabeel did set up a dynasty of sorts later. We read in Ezra 4:7 that a couple of centuries later the descendants of Tabeel were enemies of the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

As I stated earlier, Isaiah likes to play with words. Here, he takes the name Tabeel, rewords one vowel pattern and changes the meaning of his name. In Hebrew, ta-va-ale means God is good. So by changing one basic vowel, ta-va-ul, his name changes to good for nothing. So this House of Tabeel was good for nothing.

Nonetheless, God’s message through His prophet was very clear. In effect He was saying, “Do not panic. Trust in Me.” Similar words were spoken to Joshua when he faced the impossible task of succeeding Moshe and conquering the land of Canaan: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). In all of this the question is clear. Is salvation by faith or works? Will Ahaz be saved politically by trust in God or by his supposedly astute political insight? This is no less true for our political leaders today than it was then. But it is just as true on a personal level. Salvation by works is just as doomed today as it was then. Only faith/trust/belief in Messiah saves.

Previously, Pekah, the ruler of the northern kingdom of Isra’el, or Ephraim, had threatened to invade Judah along with his ally Syria (Isaiah 7:6). Here, the LORD responds to that threat. The two northern kings had arrogantly announced their plan; now the King, ADONAI Elohim, would announce His plan.

YHVH was trying to change Ahaz’s perspective. If there was no one who sits enthroned about the circle of the earth (40:22a), then we are at the mercy of evil men (40:27). But if there is such a Protector, then we need not fear what such men can do to us (see my commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Hh – But Those Who Hope in the LORD Will Renew Their Strength). The two northern invaders’ concerns were merely local, but God’s scope is the entire universe. If Ahaz could believe that, his perspective would change radically and the house of David would truly be established.

Ha’Shem announced through His prophet that the conspiracy of Syria and Isra’el against Judah was doomed to fail. ADONAI Elohim said that the attack would not take place, it would not happen (7:7). The emphasis here is that all Remaliah’s son (God despised him so much that He would not even call him by his name, Pekah, as in 7:1) will ever be is king over Isra’el; he will be no more than that. In other words, He would never be king over Tziyon.

The next two verses form a six-line poem. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damsacus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all (7:8-9). In lines 8ab and 9ab the country, Syria and Ephraim (or the northern kingdom of Isra’el) is traced to its capital, Damascus and Samaria, and its king, Rezin and Remaliah’s son.

If Ahaz refused to believe in Elohim he had no future. In lines 8cd and 9cd three conclusions are drawn. First, there was common sense. Why are you afraid of these two seemingly powerful nations? If you trace them back to their leadership, who are you really afraid of, only Rezin and Remaliah’s son, who were merely big fish in a small pond? Secondly, there was implication. If Syria and Ephraim could be traced back to their capitols, what about Judah? Its capital is Jerusalem with its King David, the City of ADONAI where he choose to dwell (First Kings 11:13); and after him, King Solomon sat on the LORD’s throne (Second Chronicles 29:23); all backed by God’s own words directly from the mouth of His prophet, “It will not take place, it will not happen” (7:7). Wasn’t that enough? Thirdly, there was warning. Ephraim choose the non-existent security of military alliance with Assyria, but time would expose the foolishness of her decision.

Isaiah’s prophecy came true. The Assyrian army fell upon the coalition and destroyed both of them. In 732 BC, Tiglath-pileser destroyed Syria and her capital Damascus. True to Isaiah’s prophecy, Judah escaped the fate of the northern kingdom of Isra’el. In 722 BC, because of renewed rebellion, Tiglath-pileser’s successor, Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), marched into the northern Kingdom, overran her lands in Galilee and the Transjordan, and turned them into three Assyrian provinces.

Isaiah prophesied that Isra’el would not be a people within 65 years. This prophecy was given in 735 BC and the northern Kingdom fell in 722 BC. That was only 13 years later, not 65, so how could this prophecy be true? The answer lies somewhere else. Although Sargon II was the Assyrian king that defeated the northern kingdom of Isra’el militarily, it was actually Esarhaddon, a later Assyrian king, who took the Jews out of Isra’el (Ezra 4:2), and brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria in 670 BC (Second Kings 17:22-24; Second Chronicles 33:11). So 735 BC to 670 BC is exactly 65 years! This is the exactness of the Book of Immanuel.

Elohim had purposed to accomplish what He had announced through the mouth of His prophet. The destruction of the two invaders from the north was going to happen regardless of what Ahaz believed or disbelieved. But as for the king of Y’hudah personally, Isaiah challenged him to believe what he was telling him, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (7:9b). Once again the prophet plays with one letter, ta-ahmenu to ta-ahmanu; with one little shift of the vowel pattern is the difference between having faith, and not standing at all. An English equivalent would be something like: If in God you do not confide, then in power you will not abide. If in God you do not believe, then a blessing you will not receive. Only through trusting in the present and ultimate reality of ADONAI Elohim is any real security possible.

King Ahaz could have faith that the LORD would fulfill both predictions: that Isra’el would be shattered sixty-five years later and that in his day the northern confederacy (Syria and Israel) would not overpower Judah. If he did not believe both predictions, then he too would not stand at all. If Ahaz saw Elohim, then he would not see Pekah and Rezin; but if he looked to Pekah and Rezin, all he could see was Assyria as his false deliverer. The choice was his . . . he stood at the point of no return.

The Hearts of Ahaz and His People Were Shaken
7: 1-2

The hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken DIG: The events here occur in Ahaz’s reign, some ten years after those of Chapter 6 (Second Kings 16:5-18). What two kingdoms were going to invade Y’hudah and why? What was their fatal mistake? Who was the king of Judah at that time? What did Isaiah prophecy to him? Why didn’t he heed what the prophet said? What did he do instead? What were consequences for the two invaders, Ahaz and the House of David?

REFLECT: King Ahaz’s first deadly decision was ignoring the Word of the LORD from the mouth of His prophet Isaiah. What is your belief about the Word? Is it God’s letter to you? Is it something to base you life on? Or is it merely of human origin to be taken with a grain of salt? Secondly, Ahaz entered into a close relationship with Assyria that involved idol worship. Is there anyone who you are intimately involved with, socially, politically or economically, that is a friend with the world (Second Corinthians 6:14-17a; James 4:4)? How did it work out for Ahaz?

At the time Isaiah was written, Ahaz, son of Jotham, the son Uzziah, was the king of Judah (7:1a). Of the four Judean kings under which Isaiah prophesied, Ahaz was easily the most wicked. The reason he was so uniquely wicked is that he tried to combine the idol worship of the high places and the golden calf, with the worship of Baal and Molech. It is important to understand that what Isaiah is about to prophecy was rooted in, and grows out of, real historical events. Prophecy and history have a symbiotic relationship here. The prophecy is meaningless apart from an adequate understanding of its historical context, and the historical context is necessary to understand the prophecy.

Since Isra’el lay at the intersection of three great empires, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, it experienced frequent wars. At this time the Assyrian Empire was beginning to assert itself in the area of Judah and Isra’el. When Assyrian king Tiglath–pileser turned westward, the smaller nations in his path tended to group themselves into coalitions to defend themselves. King Rezin of Syria, known in the Hebrew as Aram, formed one such coalition with Pekah, son of King Remaliah of the northern kingdom of Isra’el. But they soon realized that their confederacy was not strong enough and they pressured the southern kingdom of Judah to join with them. But Judah, under King Ahaz, refused.

When diplomacy failed to entice Judah, Syria and Isra’el decided on a strategy to invade Judah and do away with Ahaz. Therefore, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Isra’el, marched up to fight against Judah (7:1b). They inflicted heavy casualties (Second Chronicles 28:5-8), but they could not overpower her (7:1c). A second invasion followed (Second Chronicles 28:17-18), and the northern powers threatened to replace King Ahaz with a puppet king, the son of Tabeel (Isaiah 7:6).

If Syria and Isra’el had stopped with only wanting to kill Ahaz they may have been able to succeed. However, they were also determined to do away with the house of David once and for all. For that reason, Ahaz is described as the house of David, for the Davidic Covenant was being threatened (Second Samuel 7:5-16). They wanted to set up a new dynasty, with the House of Tabeel upon the throne in Jerusalem that would have been more favorable to an alliance against the Assyrian menace. Therefore, what happens in Chapters 7 through 12 needs to be viewed in light of that threat to Ahaz, but more importantly to the House of David. Ahaz’s next move would determine the future of David’s line.

Although it is not mentioned here, something else lies in the background: When Ahaz was told that Syria had allied itself with the northern kingdom of Isra’el, with its capital in Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people were terrified (7:2a). This prompted Ahaz’s decision to appeal to Assyria for help (Second Kings 16:7-9). We do not know whether the decision had yet been acted upon when ADONAI sent Isaiah to confront Ahaz, but surely it was at least under consideration. The situation abounded with ironies. It was probably the advance of the Assyrian Empire that prompted Syria and Isra’el to unite and try to force Judah into a defensive coalition with them; Assyria hardly needed to be urged and paid a great sum to do what she had been planning to do all along. Furthermore, the real threat to Y’hudah’s independence was not Syria or Isra’el, but Assyria, whom Ahaz was inviting to be an ally. Yet Ahaz could not see the long-term issues. He could only see the short-term view, and he was about to pay the full price for his shortsightedness.²⁵

The decision of Ahaz to appeal to Assyria had spiritual implications as well as political ones. The only way Assyria would help Judah was to have a covenant with her. As a result of Ahaz’ policy, Judah was compelled to undertake the obligations of a normal vassal, which involved the paying of tribute and the recognition of Assyria’s gods in the Jerusalem Temple. Ahaz was also obligated to appear before Tiglath-pileser in Damascus and to pay homage to the Assyrian gods at a bronze altar that stood there. A copy of this altar was then made and set up in the Jerusalem Temple (Second Kings 16:10-16 and Second Chronicles 28:22-24). It was a humiliating position and not likely to win the approval of the people of Judah; however, Judah was spared military occupation and loss of her territory by Assyria. When Isaiah challenged Ahaz to trust in God, it backed Ahaz into a corner. He needed to either commit himself to Assyria, and in effect deny YHVH, or he must commit himself to God and leave Assyria in His hands. We know which one he chose, and all because of an attack that was doomed before it began!

There is the initial attempt to do away with Ahaz and the attack against Y’hudah is by the army of Israel alone. But this initial attempt fails. The Israelite and Syrian armies split. Isra’el went against Jerusalem while the Syrians went south against the city of Elath. The Syrians were successful in taking Elath, and after the conquest the armies of Syria and Isra’el then combined for a joint attack against the southern kingdom of Judah.

The prospect of such formidable enemies caused the people of Judah to be shaken. The House of David refers to the royal family or the court. The king’s name is not mentioned. “A wicked man,” declares a rabbinic tradition, “does not deserve the honor of being named.” At any rate, the House of David is an expression for the king and his courtiers, much like the White House is for the president of the United States and his staff. But ironically, it is the House of David that was shaken. This shaking was due to a lack of faith and trust in the Scriptures. Second Samuel 7:11-17, First Chronicles 17:10-15, Psalms 89:1-4 and 19-37 all detail the content of the Davidic Covenant. Had Ahaz been able to trust in the LORD and His promised Covenant with David, he would not have been afraid, and the nation would have followed his lead. Because of his lack of faith, however, the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind (7:2b).

The Sign of Immanuel
7: 1-25

These verses speak of the difference between God’s long-term view and our short-term view of our lives. The short-term view will always plunge us into fear and instability, just as it did Ahaz. The king could only see the immediate danger and therefore thought that he would find a way out by entrusting himself to what was a much greater danger – Assyria. If he had taken the time to listen to ADONAI’s perspective on the matter, he would have known that the extreme measures he thought he had to take were in fact unnecessary. Because he refused to trust the LORD and look at the situation from God’s perspective as Isaiah urged him to do, he was ruled by fear and made a tragic decision. Decisions made out of fear will almost always be disastrous ones. Decisions that grow out of the calmness borne of trust, however, can be thoughtful and reasoned.²⁴ Isaiah prophesied about a child to be born who, in some way, would relate to the nation’s deliverance. The birth of the baby, to be named Immanuel, would have great significance for the line of David.

The Kings of Assyria and Judah

Throughout the Book of Immanuel there are numerous references to the kings of Assyria and Judah. This chart shows the Jewish kings who were influenced by their Assyrian counterparts. All these dates are Before Christ (BC).

Tiglath-pilesser III 745-727
Ahaz 743-728

Shalmaneser V 726-722
Hezekiah 727-699

Sargon II 721-705
Hezekiah

Sennacherib 704-681
Hezekiah and Manasseh

Esarhaddon 680-669
Manasseh 698-642

Ashur-banipal 688-633
Manasseh

The Book of Immanuel
7:1 to 12:6

The Book of Immanuel comprises the fifth major segment of the prophecy. This book is called the Book of Immanuel because the name Immanuel comes up three times. Here, the prophet focuses on the deliverance God would bring the nation. Judah’s deliverance from the Syria-Israel alliance (7:1-4) pictures her ultimate deliverance. And the fall of the Assyrian Empire (10:5-19), resulting in deliverance for Y’hudah, pictures the fall of all nations who oppose God and His people. Isaiah did not say that these deliverances would bring about the glorious Kingdom. But he did indicate that the glorious Kingdom, the Messianic Kingdom, eventually would come (Chapter 11). It will be greater than any previous kingdom. In the Messianic Kingdom, the holy seed (6:13), the believing remnant (10:20-21), will sing a song of thanksgiving (Chapter 12).²³

In Chapters 7 to 12 the questions posed are these: Is YHVH sovereign over all the nations? Can God deliver Isra’el from Assyria? Can He be trusted, or is He merely just one more god, added to all the others?

Until the LORD Has Sent Everyone Far Away
6: 11-13

Until the LORD has sent everyone far away DIG: How did the stubbornness of Isaiah’s audience differ from that of the Pharisees? When will this prophecy be fulfilled? In what stages? How do these verses preview the rest of the book? When God says a tenth will remain, what does He mean by that? What did Isaiah name his son? Why? Who will conquer the Land? Who is the holy seed? How does this stump relate to the Branch in 4:2-6?

REFLECT: What ministry has God the Holy Spirit called you to? What is the most important aspect of your ministry? How do you measure “success,” results or faithfulness? Is your focus an audience of One, or an audience of many? When you get discouraged, how does the Lord encourage you to know for certain that all is not lost? How can you encourage others in that regard? What can you expect to happen when called to use your spiritual gifts, for example?

When Isaiah learns that his ministry will end in failure, in one sense he asks: For how long, Oh Lord will I have to endure this? God’s answer is not very encouraging. It will be until the Land is totally depopulated. Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the field ruined and ravaged. First, the Babylonians will carry them into seventy years of captivity. Ultimately, however, this judgment will come at the hands of the Roman general Titus and the Romans (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD). Isaiah starts Chapter 6 by saying: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord. This was very significant because the year that King Uzziah died was the year that Rome was established on the banks of the Tiber River. The instrument of their judgment was born.

In another sense, Isaiah cried out: For how long, O Lord, will this insensibility and blind stubbornness continue (6:11a)? He was neither angry nor objecting. The prophet was merely beside himself, as seen in his cry of dismay. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, nor did he want to see his people destroyed. But on the other hand, it surely isn’t a refusal or an insistence that the Lord justify Himself. He was determined to obey, but he did so with a heavy heart.

The answer to Isaiah’s cry did not relieve his anguish. God’s justice would not be fully carried out until the Land was virtually empty. This was the verdict: Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until ADONAI had sent everyone away and the Land is utterly forsaken (6:11b-12). Only desolation, destruction, and exile of the sinful majority will bring an end to the deplorable conditions, so the prophecies of Deuteronomy would come into fulfillment (Deuteronomy 28:21 and 63; 29:28).

In a way, these verses preview the rest of the book. They hint at the fact that the Assyrian threat will come and go in Chapters 7 through 37; but beyond that, the more ominous consequences of dealing with Babylon will be seen in Chapters 38 through 48. Although Isaiah did not live that long, ADONAI meant that he should stay faithful to his calling and continue to preach even if he did not see Jerusalem’s downfall. That would be left to the “crying prophet” Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ga – The Fall of Jerusalem). The only way that Isaiah could carry out his duties as a prophet was by the empowering of God Himself. This was a ministry doomed to failure. But the LORD doesn’t call the equipped . . . He equips the called.

There is a song called, An Audience of One, and challenges us to realize that when we minister, we truly should only have a audience of One, Jesus Christ. It is He alone that we should be conscious of pleasing. If we were to please the entire world and not Him, then we have failed. On the other hand, if only Him and no one else, we will have succeeded. The only words that should really motivate us are those of our Lord. When you hear His words: Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21), any trials or disappointments during your earthly ministry will be well worth it.

As far as the Israelites were concerned, the Land was not theirs to possess as their own. Rather, they possessed it in trust from the true Landowner. So long as they remained in God’s favor, by living lives in keeping with His character, then the Land was theirs to develop and enjoy. But if they ceased to live in obedience to YHVH, the Land would vomit them out as it had the Canaanites before them (Leviticus 18:25-27).²¹ Utter desolation was sure, but it was not the end. God was not finished with Isra’el.

Perhaps discouraged by such a negative response and terrible results, Isaiah was then assured by the LORD that not all was lost. And though a tenth remains in the Land, it will again be laid waste (6:13a). A remnant would be left, the poor who were left in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (Second Kings 24:14). This is one of Isaiah’s most important emphases in his book (1:9, 10:19-22, 11:1, 27:6 and 37:31-32). Isaiah named his first son Shear-Jashub (7:3), which means, a remnant will return, as a sign to the nation that all was not lost.

God compared that remnant to stumps that terebinth and oak trees leave when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the Land (6:13b). The stump is the vital and indestructible element from which the tree springs to life again. From this stump or holy seed, the believing remnant would come and others would believe. Though Judah’s population would be almost totally wiped out or exiled, ADONAI promised to protect a small number of believers in the Land. God’s promise to Abraham to bless all the nations of the world through His offspring would not be forgotten (Genesis 17). Just as Ha’Shem saved Noah and his family from the judgment of the Flood, the LORD gives His faithful children the grace to overcome the trials of this life.

So, what we have in Isaiah 6 is an outstanding example of a call narrative because it describes the basic elements of what people can expect to happen when they are called by God to serve Him. We can anticipate seeing YHVH as He really is (6:1-4), then seeing ourselves as we really are (6:5-8), and finally seeing the world as it really is (6:9-13).²²

Therefore, utter desolation for Judah was as sure as the rising sun, but it was not the end. In that sense this chapter is much like the book of Amos, who was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Isra’el. Although it is filled with judgment, it ends with hope. The LORD’s judgment is never the last word for those who have put their trust/faith/belief in Him. If this was an encouragement to Y’hudah and Yisra’el, it should be no less for us.

Who Shall I Send? And Who Will Go For Us?
6: 8-10

Who shall I send? And who will go for us? DIG: Compare this verse with 6:5. What is significant about that? How is the trinity hinted at here? What did Isaiah know that the nation needed? What is Isaiah’s new mission? What effect will it have on Judah? Is this what YHVH wants to happen, or an ironic statement of what God knows will happen? Compare Matthew 13:10-17 and Acts 28:26-27 with these verses. How do these passages of Scripture illuminate each other?

REFLECT: When have you given up, only to receive God’s grace? Are you willing to serve anywhere, anytime? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? John 12:40-41 relates this vision to Christ. How Jesus’ glory like the suffering and healing Isaiah saw? How did John use these verses to show that the unbelief of the Jews and their rejection of Messiah actually fulfilled God’s plan and purpose? Why has the LORD sent you to your world?

The removal of sin is always followed by the requirement of service. Commission always follows cleansing. We have been saved to serve.¹⁹ The rest of this chapter deals with the message Isaiah was to preach to Y’hudah. Significantly, he was not called to service until he had been cleansed. After hearing the seraph’s words in 6:3 and 7, Isaiah then heard the voice of the LORD.

Leonard Ravenhill (1907-1994), a British evangelist, once said, “The greatest miracle God can do today is take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make that man holy, then put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it.” This seems to be what the LORD did to Isaiah when He commissioned the prophet to speak to His people.

Around the time of the death of Uzziah, one of Judah’s more successful kings, Isaiah had a vision of YHVH. The prophet saw Him as the true King of the universe, sitting on a lofty throne. In the vision, Isaiah saw seraphim worshiping ADONAI with a hymn that praised His holiness, majesty, and glory.

Isaiah’s vision of God led to a true vision of himself as unholy and broken before Ha’Shem. Woe to me, he cried, I am ruined (6:5). That recognition of sin led him to a need for and the reception of ADONAI’s cleansing grace (6:7). Newly cleansed, Isaiah was commissioned to spread YHVH’s message (6:9). The LORD sent Isaiah into an unholy world, not only to live a holy life but also to tell an unholy people about a holy God.

Ha’Shem speaks for the first time, and He uses I and Us in the same breath. Then I heard the voice of ADONAI saying: Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us (6:8a)? Here is one of the implications of plurality regarding God in the TaNaKh. But this is merely a foreshadowing, and not necessarily a proof.

The question: “And who will go?” does not mean the LORD did not know or that He only hoped someone would respond. He asked the question to give Isaiah, then cleansed, an opportunity for service. The prophet knew the entire nation needed the same kind of cleansing of sin that he had received. Then he responded without being asked or coerced.

It is as if Isaiah was not ready to hear these words before this moment. But he is neither directly addressed, nor forced into service. Perhaps it is because Isaiah did not need to be forced, but only needed the opportunity to serve. However, after seeing his true spiritual condition and then receiving the grace of the LORD, Isaiah was desperate to serve. His response is one word (Hebrew: shaliach) that translates: Here am I. Send me (6:8b). Note his ready and spontaneous acceptance of the divine mission even before its nature was revealed to him. Those who need to be forced into service do not understand God’s grace toward them. Unlike Adam and Eve who sought to hide from Ha’Shem’s voice, Isaiah cannot keep silent. This is the way it is with those who have received the grace of ADONAI after giving up hope of ever being accepted by Him. It is not a matter of being able to repay God. We are incapable of that. It is a matter of wanting to please Him. It is a matter of love.

The sequence of events in Isaiah’s life should not be overlooked. Each event leads to the next. The king’s death prepares the way for the vision of ADONAI; the vision of God leads to self-despair; self-despair opens the door to cleansing; cleansing makes it possible to recognize the possibility of service; and the climax is service to the LORD Himself.

After responding as he did in 6:8, Isaiah probably thought that his calling would result in the cleansing of the nation. But after he volunteered to be a prophet, he was given a heartbreaking assignment. ADONAI declared: Go and tell this people, “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving” (6:9). This saying would have been a contradiction in the Hebrew mind. Normally, to hear was synonymous with understanding and doing (Deuteronomy 1:43, 6:3). But here, Isaiah is saying that the disease of pride and rebellion was so pervasive that the Israelites would simply fail to comprehend the truth of what they heard. The use of these verses in the New Covenant makes them especially important to understand (Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10 and Acts 28:26-27). Yeshua quoted part of this verse to explain that Y’hudah in His day could not believe because they would not believe (John 12:40).

Tragically, Isaiah was to warn the people of Judah with no positive response. In other words, he was commissioned to go and have an unsuccessful ministry. Perhaps Isaiah hoped that by serving the LORD, the nation might be cleansed. But he is told to go to a people who would be unable to understand what he had to say. The people had not listened before and they would not listen now. In fact, they would become even more calloused against God after hearing the message from His prophet.

But these verses also reveal that Isaiah’s message had a different purpose. Here we come to the heart of God’s commission. The preaching of ADONAI’s prophet would not make it easier for the people to believe and repent; it would make it more difficult. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (6:10).

But why would God desire to harden the hearts of His people? Why would He not want them to be healed? It is evident that something is more important here than healing. If Isaiah were faithful to his calling and declared the holiness of ADONAI, it would only harden his generation in its rebellion (3:8-9; 5:18-19). The prophet couldn’t water down God’s truth, which would be a mockery. For what can heal except the LORD’s truth? He couldn’t try to salvage his generation at the expense of future generations. But if the truth could not save the present generation, if it would, in fact, destroy that generation, it could, if faithfully recorded, save future generations. This then was Isaiah’s commission, as it is with all servants of God. Not to merely be successful in a human sense, but to be faithful. What was true in Isaiah’s day is true today: some listen, but even though most refuse to listen, we must still spread the gospel (Ezeki’el 3:11).²⁰

The hearts of God’s people, synonymous with their minds or understanding, would be calloused in three ways. First, they are without feeling for any work of divine grace. Secondly, they are unable to listen. Thirdly, they have no ability to see. The result is spiritual blindness, deafness and spiritual death. The reason they are being hardened so much is that they might repent and be healed. God can only tolerate sin for so long. Because of Israel’s continual hardening, now they will be hardened for good so that their punishment can be assured, but future generations could be saved.

The fulfillment of Isaiah’s warning came in three ways. First, was the judgment of the Babylonian Captivity, just as he had promised (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). Secondly, when Jesus came the masses would not accept His clear and simple teachings, like the Sermon on the Mount, so He spoke to them in parables that they could not understand (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Er – That Same Day He Spoke to Them in Parables). Thirdly, He gave the gift of languages to the early messianic community (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach ha-Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot). This gift was observable in a dramatic way on the festival of Shavu’ot, and continued during the apostolic age from time to time as a testimony against those who would not believe. Like the parables, those of faith would be able to understand them and those without faith could not. The Ruach Ha’Kodesh tells us that tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers (First Corinthians 14:21-22). Therefore, the LORD gave His truth to Y’hudah in simple, clear teaching that was ignored, and then He spoke in parables that were meaningless riddles without faith. Finally, He spoke in unintelligible languages that could not be understood without translation.

Some have wondered if these verses remove people from responsibility for personal sin. The answer is certainly not! While ADONAI is sovereign over sin and belief, people are always responsible for their actions because God has given to us the ability to choose (Genesis 2:16-17, 4:6-10; Jeremiah 36:3-7; Ezeki’el 18; John 7:17). The sovereignty of the LORD never abolishes human responsibility. No, YHVH was offering here the sinful nation was forgiveness and blessing on the basis of repentance (Isaiah 1:16-20). But they had persistently refused . . . and God, the Spirit of God is a Gentleman. He will not kick down the door of your heart if you refuse to open it. As a result, this generation of Jews would be under judgment, and the words of Isaiah would only serve to harden their hearts and confirm their unbelief. The same sun that softens wax, hardens clay. Through the pain of Isaiah we can learn a valuable lesson. Many times, by the grace of ADONAI, our ministries are successful; but sometimes, like Isaiah, all God asks of us is to be faithful.

Your Guilt Is Taken Away and Your Sin Atoned For
6: 6-7

Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for DIG: Sacrificial animals were burned on the bronze altar in the courtyard of the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, as a substitute for the death of the sinner. What is the significance of Isaiah’s lips being touched with a coal from this altar? Why was Isaiah’s mouth touched? What does circumcision of the heart mean (Romans 2:29)?

REFLECT: What is the difference between head knowledge affirming that your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for, and emotionally experiencing it? Which is more consistent? In which of these two areas does Satan attack your belief about your salvation? Head knowledge or feelings? Where does faith come in? Has your heart been circumcised?

Realizing his sinful condition, Isaiah was cleansed by ADONAI, through the ministry of one of the seraphs, who flew to him with a live coal in his hand. He had taken the burning coal with the tongs from the altar. The fiery coal from the hand of the fiery seraph touched Isaiah’s lips. This was the bronze altar seen in the courtyard of both the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and then the Temple in Yerushalayim (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze). With it he touched the prophets mouth and said: See, this has touched your lips, now your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for (6:6-7).

Fire is a symbol of the LORD’s judgment throughout the Bible. We see this from the burning sulfur raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24), to death and Sh’ol being thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). Realizing his impurity, Isaiah was cleansed by God with the help of one of the seraphs. Seraphs mean, to burn, so even God’s ministers were flames of fire. This, then, speaks of the depth of the LORD’s grace in relation to this fire. Isaiah does not plead for mercy, nor does he make great promises if YHVH would only deliver him. All of the evidence makes it appear that the prophet considered his case hopeless. Yet out of the smoke came a seraph with a purifying hot burning coal from the altar. ADONAI does not reveal Himself to destroy us, but rather to redeem us (so it was with Jacob in Genesis 32, and with the Israelites in Exodus 19 through 24).

This symbolic action atoned for Isaiah’s sin. There is, of course, nothing in the burning coal itself that can deal with a sinful heart. In the same way, the bread and the wine of communion do not take away sin. The altar is a place of sacrifice because blood is the means of sacrifice. In fact, according to the Torah, nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22 CJB). The seraph touched Isaiah’s lips because that is where he was most conscious of his sin. Remember he said: For I am a man of unclean lips. As a result, his guilt was taken away, and his sin was covered. The fire on the altar was heavenly and holy, and as such burned away, so to speak, the impurities of sin. But this was as far as it went. Until Messiah died, the sin of the righteous of the TaNaKh could not be removed, only covered.

Of course, this is what the entire nation needed. Judah needed to respond as Isaiah did, admitting their need of cleansing from sin. But unlike the prophet, most members of Judah refused to admit they had a spiritual need. Through the priests, they burned sacrifices at the Temple, but their lives needed the purifying action of God’s cleansing through fire.¹⁸

What causes this sin and wickedness in the human heart? It is that arrogant self-sufficiency that refuses to acknowledge Yeshua as Lord and Savior. First, we inherited our sin nature from Adam. Paul tells us that just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all mankind, because all have sinned (Romans 5:12). But secondly, we also inherit an arrogant self-sufficiency that refuses to bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:20-11). This is the ultimate uncleanness of which Isaiah had been accusing his people, and then, much to his chagrin, he had found that it had taken up residence within him also! What Isaiah learned then, and we need to learn today, is that apart from the fires of self-surrender and divine surgery (Acts 2:1-4), having a circumcised heart is impossible.

As Moshe had said: Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer (Deuteronomy 10:6). Jews were circumcised (see my commentary on Genesis En – For Generations to Come Every Male Among You Must Be Circumcised). In fact, one could not be a Jew and be uncircumcised. So even when a Gentile converted to Judaism they were circumcised. It was part of the Covenant God made with Abraham. This was done in a ritual usually performed at a ceremony called brit milah when a baby boy is eight days old. The ritual established a covenant between YHVH and the individual. It was part of their identity as God’s own people.

This passage, however, instructs ADONAI’s people not merely to circumcise the flesh, but to circumcise their hearts. This means a couple of things. First, it means being a child of God, being part of God’s covenant, is more than the way we appear outwardly. It means that it isn’t good enough to just change the flesh; we must change our attitudes, our hearts, from the inside out. If we are to love those who are the least, the last, the little and the lost, we must change our hearts towards them. We can’t be stiff-necked, as it says in Deuteronomy. We can’t be cold, distant, or hardheaded toward those who need our love and care. We must change our hearts. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Messiah Yeshua, and have no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3).

I Am a Man of Unclean Lips
6: 5

I am a man of unclean lips DIG: What made Isaiah despair for his life and confess his sin (see Exodus 20:19 and 33:20)? What does ruined really mean? What did the prophet believe was going to happen to him? Why?

REFLECT: How is your experience of God like Isaiah’s? Awestruck? Guilt-ridden? Cleansed? Changed? Has it changed your opinion of yourself or those around you? Why or why not?

At this point, Isaiah becomes brutally aware of himself, feeling uneasy to the point of terror at being in the very presence of the Creator. After pronouncing judgment upon others (5:8-25), now he must pronounce judgment upon himself. Prophetic announcement was not enough; personal confrontation was necessary. Eventually, everyone in Y’hudah needed to acknowledge their condition before ADONAI-Tzva’ot (CJB).

When Isaiah saw a vision of God seated on a throne, high and exalted, he exclaimed: Woe to me! I am ruined. The English word ruined is translated from the Hebrew word dama, meaning silence brought about by loss (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Di – A Message Concerning the Philistines), or death (Psalm 49:12). To be silenced or put out of existence in this context would mean to be excluded from the heavenly choir singing: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts. He therefore lamented: I am ruined, because he suddenly realized that he was a man of unclean lips and he lived among people of unclean lips. Why had he come to that conclusion? His eyes had seen the King, the LORD of heaven’s armies in a vision (6:5 CJV), and in God’s holy presence, Isaiah came face to face with his own true spiritual condition. Later he would write: All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away (Isaiah 64:6). He fully expected to be put out of existence and gives three reasons why:

First, he realized his own impure state: For I am a man of unclean lips. While the lips of the seraphim were saying holy, holy, holy, Isaiah’s lips were sinful and unclean. We can only see our sinfulness when we see God’s holiness. As long as we compare ourselves to others, either some believers or unbelievers, we can come out looking very good. There is always someone worse than we are. But when we see the One who is holy, holy, holy, then we see our own sinful condition. The book of Job is a good example of this. In places like Job 1:8 and Job 2:3, when compared with other men and women, he always comes out looking good. YHVH said that there was no one on earth like him; he was blameless and upright. But after being in the presence of ADONAI, Job fully recognized his sinful state (Job 42:5-6).

Secondly, Isaiah states: I live among people of unclean lips. Isaiah had previously condemned Y’hudah’s sins in the first five chapters. He was faithful to his position as a prophet and delivered the message that God intended to send to the southern kingdom of Judah. But nonetheless, the prophet was very hard on her. But then he recognized that he was in the same boat as the rest of the nation. In other words, he had the same sin nature that they had. I am sure it was a pretty humbling experience.

Such an encounter cannot help but produce despair. For the finite, the mortal, the incomplete and the fallible to encounter the Infinite, the Eternal, the Complete and the Infallible, is to realize the futility and hopelessness of one’s existence. This is why existential thinking leads to a desperate dependence on self and the exclusion of YHVH. It presumes there is no meaning in the universe and, as a result, they are thus meaningless. It is no surprise that they question why they should go on living. Apart from the way the truth and the life (John 14:6), there is only death, separation and darkness.

Thirdly, he feared death. It could not have been a coincidence that in the year of King Uzziah’s death, Isaiah saw the King. The prophet realized that the fate of Judah, as well as his own fate, did not rest in the hands of a human king, however competent and faithful he may be. More accurately, it is in the hands of the Creator. The lesser king had to be removed so that the greater King could be seen. Later he could say: My eyes have seen the King, ADONAI-Tzva’ot. From that moment on, he was reluctant to call anyone King but God.

Once there was a man who took his children up to a cabin without his wife. The cabin is a rustic place with no running water, no electricity, but plenty of space for the kids to run and play. On the day that they were to go back home, he got them dressed in the morning, packed up the van, and loaded them in. He took a look at them as he was getting them in the van, and thought they look pretty good – a little grubby, but clean enough. They all slept as he drove until they pulled into a McDonalds to get lunch – then he looked back at them, and they were disgusting! What looked clean at the cabin, now in the light of civilization, looked disgusting! Isaiah had the same experience – he looked pretty good – good enough to walk into the Temple, but in the gleaming light of the presence of a perfect, holy God, he was dirty enough to die! “I’m going to die!” he says. He is a prophet of the Most High, and out of his mouth came the very words of the LORD when he spoke: I am a man of unclean lips, and I come from a people of unclean lips.

The Cleansing of Isaiah
6: 5-7

At this point, the prophet becomes aware of his own spiritual shortcomings, as well as those of the people with whom he lives. Isaiah has been aware of the awesome holiness of ADONAI with all of His transcendence, and now he is suddenly and brutally aware of himself. He who had been pronouncing woe upon others now must pronounce woe upon himself. If this experience did come at the onset of his ministry, then its force here is that members of the nation must come to recognize their condition before the LORD. Prophecy is not enough. Personal confrontation is necessary.

We are fooling ourselves if we think that we can serve the LORD in our own strength. First, we must come to the end of our rope. The process of becoming a child of God begins in our recognition of the hopelessness of our situation. It begins when we are finally willing to turn over the steering wheel of our lives to ADONAI. It continues when we recognize the true nature of God. Then, and only then, can we appreciate the gulf between the LORD and ourselves. This gulf is our sinfulness. Only when we acknowledge that gulf can we receive the incredible and undeserved grace of God that cleanses us.

An old American Indian tale recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. “It is like two dogs fighting inside of us,” the chief told them. “There is one good dog who wants to do the right, and the other dog always wants to do the wrong. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and wrong is winning the fight. “Who is going to win in the end?” a young brave asked. The chief answered, “The one you feed.”

In the Year King Uzziah Died
6: 1-4

In the year king Uzziah died DIG: If King Uzziah represents stability to Judah, what did his death mean? Why does YHVH choose this time to reveal Himself to Isaiah? Imagine you are Isaiah. What do you tell a friend about what you saw, heard, felt, and smelled in these verses? What questions about God’s nature and purpose does this encounter raise?

REFLECT: The LORD’s holiness and universal reign awed Isaiah. Which of ADONAI’s attributes most impresses you? Why? Personally, what do you have to do to have God become real to you?

Isaiah apparently wished to locate his vision in time. The reason is a theological one. Judah had known no king like Uzziah since the time of Solomon. He had been an efficient administrator and an able military leader. Under his leadership, Y’hudah had grown in every way (Second Chronicles 26:1-15). He had been a true king. How easy it must have been to focus one’s hopes and trust upon a king like that. What will happen, then, when such a king dies, and coupled with that death there comes the recognition that a resurgent Assyria is pushing nearer and nearer? In moments like that, it would be easy to see the futility of any hope. No earthly king could help Judah in that hour! In the context of such a crisis, ADONAI can make Himself more easily known to us than when times are good, and we are self-confident and complacent. So, the inspired prophet starts with the words: In the year that King Uzziah died (6:1a).

The symbolism of a dying king leads to the vision of the living God. What is in view here is a vision of the splendor, awe, and majestic holiness that surrounds the throne of ADONAI in the heavenly Temple. Although the Hebrews normally believed that you would die if you saw YHVH (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 19:21, 20:19, 33:20; Deuteronomy 18:16, Judges 13:22). Yet, in our weakness, He sometimes clothes Himself with visibility. Showing us a mere glimpse of His glory was usually done for encouragement or confirmation (Genesis 16:9-13, 28:13-15; Exodus 24:9-11, 34:5-10; Judges 6:11-24).

For Isaiah, ADONAI became visibly seated on a throne, high and exalted (1:1a). Evidently the inner veil had been removed and where the ark should have been, was a great throne. Later, Isaiah will use those same words to refer to the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ (52:13 and 57:15). The vision that Isaiah saw, high and exalted symbolized Messiah’s position, supreme before the nations. While Judah’s king may sin, this King could not sin. The hem of His robe filled the Temple in heaven (6:1b CJB), pointing us to His royalty and majesty. The absolute sovereignty of God is being stressed. The Temple and its sacrifices pictured the righteous dealings of ADONAI, dwelling in the midst of His covenant people, Isra’el.

As in Exodus 24:10, where the pavement under God’s feet is described, so here the description of ADONAI’s presence can only rise to the hem of His robe. It is as though words fall apart when we try to describe God Himself. The elders of Isra’el can only tell us of something like blue pavement under His feet; Isaiah can only tell us about how huge His robe was. Did the robe fill the Temple? No, ADONAI did! The point is well made. There is a point beyond which it is too personal, too awesome for man to explain. The human authors of the Scriptures do the best they can.

Above Him were seraphs, each had six wings that were ready for praise and service, which give us a picture of the appropriate response to God’s holiness. With two wings they covered their faces. The verb covered is in the imperfect, indicating continuous action. For even the seraphs dared not brazenly look into the face of the Creator. The sight would be too much for them. With another pair of wings they covered their feet. The exact meaning of this action is not clear. The Targum, an Aramaic translation of the TaNaKh written or compiled from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages, uses the word body or feet and says the body was covered so that it might not be seen. As the created should not look upon the Creator, so the created should not be displayed in the sight of Him either. And with two wings they were flying (6:2). This is their only reference in Scripture. Seraphs mean, to burn, possibly suggesting that they were passionate in their zeal for the LORD. It is also noteworthy that one of these seraphs took a burning coal to Isaiah in 6:6. There are three different orders of beings in heaven: angels, cherubs, and seraphs. Seraphs are noted for having six wings; cherubs have four wings and angels have no wings (Ezeki’el 1:5-6).

The ministry of the seraphim is seen here. They are calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is ADONAI-Tzva’ot (6:3a). Whatever else this experience did for Isaiah, it convinced him that God alone is holy; distinct and separate from everyone and everything else. His holiness is a reflection of His character, and for mankind it pointed toward ethical behavior. Other nations had laws, like the Code of Hammurabi, that they believed came from gods. But what was different about Isra’el was that the entire nation was to reflect His holiness. ADONAI had communicated this through His prophet Moses: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy (Leviticus 19:1). As a result, the righteous of the TaNaKh before the cross, and believers after the cross are held to a higher standard of ethical holiness. To oppress the helpless was to curse ADONAI’s name (Jeremiah 34:16). To use a prostitute dedicated to Ba’al (Hosea 4:14; Genesis 38:21) was to defile the holy name of the LORD (Amos 2:7). Or to practice homosexuality was, and is, to pollute His name (Genesis 19:1-11; Leviticus 18:22 and 29-30, 20:13; Judges 19:16-24; First Kings 14:24, 15:12; Second Kings 23:7; Romans 1:18-32; First Corinthians 6:9-11; First Timothy 1:8-10; Jude 7).

Who was this that sat on the throne? Not just any god, but the holy One. He is holy, holy, holy, the holiest One of them all. He is the holy One. There is none other who is called by that name. It is the strongest form of being beyond compare in the Hebrew. The way it is used here points to the fact that ADONAI, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was superior to all of the so-called gods.

Isaiah then declared that the whole earth is full of His glory (6:3b). From this statement we know that the Sh’khinah glory, the very presence of God Himself, was not restricted to the Tabernacle in the wilderness or the Temple in Jerusalem (to see link click Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You). But it is also a way of saying that what we see all around us is merely His reflection (see the commentary on Revelation Fu – A Great High Wall with Twelve Gates). As mentioned above, the LORD is the embodiment of purity and ethics. Consequently, wherever God is present, judgment of sin is present. For the two cannot coexist one without the other (Psalm 29:1-9, 89:5-18; Jeremiah 13:15-17; Amos 4:13, 5:8-9, 9:5-6).

Lastly was the result of this declaration of His holiness. At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook and the Temple was filled with smoke (6:4). The thresholds (Amos 9:1) were large foundation stones on which the doorposts stood. The shaking suggests the awesome presence and power of ADONAI (Exodus 19:18). When the Temple fills with smoke, it is always a sign of the Sh’khinah glory (Exodus 20:18; First Kings 8:10-13; and Ezeki’el 10:4).

Isaiah’s whole life changed when he saw the majestic LORD seated on His heavenly throne. His awesome vision of God pierced him, causing him to cry out: I am a man of unclean lips . . . For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isaiah 6:5). You will never deal effectively with your sin without first realizing who God is. When you study His Word and begin to grasp His holiness, a deep reverence for Him grows in your heart. You, like Isaiah, are humbled before Him and realize that you fall far short of His holiness. Yet before discouragement can creep in, you also realize that God loves you deeply. 
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, ADONAI takes away your sins and shows you His amazing love. The crucifixion and resurrection are the beautiful visions YHVH gives you of His awesome holiness and majesty.

The Call of Isaiah
6: 1-13

DIG: Why is the call of Isaiah placed here instead of at the beginning of the book?

In one sense ADONAI has revealed Himself to us through His Word and His Son who tabernacled among us (John 1:14), but in another sense ADONAI is a God who hides Himself (45:15). No matter how hard we try, all of our efforts to understand YHVH are doomed to failure. His plans and purposes are a mystery to us because His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (55:8-9). We will only know the Lord when He decides to reveal Himself to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). When we search for God in our own strength – that is, when the direction of the search is from down upward – we cannot succeed. It is only when ADONAI seeks us – that is, when the direction of the search is from up downward – that contact between God and ourselves can be made. The call of YHVH to His people, then, is basic to biblical faith. Every man-made religion is founded on the principle that it is possible for people to reach out and touch God through their own initiative. But our faith, as taught in the Bible, affirms that our relationship to the LORD is based on divine grace and not on human activity. Revelation takes place only when the Creator discloses Himself to us.¹⁷

While Jeremiah and Ezeki’el place their calls at the beginning of their books, Isaiah places his in Chapter 6, following the initial prophecies. It makes for a smooth transition. Just as Chapter 6 is the conclusion to Chapters 1-5, it is also the introduction to Chapters 7-12. In addition, the placement here rather than at the beginning accomplishes two things. First, the vision of the Holy, Holy, Holy One reinforces what Isaiah has already said in the first five chapters, and establishes several themes that he will detail in Chapters 7 to 66 – that a Holy God cannot tolerate sin! Secondly, it vindicates Isaiah’s authority to say what he is going to say. The readers might be asking themselves, “Why should we believe this prophet and respond to his message?” This chapter demonstrates that the One True God called Isaiah, and that his message should not be ignored.

Attempts to determine the nature of the vision are endless. Whether it was ecstatic, mystical or “actual” has no bearing upon the reality of the impact on Isaiah’s ministry. How he saw the Lord is insignificant. What matters is that he saw Him, and saw Him in such a way that changed his ministry and his life forever. When we encounter Ha’Shem’s Word today, it should do the same for us.

He Lifts Up a Banner for the Distant Nations
5: 26-30

He lifts up a banner for the distant nations DIG: What will be the climactic judgment they have to face? What are these invaders like? How will this prophecy be fulfilled by Assyria during Isaiah’s lifetime (see Second Kings 18:17-24) and later by Babylon (see Second Kings 25:1-7)?

REFLECT: What lessons from war do you think the LORD wants you to learn? Does the woeful reality of this chapter make you hunger all the more for the hopeful vision of 2:1-4? Why is it that some people never appreciate the good news of peace without first hearing the bad news of war?

Earlier, Isaiah had described the wild grapes of the vineyard (5:8-25), and pointed to the Israelites coming destruction in 5:13-17 and 24-25. Now he makes that allusion explicit in a powerful piece of poetry. The wild animals are called and now come to trample the vineyard. For those who mocked Isaiah and asked for God to hurry His work, Isaiah now assures them that God’s plan will come much more suddenly than they could ever imagine. He does not reveal who the destroyer will be here; that will come later. For him, the point was to indicate the imminent, irresistible destruction that was to come.

Here the prophet introduces the theme that will be expanded later, especially in 10:5-34. The Gentile nations are but an instrument in the LORD’s hands. This is how the judgment will come: ADONAI lifts up a banner for the distant nations as a signal for war, He whistles for those at the ends of the earth as they rise and move toward their target. Here Egypt, Assyria and Babylon come swiftly and speedily! (5:26). A common custom in the east is that of calling the attention of anyone in the street by a significant hiss or whistle. In the prophecy of Zechariah, God says concerning the children of Ephraim: I will hiss or signal for them and gather them in . . . (Zechariah 10:8). Here there is doubtless a reference to the same custom of calling attention by a hiss or whistle.¹⁶

A rapid and remorseless attack of the enemy army would be at hand. Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one of them slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken (5:27). There would be no stragglers, stumbling or sleepiness. No one would be half-prepared, with broken sandals or equipment.

Next Isaiah describes the speed of their attack. The cynical request that God hurry up in 5:19 finds their wishes fulfilled here. The enemy’s weapons are prepared, with arrows sharpened and bows already strung, ready for action. Their horses’ hooves are hard as flint, so they will not break down on the journey, and the chariot wheels are turning so fast that they blur like a whirlwind (5:28).

Pictures of the irresistible predator and inescapable storm complete Isaiah’s prophecy of doom. Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions in their prime strength. The doubling here points to the wide-range of the attack. Isra’el would be facing every possible kind of predator. They growl as they seize their pray and carry it off with no one to rescue them. In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. The end result will be that if anyone looked at the Land, they would see nothing but darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds (5:29-30). No matter where they look, everything was black. The devastation would be complete. Like the lion, once the invader has seized its prey and begins to drag it off, there will be no one to deliver Y’hudah from its mouth.

To get a comprehensive picture of the vineyard motif we need to put five elements together. In the first element, in Psalm 80:8-11, ADONAI took a vine out of Egypt and planted it in the land.

In the second element, in Isaiah 5:1 through 7, God looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Because it produced sour grapes, it became desolate. Jeremiah 2:21 says the same thing. In 12:10-11, the ones ultimately responsible for bringing desolation on the vineyard are clearly the shepherds or leaders of Judah. In Hosea 10:1-3, the LORD says that the vine was productive, but only in producing bad fruit. In this case, the wild grapes are a symbol of idolatry. Therefore, no matter what God did for the plant, the end result was always bad fruit.

The third element of this motif is found in Matthew 21:33-45, and there are also some elements in Jeremiah 12:10-11. The leadership is responsible for the desolation of the vineyard. Just like Jeremiah said, the shepherds of Judah, the ones responsible for the destruction of the vineyard, were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They had rejected the Landowner’s servants, or the prophets, and now they were going to reject His Son. Wicked tenants controlled the vine. The key emphasis in the prophets and the gospels is that the Jewish leadership is responsible for leading the nation astray.

The fourth element, in Psalm 80:12-19, is that ultimately the vine will seek justice and help from ADONAI. In verse 17 of that same psalm, the specific One that they are asking for is the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God. In other words, the vine will request the return of the Messiah.

That will lead to the fifth element in Isaiah 27:2 through 6, when the vineyard seeks God’s help and returns to Him in the Millennial Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). At that point of Isra’el’s seeking help and returning to God, it will produce good fruit. The vine and the vineyard is one of the motifs that God uses for Isra’el.

Therefore, The LORD’s Anger Burns Against His People
5: 25

Therefore, the LORD’s anger burns against His people DIG: This verse sums up God’s anger against all the bad fruit described so far. If judgment has already come to Judah, why is yet more punishment necessary?

REFLECT: The Scriptures teach us what a dreadful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. When have you experienced the discipline of the living God? Have you seen the results His discipline in those whom you love? How did it make you feel? How do you think it makes God feel? How can this be avoided?

The fourth consequence depicts the Judean slaughter in battle. Therefore, the LORD’s anger burns against His people; His hand is raised and He strikes them down. The Hebrew used here has the prophetic perfect; the event, though in the future, is viewed as already happened. Now Isaiah moves from a figure of speech to a more specific announcement. The hedge is about to be taken away and the animals summoned to come in and trample the vines (5:5). The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets, strewn everywhere as a result of a military attack. And just as the Judeans thought that they had some relief, the fist of YHVH would come down with vengeance again. Yet for all this, His anger is not turned away, His hand is still upraised (5:25). When reading the Book of Immanuel section in Chapters 7 through 12, Isaiah will drive home that phrase four different times.

The Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish (Second Peter 3:9), but there is an end to His patience. And that time had come for Judea. Even though they were the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 17:8), they were deep in denial and sin. He had to discipline them, if not, they were without hope. Because He loved them so much, ADONAI could do no less. This was true then, and it is just as true for us today.

The writer to the Hebrews wrote: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God . . . It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Ci – If We Deliberately Keep On Sinning, No Sacrifice For Sins is Left).

Therefore, as Tongues of Fire Lick Up Straw
Their Roots Will Decay
5: 24

Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw their roots will decay DIG: What is the picture Isaiah gives us here? Why is he so harsh? Who was responsible for the predicament they found themselves in? Did they realize how far they had strayed from their heritage as a nation? From their responsibility to take care of God’s vineyard? How did this happen? Where do you see it happening today?

REFLECT: Not much has changed over the years. What happens to those who reject God’s Word? Many times it seems as though the arrogant prosper (Psalms 37 and 73). But what is their final destiny (Revelation 20:11-15)? What have been the choices in your life? How have they worked out for you so far? 

The third therefore is a picture of total destruction. Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw, and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust (5:24a). In vivid language the fearful penalty is described. There is nothing to be done with the vineyard except to destroy it. Their judgment will be like fire racing through straw. The bad grapes they have produced are only good for burning. The whole vine will be burned, both roots and flowers. No plant can survive if the conditions to sustain it are not present. Decay and destruction are always the result. The Jewish leadership pictured here had cut itself off from the One who sustained it. Specifically, they have rejected the Torah of ADONAI and spurned the word of the Holy One of Isra’el (5:24b). The root cause was rejection of revelation. They had rejected the Torah and the prophets. Because of this, they faced divine judgment from the One whom they had taken for granted. The punishment would fit the crime.