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.
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