Isaiah 7:1-8:18

Introduction to Isaiah

http://www.biblica.com/niv/studybible/isaiah.php

Isaiah 7:1-8:18

- Quoted text: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

- Quoted text: Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

- There is no need to fear when one trusts God.

- Interesting points:

Isaiah 7:9

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

- This means, trust the Lord. If you do not trust Him, then you will fail.

Isaiah 7:12

“Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’”

- Although this is a good mindset (God has said to never put Him to the test), we can see that this isn’t the case here, as seen in the next sentence, below.

Isaiah 7:13

“Will you try the patience of my God also?”

- This suggests that God is trying to deliver a message/prophecy, as mentioned below.

Isaiah 7:14

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and^d will call him Immanuel.”

- I find this prophecy interesting because it shows that Christ was not the only human born from a virgin!

Isaiah 7:1–9

2 Kings 16:1–6

- Judah's crisis was that they could not overpower Jerusalem.

- The name of Isaiah’s first son means “a remnant shall return.” This means that a portion of Israelites will return to Jerusalem.

- Aram has allied itself with Ephraim, and Ahaz are not allies with these two great powers.

- Always place faith in God and trust that He will do what He has promised to do—and that is, to protect His people.

- The definition of “Sovereign” is:

The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor.

Syn: King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor. [1913 Webster]

Hence, the significance of “the Sovereign Lord” means God is the one true King of Everything.

- God is the one true King, and that there are no other gods.

Isaiah 7:10–16

Matthew 1

2 Kings 16:7–10

Exodus 17:1–7

Deuteronomy 6:16

- Ahaz placed his trust in other gods and chose not to trust in the Lord

- God gave Ahaz the sign, as quoted in Isaiah 7:14-16

“Therefore 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. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 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.”

This sign means Israel will eventually be saved.

- According to Matthew 1, this prophecy points to Jesus Christ.

- Most importantly, Christian do NOT disregard Jesus as the sign from God. Israelites do. And the reason why Israelites do is because God had long predicted that they would be blind to what they see and deaf to what they hear. The Israelites thus could not and cannot comprehend the meaning of Jesus Christ until the end of times.

Isaiah 7:17–8:10

- In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes. In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River^f—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also. In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats. And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,^g there will be only briers and thorns. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. 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.

God will do this to bring on the King of Assyria, to bring the end of Damascus and Ephraim.

- Despite their current hardship, the Lord is on their side and will help them out of this situation.

- “This people” and “You nations” = people of Damascus and Ephraim, people who chose to disobey God , who has no faith in God, who chose to place their faith in other gods. These people and nations will be destroyed.

Isaiah 8:11–18

- Isaiah says if we put our faith in our Lord, we should have no fear.

- To fear the Lord means to understand that He is our maker and thus to respect that He is the one—the ONLY one—who can make anything happen. To realize that we may plan all we want and manipulate all we want and think that we can do whatever we wish, but that at the end of the day, no matter how powerful we THINK we are, God can destroy it all with a simple wave of His hands.

Isaiah 28:16

Romans 9:30–33

1 Peter 2:4–10

- To the Israelites, Jesus is a stumbling stone.

- To the Gentiles, Jesus is a sanctuary.

Isaiah 7:1–8:18

- Trust God no matter what. Especially at times when things are hard and doubts start to set in. It is especially easy for us to lose faith during those vulnerable moments, and thus it is even more critical for us to remain close to God and to constantly seek His guidance.