Chapters 7-9

Isaiah 7 and the Assyrian Crisis, Part One

INTRODUCTION

In chapters seven through twelve are a group of messages that are tied directly to the Assyrian crisis, in that Assyria was rising to be a threat to God's people. Shortly, Assyria will destroy the northern nation of Israel (722 B.C.) and threaten Judah. This section will end in a triumphat assurance in chapter 12 to the righteous remnant of Judah. Remember if we can that this section pretains to the era of King Pekah and King Ahaz, both wicked men. Chapter seven deals with the world's wisdom and the Messiah. Yhe over all theme is man's wisdom versus the wisdom of God.

The Bible Reference to this event______

2^nd Kings 15:37

In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.

And Again:

Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 2nd Kings 16:5

And Again:

So the Assyrians attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. They also killed King Rezin. - 2 Kings 16:9

History from the Assyrian Records in the British Musem____
Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the 8th century BC and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He is considered one of the most successful military commanders in world history, conquering most of the world known to the ancient Assyrians before his death. Pileser’s annals have left us clear evidence of these two men named Pekah and Rezin.

Calah Annals of Tiglath Pileser
“I received the tribute of Rezin, the Damascene, Menahem, the Samarian, Hiram, the Tyrian.” - COS 2, 285, 2.117A Calah Annals ca. 738-37

"I carried off to Assyria the land of Bit-Humria (Israel), its auxiliary army…all of its people,… I killed Pekah, their king, and I installed Hoshea as king over them. I received from them 10 talents of gold, x talents of silver, with their possessions and I carried them to Assyria." - COS 2, 288, 2.117C - Summary Inscription ca. 731

Tilgath Pileser III: Campaign Against Syria
From a building inscription preserved on clay - The Ancient Near East Inscriptions Volume I (page 193) by: James Pritchard. Compare these inscriptions with the Bible:

“I receieved the trubute of Kushtashpi of Commagene, Urik of Que, Sibbittibel of Byblos, Enilil of Hamath, Jehoahaz of Judah"

“Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria”
- 2 Kings 13

“I received tribute from Rezon of Damascus and Manehem of Samaria“

Manehem the son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned in Samaria - 2 Kings 15

“I received from him. Israel (”Omri-Land”) all it’s inhabitants and their possessions I led to Assyria. They overthrew their King Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king over them”

"In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria. In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years - 2 Kings 15-17

Scriptures
2 Kings 15 In the days of Pekah King of Israel came Tiglath Pileser King of Assyria.

The Lesson Text: 7:1 through 10:24

See the reaction of Ahaz to the threat of Pekah and Rezin and is reliance on the help of Assyria.
Look at God's approach to the problem of aggression by these two kings and the sign He offers Ahaz that Jerusalem will not be harmed.
Read about the fate of the faithful remnant and the fate of boastful Samaria.

THE WORLD'S WISDOM AND THE MESSIAH (7:1-25).

About 735 B.C. Ahaz is threated by Pekah and Rezin. His trust should have been in YHWH but instead he appeals to Assyria.

A. The Impending Crisis (vs. 1-9)

War against Jerusalem

1Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.2When it was reported to the house of David, saying, "The Arameans have camped in Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller's field,4and say to him, 'Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.5'Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,6"Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"7thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.8"For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people),9and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last."

1. Confronted with peril (vs. 1-2).

a. The political outlook (v.1). Under the weak rule of Ahaz, the king of Judah the tiny nation sunk very low, and the King of Damascus and the King of Israel think it is about time to attack his little kingdom.

b. The alarm of the Royal family (v.2).

2. The Meeting with Isaiah (vs.3-9).

a. A sign of deliverance___the prophet's sun Shear-Jashub "a remnant shall return" (vs. 1-6)________The prophet Isaiah walks among the people and beside him stands on boy whose name is "you are going into captivity" and the name of the other is "a remnant shall return."

The Son of Tabeel__________

TABEEL, THE SON OF (Heb. טָבְאַל, pausal form of טָבְאֵל, "God is good" (in Aramaic), Ezra 4:7). When Pekah, king of Israel, and *Rezin, king of Aram, formed a coalition of states to resist the growing power of Assyria, Jotham, ruler of Judah, refused to join this coalition. Not wanting a neutral and potentially hostile state in their rear, Pekah and Rezin invaded Judah in 735 B.C.E. (II Kings 15:37). At this time of crisis, Jotham died, and his son Ahaz reigned in his stead. Isaiah the prophet came to the king with the message that the plans of Israel and Aram would not succeed. Their plan was stated by the prophet in this manner: "Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel" (Isa. 7:6). Thus, Ahaz was to be removed from the Judean throne, and "the son of Tabeel," more congenial to Israelite-Aramean interests, was to become king.

Medieval commentators are agreed that the son of Tabeel is an important official of Israel or Aram, but differ on the exact interpretation of the name Tabeel. One view translates the name (following the Targum) as "the one good for us," regarding Tabeel as an abbreviation for ha-tov ʾ elenu (Rashi, Kimḥi, Ibn Ezra). Another commonly held view explains Tabeel as referring to Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel. However, there are those who interpret the name as meaning the son of "no good."

But YHWH will have a say in this matter________________

b. A word of deliverance__the voice of God (vs. 7-9).

1) Be careful.

2) Stay calm.

3) Do not fear.

4) Do not lose heart.

5) Trust in God.

B. The Sign of Immanuel (vs. 10-16)

The Child Immanuel

10Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,11"Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven."12But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!"13Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?14"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.15"He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.16"For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

1. The faithful offer (v.s 10-11). Notice the Lord's grace and mercy even to the wicked Ahaz.

2. The faithless response (v.12). His words which at first hearing may not sound very humble are the height of unbelief.

3. The fearless rebuke___(v.13). The worst form of sin is not "righteousness violated" but "mercy despised."

4Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Romans 2:4-5

4. The fabulous sign (vs. 14-16).

a. Miraculous conception.

b. Ordinary consumption.

c. Imminent confrontation.

5. Concerning the birth of Christ:

a. His birth was to be in the form of a wonderful sign.

b. The mother was to be a chaste virgin.

c. The very presence of this child will bring God to His people.

d. This prophecy can only be interpreted in light of Jesus Christ.

C. The Assyrian Danger (vs. 17-25)

Trials to Come for Judah

17"The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day thatEphraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria."18In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.19They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places.20In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.21Now in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep;22and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey.23And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns.24People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns.25As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

1. Destroyed by Strange tools (vs. 17-20).

a. The Lord's helpers are __flies and bees.

b. The Lord's hireling___The Razor of Assyria.

2. Devastated by strong judgment (vs. 21-22). A return to simple life (food, housing, money).

3. Destruction of the cultivated land (vs.23-25). Men will hunt and animals will feed on the land you now covet.

THE MESSIAH IS TO DELIVER__(8:1-8)

A. Maher-Shalel-Hash-Baz (8:1-4)

1Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.2"And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."3So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz;4for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.

1. The scroll (vs. 1-2). The writing down on the scroll is to show the sureness of the matter. The witnesses are called to certify the accuracy.

2. The sign (vs. 3-4). Before the boy knows his father and mother, Samaria will be gone to Assyria.

B. Foolish Choice (8:5-8).

"Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying,
    6"Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
         And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
    7"Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
         Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
         And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.
    8"Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
         It will reach even to the neck;
         And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

1. The false standard (vs.5-6)__Human alliance with Rezin and Pekah.

2. The fatal issue (vs. 7-8). Assyria will destroy Israel and flood Judah. Thus you will know the Lord is present.

C. Final Triumph__Grace (vs. 9-15).

9"Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered;
         And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
         Gird yourselves, yet be shattered;
         Gird yourselves, yet be shattered.
    10"Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
         State a proposal, but it will not stand,
         For God is with us."11For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
    12"You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!'
         In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
         And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
    13"It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
         And He shall be your fear,
         And He shall be your dread.
    14"Then He shall become a sanctuary;
         But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
         And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
    15"Many will stumble over them,
         Then they will fall and be broken;
         They will even be snared and caught."

1. Impotence of the ungodly (vs. 9-10). Again, because of Immanuel.

2. Power of God's righteousness (vs.11-15).

a. Warning: Do not conspire with or fear the enemy (vs.11-12).

b. Admonition: The Lord Almighty is the only one to consider and fear (v.13).

c. Promise: God will be a sanctuary to the righteous.(v.14a).

d. Threat: God will cause both Israel land Judah to stumble be snared and captured.

D. Faithful Remnant___Trust (vs.16-22).

16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.17And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him.18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.19When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.21They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.22Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

Here we see the helplessness of superstition.

1. Oracle is sealed (vs. 16-17). The prophet representing the righteous among God's people states his trust in God.

2. Future pledged (v.18). In the signs found in the names of the prophet's sons.

3. Magic repudiated (v.19).

4. Return urged (v. 20).

5. Repentance, but too late (vs. 21-22). When one's trust is totally in the power of man he is likely to curse both man and God when it fails him.

E. Future Hope__Deliverance (9:1-7)

Isaiah 9

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

1But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
.

God makes it clear that there is a bright future for Israel but that bright future was in the hands of God alone and His Anointed One (Messiah).

1. Gloom dispelled (v.1), This will be the result of a man coming from "Galilee of the Gentiles." Read Matthew 4:13-15

13and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
    15"THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI,
         BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES--
    16"THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT,
         AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH,
         UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED."

2. Good bestowed (vs. 2-5).

2The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
3You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

a. The dawning light of a new day (vs. 2-5).

b. The rejoicing people in a new land (v.3).

c. The overcoming judgment of God on behalf of His people (vs. 4-5).

3. Glory shown (vs. 6-7)

    6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
    7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
         On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
         To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
         From then on and forevermore .
         The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

a. Child born__virgin birth

b. Son given___effective death of Christ

c. Throne claimed___spiritual kingdom

d. Messiah is named!

1) Wonderful Counselor__Wisdom

2) Might God___He will be Deity

3) Father of Eternity____He is YHWH

4) Prince of Peace____He is the victor.

BOASTFUL SAMARIA'S FALL (9:8__10:34).

A. Past Loss__No Impression (9:8-12)

8The Lord sends a message against Jacob,
         And it falls on Israel.
    9And all the people know it,
         That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
         Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
    10"The bricks have fallen down,
         But we will rebuild with smooth stones;
         The sycamores have been cut down,
         But we will replace them with cedars."
    11Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries from Rezin
         And spurs their enemies on,
    12The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;
         And they devour Israel with gaping jaws
         In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
         And His hand is still stretched out.

The arrogant fools of Israel not only ignored past judgment but boasted that they could recover without God's help.

B. Past Judgment___No Repentance (9:13-17).

  13Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them,
         Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
    14So the LORD cuts off head and tail from Israel,
         Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
    15The head is the elder and honorable man,
         And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
    16For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
         And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion.
    17Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men,
         Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows;
         For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,
         And every mouth is speaking foolishness
         In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
         And His hand is still stretched out.

1. The people refused to acknowledge God as their judge and God (v.13)

2. God must bring a more severe judgment on them (vs. 14-17).

a. Total destruction of their land (v.14)

b. Total departure of their rulers and spiritual guides (vs. 15-16).

c. Total judgment without mercy___even on the orphans and widows (v.17).

C. Anarchy___Consuming them (9:18-21).

  18For wickedness burns like a fire;
         It consumes briars and thorns;
         It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame
         And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
    19By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up,
         And the people are like fuel for the fire;
         No man spares his brother.
    20They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry,
         And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
         Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
    21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
         And together they are against Judah
         In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
         And His hand is still stretched out.

Here we learn about sin.

1. Sin is a wasting power (v.18). Where sin abounds, desolation abounds. The longer anyone (man or nation) lives under sin's dominion the more has his power withered and his heritage lost.

a. Sin first destroys the less valuable. "The brier and the thorn"__the visible, the temporal, the financial, and the fleshly.

b. Sin then destroys the more valuable. "The forest thickets" the reputation of a land, especially in ancient day, to some extent was based on its forest. So, here we have the loss honor, intelligence, the character, the influence for good of the nation of Israel.

2. Sin is suicidal power (v.19). The fuel for the fire of human sin is humanity itself.

This is obviously and painfully true.

a. Of the individual___"He that sins against God wrongs his own soul" (Proverbs 8:36).

b. Of the Community or nation____It is sin, the departure from the Divine will, that brings about all social harm.

1. Factions in the state.

2. Contention in the church.

3. Discord in the Family.

3. The waste of sin is its Divinely appointed penalty (vs. 20-21).

a. The sinner is never satisfied with devouring enemies (v.20).

b. The sinners end up devouring each other (v. 21).

Continued Next Week, Lane