Isaiah 7:1

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. AHAZ. In the first years of his reign the design of the two kings against Judah was carried out, which was formed in Jotham's reign (). SYRIA - Hebrew, Aram (), originally the whole region between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, including Assyria, of which Syria is an abbreviation; here the region round Damascus, and along mount Libanus. JERUSALEM. An actual siege of it took place, but was foiled ()....

1._And it came to pass. _Here is related a remarkable prophecy about the wonderful deliverance of Jerusalem, when it appeared to have been utterly ruined. Now the Prophet explains all the circumstances, that by means of them the miracle may be more fully displayed, and to make it manifest, that not by the wisdom or power of man, but by the favor of God, the city has been preserved. For so ungrateful were the people, that, at the close of this transaction, they would not have understood that they had been delivered by the hand of the Lord, if all the circumstances had not been expressly brought to their remembrance. And, indeed, there were very few persons who, in the hour of danger, ventured to hope what Isaiah promised; because they judged of themselves and of the state of public affairs from present appearances. In order, therefore, to make known the remarkable kindness of God, he ente...

1-9 Ungodly men are often punished by others as bad as themselves. Being in great distress and confusion, the Jews gave up all for lost. They had made God their enemy, and knew not how to make him their friend. The prophet must teach them to despise their enemies, in faith and dependence on God. Ahaz, in fear, called them two powerful princes. No, says the prophet, they are but tails of smoking firebrands, burnt out already. The two kingdoms of Syria and Israel were nearly expiring. While God has work for the firebrands of the earth, they consume all before them; but when their work is fulfilled, they will be extinguished in smoke. That which Ahaz thought most formidable, is made the ground of their defeat; because they have taken evil counsel against thee; which is an offence to God. God scorns the scorners, and gives his word that the attempt should not succeed. Man purposes, but God...

CHAPTER VII _The king of Judah and the royal family being in the utmost_ _consternation on receiving accounts of the invasion of the_ _kings of Syria and Israel, the prophet is sent to assure them_ _that God would make good his promises to David and his house;_ _so that, although they might be_ corrected, _they could not be_ destroyed, _while these prophecies remained to be accomplished_, 1-9. _The Lord gives Ahaz a sign that the confederacy against Judah_ _shall be broken, which sign strikingly points out the_ miraculous co

IN THE DAYS OF AHAZ - Ahaz began to reign about 738 years before Christ. By a comparison of 2 Kings 16:5, ..., with 2 Chronicles 28:5, etc., it will be seen that Judea was twice invaded by Rezin and Pekah in the reign of Ahaz; see the Analysis of the chapter. THAT REZIN ... - This confederacy was formed in the time of Jotham; 2 Kings 15:37. But it was not carried into execution during his reign. It is evident from this place, that it was executed in the early part of the reign of Ahaz; probably in the first or second year of his reign. SYRIA - - ארם _'ărâm_, so

SECTION IV. PROPHECIES CONNECTED WITH THE SYRO-ISRAELITE WAR (Isaiah 7-10:4). EXPOSITION ISAIAH 7:1 THE PROPHECY GIVEN TO AHAZ AT THE TIME OF THE SYRO-ISRAELITISH WAR. The Syro-Israelitish war is touched on both in Kings and Chronicles. In Kings the alliance between Rezin and Pekah is distinctly declared, as also the fact that they conjointly besieged Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:5). From Chronicles we lear

AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AHAZ THE SON OF JOTHAM, THE SON OF UZZIAH KING OF JUDAH,.... Here begins a new prophecy under the reign of another king; who, though a wicked king, had religious ancestors; and who are mentioned, not, as the Jewish writers u generally say, because it was owing to their worthiness that the enemies of Ahaz could not prevail against him; but because it was under these kings the prophet had prophesied: what is contained in the first five Chapter s were delivered in the times of Uzziah; and the vision in the sixth was in the times of Jotham, in the beginning of his reign; and what is said here, and in some following Chapter s, was in the time of Ahaz; so that this is mentioned to fix and carry on the date of the prophecy: [THAT] REZIN THE KING OF SYRIA, AND PEKAH, THE SON OF REMALIAH KING OF ISRAEL, WENT UP TOWARDS JERUSALEM TO WAR AGAINST IT; at the latter...

Isaiah 7:1. _And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind._ They were tossed to and fro, bent, thrown down, as the trees of a forest in a tornado. They had already felt the power of these two confederate kings, and they were terribly afraid. David himself would have had confidence in God; but «the house of David» had gone far astray. Ahaz had cast off the fear of God, and he had therefore great fear of men. Isaiah 7:3

CHAPTER 7 The Prophet before King Ahaz 1. _The king in trouble (Isaiah 7:1)_ 2. _Isaiah sent and his message (Isaiah 7:3)_ 3. _A sign offered and refused (Isaiah 7:10)_ 4. _The sign: The virgin birth (Isaiah 7:13)_ 5. _The advent of the Assyrian (Isaiah 7:17)_ Study carefully the historic setting of this chapter and2 Chronicles 28:1-27 7. See lecture on “Messianic Predictions.” In verse 14 the virgin birth of Christ is announced. Much of the controversy is around the word “virgin” (almah), which the critics declare does not m

ISAIAH GIVES AHAZ THE ENCOURAGING SIGN OF IMMANUEL WHEN HE IS DISMAYED BY THE ALLIANCE OF SYRIA AND EPHRAIM AGAINST HIM. For the historical circumstances see pp. 59, 70f. Apart from Isaiah 7:1, which is derived from 2 Kings 16:5 and is out of chronological order, this section seems to have been written by an editor on the basis of Isaiah's autobiography (contrast the 1st person of the preceding chapter with the 3rd of this). The alarm, described in the picturesque metaphor of Isaiah 7:2, specially affected the house of David, since its position was menaced by the project of the allies to abolish the Davidic dynasty and install a creature of their own. The news which caused such dismay was that Syria had alighted on Ephraim ...