This morning we look at the struggle that God had with a king named Ahaz. Over and over God showed mercy to Ahaz, yet Ahaz kept running from God.

Ahaz was king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He was not known as a "good" king.

(2 Chr 28:2-4) For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. {3} Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. {4} He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

Syria – Syria is basically the same today as it was back then. It was the country immediately to the north and east of the land of Israel. It’s capital was Damascus, as it still is today. But this is not the same as the Assyrians, who were the major world dominating empire of the day. The Assyrians covered the land of modern Iraq.

Israel – Isaiah is living during the times of the "divided kingdom". The Northern Kingdom was known as "Israel" with it’s capital in Samaria. The Southern Kingdom was Judah, its capital was Jerusalem.

The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that they couldn’t take Jerusalem because the walls were too strong.

A reference to the king of the Southern Kingdom, Ahaz. All the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah were descendants of King David.

Ephraim – the dominant tribe of the Northern Kingdom. Another name for Israel.

They were terrified when they heard the news.

upper pool – a reservoir that held water from the Gihon Spring near Jerusalem. Ahaz was possibly there to inspect the city’s water supply in anticipation of future attacks.

"Keep your eyes open, calm down, don’t be afraid, don’t be so weak"

smoking firebrands – (NLT) "those two burned-out embers"

Apparently Pekah and Rezin wanted to overthrow Ahaz and put their own puppet king in place, one who would go along with their rebellion against Assyria. We don’t know who the "son of Tabeal" is.

As things turned out, because Ahaz’ grandfather, Uzziah, had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem so well that they were able to hold off the joint attack of Syria and the Northern Kingdom. Josephus writes that the Syrians finally gave up trying to lay siege Jerusalem and instead conquered the city of Elath to the south and then packed up and went home to Damascus.

Just like God promised, they didn’t break into Jerusalem and they weren’t able to set their own king on the throne.

threescore and five years – sixty five years. The Assyrians had a practice of conquering a nation, then spreading the people among the rest of their conquered territories. The various conquered nations would then intermarry, lose their national identity, and also lose the ability of reuniting together and rebelling against Assyria. This event of Isaiah confronting Ahaz is taking place around 735 BC. The Northern Kingdom fell in 722 BC, and by 669 BC, 66 years later, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (Ezr 4:10) repopulated the area with foreigners. These foreigners then intermarried with the few remaining Israelites left, and the result was the mixed race known as the Samaritans. The Israelites were in a sense "no longer a people".

The Northern Kingdom’s (Ephraim) capital was Samaria. Pekah was the king in Samaria.

The choice is up to Ahaz. He can put his trust in the Lord and have his kingdom strengthened, or not. God would be merciful to Ahaz, but Ahaz chose NOT to trust the Lord. He suffered an enormous defeat at that time.

(2 Chr 28:5-8) Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. {6} For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. {7} And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. {8} And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Yet even after Ahaz’ defeat, God was still showing mercy to His people, giving them just one more chance to turn their hearts to Him. The historian in Chronicles (2Chron. 28:9-15) goes on to record that a prophet living in the city of Samaria showed up and rebuked the army for taking the people of Judah captive. He warned them that they were on dangerous ground with God, and as a result, the people were clothed, fed, and taken to the city of Jericho, back in the land of Judah.

Over and over God had shown Ahaz kindness, yet for Ahaz, he would rather do ANYTHING other than turn away from his sins and trust in the Lord. It’s at this time, after having been so thoroughly defeated by the Northern Kingdom that Ahaz decides to ask the Assyrians for help (2Chr. 28:16).

The problem is that it was God’s idea for Ahaz to give God a test. God wanted for Ahaz to not have any excuse to trust Him.

virgin – ‘almah – virgin, a young woman of marriageable age who was a virgin.

Immanuel = "God with us" or "with us is God"

Just who is this verse talking about? A child during Isaiah’s time or Jesus? Both.

(Isa 7:15 NIV) He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.

He will be eating curds and honey at the time when he’s old enough to tell the difference between good and evil. This would be the age of 12, when a boy goes through his bar mitzvah, and is old enough to be accountable to God.

Butter and honey – This isn’t a good thing. As we’ll explain in a few verses, this is meaning that the farming has been wiped out and the people are living off of dairy products and wild honey. This means that the judgment will have happened.

Both Pekah and Rezin would be dead within three years, long before this child would reach the age of accountability, about 12 years old.

Ahaz would ask Assyria for help. Initially they helped him by defeating the two northern kings, but in the end, they only hurt him. They required a heavy tribute to be paid to them, and eventually marched on Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah to overthrow it.

Egypt and Assyria clashed in 701 B.C.

a razor that is hired – a barber, referring to Assyria being used by God to give these people a "trim". It was not uncommon for a nation to shave the heads of their vanquished enemies. Having your head shaved was a sign of humiliation (Lev. 21:5; 2Sam. 10:4).

Instead of having herds and flocks, people would only have a few animals.

butter and honey – or, "curds and wild honey". Don’t confuse this with the abundance of a land "flowing with milk and honey". Here the idea is that there’s an abundance of milk products because there’s so few people left to eat. There’s an abundance of wild honey because the wild flowers have grown back over the farms.

(Isa 7:23 NLT) In that day the lush vineyards, now worth as much as a thousand pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns.

The land will be over run with wild animals. Instead of making a living by farming, people will have to survive by hunting.