Isaiah 7–8: Immanuel: A Sign for a King Who Would Not Ask

Scripture: Berean Standard Bible

Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.

When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying: ‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’ But this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘It will not arise;it will not happen.For the head of Aram is Damascus,and the head of Damascus is Rezin.Within sixty-five yearsEphraim will be shattered as a people.The head of Ephraim is Samaria,and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.If you do not stand firm in your faith,then you will not stand at all.’ ”

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”

Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. By the time he knows enough to reject evil and choose good, he will be eating curds and honey. For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.

And they will all come and settlein the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks,in all the thornbushes and watering holes.

On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates —the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well. On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep, and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.

Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I will appoint for myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

And the LORD spoke to me further:

“Because this people has rejectedthe gently flowing waters of Shiloahand rejoiced in Rezinand the son of Remaliah,the Lord will surely bring against themthe mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates —the king of Assyria and all his pomp.

It will overflow its channelsand overrun its banks.It will pour into Judah,swirling and sweeping over it,reaching up to the neck;its spreading streams will coveryour entire land, O Immanuel!

Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered;pay attention, all you distant lands;prepare for battle, and be shattered;prepare for battle, and be shattered!Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;state a proposal, but it will not happen.For God is with us.”

For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:

“Do not call conspiracyeverything these people regard as conspiracy.Do not fear what they fear;do not live in dread.The LORD of Hosts is the Oneyou shall regard as holy.Only he should be feared;only he should be dreaded.And he will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israela stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,to the dwellers of Jerusalema trap and a snare.Many will stumble over these;they will fall and be broken;they will be ensnared and captured.”

Bind up the testimonyand seal the law among my disciples.I will wait for the LORD,who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.I will put my trust in him.

Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God. Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.