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Isaiah 7
1In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2David’s house was told, “Syria is allied with Ephraim.” His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.
3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field.
4Tell him, ‘Be careful, and keep calm. Don’t be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking torches, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying,
6“Let’s go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let’s divide it among ourselves, and set up a within it, even the son of Tabeel.”
7This is what the Lord GOD says: “It shall not stand, neither shall it happen.”
8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people.
9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you will not , surely you shall not be established.’”
10The LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
11“Ask a sign of the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”
12But Ahaz said, “I won’t ask. I won’t the LORD.”
13He said, “Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?
14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15He shall eat butter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good.
16For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two you abhor shall be forsaken.
17The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, even the of Assyria.
18It will happen in that the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all .
20In the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.
21It shall happen in that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep.
22It shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter, for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left within the land.
23It will happen in that every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, will be for briers and thorns.
24People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns.
25All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending out of oxen, and for sheep to tread on.”
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.