Isaiah 39:1-8, Don't be fooled by the world, seek God's view of life

• REVIEW: The background for Isaiah is chapter 38. These two chapters occur well before 36-37 because they speak of a still future destruction of Assyria.


Isa 38:1-6 (ESV) In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover." 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, "Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.


4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 "Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.  6  I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.


Isa 39:1-2 (ESV) At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.


• Merodach-baladan ruled Babylon from 721-710BC and 703-702BC. The Assyrians will defeat Merodach in 702, but he continues to ferment revolt in the region
• Why does Hezekiah respond as he does?
• It is in response to Merodach's concern and gift
• This is the classic salesman, selling you something you don't want, and it is the classic consumer, buying something you don't need (this is a great picture of Babylonian worldview)
• What is Hezekiah response and how should he have responded?
• Materialism fuels pride. The Babylonian worldview is built around things and thinking (everyone thinking the same way)
• Jesus gives us the example when he responds to the flattery of Nicodemus and the rich young ruler?
• In both cases, he asked tough questions (makes you think)
• In both cases, he ignores the flattery
• Finally, it is not as if Isaiah has not warned Hezekiah about Babylon
• APPLICATION:
• When someone flatters me, try to think of a question to turn the discussion back onto the other person
• Also, continuing a theme, Hezekiah TRUSTS in the flattery of others


Isa 39:3-7 (ESV) Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon." 4 He said, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them."


5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6  Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7  And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." 


• So, is the prophecy the result of Hezekiah's action or something else?
• Babylon has already been prophesied as a future enemy
• Rather, God shows Hezekiah what his trust in Babylon will yield
• APPLICATION: The point is not to trust in human beings but to trust in God


Isa 39:8 (ESV) Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, "The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my days."


• You can take this a couple of ways. How can you view this?
1. Hezekiah seems more interested in his own skin
2. Hezekiah is glad that the people he rules will not see it in his time. But he still recognizes that it is a future prophecy and that it was independent of his action
• APPLICATION:
• Hezekiah did not cause the prophecy. But Hezekiah can learn. A situation that he thought, humanly speaking, was a good situation, was not good. What seemed good to trust in, was not good to trust in. We must trust in God, not circumstances or people

Isaiah 20:1-21:10, Trust in God, not in your own solutions

• REVIEW: The estimated time is 711-710. Eleven years after Israel's destruction by Assyria, and 13/14 years before Manasseh begins his co-regency
• We are in the middle of Hezekiah's reign
• Israel is destroy, Assyria is still attacking. Sargon II is in charge


Isa 20:1-6 (ESV) In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet," and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.


3 Then the Lord said, "As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,  4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5  Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'"


• So why this passage? What is its purpose?
• It is a prophecy against Egypt and Cush
• The Cushite dynasty was in power in Egypt during this time
• Hezekiah is considering putting his trust in Egypt
• Historically, what is Egypt doing?
• Egypt wants, essentially city-states, Ashdod, Judah, Moab, and Edom
• In the end, Egypt gives the ruler of the Philistines, Yamani, to the Assyrians
• What is Isaiah supposed to do?
• Naked can mean a loin-cloth or totally naked (probably not totally since God mentions his shoes)
• The costume is of a man robbed, a beggar, or a prisoner of war
• When does God explain the meaning of the sign? And what might have been the false conclusion?
• After three years, God explains it
• People probably thought it had to do with Ashdod
• God says, that it has to do with Egypt. Of course, to get to Egypt, the Assyrians need to get through the other city states
• The prophecy is fulfilled in 701
• APPLICATION: Events are building to a conclusion. All the supports will be ripped away from Judah before the final attack of Assyria with its 185,000 troops. There will be nothing left. Why? SO THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD FINALLY LEARN TWO THINGS: 1) Trust in God, and 2) Repent of their sin


• REVIEW: The next section is the second series of five oracles against the Gentile nations. This occurs in the same time frame.


Isa 21:1-10 (ESV) The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.


 As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
 the traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam;
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
 pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
 the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5  They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
 oil the shield!


• Where is the Negeb?
• In Judah, so this is something that Judah could relate to
• It was a hot scorching wind that would blow off the desert
• Something is coming. We see two areas go up against it, who are they?
• Elam and Media refer to Iran or Persia
• Technically, the Medes/Persians will destroy/replace Babylon
• Isaiah is disturbed, not because of Elam and Media but because of this coming destroyer. Why is Babylon used so often in scripture as a negative picture?
• The picture in Daniel is that Babylon requires that you live by its rules in terms of culture and belief. You eat types of rich food that it says. You worship the gods that it says. You conform to it
• Also, the picture in Daniel is also of excessive wealth. In Revelation, we also see excessive and unrestrained sexual promiscuity
• The picture probably shifts to the end times here and the destruction of the new Babylon before the return of Christ
• APPLICATION:
• The watch tower is also an appropriate metaphor. Are we watching (and thinking) to make sure our belief system is not based upon the culture but based on the bible?
• And don't confuse the bible with conservative politics. The bible is our point of reference for belief not political philosophies or current trends
• Don't let current events decide your beliefs. The bible has to be the basis for what we believe
• Finally, the message is repeated, TRUST in GOD, not in an ultimately failing worldview

Isaiah 10:5-23 Notes, God is in charge of the nations

Isa 10:5-11 (ESV) Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6 Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 But he does not so intend,
and his heart does not so think;
but it is in his heart to destroy,
and to cut off nations not a few;
8 for he says:
 "Are not my commanders all kings?
9  Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
 Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
 as I have done to Samaria and her images?"


• So, this is well before Assyria is destroyed. What do we learn about God's sovereignty in these verse?
• So while God does interfere with the free will of individuals, he does "somehow" arrange and use nations to accomplish his will
• BUT we also see limitations, how?
• His control over nations is not absolute, that is, nations can go farther than he desires
• In no case is he unaware or caught off guard
• What is Assyria's problem?
• Pride
• Believing they are better than the other nations
• Believing that there are idols are what achieved their victories
• So how does this apply in the 21st century?
• Our idols are our creations
• Our pride is not just in our power, but in our thinking
• We believe that we accomplish things on our own, completely, and we don't give thanks (example from Shenandoah)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzzyZ1M-kVU
• See movie clip saved to desktop




Isa 10:12-15 (ESV) When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13  For he says:


"By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I remove the boundaries of peoples,
and plunder their treasures;
like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
14 My hand has found like a nest
the wealth of the peoples;
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened the mouth or chirped."
15 Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!


• So God here relays the speech of the King of Assyria, what does the King believe?
• He is the one with the power, wisdom, and intellect
• He decides what happens to people, no one else
• No one can stop him
• What does God say in response?
• You are the tool
• You are not the wielder
• APPLICATION:
• First of all, this is in response to nations
• God does direct leaders (in some subtle way that does not take away their free will)
• But, in world affairs, God is in control. Sometimes the axe takes matters into their own hands and God deals with it (knowing full well that it would happen)


Isa 10:16-19 (ESV) Therefore the Lord God of hosts
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
like the burning of fire.
17  The light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.
18 The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.


• This passage is literally fulfilled in chapters 36-37, and specifically Isa 37:36
• Isa 37:36 (ESV) And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
• Who is the Angel of the Lord and how does that fit with Isa 10:17?
• The Angel of the Lord usually refers to God himself -- a pre-incarnate Jesus
• In vs 16, it says a wasting sickness, and then a burning fire. Verse 17 continues the idea of a fire. What happened or how do we interpret?
• We can't know for sure, except 185,000 died
• If it was a disease, the bodies were probably burned
• In which case, both prophecies were true. They died of a wasting disease, almost overnight, and then the bodies were burned
• APPLICATION: So here is one way God rules: He does directly intervene in the affairs of nations


Isa 10:20-23 (ESV) In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22  For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.


• Again, we have the key phrase, "in that day," most likely referring to the end times
• Here we refer to a remnant of Israel and survivors of the house of Jacob. Who is Jacob?
• Jacob is Israel, but Jacob is more than just Israel the Norther Kingdom
• The remnant of Jacob means that a remnant from all the tribes
• Revelation makes this clear when it counts out 12k from 12 of the 13 tribes
• What is the decree?
• Destruction overflowing with righteousness -- it is sin which has brought this about
• It will be a full end. Revelation makes that very clear
• APPLICATION:

Isaiah 28:1-13 Notes, Israel's appetite for pleasure resulted in their destruction (Judah is warned)

Isa 28:1-4 (ESV) Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3  The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4  and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.


• Who are we discussing?
• The NK, also called Israel (10 tribes)
• Verse one describes its location?
• Glorious beauty
• Rich valley
• Why is this important?
• It is a picture to Judah and a warning
• In prophetic scripture, a flood is often a reference to what?
• An army
• Obviously the theme here concerns drunkenness?
• One thought would be intoxication with power
• Another is that it describes irrationality
• Another is it emphasizes an appetite out of control for the things of the world. APPLICATION: when we live for the world instead of for God, things get out of balance, and foolishness and scoffing start to dominate our attitude toward life and toward God


Isa 28:5-8 (ESV) In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.


7  These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.


• Typically, in scripture, the phrase "in that day" is pregnant with a particular meaning, what is it? The Jewish commentaries of the time also understood the verse in this sense.
• It is a reference to the end times, probably the end of the tribulation or the millennial kingdom (essentially the Messiah's return)
• So verse 5, in relationship to verses 1-4, suggests that the true beauty of Israel won't really be realized until the Messiah comes (2nd time)
• So, the NK started out the discussion and is our reference point. We then contrast the NK with first a prophecy concerning the return of the Messiah and now verses 7-8, where are we going?
• The key phrase is "these also" referring to Judah
• Judah is guilty of the same things as Ephraim -- their leaders are drunk causing them:
• To be erratic and make bad decisions
• To babble (reel in vision)
• False judgments
• APPLICATION: We get a picture of how bad it is with the idea of a table just full of vomit. There is no room left, the vomit covers the whole table because of their sin (living to fill their appetites not living to fill their lives with God)


Isa 28:9-10 (ESV) "To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little."


• What Isaiah (or God) does here is to mock Judah. This is Judah's response to Isaiah. What are they saying?
• We are not babies
• Who do you think you are teaching?
• Verse 10 requires the Hebrew to understand.
• Both of these words are one syllable words. The "upon" is not there --
• The phrase is a series of repeated one syllable words
• Saw saw saw saw qaw qaw qaw qaw
• This is baby babbling sound that Isaiah is repeating that they have been saying to him or mocking someone who stutters
• (Constable) What Isaiah advocated was trust in the Lord rather than reliance on foreign alliances for national security. …  it has never appealed to proud intellectuals who consider themselves beyond the simplicity of God's truth


Isa 28:11-13 (ESV)  For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
 "This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose";
yet they would not hear.
13 And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
 that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.


• So how God respond to the people's scoffing of his word to them?
• So you thought Isaiah was babbling or couldn't talk (I wonder if Isaiah had a slight speech impediment -- that would make this even more powerful), well, I am going to bring a people you cannot understand
• Also, their sound will sound like a baby or a stutterer to you
• God says that his desire was for something different, what?
• Rest
• Repose (which is resting)
• APPLICATION: So God's desire was to give them rest, but they would not listen. They decided to seek their own rest in feeding their appetites (drunkenness in drink, food, and things). They scoffed at him until he had to destroy them
• This is a hard way to learn a lesson. What we don't understand is how much God loves us and how much he knows what is really best for our souls

Isaiah 7 Notes, God gives two prophecies: one to Israel and one to Ahaz

Isa 7:1 (ESV) In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it.


• A lot of time has passed since Isaiah 6
• The power and glory of Judah is fading
• Assyria is rising
• Tiglath-pileser III became king of Assyria in 745 BC
• Rezin of Syria paid money to Assyria for a time
• Rezin tried to form an alliance of small nations against Assyria (Ahaz refused)
• King Ahaz, the grandson of King Uzziah (6:1), reigned in Judah from 735-715 B.C. altogether. Early in his reign King Rezin of Syria (Aram) and King Pekah of Israel allied against him (see 2 Kings 15:37; 16:5, 10–18; 2 Chron. 28:22–24). They attacked Jerusalem to force Ahaz and Judah to ally with them against Assyria, which was growing stronger in the northeast and threatening to annihilate them (2 Kings 15:37). God protected Jerusalem, and this dual enemy could not force Judah into a treaty. This verse summarizes the attack, and the following verses give more details about it. (Constable, Tom. Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible. Galaxie Software, 2003. Print.)
• Verse 1 summarizes the attack. The following verses in Isaiah give the background


2 Kings 16:1-4 (ESV) In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering,  according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4  And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.


• What do we know of Ahaz?
• "He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord"
• He worshipped the Baals
• He sacrificed his sons in the fire
• He worship Aram's god (2 Kings 16:10-18)


2 Chron 28:5-7 (ESV) Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. 6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers.


2 Kings 16:5-7 (ESV) Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7  So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me."


• So, it sounds like two different stories, although the time compression is quite different. How do we fit the stories
• Option 1: There could be two attacks over different times
• Option 2: It is the same general campaign, where Judah is defeated in the field, but survives as an entity (that is Jerusalem)


Isa 7:2-6 (ESV) When the house of David was told, "Syria is in league with  Ephraim," the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.


3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 4 And say to him, 'Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,"


• There are a couple things about what God tells Isaiah to do which seem curious, do you see them?
1. He tells him to take his son, Shear-Jashub (who name means a remnant will return)
• Suggestive of defeat but not total decimation
• Is important to understand the double prophecy
2. He tells him to meet at a spot which will later be famous for Sennacherib's field commander hurling insults at Israel
• Ultimately God does not say they would not lose, only that they would not replace Ahaz as king (at least not yet)
• What was Ahaz and the people's response to the news of the two kings?
• Shaken, as in fear, or the stagger walk of a blind man
• Hebrew could also mean wavering heart, ie., what do we do?  Do we seek God or since there does not appear to be any answer, do we seek another solution?  What do we do?  Isaiah previous prophecy of God not listening (Isa 5) probably does not help (if they even remembered it)
• Why are they attacking?
• They are trying to build an alliance against Assyria, by inserting a vassal on Judah's throne
• Who is "the son of Remaliah?"
• There is a little bit of humor in the passage in the sense that Pekah is not even named
• Apparently, Rezin is the real strength


Isa 7:7-9 (ESV) thus says the Lord God:


 "'It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.


(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people.)


9 "'And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
 If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.'"


• So who is Ephraim?
• Another name for the northern kingdom, also called Israel
• Ephraim was one of, if not the, largest tribes of the ten that separated
• Samaria was actually the capital city for a time
• What does happen to Ephraim?
• In 13 years it is destroyed (722 BC)
• In 62 years (671BC), King Esarhaddon began importing foreign settlers into the former northern kingdom, essentially creating the term "Samaritans" and deporting the original inhabitants
• Before we get to Ahaz's response, we need to look at God's question to the king next


Isa 7:10-12 (ESV) Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test."


• God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refuses, why?
• He does not want to put the Lord to the test.  In this case, God asks for a test
• He does not want to believe in God.  If he asks for a test and sees it fulfilled, he might have to change his decision
• So, with his kingdom crumbling about him, what does he decide to do?
• He sought outside help, he did it in his own strength
• 2 Kings 16:7-8 (ESV) So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me." 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.
• 2 Chron 28:20-21 (ESV) So Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21  For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.
• He sought other spiritual solutions (Aram's god seem to work better than Judah's)
• 2 Kings 16:10-11 (ESV) When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details. 11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.
• APPLICATION:  What is our response to struggles?  Sometimes, is it hard to wait upon God? Is it easier to develop our own solution than to wait?


Isa 7:13-17 (ESV) And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16  For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17  The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria."


• So this is clearly a prophecy of a virgin, why?
• One, it was well understood that a young maiden was a virgin before she was born. Of course, not always true, but expected
• Two, it would hardly be a sign for a young woman to have a baby …it happens every day
• So, this is a sign given to Israel, but interwoven with a sign to Ahaz. It is very cleverly done
• First, up until this point we have been dealing with the singular "you." What is the plural "you?"
• In the Hebrew and many romance languages, it is clear, but not English, unless you include Texan for "you all" (Stedman)
• In verses 13, God switches from a singular "you" to a plural "you." He was talking to Ahaz, he is now talking to all of Israel
• THE (not "a") virgin will give birth to a child whose name will be Immanuel ("God is with us"), who is THE virgin? You need an antecedent
• Gen 3:15 is the only possible antecedent
• Jewish scholars saw the verse in that light
• Only men have "seed," the woman's seed suggested a virgin
• What does it mean "he shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good?"
• Curds and honey is baby food
• He will know right and wrong (and choose right) while he is eating baby food (he will be sinless)
• Verse 16 seems to contradict verse 15, but the subject changes, how?
• We were talking about a baby
• Now, we talk about a child. What child? Isaiah's son
• Before he can choose between good and evil, the land of the two kings will be deserted
• Viewing from Ahaz's perspective, how long would it be before the two kings are laid waste?
• Less than three years (nine months plus around two years)
• Actually, Aram is killed two years later.  Pekah is assassinated by Hoshea about the same time frame
• Also, who does Isaiah prophesy as "coming?"
• Assyria
• The same nation that Ahaz if seeking to set up an alliance with …
• APPLICATION: 
• Why does God allow trouble into our lives?
• We are free to choose our own actions
• It is a consequence of sin in the world
• Because he wants us to draw near to him
• But where do we turn to in times of trouble?


Isa 7:18-25 (ESV) In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.


20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.


21  In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.


23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24  With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25  And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.


• God draws a fascinating picture:
• He whistles for the fly from Egypt
• He whistles for the bee from Assyria
• And they will meet HERE (implication of the described landscape)
• Actually, it is true that both Egypt and Assyria will meet in Judah. Sennacherib of Assyria defeats Egypt at Eltekah


• Also, what happens to Judah?
• So the razor suggests that she will be dishonored
• She will be defeated but not completely. She will retain Jerusalem and some slight freedom
• She will be decimated economically. It will be better to milk a cow than use it for meat. They will be the ones eating baby food
• The vineyards will be destroyed (not sure if there is a meaning with the previous passage)
• APPLICATION:
• So everything is clearly seen by God and being used by God to accomplish his purpose. And yet, these are very dark days in Israel. How things look are not necessarily an indication of God's activity