Isaiah 7:1-9 Sent to Ahaz
Syria and Israel are preparing to attack Judah. Isaiah is sent to Ahaz to strengthen his faith. God gives Ahaz assurance. “It shall not stand and is shall not come to pass.”
I want to start off by saying that Ahaz was a wicked king. He isn’t the worst Judah ever had but he comes close on his heels. It surprises me that God would send Ahaz comfort when he was NOT a godly king. Was God doing this more for the people or was His main purpose to punish Israel for joining forces with Syria?
When Isaiah talks to King Ahaz, he tells him that God will NOT let this happen. At first, I was thinking of this as an unconditional promise, but after reading the accounts of that time in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28, I’ve changed my mind. Also, Isaiah’s words in the end of this passage and the beginning of the next one gives us a little clue.
“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (verse 9b). Isaiah is telling King Ahaz that it is faith in God that will get him, and Judah, through this crisis. And Ahaz’s answer, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test” (verse 12) tells of where he is at with God. It isn’t that King Ahaz’s faith is so great that he doesn’t need a sign but that he isn’t going to bother worrying about what God’s plans are. He is making his own.
God DID prevent Israel and Syria from conquering Jerusalem and setting their own king on the throne, but Judah did no get out unscathed. Many of their men were killed or taken prisoner. I wonder what would have happened if Ahaz had listened to the Lord and trusted in Him. Second Chronicles 28 even tells us that God used these two armies to punish the people of Judah for their sin. He had a limit though that He was willing to let things go to.
I was just thinking about how God uses others to ‘redirect’, ‘guide’, ‘teach’, or even ‘punish’ us at times. When we learn the lessons right away, it certainly hurts less. When we are stubborn, it can get downright dicey! Often, the lessons that hurt the most are the ones that stick with us the longest. We will ALL encounter lessons and opportunities to exercise our faith. God doesn’t promise any of us a ‘rosy ride’ through life. Jesus tells even His own disciples that they will face persecution, and some of it will be simply because Satan will do ANYTHING he can to stop Jesus’ message from reaching hearts.
I would MUCH rather ask for a sign when I’m in deep water. I don’t feel that it is ‘testing’ God in the sense of expecting Him to ‘dance on a string’ at your command. For me it is faith building and helps me KNOW that the voice I’m listening to is the Lord’s. I would definitely rather take my time to be certain than to run the risk of chasing after someone else’s ideas; especially my own. To me, “testing God” is putting yourself into situations that is extremely dangerous and insisting that God save you to prove that He is able.
I believe God wants His children to ask of Him. He loves to give us the desires of our hearts, WHEN they don’t get us in trouble or looking away from Him. He is a loving Father and it does His heart good to see us happy. And He will do whatever it takes to get out attention when we wander away.
Father God, thank You for caring for ALL of us! You could have told Judah that they were on their own during the times they turned away from You, but You didn’t. You kept reaching out and calling to them. You are still doing that today. I’m SO GLAD to see it because it also shows me that You keep calling out to me when I’m going the wrong way. It shows me Your love AND Your righteous judgment. Thank You for teaching me to ‘keep it between the lines’ of life.
