Ahaz, king of Judah, was threatened by an alliance between Pekah, king of Israel and Rezin, king of Aram. This was Ahaz’s opportunity to trust God. Isaiah assured Ahaz that God would help him and that God wanted to give him a sign of this. But Ahaz, pretending to be pious, didn’t want a sign. He already had other ideas about how to deal with this situation. So, here in Isaiah 7, God pronounces that he is going to give Ahaz a sign anyway, to prove his faithfulness and show up Ahaz’s lack of faith. A woman (Isaiah’s second wife) who was then a virgin would get married, conceive, and bear a son whose name would be ‘Immanuel’. In other words, this son would be a reminder that God was with his people and would care for them if they trusted in him. By the time the boy was considered morally mature (which was traditionally considered to be at the age of twelve) the territory of these two kings will be laid waste. Isaiah delivered this prophecy in 734 BC. In 732 BC Assyria defeated Aram and in 722 BC Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. The prophecy was fulfilled, and Isaiah was proven to be a true prophet. Isaiah is best known for his messianic prophecies, all of which were fulfilled with remarkable accuracy by Jesus. This prophecy about the virgin and the child called ‘Immanuel’ would have a double fulfilment, as many prophecies did. The birth of Immanuel, Jesus Christ, would be the ultimate signal of God’s faithfulness to his people. We have no excuse not to trust him.
Entrust your life to God.
Read Isaiah 7
