Isaiah 7:25

There are so many *thorn-bushes that the land is now only suitable for cows and sheep.

Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
seize ~ to take a person’s possessions away from that person, either by law, or in a war. Or, to overcome a city or nation in order to rule it. Or, to take a person as a prisoner or a slave. Or, to hold something or someone firmly.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Assyria.
weapons ~ the equipment that soldiers use to fight the enemy.'New Testament ~ the final part of the Bible. It contains 27 books from the time of the first Christians.
Messiah ~ Old Testament title for Christ.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from the time before Jesus was born.

'self-respect ~ the value or honour that a person gives to himself. Without any self-respect, a person feels a complete sense of shame.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of vines; the juice makes wine.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.'thorn-bush ~ a bush with sharp points.

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

King Ahaz

Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 12

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 40: God’s king rules God’s people

We can put this main section of the Book of Isaiah into 6 smaller sections. This makes it easier for us to understand it.

Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 12	Isaiah Chapter s 13 to 23	Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27	Isaiah Chapter s 28 to 33	Isaiah Chapter s 34 to 35	Isaiah Chapter s 36 to 40
		The little *apocalypse	The sad people
	Countries near Judah			The centre of the book
King Ahaz					King Hezekiah

So, Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 12 are about King Ahaz. Chapter s 13 to 23 are about countries near Judah; and so on.

Section 1 (Isaiah Chapter s 7 to 12): King Ahaz

Chapter s 7 and 8: Three sons

Chapter 7

v1 Ahaz became the king of Judah. He was the son of [King] Jotham. [Jotham was] the son of [King] Uzziah. [When Ahaz was king], Syria’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah attacked Jerusalem. But they did not win the battle. [Pekah was the] son of Remaliah.

v2 [Ahaz was from] David’s family. [People that advised Ahaz] told [this to him. They said], ‘Syria and Ephraim have agreed [to attack you].’ Ahaz and his people [were afraid]. Their hearts shook [with fear], as trees in the forest shake. [Their hearts were like trees that shake] in the wind.

v3 Then the *LORD said [this] to Isaiah. ‘Go out and meet Ahaz. You and Shearjashub your son will meet him at the end of the channel (route along which water flows). [It is the channel] that flows from the upper pool. [It flows] down to where people wash clothes.’

v4 [The *LORD said], ‘Say [this to Ahaz]. “Be cautious and stay very quiet. Do not be afraid. Do not let your heart worry because Rezin and Syria’s [army] are angry. Pekah, the son of Remaliah, [is angry] as well. [It is as if] they are trying to start a fire. But their fire will soon burn away.

v5 [Do not worry] because Syria’s [king] and Ephraim’s [king, in other words,] Remaliah’s son, have made evil plans against you. They have said:

v6 ‘Let us attack Judah. We will frighten [the people]. We will destroy [the country] and it will become ours. We will make the son of Tabeal king there.’ ” ’

v7 This is what the *LORD, the Master, says. ‘It will not happen. It will never happen!

v8 [It will not happen], because the capital [city] of Syria is Damascus. And the king of Damascus is Rezin. 65 years from now, Ephraim will not exist! There will be no people [who belong to the families of Ephraim] there.

v9 And the capital [city] of Ephraim is Samaria. And the king of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you do not believe that, you will not be alive [either].’

Notes

Verse 1 The notes about Isaiah 1:1 contain the dates of these kings. Syria and Israel were two countries that were north from Judah. Rezin was the last king of Syria. The king of Assyria, Tiglathpileser the Third, defeated him in 732 B.C. ‘B.C.’ means ‘years Before Christ came to the Earth’. Assyria’s king was called Tiglathpileser ‘the Third’ because two earlier kings of Assyria had also been called Tiglathpileser. Pekah was the 18^th king of Israel. He murdered Pekahiah in order to become king instead of him. But in the end, someone else (Hoshea) murdered Pekah and then Hoshea became king instead. The story about that is in 2 Kings 15:25-31.

Verse 2 Ephraim was another name for Israel. It was the name of the most important tribe (large group of relatives) in the northern country, Israel. Perhaps they thought this. If Syria, Ephraim and Judah became one big group, Assyria would not attack them. ‘David’s family’ here means the kings of Judah that ruled after David. In the *Hebrew text, the words for that mean ‘David’s house’. ‘Their hearts shook’ means that they were very afraid.

Verse 3 In Jerusalem, water came from under the ground. Ahaz made channels (routes) along which the water flowed. They took the water to where the people needed it. That water was important when enemies attacked Jerusalem. The people could stay for many months in Jerusalem because they did not need water from outside. Perhaps that is why Syria and Ephraim did not win the battle against Jerusalem. ‘Shearjashub’ means ‘a remnant will return’. A ‘remnant’ is a small part that remains from something bigger. Here it means the few *Jews that still obeyed God. ‘*LORD’ is a special name for God. The *Hebrew word for it probably means ‘always alive’.

Verse 4 ‘Do not be afraid’ is among Isaiah’s most important messages. He says it in Isaiah 7:4; Isaiah 8:12; Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 37:6; Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 41:13-14; Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 43:5; Isaiah 44:2; and 51:7. ‘Be cautious’ means that Ahaz must not do something too quickly. He must think first. ‘Fire’ describes the trouble that these two kings could make for Judah. But if Ahaz waits, these two kings will be dead!

Verse 6 We do not know who Tabeal was. ‘There’ means ‘in Judah’. The plan was that the son of Tabeal would rule Judah as the agent of Syria’s and Ephraim’s kings.

Verses 7-9 Here is an *inclusio. Look at the section ‘Something to do’ after chapter 1. There you will find an explanation of what an ‘*inclusio’ is.

Verse 7 It will not happen, it will never happen.

Verse 8a Capital of Syria, king of Damascus.

Verse 8b Ephraim will not exist.

Verse 9a Capital of Ephraim, king of Samaria.

Verse 9b If you do not believe, you will not be alive.

It is important to see these *inclusios. They show us that Isaiah was a great writer. They also help us to understand what he wrote.

Verse 7 ‘It’ means their evil plan (verses 5-6). Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. The *Hebrew words mean ‘it will not stand and it will not happen’. It will ‘not stand’ means that the plan will ‘fall down’ (like a weak building). In other words, the plan will fail.

Verse 8 It will not happen because men made the plan. God’s plans are greater! Armies from Assyria destroyed Ephraim 15 years later. We do not know why the *LORD said ‘65 years’ here. But the line ‘Ephraim will not exist’ is the most important line in the ‘*inclusio. If you look at it, it is right in the middle. Because the people in Ephraim did not obey God, they were not God’s people any longer. Hosea 1:9 says the same. ‘Call his (your son’s) name Lo-Ammi. You are not my people and I will not be your God.’ ‘Lo-Ammi’ is *Hebrew for ‘not my people’.

Verse 9 The words ‘capital’ and ‘king’ here (and in verse 8) are both ‘head’ in *Hebrew. It means the ‘head of the country’ (capital) and the ‘head of the government’ (king). ‘You’ means King Ahaz. In the *Hebrew text of this verse, the last sentence is something special. There the speaker is ‘playing with words’. He uses similar words to mean different things. The words for ‘believe’ and ‘be alive’ sound similar in *Hebrew. But they mean those two different things. ‘Believe’ and ‘be alive’ sound a little similar in English too. But they are not as close in sound as the *Hebrew words.

v10 And the *LORD spoke again to Ahaz.

v11 He said, ‘Ask the *LORD your God for some proof. Ask for it deep [in the earth]. Or ask for it high [in the sky].’

v12 But Ahaz said, ‘I will never ask [for proof] and I will never test the *LORD.’

v13 And he [Isaiah] said, ‘Now listen, [Ahaz, from] David’s family! You are causing [your] people to have no patience [with you. And] now you are causing my God to have no patience too.

v14 Therefore the *Lord himself will give something special that shows proof to you. Look! That *virgin will become *pregnant. She will have a son and she will call his name Immanu El.

v15 When he knows [the difference between] right and wrong things, he will be [old enough] to eat butter and honey.

v16 But even before the child knows [the difference between] right and wrong things, [Assyria’s army] will destroy [Ephraim and Syria]. The two kings of whom you are afraid will be [in *exile themselves].

v17 The *LORD will bring the king of Assyria to you. And [the *LORD will bring him] to your people. And [he will bring him] to your father’s family. It will be a special period of time. There have been no days like it since Ephraim separated from Judah.’

Notes

Verse 11 It was Isaiah that said this. However, God told Isaiah what to say. God wanted Ahaz to ask for proof. God wanted to give proof to Ahaz that Isaiah was speaking the truth. The *Hebrew word for ‘ask’ contains the same letters as ‘Sheol’. Sheol was a place deep under the ground. People believed that dead people were in Sheol.

Verse 12 The word ‘test’ here does not really mean ‘examine’. Rather, it means ‘discover’ what God would do. Ahaz was a proud man. He did not want to know whether God would help him or not. Instead, as we learn from 2 Kings 16:7, Ahaz asked the king of Assyria to help him!

Verse 13 Here God is telling Isaiah what to say. As in verse 2, the *Hebrew for David’s ‘family’ means David’s ‘house’. It means the kings that ruled after David. And here it refers to Ahaz in particular. God said that Ahaz had made his people tired. Now he was making God tired also. Neither the people nor God wanted to hear Ahaz again!

Verse 14 ‘Therefore’ here means ‘because you will not ask’. Here, ‘Lord’ means ‘master’, someone with authority. It is a name for God. It shows us that he has authority over everybody. That includes Ahaz! In verse 7 we have translated that same *Hebrew word as ‘Master’. ‘Lord’ is not the same word in *Hebrew as ‘*LORD’ is. Now what Isaiah says next is very important. It meant one thing for Ahaz, but it also meant something else later for *Jews in *exile. And later, that was what it meant for Christians too. Isaiah probably intended more than one meaning, and God certainly did. Here are the two meanings:

1) The meaning for Ahaz

By the time when a young woman has done these things, Ephraim will not exist:

• The young woman has become *pregnant (when she is expecting a baby).

• She has given birth to a son.

• She has taught that boy the difference between right and wrong things (verse 16).

Note that Isaiah says, ‘Look!’ He is pointing to a particular young girl. Also, notice that she will call her son ‘Immanu El’. Those two words are *Hebrew for ‘With-us [is]-God’. Even today, many mothers call their sons Immanuel. As Isaiah called his son Shearjashub (verse 3), that young woman would call her son Immanuel. Both names together contained a message for the people. This is the message: ‘Because God is with us, a few people will come back from exile’. ‘Exile’ is when enemies take people away from those people’s own country. Later, enemies from Babylon would destroy Judah and they would destroy its capital, Jerusalem. Then they would take the people away from there to a far country (Babylon). But a few people would come back from Babylon to Judah.

2) The meaning for the *Jews in *exile and the Christians.

The *Jews were the people from Judah and Israel. About 450 years after Isaiah died, the *Jews translated their Bible into *Greek. When they translated it, they noticed this. The *Hebrew word for ‘young woman’ actually meant ‘virgin’. (A virgin is a woman that has not had sex with anyone.) So in their translation, those *Jews used the *Greek word for ‘virgin’. Most writers of the New Testament (the last 27 books in the Bible) used that *Greek translation, which contains the Old Testament (the first 39 books in the Bible). Matthew did that. He referred to Isaiah’s *prophecy from Isaiah 7:14. Matthew said that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was a *virgin. He also said that Jesus’ name ‘Immanuel’ meant ‘With us is God’. (Matthew 1:22-23). In Genesis 24:43, we learn what that *Hebrew word for ‘*virgin’ means. We learn that Rebecca was an unmarried girl. She had not had sex with anyone. That is the meaning of the *Hebrew word that Isaiah used in this verse.

Verse 15 People had butter and honey when there was no war. So there would be no war when the boy knew the difference between right and wrong. Here Isaiah is speaking only to Ahaz, as far as we know. Here, and in verse 16, we have ‘[know the difference] between right and wrong things’. More exactly, it means: ‘The boy can choose to do good things and refuse (to do) wrong things.’ If the verse has any meaning for us, it may be this. When we first become Christians, we may not immediately be sure about the right things to do. But after we have followed Jesus for some time, he will show us. He will help us to choose between right and wrong things. So then we can choose to do good things. And we can refuse to do evil things.

Verse 17 Only three kings had ruled over all Judah and Israel. They were Saul, David and Solomon. After Solomon’s death, the people divided their country into two countries. There were 13 tribes (very large groups of relatives) in total. 9 tribes became the northern country, called Israel. 2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin, became the southern country called Judah. Levi’s tribe lived in 48 towns in both Israel and Judah. Bible students are not sure whether Simeon’s tribe belonged to Israel or Judah. It was south from Judah. It was a long way from Israel, which was in the north. Isaiah uses the name ‘Ephraim’ for the northern country, Israel. That is because Ephraim’s tribe (very large group of Ephraim’s relatives) was the most important one among Israel’s 9 or 10 tribes. The tribes divided into two countries about 200 years before Isaiah was born.

‘Your father’s family’ here means David’s family, which Isaiah mentioned in verse 2. As in verse 2, the *Hebrew word here for ‘family’ actually means ‘house’. The ‘king of Assyria’ means that king’s armies. Bible students do not agree about the ‘special period of time’. Some students believe that it would be better for Judah. Other students think that it would be worse. There are good reasons for both ideas. Look at the note about verse 18.

v18 On that day, the *LORD will [blow his] whistle. Then, the flies at the upper end of Egypt’s river [will come]. And [the *LORD] will call for the bees (small insects that sting) in the country called Assyria.

v19 And they will all come and they will land on these places:

• the steep valleys.

• the holes in the rocks.

• all the *thorn bushes.

• all the places where there is water.

v20 On that day, the *Lord will use the king of Assyria. [That king] will come from beyond the river. With a razor he will shave the hair from your head. [He will shave it] from your legs and from your beard.

v21 On that day, a man will keep a young cow and two goats alive.

v22 They will give a lot of milk, so that he will have butter to eat. Everyone that remains in the land will eat butter and honey.

v23 On that day, there will be weeds and *thorn bushes. [They will be] in every place where there were a thousand *vines. [A thousand *vines] are worth a thousand pieces of silver.

v24 A man will go there with a bow and arrows, because there will be *briers and *thorn bushes on all the land.

v25 Nobody will go to the hills, because they are afraid about the *briers and *thorn bushes. [On those hills], people used to dig [so that they could] grow plants. Now, cows wander there and sheep run about.

Notes

Verse 18 This starts a section that has ‘on that day’ 4 times (verses 18, 20, 21 and 23). ‘On that day’ probably means the day on which Assyria’s army attacked Ephraim and Syria. Bad things will happen to some people (verses 18, 20 and 23). But good things will happen to other people (verse 21). Not all Bible students agree with that. However, it seems to be a good way to understand the *prophecy in verse 16. But maybe Isaiah meant that Assyria would attack all three countries (Ephraim, Syria and Judah). Then verse 21 would mean that people became poorer. They had less than they had before. Probably we will never know the right way to understand verse 21!

‘Egypt’s river’ is the Nile river. The flies from the river were a nuisance. They carried diseases to people. Here, the ‘flies’ are a special description of the army from Egypt. ‘Bees’ are small insects that make honey. But they also sting people. Here again, the speaker is describing an army. This time, the army will come from Assyria. It seems that the *LORD will call armies from both countries.

Verse 19 Isaiah continues the special description of the armies as insects. They will ‘fly’ to Israel and Syria (and maybe Judah) and they will ‘land’ everywhere. A ‘thorn bush’ is a bush with small, sharp points (‘thorns’) that grow out of its branches.

Verse 20 Foreign armies used to cut off all the hair of the people whom they defeated. It made the people feel very ashamed. To shave the hair from ‘the legs’ probably means this. It probably means ‘the parts of the body that people use for sex’.

Verses 21-22 Assyria’s soldiers took most people whom they defeated away to another country. But they left a few people behind. That might refer to the few people in the place called Ephraim. If it was so, then they did not have much. Each person only had one cow and he also had two goats or two sheep. Wild bees (small insects) made honey. There would be many wild bees, even if there were not many people. On the other hand, butter and honey could mean good food. So perhaps these verses do not mean the people in Ephraim. Maybe they mean the people that remained in Judah. We do not know!

Verse 23 A ‘vine’ is a plant that climbs. Here, it is a plant on which fruits called ‘grapes’ grow. People make wine from grapes. So vines are valuable. Each vine was worth a piece of silver. The *Hebrew word for ‘piece’ is ‘shekel’. A shekel weighs less than half an ounce (or, about 11 grams).

Verses 24-25 Instead of gardens and farms, the country is now wild land. Not many people live there, because people are afraid to go there. Instead of people, there are animals.

Something to do

1. Start to make a list of things that made Isaiah a great poet. Find examples of them as you study his book. The list could include places in the text where Isaiah used these things:

• two different words to say the same thing twice

• different names for God in the same sentence.

• several special descriptions in the same verse.

• one word to mean two different things.

• *inclusios.

• stories as special descriptions of God and his people.

2. Read the story about King Ahaz in 2 Kings chapter 16.

3. Read about Jesus’ birth, in Matthew 1:18-25.

heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
Apocalypse ~ another name for the last book in the Bible, called Revelation. The Little Apocalypse (Isaiah Chapter s 24 to 27) is similar to the Book of Revelation. It is about the end of time. It is about the time when Jesus returns to the Earth.'Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.

Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
inclusio ~ ‘something to do’ after Isaiah chapter 1 explains this word.'Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.

Lord/lord ~ lord means master; Lord is a name for God. It is not the same as LORD.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
virgin ~ a woman that has not had sex.
pregnant ~ when a woman has a baby inside her.
exile ~ away from your own country or people.
Greek ~ the language that people spoke in Greece.
prophecy ~ the words of a prophet.
prophet ~ a man who tells people what God has told him.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are also called thorns.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
briers ~ bushes that have sharp thorns on their branches.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are also called thorns.