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ISAIAH CHAPTER 7
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand within the
normative rules of language, context and logic 
.
.This
limits the observer to the content offered by the book of Isaiah. This
will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more
importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective
comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
Immediately below is an excerpt that reviews the context of the previous chapter 6 which continues into chapter 7
Or
skip to the beginning of chapter 7: 
****** EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 6 ******
(Isa 6:1 YLT) '''In the year of the death of king Uzziah - I see the LORD, sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train [of His robe] is filling the temple. (Isa 6:2 YLT) [Seraphim] are standing above it: six wings [has] each one; ... two [each] covers its face, and... two [each covers] its feet, and with two [each it flies] (Isa 6:3 NASB) And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isa 6:4 HOLMAN) The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isa 6:5 NKJV) So I [Isaiah say] "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." (Isa 6:6 ASV) Then [flies] one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (Isa 6:7 NKJV) And he touched my mouth with it, and [says] "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity [has been] taken away, And your sin [is] purged." (Isa 6:8 YLT) And I hear the voice of [my] LORD, saying: "Whom do I send? and who [goes] for Us?" And I say, "Here [am] I, send me." (Isa 6:9 YLT) And He [says], "Go, and [have it told] to this people, 'Hear... hear, and [you] do not understand, And see.. see and [you] do not know.' (Isa 6:10 NKJV) Make the heart of this people fat, And their ears heavy [unable to ear clearly what is said] And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with [each one with his] heart, And return and be healed. (Isa 6:11 YLT) And I say, " 'Till when, O LORD?" And He [says], ... till cities have been wasted - without inhabitant and houses without man and the land is wasted - a desolation, (Isa 6:12 NASB) [And] the LORD has removed men far away [from the land] And [great] is the [desolation in the heart of the land. (Isa 6:13 NKJV) But yet a tenth will be in it, And will [have returned] to be consumed, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump," ''' =
When Isaiah asked the LORD, " 'Till when, O LORD?" Isaiah was ready to speak whatever God wanted him to say, but he wanted to know how long he would be required to deliver such a terrible message of horrific judgment to which the people would be unresponsive, even callous, and suffer so severely. Since there was more than one prophet of the LORD during this period, it is evident that the other prophets would be provided with the same message and experience the LORD's terrible judgment upon their people's. A lamenting tone is implied. All of Judah's prophets of that day would lament their peoples' destruction, (cf. Jer 1:6-8, 17; Ezek 2:3-8 et al). The LORD responded to Isaiah's " 'Till when?" with "Till cities have been wasted - without inhabitant and houses without man and the land is wasted - a desolation, [And] the LORD has removed, (i.e., deported), men far away [from the land] And [great] is the [desolation in the heart lit., inner part] of the land, (their cities and fields will be ruined. But yet a tenth will be in it, And will [have returned] ... [to be consumed, i.e., to be laid to waste]. As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump," [referring to a remnant of believers]''' The phrase rendered "A tenth in it" in the NKJV refers to a tenth of the people of Judah that would be deported to a far off land along with the others, but who would return to their land, yet be consumed, i.e., laid to waste as well - except for the remnant - the holy seed. The LORD would preserve those who were His faithful, who believed in Him. Although Isaiah did not live that long, the LORD meant for him to keep on proclaiming His message throughout Judah's terrible downfall which would nearly wipe out their entire population. On the other hand, the LORD promised that all would not be lost, that a remnant - a small number of His people would survive - those who would believe. So the LORD has a continuing purpose for His people, and sees to it that a remnant of every generation survives, (Isa 6:11-13).
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 6 ******
(Isa 7:1 NKJV) ''''Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria [lit., Aram] and Pekah the son of Remaliah, [and] king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it [lit., to do battle].
(Isa 7:2 NKJV) And it was told [lit., being told] to the house of David, [i.e., Ahaz] saying, '''Syria's [lit., Aram's] forces are deployed in Ephraim. [lit., Aram] has remained, [i.e., her forces have remained in] Ephraim, [the northern kingdom of Israel, in the sense of being allies with them]''' So his heart and the heart of his people were moved [lit. were being moved in the sense of being shaken] as the trees of the woods are moved [lit., to be moved] with the wind.
(Isa 7:3 NKJV) Then the LORD said to Isaiah, '''Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the... [road] to the Fuller Field [lit., the (wheat) treading field],
(Isa 7:4 NKJV) and say to him: "Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, [i.e., smoking wood used to agitate others with] for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria [lit., Aram], and the son of Remaliah
(Isa 7:5 NKJV) Because Syria, [lit., Aram], Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying,
(Isa 7:6 NKJV) 'Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel [lit., Tabeal]' -
(Isa 7:7 NKJV) thus says the Lord GOD: '''It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.
(Isa 7:8 NKJV) For the head of Syria [lit., Aram] is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people.
(Isa 7:9 NASB) and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last."
(Isa 7:10 NKJV) Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
(Isa 7:11 NKJV) '''Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.'''
(Isa 7:12 NKJV) But Ahaz said, '''I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!'''
(Isa 7:13 NKJV) Then he said, '''Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
(Isa 7:14 YLT) "Therefore the Lord Himself [is giving] to you [plural, i.e., Judah] a sign, [behold], the Virgin [the pregnant one] [the one giving birth to] a son, And she [has called] his name Immanuel.
(Isa 7:15 NKJV) Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
(Isa 7:16 NKJV) For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
(Isa 7:17 NASB) The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated [lit., departed] from Judah, [the LORD will bring on you] the king of Assyria.
(Isa 7:18 NKJV) In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers, [lit., waterways] of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
(Isa 7:19 NKJV) They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures.
(Isa 7:20 NKJV) '''In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard.
(Isa 7:21 NKJV) It shall be in that day That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
(Isa 7:22 NKJV) So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, That he will eat curds; For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.
(Isa 7:23 NKJV) It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It will be for briers and thorns.
(Isa 7:24 NKJV) With arrows and bows men will come there, Because all the land will become briers and thorns.
(Isa 7:25 NKJV) And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.'''
(Isa 7:1 NKJV) ''''Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria [lit., Aram] and Pekah the son of Remaliah, [and] king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it [lit., to do battle]. (Isa 7:2 NKJV) And it was told [lit., being told] to the house of David, [i.e., Ahaz] saying, '''Syria's [lit., Aram's] forces are deployed in Ephraim. [lit., Aram] has remained, [i.e., her forces have remained in] Ephraim, [the northern kingdom of Israel, in the sense of being allies with them]''' So his heart and the heart of his people were moved [lit. were being moved in the sense of being shaken] as the trees of the woods are moved [lit., to be moved] with the wind. (Isa 7:3 NKJV) Then the LORD said to Isaiah, '''Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the... [road] to the Fuller Field [lit., the (wheat) treading field], (Isa 7:4 NKJV) and say to him: "Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, [i.e., smoking wood used to agitate others with] for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria [lit., Aram], and the son of Remaliah (Isa 7:5 NKJV) Because Syria, [lit., Aram] Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, (Isa 7:6 NKJV) 'Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel [lit., Tabeal]' - (Isa 7:7 NKJV) thus says the Lord GOD: '''It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. (Isa 7:8 NKJV) For the head of Syria [lit., Aram] is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people. (Isa 7:9 NASB) and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.''' =
After king Jeroboam II died, (793-753), Ephraim became increasingly weak and vulnerable to attack. The word rendered "Ephraim," the Northern Kingdom's largest tribe, is in view. It is used here to refer to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. During king Jotham's reign over Judah, the king of Ephraim, the son of Ramaliah, (752 to732 B.C.), made an alliance with king Pekah of Aram, (the ancient name for Syria) in order to conquer Judah and split it between the two kingdoms, setting up Tabel as a puppet king - further strengthening their kingdoms against Assyria. Note that Tabel means "Good for Nothing." So Syria and Israel wanted to place an incompetent puppet king over Judah. The frequent reference to the king of Ephraim as the "son of Remaliah," without giving his specific name conveys an attitude of contempt for the ruler.
During the first years of the reign of king Ahaz, (son of Jotham, son of Uzziah), which began in 741 B.C.; the armies of Aram and Ephraim invaded Judah. Note that before this, the first campaign had resulted in a slaughter of Ahaz's force; but they did not achieve their plan of conquering Jerusalem.
It was told to the "House of David," referring at the time to king Ahaz, ruler of Judah who was in the line of David, that Aram's forces were in alliance with Ephraim. Aram's forces were encamped in the Northern Kingdom, ready to go to battle with Ephraim's forces against Judah. So king Ahaz and all of Judah began shaking in fear of being attacked, (Isa 7:1-2).
At that time, the LORD told Isaiah to bring Shear-Jashub his son and meet with king Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the road to the Fuller Field, (lit., the wheat treading field). The name "Shear-Jashub" literally meant, "A remnant shall return," which was an illustration to Ahaz and Judah of Isaish's prophetic messages that the LORD would preserve Judah so that a faithful remnant would return to the Promised Land, (cf. Isa 6:13; 10:21). The aqueduct was connected to an upper pool which was a reservoir that held water from the Gihon Spring near Jerusalem through which the water flowed into the Fount Siloah located on the west side of Jerusalem. King Ahaz was evidently there to see to it that Jerusalem had an adequate water supply in case they came under siege from Aram and Ephraim. The highway led to Fuller's Field located just outside of Jerusalem's walls, which road people used to access the nearby water to wash cloth prior to drying and bleaching it, (Isa 7:3).
Despite Ahaz's lack of faith, Isaiah was told to tell the king and the people of Judah to "take heed and be quiet," in the sense of not being fearful and not seeking help from outside of the LORD such as forming an alliance with the kingdom of Assyria and paying tribute to it for protection, (which Ahaz did anyway). Isaiah commanded Judah not to be fainthearted about the "two stubs of smoking firebrands," (Aram and Ephraim), implying that those two kingdoms would soon be extinguished. So Judah would not be conquered by Aram and Ephraiam, (Isa 7:4-7).
Isaiah declared, "For the head of Syria [lit., Aram] is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin, the head of Ephraim was Samaria, and the head of Samaria was [Pekah] the son of Remaliah;" implying that since both kingdoms were ruled by mere men, and since it was the LORD Who protected His people, then king Ahaz and Judah had every reason to trust in the LORD. Two years later kings Rezin and Pekah died, (732 B.C.). Rezin would be Aram's last king, and Pekah was Israel's next-to-last king. Inspite of this, Ahaz would remain arrogantly resolute against the LORD.
Isaiah stipulated that in 65 years, Ephraim - the kingdom of the ten tribes of Northern Israel - would be so shattered and scattered that it would no longer be a people. Within two years, Ephraim was conquered by Assyria under Tiglath-pileser and her population largely deported. About twenty years later, Assyria under Shalmaneser effected another deportation while Hoshea was king of Israel in Samaria. The final blow came in 669 B.C., 65 years after Isaiah spoke his prophecy, long after king Ahaz had died. Many foreigners were transferred to Samaria by Assyria's ruler Ashurbanipal so that it became impossible for the Northern Kingdom of Israel to unite as a people.
Isaiah kept challenging king Ahaz to believe in the LORD's faithfulness to His promise to deliver Judah from Ephraim and Aram or he "surely shall not last," in the sense that he too would fall. This would also apply to Judah if she did not turn to faith in the LORD to deliver them from Ephraim and Aram. For the word "You" in Isa 7:9" is plural with the royal family and the nation in view. The words rendered "will not believe" and "shall not last" are a play on the same Hebrew word from which we get our word "amen." Believing in this context entails believing in the word of the LORD conveyed through Isaiah that Judah would not be conquered by Aram and Ephraim without having to rely on alliances or paying tribute to Assyria. It is the key to receiving His promises and being preserved from temporal destruction. But if they do not trust in the LORD, "They surely will not last," i.e., be destroyed, (Isa 7:8-9).
(Isa 7:10 NKJV) ''''Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, (Isa 7:11 NKJV) '''Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.''' (Isa 7:12 NKJV) But Ahaz said, '''I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!''' (Isa 7:13 NKJV) Then he said, '''Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? (Isa 7:14 YLT) "Therefore the Lord Himself [is giving] to you [plural, i.e., Judah] a sign, [behold], the Virgin [the pregnant one] [the one giving birth to] a son, And she [has called] his name Immanuel. (Isa 7:15 NKJV) Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isa 7:16 NKJV) For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.''' '''' =
In order to authenticate His promise to protect Judah from Aram and Ephraim, and test the faith of Ahaz, the LORD asked Ahaz (through Isaiah) to request a sign from "The depth or in the height above" - a figure of speech which has in view any sign that Ahaz might choose for the LORD to perform from the realm of the greatest depths of Sheol to the greatest height of the heavens or from anything in between. With a miracle performed simply for the asking, Ahaz would have had visible confirmation that Isaiah's words were truly from the LORD and then Ahaz could count on the fact that the northern alliance would not defeat Judah. But Ahaz, twisting the words of Scripture, arrogantly declined in unbelief saying, "Nor will I test the LORD!" Ahaz, by rejecting the legitimate offer of a sign from God's messenger, was in effect rejecting the One Who sent the prophet. Furthermore, Ahaz's response questioned the integrity of God's prophet Isaiah for suggesting that Ahaz should test the LORD. Note that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, had already established himself as a prophet of God during the reigns of Uzziah, and his son Jotham, the father of Ahaz; and he would continue to be a prophet of God during the reign of Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, (Isa 1:1). Ahaz refused to accept Isaiah's offer to choose a sign inspite of the fact that if his prophecy were not fulfilled, the king could have had Isaiah put to death. Since the king did not believe in Isaiah's declaration that the LORD would deliver Judah from Aram and Ephraim; and since he was resolved not to do God's will but was determined to negotiate with Assyria, favoring Assyria's power, paganism and idolatry over the LORD, (Isa 10:10, 11 36:18-20); then there would be no sign from the LORD for Judah in Ahaz's time, (Isa 7:10-12).
Isaiah responded to King Ahaz's rejection of the LORD and His prophet: "Hear now, O house of David! [referring to king Ahaz - a descendant of David] Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?" This conveys Isaiah's exasperation with Ahaz in the sense of asking him 'Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, but must you try the patience of my God also?' Notice that Isaiah referred to "my God" as if to say that his God was not Ahaz's God. Up to this time, although he had gotten access to king Ahaz which implied that his reputation as a prophet had preceded him, Isaiah had not prophesied a sign personally to Ahaz which would have authenticated the LORD's promise to deliver Judah from Aram and Ephraim; and it would have authenticated that Isaiah was a true prophet of the LORD. Since Ahaz had refused to let this proof be presented, Isaiah was exasperated, (Isa 7:13).
Hence Isaiah announced that the LORD Himself would give a sign of His own choosing. Notice that the word rendered "Himself" in the NKJV is in an emphatic mode in Isa 7:14 emphasizing the LORD's singularly emphatic response to Ahaz's rejection of a sign to provide one Himself without any imput from the arrogant, faithless king. The word rendered "Behold" in verse 14 brings attention to an astounding sign of the maiden / virgin's birth of a Son Whom she would call His name Immanuel, meaning God is with us:
(Isa 7:14 YLT) "Therefore the Lord Himself [is giving] to you [plural, i.e., Judah] a sign, [behold], the Virgin [the pregnant one] [the one giving birth to] a son, And she [has called] his name Immanuel.
(Isa 7:14 Hebrew) "lkn ..........ithn ................adni ............eua .l-km ..........auth .ene
..............................."therefore he-shall-give ..my-LORD he ...to-you .......sign .behold
e-olme.................... ere ..................u-ildth .........................bn ..u-grath ................shm-u
the-maiden/virgin .pregnant-one and-one-giving-birth .son and-she-has called .name-of-him
omnu~al
Immanu~El
(Isa 7:15 NKJV) Curds and honey [infant food signifying that He was growing up] He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isa 7:16 NKJV) For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings."
Note that the Child in the prophecy of Isa 7:14-16 is stipulated as having been given birth to by "the Virgin" with the definite article - the pregnant one, (noun), the one giving birth (participle for noun) to a Son. And she [has called] His name Immanuel, [lit., Immanu~El or God is with us]." The LXX, (Septuagint = Greek version of the Hebrew Text] translators used the unambiguous word 'parthenos' ('virgin') to translate 'almAh' rendered "virgin" in the NKJV. This Hebrew word transliterated "almAh" refers to a young woman of marriagable age implying virginity. It evidently comes from the concept of a young maiden / woman being closely guarded and kept from men's gaze in their parents' custody in the East - which implies virginity. So the verse points to the unique, one of a kind maiden / virgin the pregnant one who gives birth to the Child Whom she would call Immanuel meaning God is with us which excludes sexual intercourse, otherwise she could not be stipulated as the maiden / virgin. There is no clear OT example of the use of 'almAh' for a married woman. In the next two verses, it is stipulated that the Child will grow up on "curds and honey" the normal diet of a weaned child; and reach the point of knowing to refuse evil and do good - from conception to accountability -. after but not necessarily immediately after the kingdoms of Syria and Ephraim have been destroyed by Assyria.
A short term fulfillment of this prophecy through a maiden / virgin through marriage and sexual relations with king Ahaz or with Isaiah or some other man, to give birth to a son whose name she would call "Immanuel" or through all of Judah's mothers at that time who returned to faith in the LORD calling their sons "Immanuel," as some contend, cannot be in view in Isa 7:14. Any woman who gave birth to a son as a result of sexual relations was a common occurrence and hence not a unique miraculous sign from the LORD to corroborate a particular promise He made through His prophet Isaiah. Isaiah's wife could not be classified at this time as a maiden / virgin because she had already given birth to a son named "Shear-Jashub, (cf. Isa 7:3); nor was Ahaz's wife, the queen, a maiden / virgin at the time. Furthermore, any mother by sexual relations could not be called the maiden / virgin at the time of giving birth because the original text literally stipulates, "The maiden /virgin with the definite article - the pregnant one, (noun), the one giving birth (participle for noun) to a Son," which rules out sexual relations. Finally, the scenario of a fulfillment of this prophecy through all of Judah's married women who returned to faith in the LORD in that time is ruled out because the prophecy refers to a singular noun with the definite article hence the specific and unique "maiden / virgin," is in view which cannot refer to mothers in plural.
Finally, there is nothing in Scripture that stipulates that a short term fulfillment of this prophecy had occurred - especially that which parallels the unique long term fulfillment of Mary the betrothed/wife of Joseph still a virgin yet giving birth to Jesus Christ via the work of the Holy Spirit Whom she called His name Immanuel meaning "God is with us," (Mt 1:23). Since king Ahaz had refused to accept any sign from the LORD; and since the generations of Judah following Isaiah's prophecy would not be faithful to the LORD, then a short term fulfillment would not be forthcoming. Hence the fulfillment of the LORD's prophecy would be to a generation of His chosen people more than 700 years later. And just as the prophecy in Isa 9:1-7 which stipulated that the "Name [of the Son] will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace," without any of those descriptive terms actually being His name, so the name of the child being given birth by the maiden / virgin will be called "Immanuel" without that having to be His given name.
Just as the prophecy of Isa 9:1-7 jumped centuries forward, so the prophecy of Isa 7:14-16 was similarly fufilled.
(Isa 9:1 NKJV) "Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed As when at first He [treated with contempt] The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.
(Isa 9:2 NKJV) The people [of Israel] who who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.
(Isa 9:3 KJV) [You have] multiplied the nation. [Have You] not increased the joy? They [rejoice] before [You] according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice [to divide] the spoil.
(Isa 9:4 NKJV) For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.
(Isa 9:5 HOLMAN) [For the warrior's trampling sandle] and the garments [rolled in the blood of battle] will be burned as fuel for the fire.
(Isa 9:6 NKJV) For unto us [Israel, Isa 1:1, 8:18] a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isa 9:7 NKJV) Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
(Isa 7:17 NASB) ''''The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated [lit., departed] from Judah, [the LORD will bring on you] the king of Assyria. (Isa 7:18 NKJV) In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers, [lit., waterways] of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. (Isa 7:19 NKJV) They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures. (Isa 7:20 NKJV) '''In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard. (Isa 7:21 NKJV) It shall be in that day That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep; (Isa 7:22 NKJV) So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, That he will eat curds; For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land. (Isa 7:23 NKJV) It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It will be for briers and thorns. (Isa 7:24 NKJV) With arrows and bows men will come there, Because all the land will become briers and thorns. (Isa 7:25 NKJV) And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.''' '''' =
Isaiah went on to declare that as a result of not trusting in the LORD for protection from Aram and Ephraim, the LORD would bring upon Ahaz and the people of Judah and on his [Ahaz's] father's house, i.e., the house of David, referring to the rulers of Judah - such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah. The LORD's agent would be the king of Assyria and his vicious armies. Despite Isaiah's prophetic warning, Ahaz paid a huge tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, ruler of Assyria. Whereupon Tiglath-Pileser conquered and dispersed the kingdoms of Aram and Ephraim. But then the LORD turned Assyria toward Judah to execute a series of attacks that were the worst since the ten Northern Tribes departed from the two southern tribes in 931 B.C., (Isa 7:17).
And true to Isaiah's prediction, "In that day [referring to a day of temporal judgment], the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers, [lit., waterways] of Egypt [i.e., whistle for the hordes of Egyptian soldiers who are as numerous and bothersome as flies who will invade from the south]; and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria," [i.e., for the swarms of vicious and supremely cruel soldiers of Assyria, who will attack from the northeast to infest the kingdom of Judah throughout the land even to "the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all thorns and in all pastures,"[places where flies and bees don't usually go], (Isa 7:18-19).
Isaiah goes on to say in Isa 7:20, "In the same day," [referring to the time of temporal judgment in view in verse 19] the LORD will shave [in a figurative sense] with a hired razor - those from beyond the [Euphrates] River => the king of Assyria, [and his armies]." So God's instrument was "a hired razor," Assyria, which ironically alluded to king Ahaz's paying a large tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, ruler of Assyria to hire his armies to destroy Aram and Ephraim. Just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it, so Isaiah prophesied, Assyria would be the instrument of the LORD, whose soldiers woud shave in the sense of mow down all that was before them. They would shave "the head, the hair of the legs and will also remove the beard" of the kingdoms of Aram, Ephraim and then Judah, but stop short of Jerusalem, (Isa 7:3-8). And then Assyria's army would be completely demolished by the LORD at the gates of Jerusalem, (Isaiah chapters 36 & 37). Note that to shave off the beard is a great indignity and shame to an Easterner, adding insult to injury to a defeated foe, (Isa 7:20).
Isaiah predicted that in that day of temporal judgment, many animals would be killed, the land would be devastated hence devoided of cultivation of crops, and many Judahites would be killed or dispersed from the land. The land would be of little use for cultivation. Grape vines which were a significant source of food and income would be destroyed. Isaiah mentioned three times for emphasis that the land would become full of briers and thorns and wild grasses; it would be a range for oxen and sheep who could penetrate the briers and thorns to roam and graze. Few young animals would exist to consume the milk of the few cows and sheep that would remain. This left a relative abundance of milk and curds for the few remaining residents of the land as a food source. Furthermore, the fields would become filled with wild flowers which bees thrived upon, providing honey as another food source for those that remained. The land would revert to a place for hunting wild prey by men with bows and arrows - another food source for those whom the LORD saw to it would remain in the land and be thus provided for, (Isa 7:21-25).
Note that the previous context of chapter 5 parallels the context indicated above:
****** EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 5 ******
(Isa 5:24 NKJV) "Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isa 5:25 NKJV) Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. (Isa 5:26 NKJV) He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. (Isa 5:27 NKJV) No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken: (Isa 5:28 NKJV) Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. (Isa 5:29 NKJV) Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. (Isa 5:30 NKJV) In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds," =
Verses 5-6, 9-10, 13-17 in chapter 5 stipulated a number of judgments that the LORD would bring upon the people of Judah of the time of Isaiah, (cf. Isa 1:1), because of the extent of their sinfulness. Verses 24-30 then go into more detail and indicate that their sins were symptomatic of their despisement of the LORD and their consequent and persistent violations of His law. As a result, their destruction was pictured as a flame which devoured straw and dry grass. The extent of their depravity was portrayed as a rotten root which destroyed the plant; their destruction was as flower blossoms were blown away in the wind like dust. Verses 25-30 indicated that the anger of the LORD would be so aroused that He would stretch out His hand against them to strike them beginning with an earthquake which would make the hills tremble. Note that this probably fixes the date of this chapter, as it refers to the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, (Amos 1:1; Zec 14:5 ). Many would die - "their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets." And then the LORD would summon nations from afar - He will lift up a banner to them, And whistle to them and they would come with speed, without delay, with their lethal weapons, like roaring lions - like the roaring of the sea, they would come. And as lions which lay hold of their prey, there would be no one to deliver the people of the LORD from them; leaving only darkness and sorrow in the land. The imagery of Isaiah was graphic, terrifying and inevitable.
[The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord & Zuck, Eds., Victor Books, USA, 1987, p. 1043]:
"5:26-30 When God's judgment would come on Judah, the nations of Egypt and Assyria (7:18), and later Babylon would respond as if God had raised a banner as a signal for war. Those nations would seemingly come from the ends of the earth, a phrase Isaiah used frequently to suggest people everywhere (5:26; 24:16; 40:28; 41:5, 9; 42:10; 43:6; 45:22; 48:20; 49:6; 52:10; 62:11). The soldiers, responding speedily, would be vigorous (5:27) and well armed. Their chariots would be fast (v. 28). Ferocious like lions (v. 29) they would completely devastate Judah (v. 30). They would cover Judah like a sea and blot out the sun like the clouds, a picture of distress and gloom."
(Isa 1:1 YLT) "The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he [had] seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
(Isa 1:2 NKJV) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: 'I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me:
(Isa 1:3 YLT) An ox [has] known its owner, And [a donkey] the crib of its master, Israel [has] not known, My people [have] not understood.
(Isa 1:4 YLT) Ah, sinning nation, a people heavy [with] iniquity, A seed of evil doers, sons - corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward.
(Isa 1:5 NKJV) Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
(Isa 1:6 NKJV) From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
(Isa 1:7 NKJV) Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
(Isa 1:8 YLT) And left [has] been the daughter of Zion, As a booth in a vineyard, As a lodge in a place of cucumbers - as a city besieged.'
(Isa 1:9 NKJV) Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant [lit., a few survivors], we would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah."
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 5 ******