Isaiah 7:10-17

Rachel Workman: ¹⁰ Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.^[e]”
¹² But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? ¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin^[f] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). ¹⁵ By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt^[g] and honey. ¹⁶ For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.
¹⁷ “Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation, and your family unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria upon you!”

Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy is in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is “God with us” (Matt. 1:18–25; Luke 1:31–35). The virgin birth of Christ is a key doctrine; for if Jesus Christ is not God come in sinless human flesh, then we have no Savior. However, this “sign” had an immediate significance to Ahaz and the people of Judah. A woman who was then a virgin would get married, conceive, and bear a son whose name would be “Emmanuel.” The son would be a reminder that God was with His people and would care for them. It is likely that this virgin was Isaiah’s second wife—his first wife having died after Shear-jasub was born—and that Isaiah’s second son was named both “Emmanuel” and “Maher-shalal-hashbaz” (8:1–4; note vv. 8, 10). Orthodox Jewish boys become “sons of the law” at the age of twelve. This special son was a reminder that Syria and Ephraim would be out of the picture within the next twelve years. Isaiah delivered his prophecy in 734 BC. In 732 BC Assyria defeated Syria, and in 722 BC Assyria invaded the northern kingdom. The prophecy was fulfilled.

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John Burnett:  ⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask a sign of the Lord your^[a] 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.” ¹³ And he^[b] 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.^[c] 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!”  This passage goes to show the providential will of our Lord.  740 or so years before Christ is born, Isaiah writes the prophesy in verse 14.  God then makes it come to pass just as it was predicted here in these verses.  Yahweh is the only one who can do this and Jesus is the Messiah born of a virgin.  Jesus will come again and refuse the evil and choose the good.  The good being those who confess and repent of their sin and put their trust in Him alone as the payment for their sins.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 7:18-25

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria. They will swarm around you like flies and bees. ¹⁹ They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places. ²⁰ In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River^[h]—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.^[i]

²¹ In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. ²² Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. ²³ In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver,^[j] will become patches of briers and thorns. ²⁴ The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. ²⁵ No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.