Isaiah 7 - Prayer Tents

A Message for Ahaz

7When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria

and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan.H3117H271H1121H3147H1121H5818H4428H3063H7526H4428H758H6492H1121H7425H4428H3478H5927H3389H4421H3201H38982The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel

against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.H5046H1004H1732H559H758H5117H669H3824H5128H3824H5971H6086H3293H5128H6440H73073Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashub

and go out to meet King Ahaz. You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.H559H3068H3470H3318H7125H271H7610H1121H7097H8585H5945H1295H4546H3526H77044Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn’need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.H559H8104H8252H3372H7401H3824H8147H2180H6226H181H2750H639H7526H758H1121H74255Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying,H758H669H1121H7425H7451H3289H5596‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’H5927H3063H6973H1234H4427H4428H8432H1121H28707But this is what the Sovereign Lord says. “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place;H3541H559H136H3069H69658for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed.H7218H758H1834H7218H1834H7526H8346H2568H8141H669H2865H59719Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”H7218H669H8111H7218H8111H7425H1121H539H539

The Sign of Immanuel

10Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz:H3068H1696H3254H271H55911“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

.”H7592H226H3068H430H7592H6009H1361H460512But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”H271H559H7592H5254H853H306813Then 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?H559H8085H1004H1732H4592H3811H582H3811H43014All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin

will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).H136H5414H226H5959H2030H3205H1121H7121H8034H410H600515By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt

and honey.H2529H1706H398H3045H3988H7451H977H289616For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.H5288H3045H3988H7451H977H2896H127H6973H6440H5800H8147H442817“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!”H3068H935H5971H1H1004H3117H935H3117H669H5493H3063H4428H80418In 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.H3117H3068H8319H2070H7097H2975H4714H1682H776H80419They will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile areas and also in the desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places.H935H5117H1327H5158H5357H5553H5285H509720In that day the Lord will hire a “razor” from beyond the Euphrates River

—the king of Assyria—and use it to shave off everything: your land, your crops, and your people.H3117H136H1548H8593H7917H5676H5104H4428H804H7218H8181H7272H5595H220621In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left.H3117H376H2421H1241H5697H8147H662922Nevertheless, 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.H7230H2461H6213H398H2529H2529H1706H398H3498H7130H77623In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver

, will become patches of briers and thorns.H3117H4725H505H1612H505H3701H8068H789824The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife.H2671H7198H935H776H8068H789825No 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.H2022H5737H4576H935H3374H8068H7898H4916H7794H4823H7716