Isaiah 7 Series

Isaiah 7

God is With Us

Stay Strong vs. 1-9

God is With Us vs. 10-17

A Coming Day vs. 18-25

Read Isaiah 7:1-4

Transition: King Ahaz

As we get into Isaiah 7 lets not forget what has happened in Isaiah 6

Isaiah had a vision of God on the throne

Now God wants to show us how He is in the midst of what's going on as well

Ahaz was a wicked king of Judah, worshipping other gods and even sacrificing his son to Molech

The only good thing Ahaz seemed to do was father Hezekiah, who became a good king of Judah.

He was a cowardly, superstitious and hypocritical ruler, one of the worst kings Judah ever had.

As we open Isaiah 7 Ahaz is in a pickle

Syria, not to be confused with Assyria, and Israel want to depose Ahaz and put in another king

The reason for this is that they want Judah to join them in combating Assyria

Well Ahaz has two options, join the rebel forces or partner with Assyria

Neither one are optimum or what God wants

But because Ahaz is wicked he doesn’t consider seeking God

So God sends Isaiah to give Ahaz a third option… Trust in Him

Through this we see that God is in the middle of what we are doing

One of the words for God is Jehovah

Jehovah is a latin pronunciation of the Hebrew Yahweh

You will often hear names for God using Jehovah

For instance:

Jehovah Jireh means God is my provider

Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)

Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)

Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)

Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)

The Lord is in our midst… that is what we see this morning

Not only is God high and lifted up on the throne but he is in the middle of our lives as well

This morning I want you to understand that God is with you

Stay Strong vs. 1-9

Because God is with us he wants to tell us to stay strong

Israel and Syria are attacking Judah but can’t prevail

But because of this threat the people of Judah are trembling with fear

Isaiah describes them as tree shaking in the wind

So God sends Isaiah with a simple message… Stay Strong, do not fear

vs. 1-2 The Fear of Attack

King Ahaz and his people reacted with fear instead of with trust in God.

They are shaken and unstable in their hearts

In this, the people of Judah really are the people of Ahaz, not the people of the LORD.

God was not shaken or unsettled by this threat.

If the king of Judah and the people of Judah had put their trust in the LORD, they would have had the peace of God in this conflict.

Ps 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

So many times we are gripped with fear when God has peace waiting for us

How do we grab hold of the peace and let go of the fear?

vs. 3-6 Don’t Give Up Hope

It’s a matter of what we put our hope in

God shows us how he is in the middle of what we are doing

Notice that God is very specific on where he is sending Isaiah

Ahaz is at the pool on the highway to the Fuller’s field

God knows where we are at at all times… he doesn’t lose us

God also does something interesting, he sends Isaiah’s son with him

You and Shear-Jashub your son:

He brought his son as a walking object lesson, because the name Shear-Jashub means, “A Remnant Shall Return.”

So God sends Isaiah directly to Ahaz with a reminder that a remnant will survive His judgment

Finally he tells Ahaz Be quiet, do not fear

Basically God is telling an ungodly man to stop complaining and focus on him

This is so important

We can be so focused on our problems that we won’t look to God for our solution

Ex 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today

Ahaz saw Israel and Syria as a huge problem

But God saw them as smoldering stubs… all smoke and no fire

Like a chihuahua, all bark and no bite

God looks at our problems differently

He is above our problems and involved in them at the same time

Ahaz needed to trust God, and take courage in the LORD (do not fear or be fainthearted).

Why was it so hard for Ahaz to trust the Lord?

Because he didn’t see the situation the way the LORD did.