July 22, 2011
Chapter 7 is about Ahaz, the king of Judah and his trouble with the kings of Aram and Israel attacking him. When Ahaz found out about their plans he was terrified. The LORD told Isaiah to go to him and tell him, "Be careful. Be calm... don't worry... don't be afraid of their anger... their plan will not succeed; it will not happen... if your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last." Then the LORD spoke to Ahaz and said, "Ask for a sign," and Ahaz replies, "I will not ask..."
I decided to look up who this king Ahaz was. So I went back to II Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28, and found that Ahaz "did not do what the LORD his God said was right." He worshiped Baal. He was doing the same hateful sins the people of Canaan were doing before God forced them out ahead of the Israelites. He burned incense to other gods; he made his children pass through the fire.
This was not Ahaz's first experience with the kings of Aram and Israel. They had battled several times before. There were times the other kings couldn't defeat Ahaz and there were times when the LORD handed Ahaz over to their power for defeat. In Isaiah 7, Ahaz is terrified because the other kings have banded together to attack him. This time the LORD through Isaiah says—Look, come to me and I will keep you safe. Their plans won't succeed. Just be calm, be careful, and don't worry. But, your faith must be strong or you will fail.
The problem was Ahaz did not have a foundation of faith in the LORD to rely and build on. He was trying everything else but the LORD. He would even copy the altars of those who had defeated him to build for himself, thinking if it worked for them it might work for him. He took the LORD's altar out of the temple and replaced it with his own. He used his own altars for the burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices. The LORD's bronze altar was moved out. He decided to use that altar "to ask questions of God." Obviously, something is drastically wrong when Ahaz replaces what should be the LORD's with his own and other pagan king's altars.
So, God offers Ahaz a chance to do the right thing. To come to Him, the LORD, for safety and protection. All Ahaz had to do was to remain calm, trust God, and have faith. I say "all," but to someone like Ahaz who totally relied on himself and false gods, who wanted to do things his way instead of God's way, well... "all" is a tough thing. The LORD even tells Ahaz to ask Him for a sign and Ahaz refuses. The LORD is trying to give Ahaz every opportunity to come to Him and what does Ahaz do? He boldly, in your face, flat out refuses to do what God tells him to do on a simple request, "Ask for a sign." Ahaz moved the LORD's bronze altar out of the temple; he replaced it with his own; and then delegated the LORD's altar to be what he used when he wanted to ask God a question. Yet, when God tells Ahaz to ask Him anything he wants, Ahaz says—NO.
Instead of accepting the LORD's offer of protection, he goes to the king of Assyria and says, "I am your servant and your friend. Come and save me..." Ahaz can't bring himself to be a servant of THE LORD and accept His free gift of salvation from his enemies. Ahaz instead takes the silver and gold that was in the Temple of the LORD and gives those as gifts to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz, and he attacked, defeated, and killed those who were threatening Ahaz.
What Ahaz thought would help him actually harmed him, and God used the king of Assyria to fight against him.
What started out as a "help" to Ahaz turned into what was used for his harm. Nothing caused Ahaz to become "a servant and friend" of the LORD. The more trouble he had, the more he became unfaithful to the LORD. He offered sacrifices to the gods of the people who defeated him. He gathered the things from the temple of the LORD and broke them in pieces. He closed the doors of the Temple. He made altars and put them on every street corner. He never did go to the LORD for help. He never did follow what the LORD had commanded—No other gods. He never did accept God's free gift of Grace. He was stubborn, rebellious, and continued to harden his heart to the very end. Ahaz died without ever knowing what it would have been like to live a surrendered life.
God offered Ahaz safety and salvation but he didn't take it. Like Ahaz, we have a choice as well. Isaiah prophesied about the one who would be coming—Immanuel—who would offer salvation to all mankind, once and for all, and for all time.
Addendum: 4/28/15 ~ God fulfilled His promise given through Isaiah. The question is: Are you/we going to take Him up on His offer? As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Next Entry: A Day to Remember
Chapter 7 is about Ahaz, the king of Judah and his trouble with the kings of Aram and Israel attacking him. When Ahaz found out about their plans he was terrified. The LORD told Isaiah to go to him and tell him, "Be careful. Be calm... don't worry... don't be afraid of their anger... their plan will not succeed; it will not happen... if your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last." Then the LORD spoke to Ahaz and said, "Ask for a sign," and Ahaz replies, "I will not ask..."
I decided to look up who this king Ahaz was. So I went back to II Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28, and found that Ahaz "did not do what the LORD his God said was right." He worshiped Baal. He was doing the same hateful sins the people of Canaan were doing before God forced them out ahead of the Israelites. He burned incense to other gods; he made his children pass through the fire.
This was not Ahaz's first experience with the kings of Aram and Israel. They had battled several times before. There were times the other kings couldn't defeat Ahaz and there were times when the LORD handed Ahaz over to their power for defeat. In Isaiah 7, Ahaz is terrified because the other kings have banded together to attack him. This time the LORD through Isaiah says—Look, come to me and I will keep you safe. Their plans won't succeed. Just be calm, be careful, and don't worry. But, your faith must be strong or you will fail.
The problem was Ahaz did not have a foundation of faith in the LORD to rely and build on. He was trying everything else but the LORD. He would even copy the altars of those who had defeated him to build for himself, thinking if it worked for them it might work for him. He took the LORD's altar out of the temple and replaced it with his own. He used his own altars for the burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices. The LORD's bronze altar was moved out. He decided to use that altar "to ask questions of God." Obviously, something is drastically wrong when Ahaz replaces what should be the LORD's with his own and other pagan king's altars.
So, God offers Ahaz a chance to do the right thing. To come to Him, the LORD, for safety and protection. All Ahaz had to do was to remain calm, trust God, and have faith. I say "all," but to someone like Ahaz who totally relied on himself and false gods, who wanted to do things his way instead of God's way, well... "all" is a tough thing. The LORD even tells Ahaz to ask Him for a sign and Ahaz refuses. The LORD is trying to give Ahaz every opportunity to come to Him and what does Ahaz do? He boldly, in your face, flat out refuses to do what God tells him to do on a simple request, "Ask for a sign." Ahaz moved the LORD's bronze altar out of the temple; he replaced it with his own; and then delegated the LORD's altar to be what he used when he wanted to ask God a question. Yet, when God tells Ahaz to ask Him anything he wants, Ahaz says—NO.
Instead of accepting the LORD's offer of protection, he goes to the king of Assyria and says, "I am your servant and your friend. Come and save me..." Ahaz can't bring himself to be a servant of THE LORD and accept His free gift of salvation from his enemies. Ahaz instead takes the silver and gold that was in the Temple of the LORD and gives those as gifts to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz, and he attacked, defeated, and killed those who were threatening Ahaz.
What Ahaz thought would help him actually harmed him, and God used the king of Assyria to fight against him.
What started out as a "help" to Ahaz turned into what was used for his harm. Nothing caused Ahaz to become "a servant and friend" of the LORD. The more trouble he had, the more he became unfaithful to the LORD. He offered sacrifices to the gods of the people who defeated him. He gathered the things from the temple of the LORD and broke them in pieces. He closed the doors of the Temple. He made altars and put them on every street corner. He never did go to the LORD for help. He never did follow what the LORD had commanded—No other gods. He never did accept God's free gift of Grace. He was stubborn, rebellious, and continued to harden his heart to the very end. Ahaz died without ever knowing what it would have been like to live a surrendered life.
God offered Ahaz safety and salvation but he didn't take it. Like Ahaz, we have a choice as well. Isaiah prophesied about the one who would be coming—Immanuel—who would offer salvation to all mankind, once and for all, and for all time.
Addendum: 4/28/15 ~ God fulfilled His promise given through Isaiah. The question is: Are you/we going to take Him up on His offer? As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Next Entry: A Day to Remember
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