This Article: (4 Pages)
- 1. Unto us a child is Born
- 2. 3. Context – Section from... Isaiah 7
- 3. 2. The Jewish context in Isaiah's day
- 4. 1. The title of the king who shall... come to the throne of David
2) 3. Context – Section from Isaiah 7
The Isaiah scroll has no division at chapter 9: The section begins at chapter 7
Isaiah Chapter 7 begins.
And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
Then said Yahweh unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. (Isaiah 7:1-4)
It's approximately 740BC and Ephraim (Northern Israel) are ganged up with Syria against Judah (Jerusalem), and are coming down with their military might to annihilate the kingdom of Judah. Isaiah has good news for Ahaz (not the Ahaz of Israel who married Jezebel, but he was related by descent due to intermarriage with the royal house of Israel). Yahweh Elohim doesn't like what Israel has done, and Isaiah has come to say that Northern Israel and Syria will be dealt with.
Moreover Yahweh spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 'Ask thee a sign of Yahweh thy Elohim; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.'
But Ahaz said, 'I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD'.
And he said, 'Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:10-14)
Ahaz is slack, but Yahweh gives him a sign so he and the people of Judah may believe Yahweh's promise of peace (because it looked very black for Judah then as Israel's forces were enough to face without the added might of Syria ).
The sign that is given is a virgin conceiving a son called Immanuel (or God with us). Many think this refers to Mary only. But this cannot be sustained in context. The passage regarding the son continues,
Butter and honey shall he (the son that shall be called Immanuel) eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that you fear shall be forsaken of both her kings (Syria & Northern Israel). Yahweh shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon your father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. (Isaiah 7:15-17)
The child who would be called Immanuel ('El -with us' or 'Mighty with us') was born back in Isaiah's and Ahaz's day, before Assyria took over both Syria and the Northern kingdom of Israel (approx 738BC). The Hebrew word almah translated 'virgin' just means 'veiled or young female', and therefore does not refer directly to the unique situation of Mary. (Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah showing Yeshua as a fulfilment of the prophecy of the continuance of the House of David. So Matthew's reference is loaded by Isaiah's context of swift deliverance from fear of death). See here
So moving right along...Chapter 8 continues the same account as Chapter 7. There is no break. Notice in the passage below the underlined phrase the repeats the phrase from chapter 7 regarding the child sign of 'God with us' (Emmanuel)
Moreover Yahweh said unto me, Take you a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said Yahweh to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. Yahweh spake also unto me again, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuses the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. (Isaiah 8:1-8)
So here Immanuel is Judah! Judah has "El with us". Who had the son? Isaiah did! Who was the virgin? The prophetess was. The son called 'Immanuel' was the sign for Judah, which was Mahershalalhashbaz the son of Isaiah given as a sign of deliverance and that 'El was with them'.
Mahershalalhashbaz! What an extraordinary name for a child! It means 'hasting as he [the enemy] to the booty, swift (to the) prey'. El or the Mighty One was with Judah in sending the Assyrian 'hasting to the booty, swift to the prey'.
Say you not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, 'A confederacy'; neither fear you their fear, nor be afraid. (it was an imminent danger. All the people, not just the king, were in fear) Sanctify Yahweh of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he (Yahweh) shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Isaiah 8:12-14)
The "he" that is the sanctuary is Yahweh. And the sign given by the Sanctuary that he will be with Judah is Mahershalalhashbaz. Isaiah writes,
Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwells in mount Zion. (Isaiah 8:18)
This is the context of the child that is born as a sign and Chapter 9 continues right on,
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. (Isaiah 9:1-2)
The affliction was the Assyrian, who cleaned up Ephraim, the enemy of Judah. The darkness, or the fear was in Jerusalem and light that had shined was in Jerusalem also, as in reality the sign was for the faithful. For the faithless, such as Ahaz, the sign was a 'stone' they 'stumbled at'. Isaiah continues by speaking of a military victory over the oppressor,
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. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.(Isaiah 9:4-5)
At that time the burden of the Syrian and false brethren was to be lifted by Assyrians. Though there may be a future application, clearly the context of Isaiah's words was in the days of Ahaz and Isaiah.
In summary
To whom was the sign given? To Judah approximately 740BC! What was to happen before this child 'sign' was grown up? The Assyrian was to come into the land of Israel! Which was in the days of Isaiah. But Isaiah continues,
For unto us (Isaiah and Judah) a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
In Hebrew 'and' isn't always 'in addition to', it also can mark a new thought. Clearly the one who shall have 'the government upon his shoulder' is not Isaiah's son. Isaiah's son was however called a "wonder". The government of that day was, due to Ahaz's failure, on Yahweh's shoulder, as the government of that era was called to place their faith in the sign of the son of Isaiah- the witness to the truth of Yahweh's word. We will return to what the sign or 'wonder' of Isaiah's son pointed to.
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