Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 7

Isaiah chapter seven tells us the story of God sending King Ahaz of Judah a message. Ahaz was trying to cope with finding out that two neighboring nations were forming an alliance against him. The king of Aram (now know as Syria) and the king of Israel were planning an attack on Judah's capitol city. They wanted to set up a king over Judah that they could manipulate to rule in their favor. Ahaz caught word of this plot and started flipping out. He knew what invading armies did when they attacked a city, and he knew that his one army could not hold off two.

So the Lord sends Isaiah with a message to meet King Ahaz. The Lord tells King Ahaz to stop worrying because the invasion will never even take place. God explains that Israel and Aram are not strong enough to prevail against Judah, but that isn't the only reason the attack isn't going to happen. We'll get to the other reason in a minute. The Lord knows Ahaz has his doubts so He tells Ahaz to ask Him for a sign of confirmation, but Ahaz replies, "No, I will not test the Lord like that". Wow, this guy either has some nerve or some faith. (Unfortunately when we read on we find out it's the former, he's got a stupid nerve.) When I first read this passage I thought, I would have failed that faith test miserably, I would have taken God up on His offer and asked Him for a sign. I would want to know that I was really hearing from God. Ahaz on the other hand, decides that maybe he doesn't want to hear what God has to say. So he plays the righteous card and blows God off with a theological cliche, not a great choice. The response Ahaz gets is pretty intense and I think, to get the full effect, you should just read it for yourself.

"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? All right then, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look!" 

-Isaiah 7:13-14 NLT 

No, I did not add the exclamation points, those are actually in there. Now, maybe you don't think Ahaz's answer was wrong. Maybe you think it was actually respectful of him to turn down the offer, maybe he was showing his level of faith. Keep in mind that while that answer itself may not have been wrong, the motives that produced it, were. God knows our hearts better than we do. He knew that Ahaz wasn't acting out of faith, but out of pride. God goes on to give Ahaz a sign that would actually foreshadow the coming of Christ, as well as prove to Ahaz that God really wasn't going to let Judah be attacked.

We finally come to the other reason why God was keeping Judah safe from this threat. God has other plans. God was already planing a form of punishment on Judah, and Israel and Aram were not a part of that plan. God was going to send another country as a "razor" to wipe Judah clean. That was God's sign to Judah. I'm not going to let these "burned out embers" punish you because I've already given that job to someone else. The point here is this, God has a plan, and His plans are infinite and perfect and cannot be changed. Not by The Enemy's works and certainly not by man's works. Not only do we have this great reassurance that no one can change the plans set forth by God, but we also have the promise that, for those who love God, His plans give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) This truth applies across the board. (Not just when neighboring armies attack.) God's heart and His plans are steadfast.