November 2026
Isaiah 05
Reflections on the writings of Isaiah
Time had moved on since Isaiah first received his ‘vision’. The godly king Jotham, who had reigned for 16 years after his father Uzziah, was now gone, and in his place the wicked king Ahaz now occupied the throne of Judah. At the same time, king Pekah, who was the 18th king of Israel in the North , sat on the throne there. (It is a sad fact that of the 19 kings of Israel, there was not one described as ‘a good king). King Pekah joined forces with the king of Syria and went up to Jerusalem intending to make war with Judah, thinking they might have had influence over king Ahaz. But, the LORD had a hand in this too. He spoke to Isaiah. “Go out now and meet Ahaz .. say to him ‘Take heed and be quiet .. do not fear or be faint hearted for these two for .. within 65 years Ephraim (another name for Israel) will be broken”. History records that the Northern Kingdom was indeed routed in 722 BCE and its citizens removed from the land.
However, the LORD also, surprisingly to me, spoke to the wicked king Ahaz. He entrusted him with a remarkably prophetic word. “Behold, the virgin shall bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Of course, most people reading this ‘reflection’ will know that many centuries later Mattityahu (Matthew) penned those very words in acknowledgement of that prophetic word. Additionally, God spoke to Ahaz in words recorded in verses 18 to 25 of chapter 7 concerning the desolation of the land which occurred after the 135 CE dispersal of the people from the land following the Roman occupation, to which we made reference in the previous ‘reflection’.
Chapter 8 of our reading today contains a long reference to matters concerning the plight of the Northern kingdom of Israel. It appears that the LORD revealed to Isaiah that because of that nations history, from the initial abandonment of God’s command to worship in the Temple in Shiloh and their setting up of the ‘golden calf’ shrines of worship in two different more ‘convenient’ locations. Then by the appointment of 19 successive kings who did not honour the covenant which their forefathers had made. Add to that the contempt of the people of the North in ignoring the heartfelt warnings of at least 5 of God’s trusted prophets, Amos, Hosea .. who was a citizen of the Northern kingdom, Elijah … who warned them regarding their worship of Baal, Elisha … who faithfully continued Elijah’s ministry, and Micah … warning both Israel and Judah of God’s impending judgement. Because the heart of Isaiah’s ‘vision’ and the burden of his overall message that God’s Law be observed, and it is abundantly evident that the kingdom of Israel was quite a way from that observance, and they are not alone in that. I am reminded that Psalm 19:7 makes the huge statement that the “The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul”. In previous study of the Scriptures, I discovered 8 places, one of which is in this chapter 8, where that standard of perfection of the Law is magnified.
(For your interest this is what I found about God’s Law. It is JUST .. Nehemiah 9:13. It is GOOD .. Proverbs 4:2. It is LIFE .. Proverbs 6:23. It is TRUTH .. Psalm 119:142. It is LIGHT .. Isaiah 8:20. It is THE WAY .. Malachi 2:8. It is FREEDOM .. Psalm 119:44,45. It is HOLY .. Romans 7:12. And finally, Yeshua commended the people to DO what Moses taught.)
Chapter 9 of our text takes another glimpse into the future, not only for the people of that day, who might have taken hope from his words, but for generations to come (in Isaiah’s day) and for people to come (in our day and beyond). Those prophetic words again “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 600 years before that fulfilment. And who knows for how much longer “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever.” Halleluiah.
There is yet one more interesting prophecy here, written in respect of the downfall of the Northern kingdom and which was fulfilled in Isaiah’s lifetime. It speaks of the people’s arrogant pride, even in the face of disaster, who say “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones (stronger); the sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars (better). That arrogant pride was never fulfilled, because the people were taken away as captives, and have never returned.
However, Jonathan Cahn, the American messianic Jewish rabbi and author, in his book “The Harbinger”, finds a remarkable fulfilment of this prophesy in regard to the New York Twin Towers September 11 2001 attack. He relates the arrogant disregard of the multiple warnings directed at the Northern kingdom of Israel, to the similar multiple warnings of modern day prophets regarding the perilous, Godless state of affairs in America. He sees arrogant defiance in rebuilding on the site destroyed. He sees significance in a sycamore tree destroyed at the site being replaced by a cedar tree. An interesting development indeed.
But, the main thrust of this ‘reflection’ is to focus on the message for us as Christian believers. And attention to our own situation is paramount.
Shabbat Shalom
RS