Isaiah 7: "If You Do Not Stand Firm In Faith, You Shall Not Stand At All"

Things are changing on a grand scale in chapter 7 when Isaiah shares a reassuring promise from the Lord.  Surprisingly, later scripture applies the same prophecies to another time of great change in history: when Jesus is born seven centuries later!

In its original context, Isaiah 7 occurs as the king of Judah, Ahaz, faces an assault by the allied nations of Aram and Israel.  But the prophet Isaiah is given a comforting message from the Lord to deliver to the king: these two nations will soon no longer be a threat, for they will fall to an even greater power - Assyria!

The king is initially skeptical, but Isaiah authorizes him to ask God for a sign to testify to the declaration's truth.  When Ahaz refuses, Isaiah says that "the Lord Himself will give you a sign.  Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (vs. 14).  Isaiah further promises that before this child reaches the age of accountability, Aram and Israel will be deserted and no longer be a threat to Judah.

All that Isaiah prophesied comes to pass, but chapter 7 is also regarded as a prophetic message of the Messiah due to its inclusion in Matthew 1:23.  There is a lot of scholarly debate about the details of this: Did Isaiah merely indicate "a young woman" is with child, or that a virgin would become pregnant?  Does it matter whether you follow the original Hebrew scriptures, or the Greek Septuagint translation that was made of the Old Testament?

Experts draw different conclusions on these questions, but the core issue seems to be God's ability to take a prophecy that was given to one specific time and place (King Ahaz around 735 BC) and also apply it to a future generation (Jesus around 6 BC).  Can scripture hold more than one meaning simultaneously?  Can a passage hold a word for a specific context with another application to be drawn out later?  Most Christians would say yes, that scripture does have that power.  We see it when we apply the beloved promises of scripture to our own lives.

Perhaps it is fitting that this chapter contains another powerful verse that is not as widely regarded as 7:14.  Personally, I find a lot of strength and encouragement from Isaiah's word in verse 9.  Certainly this applies to all ages, just as much as it originally did with Ahaz: "If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all!"

Take faith in the Holy Scriptures and the Word of God to speak to us, even today.  That is the kind of faith we can stand in.  Let us stand on the promises!