SUMMARY
King AhazJudean king in the time of Isaiah who engaged in pagan worship and placated the Assyrians. More of Jerusalem is besieged by the kings of Aram and Israel. Instead of fighting with weapons, King Ahaz is urged to trust in YHWH to save his city from the looming threat.
ANALYSIS
In these verses, Ahaz faces a dramatic and excruciating test of trust. Two kings lay siege to the city of Jerusalem, threatening not only the life of Ahaz, but also the population under his charge.
But these were no ordinary kings. One of them was Pekah, son of Remaliah and king of Israel. His attack on Jerusalem was, therefore, an attack on his fellow Israelites, descendants of JacobThe son of Isaac and Rebekah, renamed Israel, became the father of the twelve tribal families. More.
The terrifying nature of the assault is poetically captured in v. 2, where the hearts of Ahaz and his people are described as “shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” The terrors of war were upon them, and the king of Jerusalem was left with very few options.
In the midst of the terror, however, another option emerges from the mouth of the court prophet IsaiahIsaiah, son of Amoz, who prophesied in Jerusalem, is included among the prophets of the eighth century BCE (along with Amos, Hosea, and Micah)--preachers who boldly proclaimed God's word of judgment against the economic, social, and religious disorders of their time. More. Having heard a word from YHWH, the prophet tells him to, “take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.”
The king is faced with a difficult dilemma: whose words should he trust? The very real and dangerous threats of Pekah and Rezin, or the words of Isaiah, a single court prophet? This same theme will emerge again during the reign of HezekiahJudean king noted for his reforms in time of Isaiah. More (Isaiah 36-37).
