Isaiah 7:17 says, The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. Isaiah warned the people of Judah of the coming punishment of God on the people of Judah, and it would be very terrible for them. Also, the ten tribes who had separated from Judah and God were going to be defeated and carried away captive. He was going to preserve the remnant, but the sin could not go unpunished. God will preserve those who put their faith in Jesus Christ because He took the punishment for our sins on Himself. Still, this doesn’t give us a license to sin.
Verse eighteen adds, And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. Ahaz had put his faith in an alliance with Assyria instead of putting his faith in God, and God said that He would allow Assyria to destroy Judah instead, but the remnant would still remain, those who were faithful to God. Still, even the remnant would not be spared from being conquered physically. As Christians, we have everlasting spiritual victory through our faith in Jesus Christ, but that doesn't mean that we are exempt from defeated physically in this lifetime. Many Christians today live in countries that do not believe in God, and just because they do believe doesn’t mean that they will suddenly be in a country that does acknowledge God. God is with them still, so ultimately this will not matter.
Verse nineteen continues, And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. The enemy would rest in the desolate valleys of Judah, which the people had deserted in an attempt to find a place of safety. What we need to acknowledge is that there is no place of safety outside of following God. Anything else that we put our faith in will be destroyed one day.
Verse twenty states, In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. This was the way a leper was cleansed, and since the people of Judah were infected with sin, they needed to be stripped clean of all of it. God was going to do the cleansing. We likewise need to have everything that leads us to sin stripped out of our lives today. Only by faith in God, beginning with faith in Jesus Christ, can this be done.
Verse twenty-one adds, And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; Isaiah said that those who had once had great flocks would be reduced to having a young cow and two sheep. Their prosperity that they once had when following God’s laws would be taken away because they stopped doing so. We as followers of Christ do not follow Him for material reward, but if we stop obeying His commandments, we may lose His spiritual blessings on us.
Verse twenty-two continues, And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. Isaiah also said that due to the abundance of food that the cow and two sheep they would have would produce an abundance of milk which could be made into butter, and the people of the family could eat butter and honey. Still, according to Matthew Henry, this would only be enough for the family and not for the abundance of servants they once had. As Christians, even if we stray away from God’s will, we are still forever saved, but we may only be able to spiritually feed ourselves instead of reaching others with the gospel.
Verse twenty-three says, And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. Isaiah also warned them that what were once good vineyards would become only areas of briers and thorns. There wouldn’t be enough people left to maintain them in good order. There may come a day when we don’t have enough Christians to keep the church in good working order. The church is never going away until Jesus Christ returns, but it may not be as effective in reaching the world with the gospel as it once was.
Verse twenty-four adds, With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. Isaiah said that where people had once gathered their crops with sickles and pruning hooks would now have men coming with instruments of war instead. If we as a nation that professes to be made up of followers of Christ turn away from Him, we should not be surprised if we are met with persecution and war instead of the peace that God has provided for us.
Verse twenty-five continues, And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle. Isaiah then concluded that the land would be unfit for cattle but would be okay for oxen. This applied to land that the people had once kept in good order to keep their cattle in and was now overrun with briers and thistles. We as Christians need to be careful that the church is not overrun with briers and thistles, or false teachings and practices today. When the church had its start, those involved were always warned to keep the doctrine of God pure, and we need to do the same. Though they might have been physically under the power of those who were trying to destroy the gospel, because they remained true to their faith in Jesus Christ, they were very effective in reaching the world with the gospel. Yet, we in times of prosperity have been less effective, and one day we will have to answer to God for our lack of doing so I believe.
