Christmas and the War of Kings
There are many prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. Prophecies about his reign, prophecies about his death and foreshadowing imagery of both weaved into the narrative of the Old Testament stories. Isaiah chapter 7 is one such prophecy. Many people have heard this prophecy quoted during Christmas. Matthew 1:22-23 says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Verse 23 is a direct quote of Isaiah 7:14. While many Christians—and even non-Christians attending a Christmas service—have heard this passage, few have read it in the original context.
Reading Isaiah 7 obscures the prophecy about Jesus. At the time of recording Isaiah 7, Ahaz had become king and three neighboring kings intended to invade and conquer Judah. This is mentioned in Isaiah 7:1, 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16. However, God tells King Ahaz that he will not allow Rezin, Aram and Remaliah’s son to divide and conquer Judah if Ahaz keeps faith in God. To build context, lets read the Lord’s promise in Isaiah 7:7-12.
“Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand.” Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”
That is the context into which Isaiah’s prophecy about the virgin birth is given. Please take note that Jewish interpretation of this passage translates “virgin” as “young maiden.” Since I do not understand the text in its original language, I am unable to provide insight to the linguistic and translation debate. However, while this might cause some concern, remember that “All Scripture is God-breathed” 2 Timothy 3:16. Therefore, the recording of the virgin birth in Matthew and Luke are inspired by God. It is important to understand the Old Testament prophets because their words bring to light the conflict between Christians and Jews. This passage happens to be one such example.
In 2 Kings 15:30 and 2 Kings 16:9, Pekah son of Remaliah was assassinated and Rezin was killed by Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. Many scholars consider their death as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah. However, that is incorrect. God provides two clarifications in Isaiah: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand” and “Hear now, you house of David!” The first addresses Ahaz king of Judah directly as an individual. If Ahaz does not keep faith in the Lord he will not win. (This is why it is so important to read the Bible with a full contextual and historical view and not create conclusions based on snippets isolated in our imagination.) 2 Chronicles 28 reveals that Ahaz was one of the most wicked kings of Judah’s history—only surpassed in evil by Mannassah, Ahaz’s grandson. Because Ahaz made “idols for worshiping the Baals,” the “Lord God handed him over to the king of Aram” who was King Rezin—2 Chronicles 28:1-5. The people of Judah were taken as prisoners by the Arameans. Then Pekah, king of Israel killed “a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers”—2 Chronicles 28:5-6. The prophecy was fulfilled; but it was not delivery it was defeat. The Lord said, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” and Ahaz did not stand at all. His entire reign as king was constant war and defeat by other kings. First by the Arameans, then the Israelites and then the Assyrians recorded in 2 Chronicles 28 (the remaining section of Isaiah 7:17-25 is about Assyria conquering Judah).
After addressing Ahaz, the Lord turns and addresses the “House of David” as a lineage. The shift is important because the message is not only meant for Ahaz but for all following descendants. In verses 15-17 the Lord provides a few more context clues to help identify this “Immanuel” person; “He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.” Isaiah’s prophecy was written approximately 700 years before Jesus was born. The two kings, Rezin and Pekah were killed long before Jesus was born, and Israel taken into captivity soon after. Then quickly following Ahaz losing to Rezin and Pekah, Assyria causes trouble in Judah. Jesus was not born on earth yet, which fulfills the rest of the prophecy.
The Isaiah prophecy has been labelled a “dual prophecy” by some Christian scholars and a “misinterpreted prophecy” by Jewish scholars. From reading the whole passage in context of the historical developments, these both seem to be incorrect. There is no dual fulfillment but rather one single fulfillment stipulated by the conditions the Lord placed on Ahaz king of Judah. The incredible factor is that God knew Ahaz would “not stand firm” in his faith and immediately followed his prophecy to aid against Rezin and Pekah (if Ahaz was faithful to the Lord) with a prophecy of impending doom (Assyria’s invasion) and long-term hope for the House of David in Immanuel, (the coming of Jesus Christ).
This passage is an excellent lesson in due diligence. Often the “contradictions” of Scripture are holes in our knowledge that blind us to the truth. Diligently studying the whole picture reveals the astounding brilliance of God’s plan for men’s redemption!
