Do Not Faint

In Isaiah 7, Ahaz was King of Judah and the Kings of Syria and Jerusalem came up to wage war against him. When the people learnt about the possible attacks against their country, they were terribly afraid. The bible says that their hearts shook like leaves in a forest. The Lord spoke to Isaiah and gave him a comforting word for King Ahaz. The word from the Lord was, ‘be careful, be quiet, do not fear and do not let to your heart faint.’ God revealed to Ahaz what the plot was against Judah and the plans that the Kings had. “thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass” (Isaiah 7:7). During King Ahaz’s reign, Judah was never invaded by the Assyrians.

God also spoke through Isaiah to Ahaz, about what would come of the cities within sixty five years. Ahaz was also told that if he was not firm in faith, then he would not be firm at all. It was also during this time, when the Lord revealed to Isaiah, about the coming Messiah. God wanted his people to know, what would eventually happen in the future. Isaiah also prophesied about the coming Assyrian invasion of Isreal. Despite Isaiah’s many prophecies, about the exile and captivity of the Jews, he had the most accurate accounts of the life of Jesus Christ.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Perhaps the connection between Isaiah’s prophecies, regarding the Jewish captivity and the eventual life of Jesus, was to assure the people of God’s plans for redemption. Many times God’s people had fallen out of favour with him, due to their sin and rebellion. The yearly sacrifices of animals for the redemption of sin, was not sustainable for mankind.

God had a plan for ultimate redemption and restoration. Despite the disappointment which the children of Israel caused throughout the years, God had a plan to redeem his people back to himself. As such, the promise was that they would not see total destruction. There is a lot happening in our world currently that can cause us to lose heart. Our word of encouragement is, ‘be careful, be quiet, don’t fear and don’t faint.’ Christ himself is our redemption and one day soon he will come again to redeem us unto himself.

A.P.-Y.