Isaiah 7 · The Lantern

And in the dayes of Ahaz, the sonne of Iotham, the sonne of Vzziah king of Iudah, Rezin the King of Aram came vp, and Pekah the sonne of Remaliah King of Israel, to Ierusalem to fight against it, but he could not ouercome it.

And it was tolde the house of Dauid, saying, Aram is ioyned with Ephraim: therefore his heart was moued, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moued by the winde.

Then sayde the Lord vnto Isaiah, Goe foorth nowe to meete Ahaz (thou and Sheariashub thy sonne) at the ende of the conduit of the vpper poole, in the path of the fullers fielde,

And say vnto him, Take heede, and be still: feare not, neither be faint hearted for the two tailes of these smoking firebrands, for the furious wrath of Rezin and of Aram, and of Remaliahs sonne:

Because Aram hath taken wicked counsell against thee, and Ephraim, and Remaliahs sonne, saying,

Let vs goe vp against Iudah, and let vs waken them vp, and make a breach therein for vs, and set a King in the mids thereof, euen the sonne of Tabeal.

Thus sayth the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it be.

For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin: and within fiue and threescore yeere, Ephraim shalbe destroyed from being a people.

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliahs sonne. If ye beleeue not, surely ye shall not be established.

It is essential to notice that the statement means that those who read it do not only need understanding but also faith; and not only faith but also understanding. Those of the circumcision who do not believe in the Christ of God, though even now they hear these words, do not have understanding of the subject of this prophecy because they do not hear with the mind.

(Verse 12.) And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. This is not humility, but pride, that he does not want to ask for a sign from the Lord. Although it is written in Deuteronomy: You shall not test the Lord your God (Deut. 6:16), and the Savior used this against the devil as a testimony (Matt.

And the head of Ephraim, as above. If you will not believe. Here he places the condemnation of the unbelieving. If you will not believe, namely in the promises of the Lord, you too shall not continue in your land, but you will be taken captive: behold, he that is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in himself (Hab 2:4).

And the Lord spake againe vnto Ahaz, saying,

For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwellin…

(Verse 10, 11.) And the Lord added, speaking to Achaz, saying: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depths of hell, or in the highest above. He had previously spoken to Achaz through the prophet, saying: Behold, be silent, do not fear, and so on.

And the Lord spoke again to Achaz. Here the sign of liberation is set out. And first, the liberty to choose a sign is given; second, the sign for believing is conferred: therefore the Lord himself shall give (Isa 7:14). Concerning the first, three things are set out.

Aske a signe for thee of the Lord thy God: aske it, either in the depth beneath or in the height aboue.

But Ahaz sayd, I wil not aske, neither will I tempt the Lord.

Then he sayd, Heare you nowe, O house of Dauid, Is it a small thing for you to grieue men, that ye will also grieue my God?

And when He says, "Hear, O house of David," [Isaiah 7:13] He performed the part of one indicating that He whom God promised David that He would raise up from the fruit of his belly (ventris) an eternal King, is the same who was born of the Virgin, herself of the lineage of David.

(Verse 13.) And he said, hear therefore, house of David: Is it not enough for you to be troublesome to men, that you are also troublesome to my God? Who is this that said, hear therefore, house of David? Not God who had said above to Ahaz: Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; but a Prophet, as is proven from what follows: For you are troublesome to my God.

Third, the rebuke of the one who refuses is set out: and he, namely, Isaiah, said: therefore, since you are so rebellious, hear you therefore, O house of David, because of its consent in the malice of the king, or because the promised Christ is given as a sign to David: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne (Ps 131[132]:11).

Therefore the Lord himselfe will giue you a signe. Beholde, the virgine shall conceiue and beare a sonne, and she shall call his name Immanu-el.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

To prevent you from thinking that his coming to earth was an accommodation, as those others were, and to give you solid grounds for truly believing that his was real flesh, he was conceived, born and nurtured. That his birth might be made manifest and become common knowledge, he was laid in a manger, not in some small room but in a lodging place before a throng of people.

Therefore. Here the sign for belief is given. And first, the sign of liberation is conferred; second, he threatens the unbelieving with the punishment of destruction: the Lord shall bring upon you (Isa 7:17). Now this is the sign of the Incarnation of Christ. But the Jews object against this in many ways.

Butter and hony shall he eate, till he haue knowledge to refuse the euill, and to chuse the good.

I will say something even more amazing, so that you do not think that he is born in a fantasy, he will use foods of infancy, he will eat butter and milk.

Now, since the Lord was not a mere man but was also God and knew all things, he stood in no need of reflection, inquiry, counsel or judgment. He also had a natural affinity for good and antipathy for evil. Thus it is in this sense that the prophet Isaiah, too, says, "Before the child shall know to refuse the evil, he will choose the good.

Second, as to his humanity: he shall eat butter and honey, literally, manly foods, because from infancy he held himself to the manner of other men: and being born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, that is made alike, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do (Wis 7:3).

For afore the childe shall haue knowledge to eschew the euill, and to chuse the good, the land, that thou abhorrest, shalbe forsaken of both her Kings.

The Lord shall bring vpon thee, and vpon thy people, and vpon thy fathers house (the dayes that haue not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Iudah) euen the King of Asshur.

And in that day shall the Lord hisse for the flie that is at the vttermost part of the floods of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the lande of Asshur,

And they shall come and shall light all in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rockes, and vpon all thorny places, and vpon all bushy places.

In that day shall the Lord shaue with a rasor that is hired, euen by them beyond the Riuer, by the King of Asshur, the head and the heare of the feete, and it shall consume the beard.

And in the same day shall a man nourish a yong kow, and two sheepe.

And for the abundance of milke, that they shall giue, hee shall eate butter: for butter and hony shall euery one eate, which is left within the land.

And at the same day euery place, wherein shalbe a thousand vines, shalbe at a thousand pieces of siluer: so it shalbe for the briers and for the thornes.

With arrowes and with bowe shall one come thither: because all the land shall be briers and thornes.

But on all the mountaines, which shalbe digged with the mattocke, there shall not come thither the feare of briers and thornes: but they shalbe for the sending out of bullocks, and for the treading of sheepe.

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