Isaiah 7:1-2 describes how during the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, the kings of Aram and Israel formed an alliance and marched against Jerusalem but failed to capture it. The threat caused the king and people of Judah to tremble with fear, like trees shaken by the wind.

Isaiah 7:3-9 details how the LORD sent Isaiah to meet King Ahaz, accompanied by his son whose name symbolized hope. Isaiah told the king not to fear the alliance of Aram and Israel, describing them as smoldering firebrands—dangerous in appearance, but already burning out. Though their plot to replace Judah’s king seemed strong, God declared it would not succeed. But God also warned that without faith, Ahaz would not last.

Isaiah 7:10-13 describes how the LORD graciously invites Ahaz to ask for a sign, offering him the freedom to request anything as high as the heavens or as deep as Sheol. Yet Ahaz refuses under the guise of humility, masking his lack of faith in religious language. In response, Isaiah rebukes him sharply, exposing his rejection of God’s word not just as a personal failure, but as a weariness to God Himself.

Isaiah 7:14-16 entails how the Lord Himself gives a sign to the house of David that He will not forget His covenant promise. The sign is that a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and His name will be Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” Jesus’s virgin birth is the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Lord further announces that when the boy is old enough to choose good and refuse evil, Jerusalem will face another, but more significant siege, but before this siege takes place the lands of the two kings that Ahaz dreads will be deserted, affirming that their threat is both temporary and under God’s sovereign control.

Isaiah 7:17-25 warns that the LORD will bring a devastating judgment upon Judah by summoning the king of Assyria, resulting in desolation greater than any seen since the division of the kingdom into Israel and Judah. The once—cultivated land will become overgrown with briars and thorns, and the people will survive only on curds and honey, a sign of hardship and scarcity. What was once prosperous and orderly will be reduced to wilderness, fear, and survival, as a consequence of rejecting trust in the LORD.