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.
In Isaiah 7:10-13, the prophet challenges Ahaz’s lack of faith in God. This is a continuation of the prophetic conversation between the LORD and King Ahaz of Judah that began when God sent Isaiah to give the king a message (Isaiah 7:3). This is a lead up to and sets the context for the next section, Isaiah 7:14, contains one of the most remarkable prophecies about the Messiah—His virgin birth.
Ahaz’s enemies—King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel/Ephraim—had united against Ahaz, king of the southern kingdom of Judah (Isaiah 7:1). These enemies were camped on the border and were preparing to besiege Jerusalem to install “the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it” (Isaiah 7:6).
Rezin and Pekah had inflicted great harm on Judah—capturing its port city of Elath that connected to the Red Sea (2 Kings 16:6), and killing 120,000 fighting men and capturing 200,000 prisoners (2 Chronicles 28:6-8). Ahaz had lost his own son and he also lost his trusted advisor who were both killed in these conflicts (2 Chronicles 28:7).
When Ahaz and the house of David heard that Rezin and Pekah were now camped against him with their sights set on Jerusalem, the heart of the king and the hearts of the people were greatly afraid (Isaiah 7:2).
The LORD sent His prophet Isaiah to go to Ahaz and bring his young son—whose name meant “a remnant will return”—to give him a message of comfort and hope. Isaiah told the king that Rezin and Pekah’s plot to overthrow him and the house of David “shall not stand nor shall it come to pass” (Isaiah 7:7).
Ahaz would not be overthrown by them and the house of David would stand. The LORD would not allow this to happen, not for Ahaz’s sake, but because of His promise to David, that his house and kingdom would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16,Luke 1:32-33). This was unconditional—for “the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8b).
But the LORD also gave Ahaz an opportunity to become great—if he would trust God and believe Isaiah’s prophetic reassurances. Isaiah firmly warned Ahaz that “if you will not believe, you surely will not last” (Isaiah 7:9). In context, this likely meant that Ahaz’s name would last and endure if he demonstrated faith in the LORD during this perilous time but if he did not trust God, then he would become another forgettable king.
King Ahaz did not trust the LORD or His promises.
Instead, Ahaz trusted Tiglath—pileser, the king of Assyria,
“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath—pileser king of Assyria, saying, ‘I am your servant and your son come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rising up against me.’” (2 Kings 16:7)
Ahaz also took gold and silver from the temple to offer as tribute (2 Kings 16:8). Ahaz did not trust the LORD and his promise to sustain the house of David. Even though Ahaz was a son of David, Ahaz sought to become a “son” of Tiglath—pileser through a Suzerain—Vassal treaty. Ahaz valued the protection of a pagan king over the protection and promises of the LORD. This was a shameful rejection of the LORD and a disregard of his identity as the rightful ruler of Judah as a son of David.
Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying… (v 10).
The words then and again indicate some kind of pause between what was said in Isaiah 7:4-9 and what was about to be spoken (Isaiah 7:10-16). We do not know how long this pause was.
This pause could have been an unrecorded moment where Ahaz considered then dismissed Isaiah. This pause could have been for a longer duration of several days, during which time Ahaz may have weighed Isaiah’s prophetic assurances and warning, and made his decision about in whom he would entrust his future, and sent his messengers to Tiglath—pileser.
In either case, the then and again show how what the LORD spoke to Ahaz was a continuation of what He had already spoken to the frightened king through Isaiah.
This is what the LORD was saying when He spoke again toAhaz, king of Judah:
Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven (v 11).
One would expect God to punish Ahaz for his wickedness and lack of faith. But God was patient with his faithless king. The LORD mercifully gave Ahaz a chance to reconsider to whom he would entrust the protection of his kingdom. And God graciously invited Ahaz to ask Him for any sign that would reassure his skeptical heart so that he would believe His word.
God placed almost no limits on the signAhaz could ask of Him. God told Ahaz he could make it as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.
Sheol is the place of the dead. It is considered deep.
Heaven could refer to either the sky or the spiritual realm where God lives. Heaven is the opposite of Sheol. It is thought of as above rather than deep below. And it is a place of pure and perfect life rather than the place of the dead.
In context, the LORD’s offer for Ahaz to ask God for a sign as high as heaven could refer to either or both the sky and the spiritual realm.
The LORD does not usually invite people to test Him by asking Him for a sign. In fact, God forbids putting the LORD to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16). But in this instance, for Ahaz, the LORD made an exception and invited him to test God and the truth of His word with a sign.
And remarkably, God even let Ahaz determine what this sign would be and the LORD would do it even if it were as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.
Despite this incredible offer from the LORD, Ahaz did not want to ask God for a sign.
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” (v 12).
The implied reason Ahaz did not want to ask God for a sign was because, when God granted it, then Ahaz would be obliged to believe and follow God. And Ahaz did not want to be held accountable. This may have been because Ahaz did not want to give up the pleasures in which idol worship allowed him to indulge. Or Ahaz may have chosen to reject God’s offer because his heart was set against God; he may have already set his hopes in King Tiglath—pileser of Assyria.
In either event this was a bold and flat refusal of the LORD’s offer and it was as though Ahaz was lying directly to the LORD’s face.
Ahaz rejected God with a hypocritical pretense of following the LORD’s commands. His rejection may have been done in feigned humility—“It is not for me to break the LORD’s commands and put God to the test. I will never do such a thing.” (Even though the LORD specifically commanded Ahaz to test Him by asking for a sign).
But God saw straight through Ahaz’s wicked heart and intentions, for, as King Solomon observed of the LORD in prayer, “You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men” (1 Kings 8:39). The Psalmist wrote almost as if he were writing of idolatrous King Ahaz:
“If we had forgotten the name of our God Or extended our hands to a strange god, Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.” (Psalm 44:20-21)
King Ahaz may have been able to deceive and exploit men and temporarily get away with it, but he would not be able to deceive God. The LORD’s prophet, Isaiah rebuked Ahaz for his treachery.
Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?” (v 13).
The translators left the pronoun—he—uncapitalized to show how the LORD was (still) speaking to Ahaz through Isaiah, the LORD’s prophet. The LORD responded through Isaiah to Ahaz’s hypocritical refusal to ask Him for a sign with a rebuke in the form of a rhetorical question.
It is worth noting that the LORD’s rebuke and His question are not solely addressed to Ahaz, but rather they are addressed to the entire house of David. Before He begins His question, God says: Listen now, O house of David! This might infer that Ahaz had conferred with his administration, including his heirs, prior to giving his answer which indicates he will not trust in the LORD.
God’s rhetorical question is: Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?
The pronoun—my—refers to Isaiah, the prophet of the LORD. Isaiah was speaking to Ahaz, and refers to the LORD as my God and not your God, like he did in verse 10. The change in pronoun from your to my shows how Ahaz’s refusal of the LORD’s invitation to ask Him a sign was a rejection of the LORD as his God. The LORD is not the God of Ahaz. Ahaz worships other gods. These gods are different from the true God whom Isaiah worships.
The implied answer to the LORD’s question is that it is too slight a thing for the house of David to try the patience of men, so that they will now trythe patience of the LORD, Isaiah’s God.
Ironically, Ahaz would not test the LORD, but he would test the LORD’s patience. He hypocritically pretended to keep the commandment to not test the LORD, as an excuse for his heart’s desire to avoid trusting God. But God knows the heart (Hebrews 4:12). So God knew his actual intent.
The question is it too slight a thing? means “is it not enough that?” and/or “are you not satisfied with?”
And the expression try the patience of means to “lie,” “exploit,” and/or “deal falsely with.”
Ahaz had fallen into pagan idol worship. The essence of these pagan practices is to seek out controllable spiritual forces to gain power over others, usually to exploit them. Ahaz had no interest in submitting to a God he did not think he could control. He preferred the illusion of control to the reality of God’s world, that He is the Creator and Ruler over all.
Evidently, Ahaz and the house of David had dealt treacherously with men and tried their patience. As an idol worshipper, Ahaz did not care for God or His laws which commanded him to love men and treat them with dignity and respect. In an attempt to get what he wanted, Ahaz was willing to sacrifice even his own children in the fire as a means to manipulate spiritual forces for his gain (2 Kings 16:3,2 Chronicles 28:3). A man who would do such a horrible thing would likely be inclined to exploit other people also and he would try their patience to get what he wanted.
Ahaz not only tried the patience of people, he also tried the patience of God. Ahaz had no respect for man or God. In hypocritically lying to God, he was testing the LORD’s patience. He was trying to exploit the LORD and His commands in order to get what he wanted and/or to avoid having to serve God. But God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). This was, in reality, approaching God the same way he would approach pagan gods; “How can we manipulate them to our desired ends?”
The LORD would give King Ahaz a sign that the schemes of his enemies would fail and that the house of David would stand. But this sign would entail far, far more than King Ahaz and the assault he feared. It was a sign that the LORD would not forget His promise to crush the serpent through the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15). It was a sign that the house of David would, in fact, be restored and prevail for all time. And this sign would be as high as heaven.
This is the subject of the next section of commentary (Isaiah 7:14-16).
Isaiah 7:10-13
The Child Immanuel
10 Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”
13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?
Set to dark mode
Isaiah 7:10-13 meaning
In Isaiah 7:10-13, the prophet challenges Ahaz’s lack of faith in God. This is a continuation of the prophetic conversation between the LORD and King Ahaz of Judah that began when God sent Isaiah to give the king a message (Isaiah 7:3). This is a lead up to and sets the context for the next section, Isaiah 7:14, contains one of the most remarkable prophecies about the Messiah—His virgin birth.
Ahaz’s enemies—King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel/Ephraim—had united against Ahaz, king of the southern kingdom of Judah (Isaiah 7:1). These enemies were camped on the border and were preparing to besiege Jerusalem to install “the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it” (Isaiah 7:6).
Rezin and Pekah had inflicted great harm on Judah—capturing its port city of Elath that connected to the Red Sea (2 Kings 16:6), and killing 120,000 fighting men and capturing 200,000 prisoners (2 Chronicles 28:6-8). Ahaz had lost his own son and he also lost his trusted advisor who were both killed in these conflicts (2 Chronicles 28:7).
When Ahaz and the house of David heard that Rezin and Pekah were now camped against him with their sights set on Jerusalem, the heart of the king and the hearts of the people were greatly afraid (Isaiah 7:2).
The LORD sent His prophet Isaiah to go to Ahaz and bring his young son—whose name meant “a remnant will return”—to give him a message of comfort and hope. Isaiah told the king that Rezin and Pekah’s plot to overthrow him and the house of David “shall not stand nor shall it come to pass” (Isaiah 7:7).
Ahaz would not be overthrown by them and the house of David would stand. The LORD would not allow this to happen, not for Ahaz’s sake, but because of His promise to David, that his house and kingdom would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16, Luke 1:32-33). This was unconditional—for “the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8b).
But the LORD also gave Ahaz an opportunity to become great—if he would trust God and believe Isaiah’s prophetic reassurances. Isaiah firmly warned Ahaz that “if you will not believe, you surely will not last” (Isaiah 7:9). In context, this likely meant that Ahaz’s name would last and endure if he demonstrated faith in the LORD during this perilous time but if he did not trust God, then he would become another forgettable king.
King Ahaz did not trust the LORD or His promises.
Instead, Ahaz trusted Tiglath—pileser, the king of Assyria,
“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath—pileser king of Assyria, saying, ‘I am your servant and your son come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rising up against me.’”
(2 Kings 16:7)
Ahaz also took gold and silver from the temple to offer as tribute (2 Kings 16:8). Ahaz did not trust the LORD and his promise to sustain the house of David. Even though Ahaz was a son of David, Ahaz sought to become a “son” of Tiglath—pileser through a Suzerain—Vassal treaty. Ahaz valued the protection of a pagan king over the protection and promises of the LORD. This was a shameful rejection of the LORD and a disregard of his identity as the rightful ruler of Judah as a son of David.
Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying… (v 10).
The words then and again indicate some kind of pause between what was said in Isaiah 7:4-9 and what was about to be spoken (Isaiah 7:10-16). We do not know how long this pause was.
This pause could have been an unrecorded moment where Ahaz considered then dismissed Isaiah. This pause could have been for a longer duration of several days, during which time Ahaz may have weighed Isaiah’s prophetic assurances and warning, and made his decision about in whom he would entrust his future, and sent his messengers to Tiglath—pileser.
In either case, the then and again show how what the LORD spoke to Ahaz was a continuation of what He had already spoken to the frightened king through Isaiah.
This is what the LORD was saying when He spoke again to Ahaz, king of Judah:
Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven (v 11).
One would expect God to punish Ahaz for his wickedness and lack of faith. But God was patient with his faithless king. The LORD mercifully gave Ahaz a chance to reconsider to whom he would entrust the protection of his kingdom. And God graciously invited Ahaz to ask Him for any sign that would reassure his skeptical heart so that he would believe His word.
God placed almost no limits on the sign Ahaz could ask of Him. God told Ahaz he could make it as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.
Sheol is the place of the dead. It is considered deep.
Heaven could refer to either the sky or the spiritual realm where God lives. Heaven is the opposite of Sheol. It is thought of as above rather than deep below. And it is a place of pure and perfect life rather than the place of the dead.
In context, the LORD’s offer for Ahaz to ask God for a sign as high as heaven could refer to either or both the sky and the spiritual realm.
The LORD does not usually invite people to test Him by asking Him for a sign. In fact, God forbids putting the LORD to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16). But in this instance, for Ahaz, the LORD made an exception and invited him to test God and the truth of His word with a sign.
And remarkably, God even let Ahaz determine what this sign would be and the LORD would do it even if it were as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.
Despite this incredible offer from the LORD, Ahaz did not want to ask God for a sign.
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” (v 12).
The implied reason Ahaz did not want to ask God for a sign was because, when God granted it, then Ahaz would be obliged to believe and follow God. And Ahaz did not want to be held accountable. This may have been because Ahaz did not want to give up the pleasures in which idol worship allowed him to indulge. Or Ahaz may have chosen to reject God’s offer because his heart was set against God; he may have already set his hopes in King Tiglath—pileser of Assyria.
In either event this was a bold and flat refusal of the LORD’s offer and it was as though Ahaz was lying directly to the LORD’s face.
Ahaz rejected God with a hypocritical pretense of following the LORD’s commands. His rejection may have been done in feigned humility—“It is not for me to break the LORD’s commands and put God to the test. I will never do such a thing.” (Even though the LORD specifically commanded Ahaz to test Him by asking for a sign).
But God saw straight through Ahaz’s wicked heart and intentions, for, as King Solomon observed of the LORD in prayer, “You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men” (1 Kings 8:39). The Psalmist wrote almost as if he were writing of idolatrous King Ahaz:
“If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
(Psalm 44:20-21)
King Ahaz may have been able to deceive and exploit men and temporarily get away with it, but he would not be able to deceive God. The LORD’s prophet, Isaiah rebuked Ahaz for his treachery.
Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?” (v 13).
The translators left the pronoun—he—uncapitalized to show how the LORD was (still) speaking to Ahaz through Isaiah, the LORD’s prophet. The LORD responded through Isaiah to Ahaz’s hypocritical refusal to ask Him for a sign with a rebuke in the form of a rhetorical question.
It is worth noting that the LORD’s rebuke and His question are not solely addressed to Ahaz, but rather they are addressed to the entire house of David. Before He begins His question, God says: Listen now, O house of David! This might infer that Ahaz had conferred with his administration, including his heirs, prior to giving his answer which indicates he will not trust in the LORD.
God’s rhetorical question is: Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?
The pronoun—my—refers to Isaiah, the prophet of the LORD. Isaiah was speaking to Ahaz, and refers to the LORD as my God and not your God, like he did in verse 10. The change in pronoun from your to my shows how Ahaz’s refusal of the LORD’s invitation to ask Him a sign was a rejection of the LORD as his God. The LORD is not the God of Ahaz. Ahaz worships other gods. These gods are different from the true God whom Isaiah worships.
The implied answer to the LORD’s question is that it is too slight a thing for the house of David to try the patience of men, so that they will now try the patience of the LORD, Isaiah’s God.
Ironically, Ahaz would not test the LORD, but he would test the LORD’s patience. He hypocritically pretended to keep the commandment to not test the LORD, as an excuse for his heart’s desire to avoid trusting God. But God knows the heart (Hebrews 4:12). So God knew his actual intent.
The question is it too slight a thing? means “is it not enough that?” and/or “are you not satisfied with?”
And the expression try the patience of means to “lie,” “exploit,” and/or “deal falsely with.”
Ahaz had fallen into pagan idol worship. The essence of these pagan practices is to seek out controllable spiritual forces to gain power over others, usually to exploit them. Ahaz had no interest in submitting to a God he did not think he could control. He preferred the illusion of control to the reality of God’s world, that He is the Creator and Ruler over all.
Evidently, Ahaz and the house of David had dealt treacherously with men and tried their patience. As an idol worshipper, Ahaz did not care for God or His laws which commanded him to love men and treat them with dignity and respect. In an attempt to get what he wanted, Ahaz was willing to sacrifice even his own children in the fire as a means to manipulate spiritual forces for his gain (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Chronicles 28:3). A man who would do such a horrible thing would likely be inclined to exploit other people also and he would try their patience to get what he wanted.
Ahaz not only tried the patience of people, he also tried the patience of God. Ahaz had no respect for man or God. In hypocritically lying to God, he was testing the LORD’s patience. He was trying to exploit the LORD and His commands in order to get what he wanted and/or to avoid having to serve God. But God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). This was, in reality, approaching God the same way he would approach pagan gods; “How can we manipulate them to our desired ends?”
The LORD would give King Ahaz a sign that the schemes of his enemies would fail and that the house of David would stand. But this sign would entail far, far more than King Ahaz and the assault he feared. It was a sign that the LORD would not forget His promise to crush the serpent through the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15). It was a sign that the house of David would, in fact, be restored and prevail for all time. And this sign would be as high as heaven.
This is the subject of the next section of commentary (Isaiah 7:14-16).