Lesson 14 – Isaiah, Jotham & Ahaz

¹For this one lesson we will start by looking at a prophet of God. Isaiah is one that most people know. He wrote an entire book that bears his name, and is especially known at Christmas time for his prophecy of the virgin who would bear a child (7:14) and his overview of the mighty role of the child that would be born, including a list of amazing names (9:6).

²In the year that king Uzziah died, Isaiah saw a vision of God in the temple, calling him to service. ³This was a vision of Jesus, robed in glory that took physical forma and filled the temple itself, surrounded by the seraphim who cried out “Holy, holy holy!” This is a majestic vision of Jesus and we are blessed to have it recorded in scripture such that we can meditate upon Jesus in His divine form.

⁴Isaiah quickly realized that he did not belong in that scene. He was an unclean man, and was marred by sin. Under the pressure of ht holiness of Jesus, he recognized that he was in trouble. There was no way he could serve God in that state.

⁵Ultimately an angel recognized his distress, and under the direction from Jesus Himself provided a coal from the altar which he touched to Isaiah’s lips.  This symbolically atoned for his “unclean lips” and made him presentable before Jesus to participate in what happened next.

⁶Jesus called out of a messenger He could send to speak to His people. “Whom shall I send?” Since Isaiah was the only person around, it was obvious that this question was intended for him So he responded in a similar way to the boy Samuel when God called him: “Here I am”.  Isaiah volunteered to be the one God would send to His people.

The greatest dilemma of Isaiah’s role was that God promised to send him with a message from God Almighty, but that the people would neither hear nor understand the message. They would hear the words and see the deeds, but would not be able to understand their true meaning. Isaiah would preach a message of repentance that would never be acted upon.

God was clear that the issue would not be Isaiah’s ability to deliver the message, but that God would prevent the comprehension since if the people repented, God would not be able to bring the judgment upon them that He wanted; that they deserved. So God promised to thwart the effectiveness of Isaiah’s office of Prophet, while still demanding faithfulness out of Isaiah.

⁷Just after King Jotham took the throne, Isaiah received this vision.  However, Jotham charted a different path than his father. He followed God, but did not presume to burn incense in the temple.  ⁸Other than that, he followed to good pattern of his father, and worshipped God properly. Under his rule, the kingdom of Judah prospered, winning military victories over the Ammonites, and collecting tribute from them for at least three years. He also set upon a building program in Jerusalem and throughout Judea. This was a sign of a kingdom who was at peace and not under threat from their neighbors.

Jotham reigned for 16 years before he died and was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers. His 25 year old son Ahaz took over the kingdom.

⁹Ahaz was a completely different story than his father.  Rather than worshipping God, he seemed to worship every idol he could get his hands on. He worshipped any idol in every place he could imagine. He burned his own sons in offering to foreign idols in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom (later called Gehenna and used as a picture of Hell). In his worship, he was nothing like his father Jotham.

¹⁰Because of his wickedness in worshipping idols, God gave Ahaz over to the military of the Syrians and the kingdom of Israel.  They met him in battle and defeated him. They both captured large amounts of captives and the spoils of war. This indicates that Ahaz was neither able to protect his people or his wealth.

Ahaz’s wickedness was so profound that after being defeated by the Syrians, he started to worship their gods and idols, thinking that since they defeated him, they must be more powerful than God. In the face of God’s promise to Isaiah, we see the devastating impact of the people of Judah neither hearing nor perceiving what God was doing in their lives.  Thinking they were finding a “path forward” they were only making the case that would ultimately bring about their downfall.

¹¹When the kingdom of Israel defeated Judah, they killed a large number of the fighting men and took captive an even larger number of civilians along with bountiful spoils of war. These they sent back to Samaria, the capitol of the kingdom for the purpose of ransom and sale.

¹²Fortunately for the people of Judah, God provided a redeemer in the form of the prophet Oded. He spoke to the great men of Samaria and told them that if they accepted the captives and the spoils, they would add to their own guilt. Not only would they bear the guilt of their own actions, but they would bear the guilt of this affront against God by treating His people, their relatives, as slaves.

¹³According to God’s providence, several of the great men of Israel, hard this message and were convicted to respond.  They received the spoils from the army, but did not treat them as prisoners of ward, but instead treated their wounds from the spoils and sent them back home, along with all the wealth that was captured.

In this way, God showed his sovereignty over Israel and their army When they won the battle, God showed that they could not simply take the spoils of battle, but instead must submit to His will The actions of Ephriam, Azariah, Berechiah Jehizkiah and Amasa ensured that the kingdom of Judah was not devastated by the foolish battle of their king Ahaz.  Instead they were provided with grace from God, who had other plans for them.

¹⁴Another time, Ahaz the king decided to appeal to Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria. Ahaz thought that he could obtain help against the very same Edomites his father had defeated and subjected. But rather than coming to his aid, Tiglath-Pileser came to him and demanded spoils so that he would not attack. ¹⁵Ahaz, having little option, emptied his own treasury, the temple treasury and the coffers of some of the leading men of Judah. Loaded with loot, the king of Assyria departed, not helping Ahaz in his battle.

¹⁶The plundering of Tiglath-Pileser probably cost the king of Judah more than the battles with the Philistines and Edomites ever did. He appealed to a stronger power and instead of getting relief, he got additional persecution and burden. His great plan backfired and brought about a great loss of wealth and prestige.

Ahaz did not learn his lesson. Just as God promised to Isaiah, he heard and saw God in action, but refused to pay attention and learn form what God was doing around him. Instead he pursued his own course of action that led Judah deeper and deeper into dire straits – with the nations around them and with God.

¹⁷Ahaz’s worship preferences for idols were just one sign of the rebellion and stuffed up ears that God had promised Isaiah he would encounter. It seemed that he erected idols everywhere. In the temple, all over Jerusalem and in every city of Judah he erected idols. He even chose to worship the idols of the people around him – including the gods of the people who defeated him and humiliated him.

Clearly this shows that apart from the power of God, it’s not possible to perceive Him properly or worship Him effectively. Ahaz serves as a living object lesson for that foundational theological truth.