Q1. Ahaz's Test of Faith

[NancyinBelize]

Hi all,

Ahaz ignored Isaiah's prophesy that Israel and Syria will not attack because he was more afraid of Assyria.   He may have been thinking., "Thanks Isaiah, Im glad they are not attacking, but what about Assyria? !!" So he did what he saw was a wise political move, he agreed to submit to Assyria's rule.  His thinking: better a slave than dead. Maybe God will save us after a while...

 

He has been scorned for not having faith in God.  This is true, but... I would say that the reason he could not just sit around and "wait and see" because he did not have faith in Isaiah's prophecy.  Ahaz hadn't heard from God. It was Isaiah who spoke for God. Ahaz probably had a dozen or more "advisors" who were coming up with various plans and the chief among those plans was to kow-tow to Assyria and make friends.

 

 Ahaz didn't trust Isaiah's words as much as the other advice which made more sense to him because he, Ahaz, did not seek the Lord for himself.

 

We cannot let other people seek God for us.  We cannot rely only on the word of God through another.  If Ahaz had humbled himself, prayed and waited on God, he would have heard (conjecture, but I believe) Ahaz would have heard from God a message that confirmed Isaiah's prophecy.  He then would have had to choose to obey God or his advisors. Because Ahaz did not seek God, Isaiah's prophecy was just one of many voices of "wisdom" that he was weighing.

 

We need to humble ourselves, seek God and listen to his words....then obey.   This is what Ahaz failed to do.

 

Why didn't Ahaz seek God like King David had?  Because Ahaz thought it was enough to have Isaiah do this for him. Big boo-boo.   

[shelteredunderhiswings]

Q1. (Isaiah 7-8) What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz?  God is asking King Ahaz to do something he has never done in his entire life...He asking him to trust him. You call also look at it this way. God says they will fail they will not prosper only you have to believe what I say is true.

 

Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? King Ahaz did what was evil in the eyes of God. How can a person obey God when he has spent his entire life disobeying God? He did not have a repentant heart nor did he make even an effort to meet God half way. 

 

What did Ahaz do instead? God is telling him that if he disobeys he will NOT establish his kingdom. In 2 Chronicles 28 We see King Ahaz fulfilling his own prophetic instruction by not obeying If you live your life in total disobedience to God, I don't know how you can just start listening when it is so foreign to you.

 

 

What was the consequence of this disobedience? Since King Ahaz did not heed God's instruction it would be very bad for Judah many would become slaves to Damascus. God even had to use another prophet Obed to tell the Israelites not to take their brothers and sisters captive. King Ahaz honestly believed he was in control. I am King so I will do this my way. King Ahaz would pray and make sacrifices to the God of Syria so they could hear him(failure). I will seek help from Assyria and send them gifts(failure). God requires us to obey him for our benefit and our children's benefit.

 

Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God? Three words. Pride, Pride, and more Pride! I tend to look at the storm or the mountain in front of me. I say I can overcome this storm or I can climb this mountain on my own. I often forget it was God who made the storms and the mountains. He wants me to conquer that storm or mountains with his help using his strength not mine.

 

Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do? Often what God tells me to do is exactly what I don't want to do. Obedience is a hard thing to do when you have been born with a rebel's heart. Submitting, surrendering and trusting are very hard things for my will to do. They are alien to my will, to my flesh. That is why I needed to be born again. Born to a new will and heart for God.

 

[blezed]

What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz?

1.  He tells Ahaz that the attack will not take place.  Tells him not to panic.

 

Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? What did Ahaz do instead?

2.  He used as an excuse that he did not want to bother the Lord.  Instead, he tried to buy aid from the

Assyrians.  Pays tribute to them and becomes their vassal.

 

What was the consequence of this disobedience?

3.  The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon Judah.

 

Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God?

4.  We feel that we have a better plan.  Often times, we feel that God is not moving fast enough and want to help him out.

 

Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do?
5.  Belief.  When we can't see the full picture, it's hard to see how things are going to work.

 

[Craig]

Q1. (Isaiah 7-8) What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz? Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? What did Ahaz do instead? What was the consequence of this disobedience? Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God? Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do?

 

Ahaz was not to fear Israel or Syria because God would not permit them to touch Judah.  Ahaz was to trust in God.  Ahaz chose not to regard Isaiah's words because he did not regard or trust in God.  Instead Ahaz made an alliance with Assyria and deferred to the Assyrian Ruler including modifying the temple and religious practice to reflect Assyrian worship.  The consequences would be the fall of Judah to the Assyrians. 

 

It's not that we think we are smarter than God, it's the fact that we don't regard God's word or take Him seriously.  It's hard to do what God wants us to do because we want to do what we want to do.  We want to be God or like God.  That's the way its been since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they were removed from the garden.  We want to exercise our own will.

. 

[GoRaysXD]

Q1. (Isaiah 7-8) What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz? Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? What did Ahaz do instead? What was the consequence of this disobedience? Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God? Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do?

 

 

Ahaz was not to fear Israel or Syria because God would not permit them to touch Judah.  Ahaz was to trust in God.  Ahaz chose not to regard Isaiah's words because he did not regard or trust in God.  Instead Ahaz made an alliance with Assyria and deferred to the Assyrian Ruler including modifying the temple and religious practice to reflect Assyrian worship.  The consequences would be the fall of Judah to the Assyrians. 

 

It's not that we think we are smarter than God, it's the fact that we don't regard God's word or take Him seriously.  It's hard to do what God wants us to do because we want to do what we want to do.  We want to be God or like God.  That's the way its been since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they were removed from the garden.  We want to exercise our own will.

. 

 

[antonate]

King of Aram and King of Israel marched to fight against King ahaz. This caused fear and panic in him. But God reassures through Isaiah that they would not come to fight with him and the war would not take place. King ahaz failed to listen to the prophetic and encouraging words of Isaiah because of his lack of trust and faith in yahweh and also he put his trust in the king of assyria than in the mighty God. The consequence of he not putting his faith in Yahweh would lead into destruction of Judah by assyria.

sometimes situations look so impossible to be solved that we fail to beleive that God can handle the situation without our interference and all we have to do his remain calm and trust his word. It becomes soemtimes to obey God because it seems his ways are hard to follow that are ways which look easy and also instant to solve a situation. lack of faith in him and trusting in human wisdom can lead to disobidience and fall short of obidience to God.

[Renson gona]

Q 1. GIST OF ISRAEL.S PROPHETIC INSTRUCTION:

        It was to encourage him as he was terrified and reassure him that Yaweh would fight for him and give him victory over

        his enemies.

Q 2. WHY AHAZ DISREGARDED THE LORDS COUNSEL:

        Ahaz had internalized a belief that if any nation rebels against the Mighty of Assyria, it would be crushed and its

        King deposed.

Q 3. WHAT AHAZ DID INSTEAD:

       Ahaz chose to become a vassal of Assyria, an enemy far worse than either Israel or Syria  .

Q 4. WHY DO WE THINK SOMETIMES WE ARE SMARTER THAN GOD?

       We may think we are smart when we think and reason carnally i e when we think in the flesh.

Q 5. WHY IS IT SOMETIMES HARD TO DO WHAT GOD TELLS US.

•  Fear
• Lack of faith in God
• Living in the flesh or carnality.

[WinstonY]

Question 2-1

The instructions from God to Ahaz through Isaiah was that Ahaz the king should stand firm to Syria and Israel and firm in his trust in Yahweh- for Yahweh can be trusted and men, leaders can not be trusted. God had given His word through the prophet Isaiah, but Ahaz disregarded the prophecy. We are mot told why he did not listen to the word of God as delivered by Isaiah but it is probable that his heart was hardened. He “kept looking, but did not understand. (6.9b) Instead the king made a compact with the devil, the king of Assyria. Judah became a vassal of Assyria. This contract eventually lead to Judah rebelling and Assyria 'drowning Judah up to the neck(8.8) .

Ahaz probably thought that he was smarter than God because he was sated with the power, wealth and prestige which comes from being a ruler of a country. And what would Isaiah know about regional politics. When one has such power and prestige it is hard to see yourself as not being in control.. Nowadays even the common people in the industrialized nations have to deal with the rationalism of the Modern Age which puts a high premium on individualism and rational thinking. These tend to inflate one's opinion of oneself and one's society.

It is hard to do what tells us because 1) we must realize and believe that believe that God is indeed speaking and 2) we need the strength to follow His instructions.

winstonY

[Old Jerry]

The gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz was to keep calm because God is going to take care of everything. He will not lose the kingdom if he does what God tells him. I think that reason that Ahaz chose to disregard the instruction because he didn’t have the faith that it took to believe in the message that Isaiah had told him about what God had said. So Ahaz decided to make an alliance with Syria. The consequence of this disobedience was that Ahaz gave a lot of gold and silver and they still didn’t get the protection that he wanted.

 

Sometimes we do think we are smarter than God because we think that we want to control our lives and God doesn’t know what we want. Therefore we always want to do things our way because we think we know what is best.

 

 

[linda bass]

The gist of Isaiah's prophetic instructions to Ahaz was that Ahaz was to stand firm in his faith and to rely entirely on the Lord.

Ahaz probably chose to disregard the instructions because he wasn't really trusting in the Lord.

What Ahaz does instead is to pay tribute to Assyria for protection.

The consequence of this obedience was that eventually Israel would be invaded by Assyria and her people taken away into slavery.

I believe that at times we find it hard to do what God wants because we think we know better than He does.

[Nick]

Isaiah's message to king Ahaz is one of encouragement and hope, but also requires a huge amount of faith.  I think that is probably the chief reason why Ahaz chooses to disregard the instruction.  Essentially, Ahaz is doubting God's heart. There is also huge pressure considering that Aram and Ephraim are powerful leaders at this time.  I would be scared too.  Instead of trusting God, king Ahaz takes matters into his own hands by basically becoming a slave to Assyria and they become indebted to them.  The consequence of his decision is that Judah becomes bare. Their resources are plundered and taken over; nothing is left.  The Lord uses Assyria as a tool for judgement against Judah. 

 

This is a reflection of how we wrestle with God.  Sometimes, God asks big things of us that are downright terrifying to do.  And I also think that this goes back to the biggest lie of Satan which is that God is holding out on us. That we can have a better way of living if we eat the fruit for surely we can be like God if we do.  I think that this is the core temptation that Satan has to offer us. This prophecy in Isaiah is a good reminder for me of these things. 

[wifee]

7a)God’s message through Isaiah is one of hope, urging Ahaz to keep calm,obey him&trust him standing firm in faith&attack of Aram&Israel on Judah will not happen.

b)He didn’t hold firm but allowed his guilt& fear of attack of mighty army to affect decision.Because he was an evil arrogant man¬ a holy pure man, he couldn’t exercise faith in God

c)He chose to side with Assyrians &be indebted to them rather than the grace&mercy of God.

d)His judgement for not trusting God,out of guilt&lack of faith was those forces he had allied with,turned on Ahaz &became a tool of God’s judgement on them all.

e)We forget God knows all our needs,actions&the evil inside us tells we know what’s best.

f)Our sinful pride &lack of faith gets in the way,&we receive pressure from others saying do this or that first, instead of seeking God first& trusting him to guide us with signs&prompts.

[elizabeth kerr]

I think the gist of Isaiah's prophetic instruction to Ahaz was that he should trust God to deliver Judah from the king of Israel and the king of Aram/Syria(Damascus).

 

Even though God had told Ahaz through Isaiah that the threatened attack by Israel and Aram would not happen, Ahaz did not trust God, and so, he sent envoys to Assyria with tribute to plead with the king of Assyria for protection from the attack.

 

I think Ahaz didn't trust God because he didn't believe the God of Israel was the most powerful god and able to defeat Judah's enemies who worshipped different gods.

 

Because Ahaz didn't obey God, Judah became a vassal of Assyria, and many years later, Assyria conquered all the fortified cities of Judah and besieged Jerusalem but didn't conquer it.

 

I think it is hard for me to obey God because I want to be in control of me and my world and I naively and blindly think I can.  Also, I think I know better than God, as if I am smarter than He is because (1) I think more highly of myself than I ought to -- and even when I know this, I don't want to admit it, (2) I don't know myself as well as I think I do, and (3) BUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REASON is that I don't know God as well as I think I do, and I never can know Him fully since His thoughts and His ways are much higher than mine.

[cjenkins1388]

Isaiah a true prophet of God instructed Ahaz to be calm and have faith in God and everything will be okay.

 

But since Ahaz has very little faith,in God he probably feels like he needs to do something no just sit and be calm.

 

Today we still struggle with the same circumstance, we think we have faith until it is time for us to be still and wait upon the Lord to provide the answer.

 

We may know what God expects us to do when he gives instructions with difficult circumstances, and we know we should wait but it is our lack of faith that makes us want to move forward, we even convince ourselves that our actions are what He wanted us to do.

 

If we had a true prophet today that told us what God wanted us to do we would probably still make decisions to do the opposite of what was asked of us. 

[JoanG]

Isaiah tried to tell Ahaz to wait and allow God to take control of the situation. However, Ahaz was afraid of the outcome and he actually paid to have his enemies destroyed. However, God changed the outcome. At times, we feel that God is so far away from us. We feel that God cannot understand what we are going through. God at times seems to be so farfetched with his ideas. They go against everything that we think are rational. And yet we need to trust him and allow him to take charge of us.  We need to go on the faith that God really does know what is best for us no matter what we might think.

[Commissioned]

 

Q1. (Isaiah 7-8) What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz? Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? What did Ahaz do instead? What was the consequence of this disobedience? Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God? Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do?

 

Isaiah's prophetic instructions were given to Ahaz to give him the assurance that God would protect Judah against the impending attack. Ahaz chose to disregard the prophetic word because he did not have sufficient faith in God to protect him and his nation.  Instead Ahaz chose to buy his seat as a become a vassal of Assyria.  This was indeed a worg move with regrettable consequences.  In the end the King of Assyria destroyed all of Judah's fortified cities; only Jerusalem escaped.  Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God?  That's hard to answer because we know that God is omnipotent and He is omniscient, we are no match for God; nor can we ever be smarter.   It is sometimes hard to do what God tells us to do because we do not see the end.  We sometimes think if we do it our way we will know the expected outcome. Sadly, that happends more often that it should.

[Darcelle]

Isaiah's message was to trust in God.

This was disregarded because of Ahaz's fear of his enemies. He chose to form an alliance instead which led to destruction.

I think we sometimes feel stronger than God as a cover-up for our own fears and inadequacies.

Our own free will often interferes with the true will of God

[RebeccaL]

Isaiah told Ahaz to trust God and stand up to Assyria, and not to join Israel and Syria against Assyria. Ahaz chose to disregard it because he had more faith in Assyria’s power than in God. Ahaz instead offered Judah as Assyria’s vassal. As a result of Ahaz disobedience to Isaiah’s peiphecy, Assyria besieged Judah “up to its neck”; it plundered and destroyed everything except Jerusalem. I think we sometimes think we know better than God because we can’t SEE God but we can SEE whatever it is we’re dealing with, so we think God doesn’t know or care so we need to act in our own “realistic” way. Then, more problems arise. Also perhaps when one hasn’t been trusting God regularly, it is hard to when the chips are really down and one is afraid. It’s hard to hear God when one hasn’t been turning to God for a very long time.

[Ray B]

Q1. (Isaiah 7-8) What was the gist of Isaiah's prophetic instruction to Ahaz? For Ahaz to trust in GOD and not side with other nations.

Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it? He did not trust God or believe Isaiah's prophecy.

What did Ahaz do instead? He sent treasure from the temple to Assyria and made Judah a vassal unto them.

What was the consequence of this disobedience? God removed his covering and Judah was invaded and destroyed by the Assyrians.

Why do we sometimes seem to think that we're smarter than God? We think we have the answer when it is supposedly obvious to us.

Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do? God tests us to see if we are obedient and we sometimes think we know better or take the easier option.

[Dove81]

What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz?
God sent a message through Isaiah that Ahaz should not be afraid. That God was going to protect them and to have faith.
 

Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it?
Ahaz had no faith in God, he didn’t follow nor believe in His word. So he couldn’t trust what Isaiah was telling him.

What did Ahaz do instead? 
He chose to handle things his own way. As if his way would result in a better out come than that of Gods. He took the gold and silver from Gods temple and gave them to the king of Assyria for protection from Adam and Israel. 
 

What was the consequence of this disobedience?
Since Ahaz went about things his own way. God sent the Assyrians to destroy Judah. The people, cattle and land was destroyed. So to the point there was enough milk and honey left for the remnant to eat.

Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God?

We have become impatient, we’ve gotten used to everything happening immediately. An with God He moves on His time not ours. We don’t always see His bigger picture, we just know we want something and we feel we can do handle it better.

Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do? We often think we don’t need Gods help. Maybe because we can’t see Him and don’t know what His plans are, we are so caught up in what we want and what we think is best for us. Instead of having faith and trusting in the creator to take care of His creation.

[Krissi]

Ahaz seems conflicted. He knows the prophecy but doubt it. He hears God's word but may not be sure if it's his mind's voice or really God speaking. As he looks around, circumstances are caving in on him. Nothing is going the way God says it will go. It appears his kingdom is about to be overrun ... he's responsible for his subjects ...

... and so he caves. He strikes a political deal with the superpower of that age, Assyria.

God had told Ahaz, in so many words, that nothing would happen to him and his kingdom if he stood firm in his faith. God took the time to reassure Ahaz. To comfort him. Ahaz panicked anyway.

As always, the consequences of disobedience are severe. In this case, these consequences came speedily. The kingdom was mostly overrun though God's far future, not near future, included deliverance -- both deliverance in a political sense and that of a moral sense.

I don't think Ahaz thought he was smarter than God. Rather, he was a weak man in a horrible position who looked at his circumstances rather than God. He chose to be rational and sign treaties rather than be irrational and believe the voice of God. God chooses, often, irrationality -- this is faith. Faith goes beyond understanding.

Choosing to obey God against one's own reason is hard, particularly when circumstances seem to get worse. It's fighting against your own mind, your ability to think through things and rationally come up with probabilities and answers. God asks us to put aside our rationality and simply trust. Ahaz couldn't do this in the end. He panicked. His faith floundered in spite of God's reassurances.

In the Old Testament and in some places in the New, God's voice seems audible. Here, Ahaz may have actually heard God via prophets or with his own ears. Today, at least in my life, I don't hear God this way; I don't hear his audible voice. Thus his commands are open to doubt and interpretation. It's difficult to be certain that it's not my will and desire but God's voice.  This is why it is difficult to know what God tells me to do.

Some people seem certain about their own application of prophecies and verses from the bible -- the dual fulfillment idea that Pastor Ralph suggests. I am not so certain about taking any verse and applying it to my own needs and life. Standing on the promises is like standing on my interpretation of those promises -- the promises may be true, but are they for me? Am I fooling myself? Am I claiming from God something that wasn't intended for my eyes and ears?

[crissy464]

He needed to trust in the Lord. 
     He didnt believe in God
    Ahaz was frightened and wanted to appeal to Assyria for help. Isaiah clearly saw the folly that would be involved in a move of this kind, and in a prophecy that has often been misinterpreted as a reference to a coming Messiah, he warned King Ahaz that within three or four years those two puppet kingdoms that he feared would be completely routed.
We sometimes feel we can do it by ourselves instead of depending on 
God
 

[Anna Rogers]

 What was the gist of Isaiah’s prophetic instruction to Ahaz?

"Do not fear" They are safe from the attack, Syria and Israel are like "stubs of smoking firebrand" at the end of their time, almost out. They will not prevail over Judah. 

Why do you think Ahaz chose to disregard it?

Perhaps pride, he felt he knew better. 

What did Ahaz do instead?

Ahaz decided to pay the Assyrians for protection. 

What was the consequence of this disobedience?

He was later taken over by the Assyrians. 

Why do we sometimes seem to think that we’re smarter than God? Why is it sometimes so hard to do what God tells us to do?

In hind sight it makes no sense. Sometimes we forget to ask or look for answers given. Sometimes we don't trust that God will come through, or that we need to help God. 

We doubt that we are really hearing from God. It's not the answer we want, and we erroneously think we know better.  

 

[Bryan]

The gist of the messages was basically to take no action but stand firm in faith - vs 9 "If you are not firm in faith,
    you will not be firm at all."

When a problem presents itself, our pride (sin nature) thinks our only option is to 'fix it', that we can control the outcome. Waiting and depending on God in these circumstances demands that we acknowledge our inability and inadequacy and trust God.

Ahaz chose to not wait on God for deliverance but conspired and aligned the nation with Assyria.

The consequence was he invited the fox into the hen house. By following his own counsel and disregarding God's message from Isaiah, he brought disaster from the source that was supposed to save him.

Pride and unbelief are the source of our failures to trust God. We want to control, think we can manage or mitigate circumstances and have our eyes fixed on our surroundings instead of on God.

[Katy]

Q1. Isaiah’s words from God were to trust God, and He would not be invaded by Syria and Israel. Ahaz chose to ignore God’s advise and seek help and protection from Assyria. This was a decision which tells us that Ahaz was not walking closely with God. He had no idea of God’s power or what it meant to trust Him. The two kings he feared were mere mortals and he chose to go to another mortal man from protection rather than the living, all powerful God! However his choice gives temporary protection but eventually the king of Assyria attacks Judea and destroys it. 
We can often be like Ahaz and not trust God, and think we can do it on our own. We forget that the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead is available to us, if we just asked God. It can be difficult to obey God if He asks us to do something which takes us out of our comfort zone. Again it shows a lack of trust in God. We may not want to do the thing in question but we have to ask for help and know that His power is made perfect in our weakness.