In Whom Do We Trust?

MEMORY VERSE: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” —Isaiah 40:31

ISAIAH 7:3-7,9-16; 31:1-3

THE setting of this Lesson is during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. It was also during the time when the nation of Israel was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The account indicates that Israel and Syria had agreed upon a joint attack on Judah, and the Lord sent Isaiah to encourage King Ahaz. He was admonished to “take heed, and be quiet,” and to “fear not.”

This proved to be a severe test upon Ahaz. Israel and Syria are referred to as “two tails” of smoking firebrands, and Ahaz, instead of trusting in the Lord to protect Jerusalem against the attack, appealed to Assyria for help. This resulted later in Judah’s being dominated by the Assyrians. Genuine, “mountain-moving” faith in God is rare. Few of Judah’s kings had this sort of faith. It was true then, even as now, that while lip service was paid to God, not many put genuine faith in him in times of great need.

In Isaiah 31:1 we read that woe comes “to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but … look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord.” The 3rd verse reads, “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.”

Since these admonitions were addressed to God’s professed people, a similar application should be made today. Nations today that profess to be Christian should be guided by these admonitions and should put their trust in the Lord rather than in the strength of arms, but they do not. Through alliances of one sort or another they hold the social order together for a while, but in the long run those who presume to help, and those who receive help, will fall together; for the only remedy for the world’s ills is the kingdom of Christ.

But there are those here and there today who are putting their trust in the Lord. These, as our memory verse states, “wait upon the Lord,” and as a result “renew their strength.” These “mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” These have learned that “there is no king saved by the multitude of an host” and that “a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.”—Ps. 33:16

In the midst of the crisis upon Judah caused by the threat of Israel and Syria, Ahaz was instructed by the Lord to ask for a sign. The king refused to do this, explaining that he did not wish to tempt the Lord. Isaiah rebuked the king for this refusal, and explained that the Lord would give him a sign anyway. And this is the sign: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This “Son,” the Lord explained, would know how “to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” Then the Lord explained that before this “Son” would reach this maturity, the land which the king was then abhorring would be forsaken by both her kings.

The reference here seems to be to the king of Israel and the king of Syria. In this, prophecy we have a good illustration of how the Lord at times uses a local situation as the background for one of his major promises or prophecies. Judah was at the time in great danger. Ahaz could not deliver them because he lacked the necessary faith in God.

So the Lord gave the king a sign, not of an immediate deliverance for Judah, but of a future deliverance of the world of mankind; that is, a deliverance from the reign of sin and death, for this sign was the promise of the birth of Jesus. In the days of Ahaz, Judah needed a Savior; and ever since sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam, all mankind has needed a Savior, and Jesus came into the world to be that Savior.

How wonderful is the announcement of the angel given when Jesus was born: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11) It is appropriate, we think, that our attention should be called to the birth of Jesus at this time, for Jesus was born in October, not in December.

QUESTIONS

Explain the background of this lesson.

Why did Ahaz not put his trust in the Lord?

What sign was given to Ahaz and when did that sign appear?

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