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Episode 644: In this episode, we dive into a lively discussion on Isaiah 7, where we encounter King Ahaz of Judah, who is facing a dire situation with threats from Syria and Israel. The passage reveals God's message to Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah, encouraging him not to fear the impending invasion. We discuss the significance of God's reassurance and the prophetic sign of a virgin conceiving a child, which carries both immediate and future implications.
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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible Guys. Today is Thursday, all right, and we are thrilled that you're here today. Everybody's second favorite day. That begins to tea. Oh wow, that was the thing that was rough, you. Think, Hey, actually I'd like Thursdays better than Tuesdays. I do. Okay, Well, there's the difference between the tourists. You like Tuesdays better. Yeah, because Thursday is not Friday. Yeah, well, Thursdays leading up to Friday. I know. So it's it's more exciting than Tuesday. But Tuesday you're not in Monday anymore. Dude, It's so much better. This is a this is. A anyways, let's. Go very subjective conversation for certain So, hey, speaking of our subjective opinion, Yes, today is one of your favorite segments called would you rather yes? Would you rather yes? And this is very subjective as well. Yes, So, Chris, would you rather relive your childhood with the knowledge you have now or relive your childhood without any recollection of the present? What you just go back and relive your real live, go back and relive your childhood? What kind of options without any of the advantage of having lived? Now? What kind of option is that? It's It's like, hey, would you rather go back and do something extremely cool with a bunch of really great knowledge or would you rather go back and I have exactly the same outcome with no control and no knowledge whatsoever? Okay, obviously I want to have knowledge. Okay, all right, Well that was just the question. Hey, I'm okay, you're. Christ on Thursday. What kind of questions? Okay, okay, of course you want to have the knowledge? Would you rather do I'd rather have a knowledge too, Yeah, okay, Well hey for number two? Number two? Yeah? Oh you want me to do it? Yeah? Go ahead. Would you rather be forced to listen to the Barney theme song for twenty four hours straight or someone slurp soup for twenty four hours straight? Oh, there's no question for me. I've already listened to the Barney's theme song for twenty four hours straight. Yeah, most of my daughter's childhood, so I can handle that, you can hear that. But slurping of soup. I'm the opposite. I would totally choose slurping the soup. What yeah, because the Barney theme song is a brain worm. It's an earworm. Oh, it gets stuck in your head. You'll be thinking of it for weeks after that twenty four hour window, whereas you won't. Be thinking, great big hug and it gets can you see you? Okay? You see? Would you rather have to use let's go, Would you rather have to use shrimp flavored toothpaste or deodorant that smells like cheese? Oh my goodness, now I respect this question like this, I respect it. I don't like it, I respect it. What would I rather do? I think I'd have to put up with the shrimp flavored toothpaste because. It's it's here and then it's gone. Right, it doesn't know it's there for everybody else? What is there? Everybody else is gonna smell it? No, because it doesn't say that you can't wash your mouth out with lestren afterwards. Oh, it doesn't say that you're right. But the U. But the deorderan that smells like cheese, it'd be hard to get rid of that. Dude, I would choose the cheese. I would because I hate shrimp right. Now, Oh, you're just anti shrimp. I haven't always been a shrimp hater, but I am right now because the last time I had it, I got terrible sick. Remember that was like two years ago. I know, I can't. I can't even be around the smell of it right now. It turns my stomach. It's literally two years later. Yeah, yeah, it was a year later. It was last year. Come on, it was this time last year. I got sick in the Dominican Republic on shrimp. Yeah, well you should learn something from it, Chris. I've eaten shrimp three three times since then. Okay, not me, not me. I just can't get past it. Yeah. My least favorite thing in the world is to be sick to my stomach. Yeah, I got you. Would you rather have a free subscription to Netflix or free pizza supply for the rest of your life? I think both of these are supposed to be for the rest of your life, I would assume. So, yeah, that's a no brainer. That's uh, yeah, you're going to say pizza pizza. It's a better value, right, it's it's a better value. Yeah, because how much is Netflix. I don't really care about Netflix. I don't care. Oh I see, I see, so it's all about what you're getting there. Yeah, I really care a lot about people. Okay, that's hilarious. Would you rather always have a mullet haircut or a ponytail haircut? Ponytail like a biker kind of a ponytail. Yeah, especially now you're getting a little bit of gray in your hair. That's kind of cool looking. Well, I think ponytails are more acceptable than mullets. You think so, I mean, yeah, mullets are like when you see somebody of the mullet, you're like, there's a mullet. Phone, take out your phone and filmed, because a holy cow, that's. A mull that's an actual mullet, right, But ponytails are like, oh, he's still wearing. A pony Did you see that guy at the NFL Combine with that incredible mullet? No, well it made them, It made like ESPN the mullet itself, not not his performance. He had great, great performance, but that was a mullet. Man talking about it gets people's attention. Are you talking about the thing that I went to the No? No, no, no, the NFL combine this week, this last week, oh. This past week? Oh yeah yeah yeah, wow, No, I didn't see that. College kid had this amazing mullet. It does get people's attention. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I did say tail. I was gonna say mullet really yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, we've been opposite on all these days. Yeah, well you've been wrong. You know you're allowed to be wrong, Chris. Yeah, exactly, that's so funny. Wow. By the way, would you rather there is no wrong answer, Jeff, because it's would you rather you right? Right? Subjective? You preference preference you? Okay, all right, so wrong. By the way, speaking of preferences, I. Very much prefer the Book of Isaiah over chronicles or Michael that we've been in and I'm really glad we're back, okay in the in the Book of Isaiah. Well, so you remember there's all these prophets, yeah, that are going on. So Micah is during this time. We just read about Obed coming and it's correct. It's dead O dead? Was it O dead? Yes? Was it O dead? Did I read it wrong? You did? Oh dead? You're right? By the way, I thought you said Obed twice. I did. I thought about saying, Jeff, was yesterday? It was yesterday? But I thought this perverse satisfaction me being wrong. No, no, no, in fact, the opposite is true. Didn't say anything. But now when you said today, I'm like, I got. You can't let it go in three times, three strikes, you're out. Three strikes, you're out. That's a strong position we're taking dead. Oh dead, yes, yeah. But anyways, Micah Odeaed, you've got all these guys that have clustered together in this this this era, and Isaiah being you know, God used him to write just a huge prophetic book of so many things. Isaiah's kind of the crown jewel of all of these prophets at the time. So we're going to kind of inter secked through Isaiah quite a bit, I think, as we continue to tell the stories of Israel. But it says here in Isaiah chapter eight, then the Lord said to me, make a large signboard and clearly. Write who appointment we're supposed to be in Isaiah seven. Today. Oh I'm reading the wrong one. Well, man, I wanted to read Isaiah eight. Okay, okay, well this is for a has then, yes, this is a message to a has I totally. I'm super excited about tomorrow. So listen, people, I don't want to I don't want to get away, but he's going to use this. He's going to draw a sign board. Great job promoting tomorrow. Yeah, he's going to write a sign board. Okay, it's going to be tomorrow, but I can't tell you he's gonna write on it today. So in Isaiah seven, it says when a Has, son of Jotham and grandson of Issiah, was King of Judah, king resident of Syria, and peak the son of Remaliah, the King of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan. The news had come to the royal court of Judah Siria's allied with Israel against us. So the hearts of the king and people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm. Then the Lord said, Isaiah, take your son Sheerjaeshab. What wow. I don't think I ever remember that you nailed it, though I know, but I didn't. I didn't realize is saya? What were you thinking? Sheb yep? Okay, and go out and meet King AHAs you will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed. Tell him to stop worrying. Tell him he doesn't need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned out embers, King Resin of Syria and Picas, son of Roamalaiah. Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel plotting against him, saying we will attack Judah and capture for ourselves, and then we will install the son of Tabil as Judas king. But this is what the sovereign Lord says. This invasion will never happen. It will never take place, for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king Resin. As for Israel, within sixty five years, it'll be crushed and completely destroyed. Israel is no stronger than its capital Samaria, and Samaria is no strong Then it's King Peka, son of Ramalaiah. Unless your faith is firm and cannot make you stand firm. Later, the Lord sent this message to King AHAs. Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation. A has make it as difficult as you want, as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead. But the king refused. No, he said, I will not test the Lord like that. Then Isaiah said, listen, listen, well, you royal family, David. Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience, Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right, then the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look, the Virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. By the time this child is old, not to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he'll be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted. Then the Lord will bring things on you, your nation and your family, unlike anything since Israel broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assiri upon you. In that day, the Lord will whistle for the army of southern Egypt and for the army of Assyria, and they will swarm around you like flies and bees. And they will come in vast hordes and settle in the fertile fields, fertile areas, and also in the desolate valleys and caves and thorny places. In that day, the Lord will hire a razor from beyond the Euphrates River the King of Assyria, and use it to shave off everything your land, your crops, and your people. In that day, a farm will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone. Because so few people will be left in the land, they will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. In that day, the lush vineyards, now worth one thousand pieces of silver, will become patches of briars and thorns. The entire land will become a vast expanse of briars and thorns, and a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briars and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep and goats will graze there. Oo, boy, talk about a production. Yeah, He's gonna send a razor. Isn't that the descriptions that God gives. I'm gonna whistle for the army of Southern Egypt, Reggan. They're going to come in like flies and bees around you, and then I'm going to send you a razor from a series just gonna shave your land, take everything from you. That's pretty pretty tough. Yeah, it is. I was reading the footnote where it said the virgin will conceive a child and he will give birth to a son. He would be the name of Emmanuel, which is God with us. So this footnote that says the virgin is translated from a Hebrew word used for an unmarried woman who is old enough to be married, one who is sexually mature see Genesis twenty four, Actus chapter twobs or Psalm sixty eight, Proverbs thirty song Solomon chapter one. Some have compared this young woman to Isaiah's young wife and newborn son in Isaiah chapter eight. This is not likely because she had already had a child, sheer Jasob, and her second child was not named Emmanuel. Some believe that Isaiah's first wife may have died and that so this is his second wife, who's more likely. That the prophecy had a double fulfillment, And then it just goes on to talk about that a young woman from the house of AHAs who was not married would marry and have a son before three years passed, one year for pregnancy and two years for the child. Old enough to talk, the two invading kings would be destroyed. And then number two Matthew one twenty three quotes Isaiah seven fourteen to show further fulfillment of this prophecy, and a virgin named Mary conceived in bor son Emmanuel, which is the Christ. So this happens sometimes. It happens in Isaiah, happens in a couple of the other prophetic books, Daniel, it happens in Revelation. Where there are two meanings to a prophecy. Is the early prophecy, right, the direct thing that's being talked about. Then there's also this secondary prophecy about the end times or about the Messiah or something. So there's two. So in this one when it talks about the virgin, first off is talking about a young woman that is not yet married. And what he's trying to say is this is a three year window. She's not yet married, she's gonna get probably get married, but certainly get pregnant. She's gonna have a baby, so she currently is a virgin. Then she's gonna have a baby that's gonna take about almost a year, and then that baby is going to be able to communicate and sit up and eat yogurt and all those kinds of things. It's about a three year window. That's what Isaiah is trying to say. Within three years, God's gonna whistle for Egypt to come up and wipe you out. God's gonna bring the razor of a Syria in a shavir land. You are going to be overwhelmed within the next three years, which we know happens in Ah has his life. So that virgin is not talking about a virgin birth. It's talking about a young woman who's currently a virgin, will get pregnant, have a baby, that baby will be able to communicate. That's probably two years or so and those so you got about a three year window. But then also it's quoted later as in Matthew chapter one, also saying that this was a prophetic thing that eventually there'd be a virgin birth in it with the Messiah as well. And that's the name Emmanuel, which means God with us. Right, which is cool. Yeah, it's really neat. Yeah. So sometimes it's confusing when you read a story like that and you realize there's two meanings to the same passage, But the Bible does that fairly regularly. The Hebrew language lends itself to having multiple meanings to the same statement. It's why there were so many rabbis. It's why there's more written about the writings of God by the rabbis than there are the writings of God. Right is they all have There's so many ways to play with the meanings of words in Hebrew. It's it's it's confusing to us who speak English because our words are a little bit simpler, like we say love and we meet for all kinds of stuff, whereas like in those those Middle Eastern languages, they have lots of words. Greek has what six language, six words, seven words for love. There's there's all these these things for the Israelites. Their Hebrew words, the beginning and the ending of a word kind of gives a hint as to what it means. Right names have very specific prophetic meanings all these things. So think about it this way. In David's writings, David says, those that love God with all their heart, he will give them the desires of their heart. And rabbis understand it to mean two things. You love out of all your heart, and He will give you what you want. And you love God with all your heart, and he'll give you the right wants, right right, So he gives you the want, he gives you the desire of your heart, and then he gives you that desire. So he gave you the desire, and then he gives you what you desire. Right right, is what that means. That happens a lot in the Bible, that there's two meanings to the same statement. And it would then translate well for us to understand. This sometimes happens with prophecies as well. So he's prophesying in the future Jesus, and at the same time, you've got about three years and you can get wiped out. Right, it's pretty neat. It's a neat thing. It's hard for English speakers to understand, but it's it's a pretty amazing, amazing thing. And then boy talking about total destruction. So yeah, yeah, that's that's great. And and so once again a has is uh uh hello, Chris, Yeah, sorry, I was actually I was actually I actually got confused. Remember how you were talking about chapter eight tomorrow. Yes, I started to talk about chapter eight. Oh, you were jumping like I was like, wait a minute, that's not that's not this week. So so I was gonna have to say. Is so a has once again gets this uh word from the Lord, and I wonder why he actually said I. Will not test God like that. Yeah, isn't that interesting? Like I wonder if he's saying like, I'm not gonna I'm not even gonna play in your God games, or or I wonder if he was actually saying like, I'm not even touching that with a ten foot poll because I don't. Want to think about God. I don't want to. I don't want to get near God because I know it's going to be bad for me because I recognize that I've not been good. Like is there is there an acknowledgement you think of his wicked ways. I think God God has given him an opportunity needed to prove, to prove that God exists. I think God God doesn't want because yesterday, you know, God says, well, at the very beginning of this of this chapter, God says, listen, I'm not going to let them wipe you out right now right, I'm going to protect you. Don't worry about it. It's a weak kingdom, right, Damascus can't win because King Resin is so weak, right, and Israel can't win because Pica is so weak, right, They're they're only as strong as the Kings, and the kings are weak. Don't worry about it. I'm going to protect you. And then he says, I think God is trying to develop a relationship with a Has. That's what I think is happening. This is almost like a Solomon moment. You tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. And I'm wondering if that's not what's happening here. Just on the surface, as I read, there might be some theological thing happening here that I don't understand, But on the surface, it seems like God's saying, what do I need to do to prove to you that I'm real? What do I need to prove to do to prove to you that you do not have to worship the gods of Bail and all these other Canaanite gods we have to prove And I think a Has is just so hardhearted that he couldn't give a rip about the God of the universe or the God of Israel. He's already sacrificed his sons to Bail, right, so he's pretty in. He's pretty committed to this bail worship thing, and he doesn't want to play God's games, so he's not I'm not going to test the Lord like that. I'm not interested. I think it's like I don't want God to prove himself to me. I don't care. And that's when God goes all right, I'm going to shave you. I'm going to shave you, bald. I'm going to shame you like you've never been shamed. I'm going to overwhelm you with flies and locusts, you know, out of Egypt, talking about Egypt coming in and swarming them. It's just he literally kind of resurrects the plagues of Egypt and shaves him bald, and being shaved bald was a shame, right, that's what you do to a slave kind of thing. And it seems like it really just it was your it was your last chance. A has okay, three years from now it's done. Yeah, well, i'll tell you what it's It's not just like you said a couple of times ago. Would you say there's a lot of bad news. Yeah, there's a lot of bad news coming for as. It's gonna be rough. He's got a rough ride ahead of him. I also think the reason why it's three years is because it takes a long time in those days to assemble an army, build the supply lines all the way from Egypt to Jerusalem, all the way from Damascus down to Jerusalem. Right, it takes a long time to move hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It's not like we just put them on jets and fly them over there. But you think about it. Even in some of the wars that we've seen in our lifetime, it takes months. Hey, we're going to invade your country. And then it still took us three, four, five, six months to move all the equipment in place. And we've got jets, and they've got a walk, right, and so they've got to assemble the armies. And so I think it wasn't a done deal. God wasn't saying this will happen. God's saying, because you chose not to play right, I gave you an opportunity to find out if I'm real. Because you didn't, it's going to take three years to put it together. This was not already in the making. This is a result of the fact that he rejected his opportunity. That's why I think this was a legitimate opportunity for him to find out God was real now, because it's going to take a long time to assemble those two armies and send them down to wipe them out. Well, that's great, yeah, okay, that is our time together, so we will hopefully see you tomorrow on the Bible Gush