Tuesday
Tuesday
The Challenge to Faith
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
Isaiah 7:9
It was about 734 BC, during the reign of Ahaz king of Judah (Uzziah’s grandson), that Rezin king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah king of Israel formed a foolhardy alliance. Their object was to oppose the growing threat of Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria in the far north. They were determined to attack Jerusalem first in order to persuade King Ahaz of Judah to join forces with them. As they approached, the heart of Ahaz and his people “shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (v. 2 RSV). But Yahweh sent Isaiah to meet Ahaz and to say to him, “Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands” (vv. 3–4 RSV).
This was the first crisis of faith for Ahaz, and the second followed soon afterward. Although the coalition were boasting of the success of their plan, the Lord God said to them, “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass” (v. 7 RSV). For the kings were only human leaders, whereas (it is implied) Ahaz was king in the divine line of David. So, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (v. 9, where the NIV attempts to reproduce in English the pun in the Hebrew text).
But Ahaz had no intention of trusting God. It seems that he had already made up his mind. Instead, he sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who are attacking me” (2 Kings 16:7–8). At the same time Ahaz paid Assyria a handsome tribute of silver and gold. In consequence, Syria was crushed in 732 BC, and Israel in 722.
Central to Isaiah’s message was the challenge to faith. He pleaded with the nation’s leaders not to turn to the mighty empires of Egypt and Assyria, but rather to trust in the living God. The same challenge is addressed to us today, as we take Isaiah’s promises to ourselves. “He who believes will not be in haste” (Isa. 28:16 RSV). Again, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (30:15 RSV).
For further reading: Isaiah 7:1–9