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God Promises Help Against Syria and Ephraim
v. 1. And it came to pass in the days of Alias, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, 2Ki_15:37; 2Ki_16:5-6; 2Ch_28:5-6, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, who had formed an alliance, 2Ki_15:37, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. According to the historical accounts this war took place about 743-739 B. C. with the preliminary advantage entirely on the side of the allies; for Rezin took the harbor of Elath on the Elanitic Gulf, and Pekah gained a victory over a large army of Judah. Nevertheless, Jerusalem was not taken, very likely because the allies did not even find occasion to lay siege to it; their plans were overthrown.
v. 2. And it was told the house of David, the reigning monarch of that line, in this case Ahaz, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim, depending upon the northern kingdom as a faithful ally, its armies having joined Israel's forces to strengthen them, or being supported by them. And his heart was moved and the heart of his people, both King Ahaz and all the people of Judah being frightened by the invasion, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind, their terror being intensified by their feeling of guilt.
v. 3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Himself taking charge of affairs in this emergency, Go forth now to meet Alias, thou and Shear-jashub ("A remnant returns"), thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, one of the reservoirs where the water of the city was stored, Isa_36:2, in the highway of the fuller's field, which was also situated west of the city, near the pool, this highway apparently being the main caravan road leading from Jerusalem to Joppa;
v. 4. and say unto him, who was probably engaged in having the fortifications strengthened, Take heed and be quiet, perfectly unconcerned and without worry; fear not, neither be faint-hearted, literally, "and thy heart, not be it soft with despondency," for the two tails of these smoking fire-brands, burned-out and quenched stumps of torches, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, with his whole great army, and of the son of Remaliah, as Pekah, king of Israel, is contemptuously called. All the enemies of God and of His Church are always helpless before His almighty power.
v. 5. Because Syria, or Aram, with its confederates, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, the northern kingdom and its ruler, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
v. 6. Let us go up against Judah and vex it, throw it into consternation, fill it with terror, and let us make a breach therein for us, take the capital, and set a king In the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal, an unknown man, to be the vassal king of Judah, for such was the plan of the allies:
v. 7. thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, they would not carry out their plan, neither shall it come to pass, since He Himself had decided to hinder it.
v. 8. For the head of Syria, its capital and metropolis, is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim, the northern kingdom, which had relied upon Syria, be broken that it be not a people, that it would cease to exist as a nation.
v. 9. And the head of Ephraim, its capital and stronghold, is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. The meaning of this somewhat enigmatic saying is evidently this, that both Syria and the kingdom of Israel would be confined to the territory now occupied by them, since their schemes of conquest would utterly fail. Moreover, Ephraim, the northern kingdom, was destroyed within the next sixty-five years, Shalmanezer of Assyria taking the majority of the people into exile in the year 722 B. C. and the downfall of the country being completed with the settling of colonists from Asia, about 675 B. C. 2Ki_17:24; Ezr_4:2. The prophet closes his encouraging message with the words, If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established, that is, if Judah, both its king and its people, would not firmly cling to God's Word and promise, it would also cease to exist, it would be destroyed. This word has a general application: He who does not believe will not be able to stand before the judgment of God.