Verse by Verse Analysis of Isaiah 7

7 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

So, in the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up against Jerusalem, and couldn't prevail against it. Israel was the Northern Kingdom, and Judah the southern, and Ephraim--the Northern Kingdom --was confederate with Syria against Judah.

2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

The peoples were moved in torment, like a storm blowing the treetops. Israel was at war with Judah. And the LORD would use Assyria to destroy both, and that is what this prophecy is about. Is Judah has to believe in God's redemption, or they will not be saved.

3 Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field;

4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

The LORD is telling King Ahaz not to fear the war. For Syria and Ephraim will be broken. They are "Smoking Firebrands", they are evil, and shall be destroyed for Judah's sake.

5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:

So Syria and Ephraim wanted to set a king over Judah, and make it a protectorate. The LORD would not allow this, and gave Judah a sign.

7 Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

The LORD said that the war against Judah would not stand.

8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.

After thirty five years, Ephraim would be broken, and not a people. Because of Israel's sin. The LORD would bring Assyria down upon all the earth, but deliver Judah out of Assyria's hand.

9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

If you will not believe, you will not be established. Believe in what? The child of the Virgin birth. The Messiah, Who comes to break the nations. If you will not believe in Him, you shall not be established it says.

10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

So the LORD asked Ahaz to ask Him a sign,

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.

And Ahaz wouldn't.

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

So the LORD gave Ahaz His own sign. Which Ahaz was wearying the LORD, by not asking a sign.

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

A Virgin shall give birth. This word "Virgin" is "Almah" which means "Maid" or "Unmarried Woman." Which it assumes in this time, that an unmarried woman would be a Virgin, lest she be a prostitute, which the covenant wouldn't come by means of a whorish woman. This shall be fulfilled three times. Once in Isaiah's day, once in Christ's day with the Virgin Mary, and a third time with Hephzibah, when she gives birth to the King, and He is taken to the clouds of heaven, and she is whistted away with eagle's wings, as the Serpent tries to consume her.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

Butter and honey shall the child eat, and that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Before the Child was weaned from his mother's milk, the land that they abhor would be forsaken. This was fulfilled in the time of Isaiah, but also fulfilled at the time of Christ. And will have a third fulfillment, by Christ the Conqueror. Herod was killed, shortly after Jesus was departed with Mary and Joseph. And Rezin and Rameliah were defeated by Assyria shortly before the child was weaned. And those who oppress Judah in the times of the end, shall be destroyed, also.

17 The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

Now it's talking about the end days. Days unlike any other shall come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah. And the King of Assyria. Assyria shall come, and enter into Judah, and war against it with Ephraim as its ally. And they shall be destroyed by the King of Assyria. And in this time, there shall be tumultuous days.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

The LORD shall hiss for the fly and wasp, and they shall come out of the rivers of Egypt, those in the land of Assyria. And they shall overwhelm Israel and Syria, who are at war with Judah. But, Judah must believe in the sign, and it will be saved. The sign of the Messiah. At the end of the days, the LORD will bring Assyria again--for prophecies have three fulfillments, what was, what is and what is to come. And Assyria came in Isaiah's time, it came in Christ's time, when Rome sacked Jerusalem, through the mighty Titus--which there hadn't been a siege for many years, and Jerusalem was besieged by Rome, and it was a mighty war and victory for Rome--and again an Assyria shall rise up, and destroy Israel and Syria, who are Confederate against the faithful. Just like the Jews were Confederate against Christians, so shall this time be.

19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

And the land shall be desolate--possibly after a global war, there will be no plant life. And there will be no love.

20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

And in that day, the LORD shall shave Assyria, of its attack, and he shall be consumed.

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

And in that day, a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep--the man shall have milk and honey, which is a metaphor for love. While the world around him is evil, and false, and filled with cruelty, the man shall eat milk and honey, and be filled with love.

22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.

And this man shall eat from the abundance of his love, and be happy. For, the poor shall be left in the land. That is a recurring theme in Isaiah, is the assault of the rich man against the poor, and trying to destroy him, and move him. And this man, the poor man, who is poor, shall have love and be left in the land and eat "Milk and Honey" or "Curds and Honey." He shall have love, while the rest of the land is desolate.

23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

And in the place of love, and prosperity, shall be desolation. But the poor man shall be fed by his two sheep and cow. The cow shall give him love, and the two sheep. And he will eat butter and honey, while the land is desolate due to sin. It is covered with briars and thorns--sharp people-- but the man who believes, shall eat butter and honey. He shall be filled with love on that day, if he believes.

Let's pause here to understand what "Belief" is. It is to know the LORD is Christ, and to believe on Him. And to be His servant, and trust in Him. And though your heart be troubled, if you just Know He is Who He Says He is, You shall be delivered on that day, by calling upon Him.

24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

And the land shall be briars and thorns--filled with unrighteous people, and the land desolate and unnurturable. 

25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

But the righteous, he shall have the briars and thorns tread down by the love given to him by his oxen. He shall have a double portion of love, though he be poor, and though the land be miserable around him. He shall have love, and be filled with love, though everything is barren nearby.