God’s grace is shown in the following events. They occurred during the reign of King Ahaz which was a time of great disobedience by Judah. God sent Isaiah to give Ahaz a message of deliverance and hope. The two smoldering stumps that Isaiah mentions are Kings Rezin and Arman who had allied together with Ephraim and Ramaliah’s son to come against Israel in battle. They were so sure of victory that they had even decided whom they would put in charge after winning. Here is what happened. Isaiah 7:1-9

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. ⁴ Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, ⁶ “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷ Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,
⁸ for the head of Aram is Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
⁹ The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
    you will not stand at all.’”

Not only did God say that their enemies would be defeated but that in Ephraim would be a shattered people. What do we learn about Almighty God from this scene?

• God is Sovereign and knows what will happen and what will not happen!
• When in CRISIS:
• God wants me to be careful, not reckless in my actions or impatient
• Be calm and not fretful, worried or overcome with fear, no panic allowed!
• To be committed to Him, TRUST in Him
• To not lose heart and stand committed to Him!

God was seeking to teach them a practical lesson through Isaiah that HE ALONE can Save! God is the one to be trusted with our life problems. He always has an answer for every problem. God ALONE is GOD, There is no other! Ahaz would be assured of victory in an overwhelming situation if he listened to God and trusted Him. Can’t that be said of our lives too? Learning to walk in trust, depending upon our Savior is a lifelong journey. Take heed of the lessons God wanted to teach them about how to act during a crisis. They are ones we can use today with just the same results = victory in Jesus.

Linda