Isaiah 7:7-9(NIVUK)
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.”’
Can’t solve a conundrum? Maybe you need to change the place you stand so you can see it a different way. Sometimes it’s all a matter of perspective.
This is certainly the case for King Ahaz. Looking out from Jerusalem upon the troops of Israel (Ephraim) and Syria (Aram) he sees only their military power and trembles. But Isaiah sees from God’s perspective. The rulers at the head of these armies are people just like Ahaz, with all the same frailties and concerns. If he was to surrender to them and join in their alliance against Assyria, then he actually gains little. Assyria will wipe them all aside. God, however, dwarfs them, in his power, ability and endurance. If he were to place his faith in him, then Ahaz would certainly stand.
Father, as we face our lives this week, help us to change our perspectives so we see the world as you do. Help us to place our faith in you that we might stand.
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