IntroductionThe common theme throughout the book of Isaiah is that the Lord is omnipotent. He is in control and trustworthy. In Isaiah chapters 7 and 8 we see one of the most misunderstood and well-known stories in the book. The setting of this story takes place during the division of Israel into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. There was already a lot of stress between the two kingdoms, however this tension was intensified by the powerful nation of Assyria which threatened many of the surrounding smaller nations. This imminent threat caused the king of Israel, Pekah, and the king of Syria, Rezin, to form an alliance so that they could defend themselves from the Assyrians. Both Syria and Israel were pressuring Judah to join their coalition so they could benefit from Judah's power and resources. However, King Ahaz was not in favor of the alliance, as he wanted to keep his alliance with Assyria healthy. As a result, Israel and Syria conspired against Judah, planning to besiege the city. We are told in Isaiah 7:6 that their desire was to replace King Ahaz with a man who would support them in their stand against the Assyrians. This man must have been “the son of Tabeel”. Which means “good for nothing”. This could mean that they simply wanted to replace Ahaz with someone who would just be their pawn and do what they say. According to some scholars, however, "Tabeel" would be the name of a real person or a city in north-eastern Palestine. Ahaz was determined never to be replaced by this good-for-nothing. He then prepared the city to be besieged by Israel and Syria. The story really begins to take shape when the prophet Isaiah is sent to Ahaz and meets him at the end of the aqueduct of......middle of paper......He would protect this promise through the birth of a son from a virgin. Maher-shalal-hash-baz was the sign that God was faithful to preserve Israel, and Jesus is the promise that God will be with us, until the end of time. Works Cited Young, Edward J. The Book of Isaiah, the English text, with introduction, exposition, and notes. 5th ed.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976Scullion, John J. “An Approach to Understanding Isaiah 7:10-17.” Journal of Biblical Literature 87, no. 3 (September 1968): page n. Wolf, Herbert M. "A Solution to the Immanuel Prophecy in Isaiah 722:14-8." Journal of biblical literature91, n. 4 (December 1972): 449-56. Gordon, Cyrus H. “'almah in Isaiah 7:14.” Journal of Bible and Religion 21, n. 2 (April 1953): 106.Friedrich, Gerhard. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Stuttgart, Germany: W. Kohlahammer Werlag, 1967.