Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? – Isaiah 7:10-13 ESV

Warrior;

After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided. Ten tribes formed the Northern Kingdom, of which Ephraim was the dominant tribe. This Northern Kingdom was called Israel, sometimes referred to as Ephraim. Judah and Benjamin formed the Southern Kingdom. Again, it was referred to by the dominant tribe, and it was called Judah. The date of the division of the kingdom is approximately 931 BC.  The Bible says this about the Northern Kingdom of Israel; Of all the kings of the Northern Kingdom– NONE WERE GOOD! From Jeroboam to Hoshea, all did evil in the sight of the LORD! However, in the Southern Kingdom, Judah, there were a few GOOD Kings; Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, Hezekiah, and a few others. Many of the kings of Judah were evil too, just not as evil as their Northern brothers. Ahaz was so evil that he could have been considered a Northern King. 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 give you a historic overview of the evil reign of Ahaz. The King is the Father of a Nation.  The Bible says, “And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me”. (Exodus 20:1-5) This is the beginning of the 10 commandments, THE LAW!  God is saying, FATHERS\LEADERS the environment that we create, is the foundation through which sin, or righteousness flows from. It is written; “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:18-20) Fathers, Mothers, Leaders we create the environment for culture to grow into thoughts, actions, and choices. What is acceptable behavior and recommended norms in our society today, is from choices leaders made yesterday. And consider America’s bleak road forward. The sins of the Father go 3-4 generations….

Leader, Ahaz’s evil reign brought destruction to the nation of Judah. He wasn’t neutral to Jehovah, He was anti-Yahweh, anti-God (the one true God). It is like what we are seeing in America today, AHAZ was opposed to God. He built altars designed after the Assyrian altars, building it in THE TEMPLE. He then ordered the Chief Priest to offer the traditional sacrifices on the model of the Assyrian altar, made for the Assyrian gods. He worshipped many Baalim, He worshipped Molech, even sacrificing one of his sons to the god of Molech. Today in America we worship at the altars of Ishtar, Molech, and Baal- as well. Just like Judah, under Ahaz, we have moved away from our Biblical upbringing, our Biblical values. Sin is always destructive. The character and nature of sin is destruction. Sin destroys us on all levels; Spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It is written: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:26) In other words, the final consequence of sin is decay, decomposition, and ultimately death. Spiritual death comes first, then physical death. For a person who lives in sin is dead unto God and the things of God. Ahaz had brought Judah to a Spiritual death, and the consequences were in the physical destruction of Judah and her people. Isaiah was giving GOD’S warnings. He was staying true to God’s WORD and HIS WARNINGS. But Judah ran further away from Adonai, and right into the arms of the gods of the Canaanites; Baal, Ishtar and Molech. BUT GOD still pursued Judah! As bad as Ahaz was, as much of an abomination to Jehovah that Ahaz had become, God was still compassionate and merciful toward Ahaz. God wanted Ahaz to know that even though judgement is coming, He still had mercy and left an olive branch of reconciliation with Him. Isaiah was commanded to name His first son, SHEAR-JASHUB which means, “a remnant shall return”. Isaiah’s son was a reminder to all, that NOT ALL shall perish. Isaiah’s son became a living testimony that a REMNANT shall escape, or return! The son of Isaiah is symbolic of a message which the prophet was to emphasize. Thus, Isaiah names his son ‘shear yashub’ to solidify his oft-repeated statement: a remnant of Israel will return to Yahweh (Isaiah 10:21).

Conduit, this shows you the unlimited MERCY of our FATHER. As Evil as Ahaz was, God wanted Him to know, and the people of Judah to know that if they would just REMEMBER their God, and SEEK YAHWEH, that He would have MERCY on them! God wanted to give them Hope in this dark time. He was encouraging them. He told them that Ephraim and Syria have taken evil counsel against them, however their plans will not work, nor will they stand. The prophet Isaiah wanted the King to know that God will not allow the plans of their enemies to work. In confirmation of the mercy of God, Isaiah encouraged Ahaz to seek a sign from God- But AHAZ REFUSED! This is where we find ourselves in America today. We have hardened our hearts against the God of the Bible, and we seek alliance with the world, at the cost of relationship with Yahweh! Ahaz’ heart was so wicked, he refused to ask God for a sign. He was NOT interested in the things of YAHWEH! Ahaz did not want help from God, He was so angry and bitter toward God. He was so against the Lord; he would rather be destroyed than seek or serve the Lord. As Daniel told Belshazzar in the book of Daniel, “You have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways”. (Daniel 5:23) We have voluntary and involuntary muscles. Involuntary muscles are the muscles that cannot be controlled by will or consciousness. Our heart and our lungs are controlled by God, and not by our Will. Every breath we take is an act of God, every beat of our heart is by the will of God! The time is now to decide who you will follow? Will you follow the God who controls your very breath, and the beating of your heart? Or are you going to serve the gods of this world? Time is running out, judgement is coming! As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)