What does Isaiah 7:1 mean?

Isaiah 7 begins a new section in Isaiah's book. Here, he focuses on how God works out His will for Israel through specific historical events. It's important to understand the context of these times to follow how Judah's king and people are responding to the Lord.

The events of this chapter take place around 735 BC. It has been nearly 200 years since the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, made up of ten of the twelve tribes, is called "Israel" or sometimes "Ephraim." The southern kingdom consists of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and is called "Judah." Isaiah is God's prophet to Judah.

At the moment Isaiah wrote his words, the massive Assyrian war machine threatened every nation in the region. Assyria is in modern-day Iraq. The kings of Israel and Syria, the nation north of Israel, have formed an alliance to take their stand against the Assyrians. They want Judah to join them in their alliance. But Ahaz, the king of Judah, is either neutral or he has already made an alliance with the Assyrians.

That's where things stand as chapter 7 opens. In Judah, where Isaiah is, it is the time of King Ahaz. It is possible that Ahaz's father Jotham is still alive and the two are leading as co-regents, although Ahaz is clearly in control of the nation.

Rezin is the king of Syria, and Pekah is king of Israel. They have brought their armies south to attack Judah. Both nations have likely already killed and captured tens of thousands of Judeans (2 Chronicles 28). They want to defeat Judah before the Assyrians attack them. This is in order that they don't have to fight both Assyria and Judah at the same time. They have not yet attacked Jerusalem, which is difficult to defeat, but they are preparing to do so.