A Child Is Born:
Our leaders had failed. They allowed the people to stumble into idolatry, which was the path to doom. King Ahaz, in his pursuit of military alliances, was sending a message to the people that there was no God in Judah who would watch over his people. Ahaz’s behavior indicated his belief that the future of the nation depended upon the alliances he could forge and the cunning he could exercise in the political arena.
King Ahaz had forgotten the words of King David who came before him:
Behold, He who keeps Israel, neither slumbers nor sleeps. (Psalm 121:4)
The future of the nation appeared grim. When the leaders fail, the people are without hope. Where does a people go when they cannot trust their leaders? Societies throughout the ages have been faced with this problem of leadership without a mandate. A nation without sound leaders is left to drift in a sea of tyranny and folly.
Against that backdrop Isaiah declared that God himself would intervene in the future of the nation, and the prophet directs our focus—away from the dealings of kings and princes—to the activities of children.
Chapters 7-10 of Isaiah have been called, “The Book of Immanuel.” This portion has also been referred to as “The Discourse of the Three Children.” The three children mentioned are: Shear-Yashuv (Isaiah 7:3), Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8,10) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:1,3,4).
