“During the time that Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem, but the attack sputtered out. When the Davidic government learned that Aram had joined forces with Ephraim (that is, Israel), Ahaz and his people were badly shaken. They shook like trees in the wind. Then God told Isaiah, “Go and meet Ahaz. Take your son Shear-jashub (A-Remnant-Will-Return) with you. Meet him south of the city at the end of the aqueduct where it empties into the upper pool on the road to the public laundry. Tell him, Listen, calm down. Don’t be afraid. And don’t panic over these two burnt-out cases, Rezin of Aram and the son of Remaliah. They talk big but there’s nothing to them. Aram, along with Ephraim’s son of Remaliah, have plotted to do you harm. They’ve conspired against you, saying, ‘Let’s go to war against Judah, dismember it, take it for ourselves, and set the son of Tabeel up as a puppet king over it.’ But God, the Master, says, “It won’t happen. Nothing will come of it Because the capital of Aram is Damascus and the king of Damascus is a mere man, Rezin. As for Ephraim, in sixty-five years it will be rubble, nothing left of it. The capital of Ephraim is Samaria, and the king of Samaria is the mere son of Remaliah. If you don’t take your stand in faith, you won’t have a leg to stand on.” God spoke again to Ahaz. This time he said, “Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!”
Isaiah 7:1-11 MSG
How would you respond if God told you to ask Him for anything? What would you ask for? Or would you feign humility like Ahaz and act like you just couldn’t, like you don’t know what you want to ask for? This exchange took place after the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, told Ahaz that the threat of the enemy was dead on arrival. That it wouldn’t happen. There are a few things that really stood out to me. That literally jumped off the page- 1. If you don’t believe, or stand in faith, what Isaiah just said, will not happen. 2. Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Be extravagant! Ask for the moon! Wow!!!!
When I read those verses I went nuts. I know what I wanted to ask for. I didn’t hesitate. I made sure it lined up with His will and Word, and took the limits off. After all He told me to ask. The Bible says “but Ahaz said I will not ask” now we know why we don’t have our need, wants and desires met. We’re afraid it will offend God, but if He’s the One telling us to ask, He’s hurt when we falsely assume that we cannot. I don’t know if what God chose to say in response to Ahaz’s refusal was what would have happened had he made his own request, but it left the door wide open for God to give not just Ahaz a sign but the entire world. Verse 14
But before all that happens, the things Ahaz dreads will overtake him. I’ll share those verses in a minute. Remember when Elisha told king Joash to strike the ground? You’re saying no, so let’s read it.
“Elisha told him, “Go and get a bow and some arrows.” The king brought him the bow and arrows. Then he told the king, “Put your hand on the bow.” He put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hand over the hand of the king. Elisha said, “Now open the east window.” He opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” And he shot. “The arrow of God’s salvation!” exclaimed Elisha. “The arrow of deliverance from Aram! You will do battle against Aram until there’s nothing left of it.” “Now pick up the other arrows,” said Elisha. He picked them up. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” The king struck the ground three times and then quit. The Holy Man became angry with him: “Why didn’t you hit the ground five or six times? Then you would beat Aram until he was finished. As it is, you’ll defeat him three times only.”
2 Kings 13:15-19 MSG
You’re saying, “But he didn’t say how many times?!” You’re right, but neither did he tell him to stop. We give up too soon sometimes. When God directs you to do something, don’t hesitate, that’s not the time to be humble, it’s time to be bold in your faith and ask for the moon! Joash stopped short, and Ahaz wouldn’t ask. They paid the price of coming close but not close enough. Back to Ahaz. As a result of him refusing to as he put it “test God” this is what Isaiah said would happen.
“But Ahaz said, “I’d never do that. I’d never make demands like that on God!” So Isaiah told him, “Then listen to this, government of David! It’s bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you’re making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, able to make moral decisions, the threat of war will be over. Relax, those two kings that have you so worried will be out of the picture. But also be warned: God will bring on you and your people and your government a judgment worse than anything since the time the kingdom split, when Ephraim left Judah. The king of Assyria is coming!” That’s when God will whistle for the flies at the headwaters of Egypt’s Nile, and whistle for the bees in the land of Assyria. They’ll come and infest every nook and cranny of this country. There’ll be no getting away from them. And that’s when the Master will take the razor rented from across the Euphrates—the king of Assyria no less!—and shave the hair off your heads and genitals, leaving you shamed, exposed, and denuded. He’ll shave off your beards while he’s at it. It will be a time when survivors will count themselves lucky to have a cow and a couple of sheep. At least they’ll have plenty of milk! Whoever’s left in the land will learn to make do with the simplest foods—curds, whey, and honey. But that’s not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards—thousands of them, worth millions!—will revert to a weed patch. Weeds and thornbushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds—but there won’t be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.”Isaiah 7:12-25 MSG
Ask for what you want, or take what you get. The choice is always ours. God kept His original promise, but there was more. We turn to man when we should be turning to the One who said ask Me for anything, don’t hold back, ask for the moon! What do you want from your God? I’m not going to put words in your mouth. What do you want, what do you need? The Lord says ASK! We can’t weary Him, we can’t deplete His supply. Jesus Himself said, “ ask so that your joy may be full (complete).
“Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.”
John 16:24 AMPC
It is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Throw off restraints in your asking, take the self imposed limits off of God. If you refuse to ask, if you refuse to believe, You will not be established. Go ahead! ASK!
“Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.” Psalm 2:8 AMPC
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
December 13, 2021
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