How to Stand
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 7:7-9
Isaiah assures Ahaz that Syria and Ephraim are not to be feared and that their threats against Judah will not come to pass. The question is, will Ahaz believe in God? The last line puts before the king the stark consequence of unbelief. But this warning moves beyond Ahaz to the other leaders of Judah and even to the citizens of Judah themselves.
“You” in English can be singular or plural. Sometimes, when reading the biblical text in English, it can be difficult to know if a person or a group of people is meant. This is one of those instances. It is hard for the English reader to know here because Isaiah had been speaking to Ahaz. But there is a change here in this sentence. The warning stretches beyond Ahaz. This is a plural “you,” and the message applies to more than Ahaz. It is a universal spiritual principle.
The English Standard Version translates the last line of verse nine as: If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.
To help clarify and emphasize the meaning, others have translated it variously as:
If you hold God in doubt, you won’t hold out.
If you want My support, you have to lean on me.
If you don’t treat me as real, you will not connect with reality at all.
If you will not believe, surely you will not be established. (ASV)
Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm. (NAS)
The central question of life is faith. Will we trust God? Will we take Him at His word and treat Him as true and reliable? To lean on Christ is to find solid support. To take our stand on God and His promises is to plant our feet on an unshakable Rock. To do otherwise is to walk into quicksand into which we will slowly sink and eventually be swallowed up.
