In verses one through seven of Isaiah chapter seven, we saw that God had compassion on wicked king Ahaz and on the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Even though Ahaz was not a good king, God would defeat the enemies that were coming against him and that wanted to overthrow him and set up their own king.
However, God had a condition for His promise to Ahaz, Judah, and Jerusalem. The condition was that they must believe the word of God.
First, God told Ahaz and the people what would happen to their enemies, “7Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.” (Isaiah 7:7-9a) Not only would Ahaz’ enemies not be successful in coming against him, Ephraim would one day cease to be a people. Ephraim had allowed themselves to be controlled by Samaria and Samaria had as their leader, the son of Remaliah. These together made a confederacy with Syria and planned to overthrow king Ahaz and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. God would stop them. Later, after sixty-five years, Ephraim would be broken and no longer be a people.
Second, God told Ahaz that he and the people must believe. God would not establish Ahaz’ enemies. However, if Ahaz and the people refused to believe, God would not establish them either. “If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.” (Isaiah 7:9b)
When God gives His word, He always keeps His promises. Sometimes His promises are conditional. When God promises something, He expects us to believe those promises. If we do not believe, we may not experience the blessing and joy of having them fulfilled in our lives. We may forfeit something special or great God wants to do for us. Ahaz believed God’s promise and was protected from His enemies. We can believe God’s promises too, and we will receive the benefits of them.