2 Nephi 17-18

[pam]

For proper understanding, 2 Nephi 17 and 18 (Isaiah 7 and 8) should be read together. They constitute a pattern prophecy whose fulfillment came in the days of Isaiah and King Ahaz and more profoundly in the miraculous birth of the Christ child. In the face of an alliance between Syria and Israel, Ahaz, king of Judah, considered the necessity of his own alliance with a greater foreign power. The word of the Lord to Ahaz through Isaiah was direct: “Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted” (2 Nephi 17:4). That is, trust the powers of heaven rather than the arm of flesh. To dramatize the message, Ahaz was told that a woman was with child, and that before that child would know to choose the good or evil, the alliance to the north would have been destroyed. The child was thus, in prophetic similitude, called Emmanuel, literally “God is with us.” Such was the prophecy for Isaiah’s day.

As to a future day, a virgin would conceive and bear a son of whom it would be said in the literal sense, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Nephi’s inclusion of this prophecy of consolation is for us a call to faith. It is a reminder that there is no salvation in foreign alliances, but that our hope must rest in the assurance that the Holy One of Israel is in our midst as we remain true to our covenants.

Millet & McConkie, BOM Commentary, Vol 1, p. 280

2 Nephi 17

At this time, the southern kingdom of Judah was threatened by an alliance of the northern kingdom of Israel with Syria. The kings of these two countries wanted Ahaz to join them in an alliance against the Assyrians, but the king of Judah decided to cast his lot with the Assyrians.

In verse 3, the Lord sends Isaiah to counsel Ahaz against entering any alliances; instead, he is to depend on the protection of the God of Israel. Isaiah prophesies that the threat from the northern kingdom and from Syria will come to naught and that these two countries will be the ones that will be destroyed.

The Lord offers to give the disbelieving Ahaz a sign of the verity of His words, but the king refuses to ask for confirmation of the prophecy. The Lord gives the king a sign anyway: a sign involving the future birth of the Messiah through the house of David.

Because of rejecting divine counsel, Judah suffers consequences that could have been avoided. The people are oppressed, scattered, and taken into slavery. The once-fertile lands are left barren of crops and become useful only for wandering animals.

Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 62

The Assyrians would eventually conquer Syria, Palestine, and even Egypt, but those conquests lay in the future as chapters 7 through 10 of Isaiah’s record begin. At that point, Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel (Ephraim), became allies and pressured Ahaz, king of Judah, to join their coalition (see Map 9, LDS Bible). When he refused, they agreed to conquer Judah and install someone named ben-Tabeal on Ahaz’s throne (Isa. 7:1-6). In this threatening predicament, God tried to teach Ahaz that he should turn to Him for deliverance in times of need.

Not only did Ahaz refuse to believe in the Lord but he even sacrificed his children in his zeal to serve pagan gods. Moreover, he tried to eliminate any faith in Jehovah that remained in Judah by closing Solomon’s temple and erecting altars throughout the country for his people to worship other gods (see 2 Chr. 28:2-4, 22-25).

With two enemies allied against him, Ahaz needed powers superior to his own. The Lord stood ready to help….But apparently, if God granted Ahaz some kind of personal sign that he might request, Ahaz would be obliged to believe in Jehovah rather than in foreign gods. So Ahaz refused God’s gracious offer.

Keith A. Meservy, Studies in Scripture, Vol. 4,ed. Kent P. Jackson, [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1993], 95