{"id":65077,"date":"2019-11-02T19:35:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T17:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65077"},"modified":"2023-05-28T11:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-28T08:30:23","slug":"distinguishing-real-threats-from-false-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/distinguishing-real-threats-from-false-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"Distinguishing Real Threats From False Ones"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[953,423,506,434],"acf":{"old_id":"65077","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64700,"related_cahpter":"341","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Prophecy meets geopolitics","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chapter 7 tells the story of the first year of the reign of King Ahaz of Judah. Things have been going badly in the North, and 2 Kings (chapter 15) tells the story of the previous decades of political instability, military coups, and defeats at the hand of the Assyrians. As one last-gasp effort to retain independence, the two long-tenured enemies Aram and Northern Israel have joined together to oppose the Assyrians. They turn to the neophyte Ahaz and ask him to join their alliance forces. Yet, for reasons that the text leaves unmentioned, Ahaz refuses to challenge the Assyrians and thus stands opposite the interests and plans of his brethren in the North.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before proceeding to Ashur, the kingdoms of the North (led by the veteran king of 17 years, Pekah) and Aram (led by their king Rezin) turn to Jerusalem in order to depose Ahaz and replace him with a puppet king. Perhaps a new king in the South would be sympathetic to their aims and would contribute troops to address the growing Assyrian threat that would challenge them all (7:1, 5-6). The people of Judah, fearful of war, and would acquiesce to replace the king in order to avoid open hostilities. The first-year king heard of the danger to him \u201cAnd his heart shook, like the trees of the forest shake before the wind\u201d (7:2).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prophet is called into action (7:3-4), worried that the king might make a short-sighted decision, blind to the greater, long-term threat (Assyria), because of the more minor, short-term threat (Aram and Northern Israel). Don\u2019t fear these weak nations (7:7-9), he adjures, their days are limited!\u00a0 And after all, 40 years ago the prophet Amos predicted that the North had a mere 65 years left \u2013 and so by this time, the Northern tribes should not pose any meaningful long-range threat to the North.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further reassurance: Ahaz will be saved from his enemies in a mere three years: the prophet\u2019s wife will become pregnant, give birth to a child, and the land will achieve peace before the child even knows the difference between good and bad (around the age of two).\u00a0 With peace, the community will feast on butter, a luxury item that is associated with peace and sustenance and not with war and famine (7:10-16, 8:1-4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These nations are not the real threat. The real threat is Assyria: \u201c[Afterwards] God will bring upon you, and your nation, and your father\u2019s house days which are unknown from the time the nation split into two \u2013 the kingdom of Assyria (7:17).\u201d They are the real threat, and the king must prepare for them, instead.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":65078,"id":65078,"title":"is7-geopolitics","filename":"is7-geopolitics.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is7-geopolitics.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/distinguishing-real-threats-from-false-ones\/is7-geopolitics\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is7-geopolitics","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65077,"date":"2019-11-02 17:35:36","modified":"2019-11-02 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