Losing your Identity part 1 - History in HIS Story: Isaiah (#3)

Adding Context to the Most Amazing of Texts: Losing Your Identity (Part 1: Judah)

Inspired by | Isaiah 7 & 8 | Isaiah 13 - 23 | 2 Kings chapter 16 | 2 Chronicles chapter 28 | 1Peter 5: 5-11 |

Welcome back to “History in HIS Story,” where we continue to delve into the events that surround the world of the Bible. In our last episode we witnessed the Godly advice Isaiah brought to King Ahaz of Judah. Caught between two looming threats: the Syro-Ephraimite alliance and the mighty empire of Assyria: Ahaz chose what he could see—the military might of Assyria—over the unseen promises of God. And now, Judah finds itself in a new, and uncomfortable position: a vassal state, under the oppressive heel of a beastly Assyrian Empire.

Picture this: the streets of Jerusalem are quieter now, the atmosphere heavy with a mix of fear and resignation. The lavish gifts that King Ahaz sent to Tiglath-Pileser III as tribute, meant to secure Judah’s protection, have placed the nation under Assyria’s iron fist. The people of Judah now find themselves in a precarious position—still free, but no longer sovereign. Their lives are now dictated by the whims of a faraway empire, and Assyrian culture begins to seep into the land of God’s chosen people.

Under Assyria’s tightening grip, the once-devout nation sees a surge in foreign religious practices. Pagan altars start to dot the landscape, from the hilltops around Jerusalem to the public squares within the city itself. Shrines to Assyrian deities, like Ashur—the god of war and the empire— rise prominently alongside those to Ishtar, the goddess of love and fertility. In these temples, incense burns daily, with offerings of grain, wine, and oil being laid out to appease these gods. Isaiah watches it all with anguish as the people’s hearts turn further away from their worship of the God of Israel.

And it does not stop there! The people of Judah begin practicing divination and astrology, seeking guidance from the stars and omens. Even child sacrifice - a forbidden abomination in the torah - begins to surface. As the god moloch claims it’s rites - Ahaz himself, desperate to align with his Assyrian overlords, goes so far as to offer one of his sons as a sacrifice in the Valley of Hinnom. The royal endorsement of such practices sends ripples throughout the kingdom, slowly eroding the moral fabric of the nation.

The belief that these deities hold tangible power over harvests, fertility, and protection from enemies seeps into the sacred foundation of Judah. Many now see The True God as distant or less involved compared to the immediacy of the Assyrian gods.

“I feel like these new practices give me a practical control over life’s uncertainties” Says Azubah, a working man in Judah. Isaiah, watching this spiritual decay, laments the lost identity of his people. He knows that with every shrine, every sacrifice, and every incantation the distance grows from the One who chose them to be His own people.

With grief in his heart the prophet remembers warning Ahaz not to trust in human power. Now, witnessing the consequences of that very choice: Isaiah’s message endures. He continues to call the people to turn back to the Lord, to forsake the foreign gods creeping into their land, and to trust in the promise of God’s protection.

As if to back up his claim, Isaiah prophecies the future of every potential ally of the time (which we know in retrospect to be accurate). Wow! I can just imagine him saying “Don’t look around you, look up! Humble yourselves under Gods almighty hand, in due time He will lift you up.” Isaiah’s words stir the heart: “When His hand is stretched out, who of you can turn it back?” As he shows the enormity of God, he is urging his people - in a time of political, social, and moral turmoil - to anchor their hopes in The One who will have the final say.

But Gods’ words fall upon ‘unhearing’ ears as the people choose the pomp and pride of what they can see over the quiet, steady confidence in God. The influence of Assyria is pervasive, reshaping the very soul of Judah. Yet Isaiah holds fast to the vision of a remnant, a people who will stay loyal to God no matter how dark the days ahead may seem.

As for Ahaz, his reign ends not in triumph, but in spiritual and political decline. He dies having led his people into compromise, his legacy one of submission to Assyria and a growing divide between the people of Judah and their God. With Ahaz gone, there’s a new king in Jerusalem—his son, Hezekiah. This young king inherits a kingdom under the thumb of a ruthless empire, but something pure stirs in him that did not in his father. Unlike Ahaz, Hezekiah will take a different path, one that will soon bring him into direct confrontation with Assyria. For now, he sits upon the throne, contemplating the immense challenges before him.

Meanwhile, north of Judah, the landscape has been forever altered. Syria, once a formidable kingdom, is no more—its cities burned, its people scattered, and its king, Rezin, executed. Israel, too, has faced the hammer of the Assyrian machine that rolls on, consuming everything in its path.

And now, the hammer turns towards Judah.

With the bird and cat destroyed, how will the worm fare? Hold onto your seats.

I truly hope this series brings more meaning to your bible reading and inspires your walk with The Most High. See you next time.

I have put links above to some bible readings relevant to this episode of ‘History in His story’.