and were therefore able to speak the message of God. Prophets including Isaiah were respected as speaking for God. When the prophets spoke, they spoke the Word of the Lord. However, prophets had to pass the two tests as described in Deuteronomy. First, their prophecies could not contradict the Torah. The second test, the more difficult one, was that all that they prophesized had to come to pass. If a prophet failed either of these tests, his statements, prophecies and warnings could be ignored. According to Paul Keim writing in Christian Century, there is accountability in the bible for both people and the prophet. If the prophet faithfully delivers God's spoken word to the people, the people are held responsible to follow GodÆs dictates. If the prophet speaks a word that God did not speak, the prophet will be held accountable (Keim, 2003, 18).
Isaiah had four major periods of prophesy between the years 742 and 701 BCE. One of these periods was when Ahaz was king of Judah. In order to combat the Assyrian army, Israel had formed a coalition with Syria. However, Judah refused to join that coalition having the benefit of some distance from the direct challenge of Assyria. Rezin, the king of Syria and Pekah, the king of Israel sought to depose Ahaz. Isaiah shared with Ahaz the word of the Lord in Chapter 7. Isaiah told Ahaz that he should trust in God alone, and not to form coalitions with the kings of Syria, Israel or Assyria. Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem was safe because the Lord dwelt there in the temple. This was affirmed when the Assyrians were besieging Jerusalem and t
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