Isaiah 7:4-6

Yahweh instructed His prophet to assure the king not to fear his enemies (cf. Deuteronomy 31:6-7; Joshua 1:6-9). They had been firebrands, but now they were only smoldering embers. Today God might have referred to them as burned-out cigarette butts. [Note: Ortlund, p. 88.] Their threats of breaching Jerusalem’s walls, terminating Ahaz’s dynasty, and setting up a puppet ruler would come to nothing. Isaiah’s references to Remaliah and Tabeel encouraged Ahaz to think about his own dynasty. The Tabeel family members were probably Judahites who had become prominent in Gilead. [Note: See Yohanan Aharoni, The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography, p. 370.]