Ahaz (king of Judah) fears, as do the people when they hear that Israel and Syria are planning to come against them (Isaiah 7:2), but God vetoes human intent and instead tells them that Syria and the northern kingdom will fall – and they did.  The people of Judah have an opportunity to hold on to God, but their faith must be firm – there is a tie between stability and faith (Isaiah 7:3-9).  In verses 10-17, we see God calling Ahaz to place ultimate faith in him – and even encourages him to ask for a dramatic sign (v11), but Ahaz had placed his faith in human strength – instead of turning to God for help, Ahaz turned to the king of Assyria.  He had given gold from the temple treasury to the Assyrians to elicit them to attack the Syrians & the northern kingdom (2 Kings 16:1-9).  All that they needed to do was to place their ultimate faith (trust) in the one that providentially plots the course of nations.  God prompts Ahaz to place his faith in a far more reliable source – God himself and then goes on to promise the coming of the messiah, the ultimate gift of grace.  Ahaz’s lack of faith in God to deliver them came at a cost, in 733 BC the Assyrians overthrew the northern kingdom and the Syrian’s (2 Kings 15:29), but the cost was extreme – in gold and Judah had aligned themselves with a wicked nation and became a servant to the Assyrians.  All because they lacked faith in the God who had delivered them and provided for them.  Failure of earthly kings, requires the intervention of the King of kings to deliver His promises.  God was to be Israel’s king from the beginning, but they wanted an earthly king, like everybody else.  Where is your ultimate faith (trust)?  In politicians, morality, marriage, religion, relationships, wealth, significance, success – or God.  Where do you look for deliverance?