Isaiah 7:19

Desolate valleys, caves, and thorny areas were often places where people hid in times of danger (see Isaiah 2:10). People who were afraid would run there for safety.

However, Judah’s enemies would still find them. These hiding places would not protect them from judgment.

The phrase on that day refers to the future Day of the LORD, when God acts to judge and to save.

Judah would first experience the judgment Isaiah had announced. This would be a warning of a greater judgment still to come. That greater judgment was the exile in Babylon from 586 to 538 BC.

At one point in his reign, Ahaz faced a serious crisis. The kings of Syria and Israel attacked Judah. They planned to remove Ahaz and force Judah to join them in resisting Assyria.

Instead of trusting the Lord, Ahaz asked Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7–10). By doing this, he rejected Isaiah’s call to trust in God (Isaiah 7:12).

The Assyrians defeated Syria and Israel. In time, both nations fell. However, Assyria later turned against Judah and sought to control it completely.

These prophecies occurred when Assyria rose to power. Syria and Israel formed an alliance against Judah (Isaiah 7:1–2; see 2 Kings 16:5). God used Assyria as a tool to punish Syria, Israel, and Judah (Isaiah 7–10).