Ver. 4. "_And say unto him: Take heed and be quiet; fear not, nor let thy heart be tender for the two ends of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah._"
The words "_Take heed_" point to the dangerous consequences of fear; comp. ver. 9: "If ye do not believe, ye shall not be established." On the words "_be quiet_," lit., make quiet, viz., thy heart and walk, comp. chap. xxx. 15: "For thus saith the Lord: By returning and rest ye shall be saved; in _quietness_ and confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not." Such as he was, Ahaz could not respond to the exhortations to be quiet. Quietness is a product of _faith_. But the way of faith stood open to Ahaz every moment, and by his promising word and by his example, the Prophet invited him to enter upon it. In the words: "Fear not," &c., there is an unmistakable reference to Deut. xx. 1, ff., according to which passage the priest was, on the occasion of hostile oppression, to speak to the people: "Let not your hearts be tender, and be not terrified." That which, in the Law, the priest was commanded to do, is here done by the Prophet, who was obliged so often to step in as a substitute, when the class of the ordinary servants fell short of the height of their calling.--The "firebrand" is the image of the conqueror who destroys countries by the fire of war, comp. remarks on Rev. viii. 8. The Prophet is just about to announce to the hostile kings their impending overthrow; for this reason, he calls them _ends_ of firebrands, which no longer blaze, but only glimmer. He calls them thus because he considers them with the eye of _faith_; to the bodily eye a bright flame still presented itself, as the last words: "For the fierce anger," &c., and vers. 5 and 6 show. _Chrysostom_ remarks: "He calls these kings 'firebrands,' to indicate at the same time their violence, and that they are to be easily overcome; and it is for this reason, that he adds 'smoking,' _i.e._, that they were near being altogether extinguished."
Vers. 5, 6. "_Because Aram meditates evil against thee, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying: Let us go up against Judah, and drive it to extremity, and conquer it for us, and set up as a king in the midst of it the son of Tabeal._"