For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear in pieces and go away. I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver.
During the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham and Ahaz, Israel and Syria tried to persuade Judah to join them in an alliance aimed at resisting the spreading power of Assyria. When Judah refused to cooperate, Israel and Syria attacked Jerusalem, whereupon Ahaz, contrary to Isaiah’s advice, asked Assyria for help. Assyria replied by conquering Syria and much of Israel. But Judah’s independence also suffered, because in asking Assyria for help, it placed itself under Assyria’s power (2 Kings 16:5-9; Isaiah 7:1-9; Isaiah 8:4).