ISAIAH 8
ISAIAH 8 OPENS WITH THE CONTINUED PROPHECY FROM GOD TO ISAIAH AND THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL...
The Sign of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz & the coming Assyrian invasion against Syria and Israel.
Verses 1-4 tells us the invasion is announced by the naming of Isaiah's son.
"Moreover the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; for before the child shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria."
This prophecy continues from Isaiah 7, where God assured Ahaz, king of Judah, that he would NOT BE OVERTHROWN by the combined forces of Syria and Israel. God announced judgment against Syria and Israel, saying of their attack against Judah: It shall NOT STAND, nor shall it come to pass … Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people. Here, God gives Isaiah A SIGN to explain more about how soon the defeat of Syria and Israel will come.
Take a large scroll...It isn't often that the prophets are commanded to write, but here is ONE instance. Isaiah will write concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means SPEED TO THE SPOIL, HURRY TO THE PLUNDER.
ALSO GOD WANTED ISAIAH'S MESSAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC, AND WRITTEN AT A LEVEL THAT ANYYYY MAN COULD READ AND UNDERSTAND IT.
I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record...The LORD appointed TWO WITNESSES, so the validity of this word would be established.
JUST AS GOD SAID IN DEUTERONOMY 19:15..."By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established."
Then I went to the prophetess...This "PROPHETESS" refers to Isaiah's wife. She is called a prophetess, by God, because SHE IS AN HONORABLE WIFE OF A GOD'S CHOSEN AND TRUSTED PROPHET, ISAIAH.
However, she clearly BROUGHT FORTH & FULFILLED THIS PROPHECY OF GOD, BY GIVING BIRTH TO AND NAMING HER & ISAIAH'S SON Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, AMEN?
There are many examples of prophetesses in the Bible:
Miriam (Exodus 15:20)
Deborah (Judges 4:4)
Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)
Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14)
Anna (Luke 2:36)
Philip's four daughters (Acts 21:8-9).
So, it may be that the wife of Isaiah had a prophetic ministry in her own right FROM GOD. But it may also be that she was simply the HONORED wife of the prophet, and her "prophecy" was giving birth to Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
AND YOU NOTICE....GOD CALLS THEM PROPHETESS. THESE WOMEN DID NOT CLAIM NOR CALL THEMSELVES NOR LABEL THEMSELVES NOR GIVE THEMSELVES THE TITLE PROPHETESS....THERE IS THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE, AMEN?
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry "My father" and "My mother"...Through the birth and naming of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, the LORD gives a TIME FRAME for the invasion of Assyria that will punish Syria and Israel.
Verses 5-10 tells us Judah will be afflicted also.
"The LORD also spoke to me again, saying: "Inasmuch as these people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah's son; now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the River, strong and mighty; the king of Assyria and all his glory; he will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks. He will pass through Judah, he will overflow and pass over, he will reach up to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel. Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us."
These people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The people of northern kingdom of Israel did NOT appreciate their humble streams (the waters of Shiloah). Instead, they rejoiced in wicked leaders (in Rezin and Remaliah's son). So, God will give them a different kind of river - the waters of the River, strong and mighty.
AND DID YOU KNOW...The little stream of Shiloah sprung from Mount Zion on the southwesterly side of Jerusalem. It flowed as softly as oil without any murmur. THOUGH Jerusalem's existence and continuation DEPENDED on it.
AND HISTORY TELLS US ALSO...The capital of the Assyrian Empire was NINEVEH, and the city of Nineveh was founded on a great river: THE TIGRIS. The Assyrian Empire was also centered across another mighty river: THE EUPHRATES.
The whole land of Israel simply DID NOT have a river like the Euphrates or the Tigris. God is using the difference between the small, humble, yet adequate waters of Israel and the mighty, yet uncontrolled rivers of Assyria to make a point.
BASICALLY GOD IS SAYING..."You don't like what I have given you? This humble stream that is constant always....provides always though it is humble and quiet without FIERCESOME FAN FAIR? You persist in rejecting what I give you? Then I will give you something different, I will GIVE YOU FIERCE, but you won't like it either."
He WILL GO UP over all his channels and GO OVER all his banks...Like a large river in a flood, the Assyrian army WILL NOT stay confined to its "banks." Instead, they will "FLOW OVER" their attack on Israel and Syria, and "flood" Judah with violence and destruction.
He WILL REACH UP to the neck...
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Assyria would COMPLETELY CONQUER the northern nation of Israel. The 10 NORTHERN TRIBES would cease to be a nation after the Assyrians conquered them. But the Assyrians WOULD NOT conquer the southern nation of Judah. They would "flood" them (fill the breadth of Your land), and reach up to the neck, but NOT over their heads. Judah WOULD SURVIVE the Assyrian invasion, but suffer MUCH DESTRUCTION from the Assyrians.
AND 2 Kings 18:13 describes the extent of the Assyrian invasion against Judah, which says, "And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Yet, Hezekiah was able to keep the king of Assyria away from Jerusalem, and barely able to survive, by buying his favor with riches from the temple - even stripping gold from the temple doors to appease the pagan king!"
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED...for the Assyrians, whom the Jews called to their assistance, INSTEAD OF TRUSTING & BELIEVING AND RELYING ON ALMIGHTY GOD, their CHOICE IN TRUSTING MAN INSTEAD OF GOD saw them destroyed.
Your land, O Immanuel...This refers back to the "Immanuel" prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. The land the Assyrians will overrun, does not belong to them or to the Jews, it BELONGS TO JESUS CHRIST, AMEN?
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces … speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us...The victims of this Assyrian invasion (Syria, Israel, and Judah) could prepare for the invasion all they wanted (gird yourselves). But all their preparation would NOT protect them (but be broken in pieces). They could take counsel together, but it will come to NOTHING. All their plans and words and ideas WILL NOT stand, for God is with us. God's WILL WAS GOING TO BE DONE, despite all the plans and preparations Syria, Israel, and Judah might make against it.
SO WHO IS "THE US OF GOD" that is with us?
In one sense THE US is the Assyrian army, because they were the instruments of God's judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah. Nothing could stop the Assyrian army, because even if they did not know it, or even if their own hearts were wrong in the matter, God was using them.
But THE US is also the prophet himself. As a messenger of God, his word would come to pass no matter what the three nations did to prepare against it.
God is with us ALSO REMINDS THEM OF the Immanuel prophecy, because Immanuel means "God is with us."
Verses 11-15 tell us HOW Judah CAN PREPARE for this invasion IS BY FEARING GOD, NOT ASSYRIA!
"For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken."
Do not say, "A conspiracy" … nor be afraid of their threats...
GOD KNEW Isaiah, and ALL the people of Judah, WERE TEMPTED to GIVE INTO fear and panic, knowing the dangerous place they were in.
WHY?
At the time of THIS prophecy, the combined armies of Israel and Syria had destroyed MUCH of Judah. Their armies either encircled Jerusalem or were on the way. They planned to depose King Ahaz of Judah and set their own man on the throne as told to us in ISAIAH 7:6.
NOW, Isaiah's prophecy declared the armies of Syria and Israel would NOT succeed in conquering Judah, but the Assyrians (who JUDAH HAD trusted to help them INSTEAD OF TRUSTING GOD) would attack them and do much damage. In the midst of all this, it would be easy to let your heart or mind settle on conspiracies and threats. But God tells them not to.
The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear... Instead of fearing conspiracies and threats, FEAR GOD. Don't see yourself at the mercy of opposing armies; YOU ARE IN God's hands. Worry about your place with the LORD instead of your enemies!
He will be as a sanctuary...The LORD will be our sacred place, and our place of protection. He will keep us safe from our enemies.
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense...
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
For those who trust Him, the LORD will be as a sanctuary. But for those who DO NOT TRUST GOD, He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Instead of finding protection from the LORD, they will "trip" over Him, falling to destruction. Indeed, many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken.
1 PETER 2:6-8 tells us...that Jesus is this stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
This is a STRONG AFFIRMATION AND CONFIRMATION of the deity of Jesus, because clearly in Isaiah 8:13-14, the LORD of hosts is the stone, and clearly in 1 Peter 2:6-8, Jesus Christ is the stone.
This is the SAME IDEA behind the statement of Simeon when he held the child Jesus, as recorded in Luke 2:34, which says, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against."
Verses 16-18 tells us prepare by waiting on the LORD.
"Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him. Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion."
And I will wait on the LORD...Waiting on the LORD is NOT PASSIVE inactivity.
It MEANS to wait on the LORD as a waiter would wait on a table.
It MEANS to be totally ATTENTIVE to the LORD, FOCUSED on His every move, and RESPONSIVE to His every desire.
At CERTAIN times it CAN means inactivity, AS when we STAND STILL before the LORD, totally focused on Him, waiting for what He wants next.
AND HISTORY TELLS US THIS TIME WHEN ISAIAH SPOKE, the leaders and the people of Judah were waiting on the armies of Israel and Syria, because they were under attack. As they heard of the danger from the Assyrians, they would be tempted to put their focus on them. But their focus was ON these armies, not on the LORD. Isaiah says, "Battle against Syria and Israel by setting your focus on the LORD. Prepare for the coming attack from Assyria by waiting on the LORD instead of your enemies."
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples...Waiting on the LORD is connected with His word. We can wait on the LORD by waiting on His word.
Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel....THIS MEANS ISAIAH HAD BEEN CALLED TO PROPHESY, & TO USE HIS OWN CHILDREN in his prophetic messages (Isaiah 7:3, 8:3). So he declares, Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! It is as if he is saying, "Look at us! We are the message!"
AS SAID BEFORE...the name OF ISAIAH'S SON...Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means, "Speed to the spoil, hurry to the plunder." This spoke of the coming attack on Syria, Israel, and Judah by Assyria.
JUST AS THE NAME OF ISAIAH'S OTHER SON, Shear-Jashub means, "A Remnant Shall Return."
This spoke of the restoration God would EVENTUALLY bring. The name Isaiah means, "Salvation is of the LORD." This spoke of the attitude and hope Judah needed to have.
We, who love JESUS CHRIST AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, AND FRIEND...ARE ALSO CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD. AND AS SUCH, WE ARE OUR TRIUNE GOD MESSAGE.
HEBREWS 2:11-13 quotes this passage to communicate this truth, which says, "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying … "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."
AND SO THAT WE WILL NOT BE CONFUSED BY MAN...THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ALL MANKIND WAS CREATED IN OUR TRIUNE GOD'S IMAGE.
THE BIBLE CLEARLY TELLS US....ONLY THOSE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WHO DIED IN THE "HOPED FOR MESSIAH, THE SALVATION PROMISE" TO COME, AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE REPENTED, ASKED JESUS CHRIST INTO OUR HEARTS AND LIVES TO BE OUR LORD, SAVIOR, AND FRIEND...ARE CALLED & CONSIDERED...CHILDREN OF GOD.
SO WHEN YOU HEAR ANYONE, BE THEY MAN/WOMAN ON THE STREET, PREACHER, TEACHER...WHATEVER SAY..."WE ARE ALL GOD'S CHILDREN"....know the subtle twisting lie from Satan that it is & the twisting deception of those words.
ONLY JESUS CHRIST FAMILY...ARE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD TO ALMIGHTY GOD, AMEN?
AND JUST AS MUCH AS Isaiah's children & THEIR GOD GIVEN NAMES were living witnesses of the truth of God's word, so are we JESUS CHRIST WITNESSES...HIS LIGHTS, AMEN?
Verses 19-22 tells us prepare by seeking His light and word, not the darkness of the occult.
"And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness."
Seek those who are mediums and wizards...
THEN AND NOW, DOES NOT THE WORLD AND SATAN SEEK OUT PSYCHICS, MEDIUMS, & WIZARDS...WHO SAY THEY COMMUNE WITH THE DEAD, GAIN WISDOM & DISCERNMENT, OR HAVE A SPIRIT GUIDE, OR HAVE THE GIFT OF PROPHESY....INSTEAD OF HITTING OUR KNEES & TURNING TO OUR JESUS CHRIST?
THEN AND NOW....JESUS IS TELLING US....STAY AWAY FROM ANYYYY OF THESE PEOPLE...WHETHER THEY KNOW IT OR NOT....THEY ARE COMMUNING WITH DEMONS AND SATAN HIMSELF...BECAUSE ONCE A PERSON DIES, THEY ARE BEYOND ALL THINGS OF THIS EARTH AND THE SUPERNATURAL....AS THE BIBLE SAYS, WE ARE APPOINTED ONCE TO DIE, THEN TO JUDGMENT.
SATAN AND HIS DEMONS ARE DECEIVERS...THEY CAN ILLUSION THEMSELVES TO LOOK LIKE YOUR GREAT AUNT FANNY, BUT IT IS NOTTTTTT YOUR GREAT AUNT...IT IS A DEMON WEARING A MASK....SO STAY AWAY FROM ALL THINGS OCCULT, AMEN?
HOROSCOPES, PSYCHICS, MEDIUMS...ARE ALL OCCULTIC AND COME STRAIGHT FROM SATAN HIMSELF...NOT JESUS!
AND SO GOD, THE GOD WHO SEES ALL...KNEW in the present danger from Syria and Israel, and in the coming danger from Assyria, Judah WOULD BE tempted to seek guidance and comfort from those who are mediums and wizards. Isaiah exposes the foolishness of this, when he says, "Should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?"
When you are in trouble, shouldn't you seek JESUS CHRIST? If you can't OR WILL NOT RELY ON THE KING OF ALL KINGS, THE LORD OF ALL LORDS, THE GOD WHO SEES ALL, KNOWS ALL, UNDERSTANDS ALL...but instead RING SOME GONG, LIGHT INCENSE, DIAL 1-900-PSYCHIS ARE US, PRAY TO AN IDOL, A CROSS, THE VIRGIN MARY, ALL OF WHICH ARE MADE BY HUMAN HANDS AND RECREATED IN THE IMAGINATIONS OF LIMITED MAN...WHO DOES NOT SEE, HEAR, KNOW, FEEL, OR UNDERSTAND...then what good is your god/idol?
What sense does it make to seek the dead on behalf of the living?
THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION...A VERY RELEVANT QUESTION, THEN AND NOW.
The dead ARE the dead, the living ARE the living. The living God speaks through His living Word and His living people to guide us. AS CHRISTIANS, MEANING THOSE WHO KNOW, LOVE, AND CALL JESUS CHRIST LORD, SAVIOR, AND FRIEND AND HAVE HIS HOLY SPIRIT LIVING WITHIN OUR HEARTS...there is NO reason & CERTAINLY NO NEED to seek the dead, AMEN?
This passage also EXPOSES the foolishness of praying TO BIBLICAL SAINTS AS WELL. THOSE WHO LOVE JESUS CHRIST & ARE IN HEAVEN, DO NOT HEAR, AND CAN NOT INTERCEDE ON OUR BEHALF, NOR CAN ANGELS, WHO ARE MERELY SERVANTS AND WARRIORS OF JESUS. WE HAVE JESUS...HE IS OUR ADVOCATE WITH GOD...WE DO NOOOOOOOOOOOT NEED ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE....JUST JESUS, AMEN?
To the law and to the testimony...MEANS FORGET about mediums and wizards and the dead. Instead of all that deception and foolishness, SEEK JESUS CHRIST...GO TO HIS WORD AND ALL ITS PROMISES FOR YOUR HOPE, HELP. DIRECTION AND ANSWERS, AMEN?
Law and testimony each refer to God's Word. We might say that law refers to God's holy commands, and testimony refers to His dealings with His people as recorded in His Word. But that may be slicing it too thin, because often similar terms for God's Word are repeated, not for the sake of distinction, but for the sake of EMPHASIS.
THE OLD TESTAMENT AFFIRMS AND/OR IS CONFIRMED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE REVERSE IS TRUE...WE SHOULD TRUST THE BIBLE TO BE ABSOLUTE TRUTH, AMEN?
How it needs to be proclaimed to our pulpits today...To the law and to the testimony! Enough with your over-use of anecdotes and jokes! Enough with your emphasis on entertainment and sappy stories! Enough with your catering to itching ears! Enough with your hobbyhorses and pet peeves! GO TO, STICK WITH JESUS CHRIST AND HIS WORD...ALONE!
CHARLES SPURGEON STATES IS SO WELL OF THIS SCRIPTURE..."Let us remember, as ministers of the Gospel, what M'Cheyne beautifully said; 'Depend upon it,' said he, 'it is God's Word not man's comment upon God's Word, that saves souls;' and I have marked, that if ever we have a conversion at any time, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the conversion is rather traceable to the text, or to some Scripture quoted in the sermon, than to any trite or original saying by the preacher. It is God's Word that breaks the fetters and sets the prisoner free, it is God's Word instrumentally that saves souls, and therefore let us bring everything to the touchstone."
If they DO NOT SPEAK according to this word, it is because there is NO light in them...
HERE IS THE OLD TESTAMENT REMINDER....TEST THE SPIRITS...TEST THE SPIRITS...DO NOT BLINDLY ACCEPT SOMEONE'S WORD OR TEACHING AS PURE JESUS CHRIST GOSPEL AND HIS WORD...
SEEK...LOOK IT UP...CHECK IT OUT...THENNNNNNN IF IT SPEAKS TRUTH FOUND IN GOD'S WORD...THENNNNNNN WE CAN TRUST IT AS SUCH, AMEN?
AND HERE IT IS AGAIN....A REMINDER...A WARNING...If there is a disagreement between God's word and the word of the messenger, it isn't hard to figure out who is wrong. The messenger IS wrong. The word judges the messenger; the messenger doesn't judge the word OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AMEN?
They will be driven into darkness...
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
When CHRISTIANS forsake God's word and trust INSTEAD IN THE WORLD, IN MAN, IN MEDIUMS, PSYCHICS, RELIGIONS, HAWKERS, PREACHERS, AND WIZARDS AND THE DEAD....THEY ARE HEADING INTO AND COURTING THE DESTRUCTIVE DARKNESS OF SATAN AND HIS EVIL WORLD, NOTTTTTTT THE HEALING, RESTORING, PROTECTIVE LIGHT OF GOD'S WORD AND OUR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN?
ONCE AGAIN ISAIAH IS SAYING TO US, JUST AS GOD COMMANDED HIM TO TELL THE JUDAH....LOOK TO ALMIGHTY GOD....RUN TO HIM....JUST AS THE NEW TESTAMENT TELLS US TO SEEK JESUS....TRUST JUST JESUS....WAIT ON JESUS....CALL ON JESUS....JUST JESUS!