We are dealing here with a profound
and remarkable portion of Scripture. Isaiah 7-12 has sometimes been called the “Immanuel Book”. At the heart of these chapters is a mysterious
child, called Immanuel (7:14; 8:8,10),
a great light (9:2), a fruitful branch (11:1-5).
He is given as a sign in a political crisis and He finally emerges as
the ruler of the whole earth. He is the Wonderful
Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace (9:6-7). In fact, Isaiah sees with eyes,
far beyond the current state of affairs. He sees with prophetic eyes. He sees a
vision so great, that He does not even comprehend it. Isaiah is a man in the
hands of a sovereign, great, almighty and awesome God, who acts in the midst of
earth’s complex human affairs, politics and history. It is He that directs even the hearts of
sinful kings for His own glorious ends
(Prov. 21:1). He is the God who rules today. He has the
future of His church firmly in His hands, even though the tide of opinion is
currently swinging strongly against biblical and true Christianity. Today, as we remember the Reformation of
1517, we are called to fear God and to
wait on Him. Today, we are called to embrace this text: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do
not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him shall you
honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (8:11-13).
We have already spent considerable
time looking carefully at the historical situation from Isaiah's call in
Chapter 6 (742 BC). The current conflict
involves four nations:
·
Assyria, under
Tiglath-pileser, is beginning to
expand its empire into the eastern Mediterranean. It is the emerging superpower
of this era.
·
Syria or
Aram borders the northern kingdom of Israel. Aram is made up of a number of
related Aramean tribes that are vassals of the Kingdom of Damascus, ruled by Rezin.
·
Israel (the
northern kingdom – capital city, Samaria) separated from Judah after the
death of Solomon in 931 BC. Its current king is Pekah, the son of Remaliah, one of a series of 18 bad kings. This nation is going to be
brought to an end in 722BC at the hand of the Assyrians.
·
Judah (the
southern kingdom- capital city, Jerusalem) is ruled by the current king Ahaz, son of Jotham. He is not a godly
king.[1]
Isaiah is a prophet in Judah.
Our attention was drawn to
Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple and his subsequent call to the prophetic
ministry (Isaiah 6). We have seen that
Isaiah is presently commissioned to prophesy to a hard-hearted, n0n-hearing,
non-understanding, spiritually dull people (Isa. 6:9-10). The king of
Judah, Ahaz is a sad illustration of this fact.
In Isaiah 7, the prophet Isaiah
was to tell Ahaz that he needed not fear the threatening alliance of Israel (NK)
and Syria against Judah. He needed only to put his trust in the LORD, the
covenant God of Israel. But Ahaz would
hear none of this. He had no faith in God and for this reason he wanted a political alliance with Assyria, the regional
superpower at that time. Isaiah challenges him and says, “… if you don’t believe me then ask the Lord for a sign!” (7:11). Ahaz then says in an act of
false humility, “I will not put the LORD
to the test” (7:12), upon which Isaiah
cries out with exasperation, “Therefore
the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin[2]
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
(7:14). God promises Ahaz deliverance by means of a child which is called here, ‘Immanuel’. He will be a deliverer in that immediate context. Some think that
this child sign will be his own son Hezekiah (715- 686BC), who will be a much better king than his
father. He will in fact see hostile Israel ( Samaria), Syria (Damascus) and even
mighty Assyria defeated in his
day. Whatever the case may be from a
NT perspective, we know that far beyond this, Immanuel will be identified with
the Lord Jesus Christ [Matt.1:21-23]. Truly the Bible has an
amazing depth and width and foresight. But right now, right here the Lord makes
Ahaz an incredible offer of deliverance from the very real threat knocking a
Jerusalem’s doors.
Exposition of Isaiah Chapter 8
We find here three sections, each preceded by the Lord speaking to Isaiah in 8:1, 8:5 and 8:11
1.
8:1-4 Another Sign – Maher Shalal Hash Baz
God speaks to Isaiah, commanding him to make
a banner and writing upon it for all to
see, “Maher Shalal Hash Baz“,
literally meaning, “speed-spoil-haste–booty“.
This is a typical prophetic action. Israel’s prophets, speaking on behalf of
God, by dramatic actions provoked their public to ask questions. The issue at hand relates to the threatened
invasion of the SK, which God promised, would not happen. The LORD also provided
for him two reliable witness, Uriah the
priest and Zechariah[3] to testify that the message
from Isaiah, written boldly upon a banner, was indeed true.
But the prophetic message
is not yet complete. It had to become
flesh in the form of a son that would be born to Isaiah’s wife[4].
When that son is eventually born (at
least 9 months later) this boy is called
“Maher Shalal Hash Baz“. He is the LORD’s sign (see 8:18).
In 8:4 we are informed that
before this boy would be able to talk, the Assyrians
would successfully attack the enemies of Judah, namely the Syrians (Aram) and Israel, and utterly defeat them
and carry off the spoil or booty. Please
note – God was going to do this! Ahaz did not need the help of the
Assyrians.
2.
8:5-10: God speaks
again through Isaiah – The Assyrian army will defeat the alliance
“This people“ refers to the northern kingdom of Israel. Approximately 200 years earlier these 10 northern
tribes had rejected the house of David as king, even though it was God’s
ordained monarchy. They had refused the gentle waters of Shiloah- the waters
which flow from the Gihon spring into Jerusalem. At Gihon Solomon,the son of David was anointed and
declared to be king (1 Kings 1:32-35).
It was here that Isaiah first found king Ahaz (7:3). Ahaz was worried that the enemy would cut off the water
supply from Jerusalem. It was ‘this people‘ the NK (Israel) which had alienated themselves from that life giving
water long time ago. They had become so
removed from their southern brothers that they were ever hostile to them. We
see that at this point they are ready to conquer and destroy them in alliance with
the Syrians with their headquarters in Damascus. And now God says here that they (Israel and
Syria) would endure the “Assyrian flood“(8:7,8). It would also sweep into Judah,
BUT it would not wipe out Judah! It
would come “up to the neck” (8:8), but no further. Assyria never managed to conquer Jerusalem.
In Hezekiah’s day (following the rein of Ahaz), they tried and we
read in 2 Kings 19:35 that the Lord struck down 185 000 Assyrians and
that was basically the end of Assyria. According to verses 8-10 they were broken and shattered,… and why?
This was Immanuel’s land! Verse 10 could also be
paraphrased,“Go ahead, you Assyrians and whoever else , make your crazy plans; they will
fail for God is with us! ”
This causes us to reflect
upon a very comforting doctrine. Every opposition against Immanuel’s land must
fail. Assyria had the
military capacity to swallow
Judah, but it was still
Immanuel’s land ! Now we know that this truth applies to the NT church. She is Immanuel’s land. The Lord Jesus Christ,
her Living Head, our Immanuel is with us. No weapon formed against her will stand (Isa 54:17). Jesus said that the gates of hell would not
prevail against His church (Matt 16:18).
He is the same LORD who cared for Israel and supplied her needs in the desert (1 Cor. 10:4). He is the same Lord that keeps His people
today. They are not limited to a geographical
area, for the earth is the Lord’s
(Ps 24:1). The earth belongs to the
meek in Christ! (Matt 5:5 cf. Ps.37:11).
3.
8: 11 – 22: Do not
fear- trust the LORD!
This section has four great
warnings and applications. This will cure your fear of man.
a. 8:11-13: 11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and
warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not
call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what
they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But
the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let
him be your dread.
In times of attack God’s people must guard their our hearts and minds by
not giving into conspiracy theories
and fear mongering. Their eyes must remain
firmly on God. Godly people must fear
the LORD alone. “And do not fear those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both
soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).
It is very tempting to think like the
world. But Romans 12:1&2 encourages us not to be conformed to this world , but
to be transformed by the renewal of our
minds …”.
b. 8:14,15: 14 And he will become
a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of
Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many
shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and
taken.”
God is either for you or against you. There is no middle-ground. God is either a sanctuary or a
stone of offense/ stumbling[5] for all people. The sanctuary is the holy
place where God dwells and where He is
approached by sacrifice for acceptance. In the NT Christ has become our
sanctuary. But He is also a stumbling stone for
those who will not take Him seriously.
This was said of the Lord
Jesus by the old prophet Simeon:
“He is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel (Luke 2:34). Peter quotes
Isa.8:14 and identifies
Christ as the stumbling stone. To
those who believe in Him and obey Him, He will be a sanctuary. Those that ignore Him or
oppose Him will stumble (1 Peter
2:8). No one could get away from the
God of the OT. No one can get away from
Christ.
c. 8:16-20: Hold on to the Word of God: 16 Bind up the testimony;
seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who
is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and
portents in Israel from the
Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount
Zion
In times of attack hold on
to God’s word! “Let God be true and every
man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). What God had
said through Isaiah was God’s word.
Just because people could not see nor hear (6:9,10),
just because God’s face was hidden, did not make His word to them less valid. Isaiah believed this word, his family, and his
disciples believed this Word, and in time it would prove to be a true word. The
prophets rarely ever saw the fulfillment of their prophecies (1
Peter 1:10-12) , but they are known to be true prophets because what they
said came true ! Isaiah’s family
were signs and symbols (8:18) that communicated truth. One son’s name (Shear-Jashub - 7:3) promised that there would always be a remnant;
another son’s name Maher-Shalal Hash Baz was a prediction
that swift destruction would come on Judah’s enemies. In fact this happened while
this boy was still a baby who
could not yet talk. Isaiah’s own name means “the
Lord saves”, a gospel message in
itself! Immanuel would appear as a sign
now and later, as the Messiah in
the flesh, according to the
line of David centuries after Isaiah spoke!
Those who reject God’s
word always seek alternative
counsel and wisdom. They turn to
mediums and necromancers who chirp and
mutter (8:19). They prefer an
obscure word from the dead over the clear Word of the
Living God – the law and the testimony
(8:20). By doing this they broke
God’s law (Deut. 18:9-13). He was their God (see vv.19 & 21), but they were rejecting Him. In doing so they
lost their heritage, blessing, and life.
d. 8: 21& 22: A Reflection upon the sad
result of unbelief: 21 They will
pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are
hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their
king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to
the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they
will be thrust into thick darkness.
The result of unbelief was
that they cursed both their king and their God. Unbelief brings about intense
dissatisfaction. It would bring
distress, darkness, and fearful gloom as we shall see in the opening verses of chapter 9. Godlessness brings chaos.
Let us learn from this. If we
reject God’s revelation and
direction in favor of some other “light”, we will not have light at all but
darkness and all the despairing gloom that comes with it.
Next time we are
going to take a close look at Isaiah 9, in which we see Immanuel dispelling the gloom of people
that have been walking in darkness.
Thank God for the Gospel of our Immanuel!
[3] See 2 Ki. 16:10-16;18:2
[4] The title ‘ prophetess ‘ was probably given to Isaiah’s wife here
because she was literally the bearer of
the Lord’s Word, incarnate in her
son ( Motyer , p.90)
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