8:1. “Moreover
the Lord said unto me, Take thee a roll, and write in it with a man’s pen
concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.”
“... a roll” was a large
tablet of wood, metal or stone; and “a man’s pen” was a writing tool with
which the prophet was to write the message in large, plain letters. The
prophecy was to be recorded so that its later fulfillment would prove that
it had been given by God.
Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
meaning rush quickly to the spoil, haste to the prey, was to be the
name of the son God was going to give Isaiah, the name being indicative of
the coming conflict between the Assyrians, and Israel and Syria.
8:2. “And I
took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah
the son of Jeberechiah.”
Uriah means my light is
Jah (Jehovah); Zechariah remembered of Jehovah; Jeberechiah
whom Jehovah will bless. The association of their names with Jehovah is
understood by some to attest the reliability of their testimony; but others,
The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, e.g., point out that
Uriah was an evil man, whose compelled testimony would therefore carry all
the more weight when the prophecy would be fulfilled, since he would have no
wish to advance the cause of Jehovah.
8:3. “And I
went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the
Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.”
The prophetess was his
wife, it being unclear, and unimportant, whether she was a prophetess in her
own right, or was so-called because she was the prophet’s wife.
Maher-shalal-hash-baz
means quickly the spoil, hasting the prey.
8:4. “For
before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the
riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the
king of Assyria.”
God foretold that before
the prophet’s son would have passed infancy, Damascus [Syria’s capital], and
Samaria [Israel’s capital], would have been captured and plundered by
Assyria, so that Judah need have had no anxious care relative to her own
safety.
8:5. “The Lord
spake also unto me again, saying,”
8:6.
“Forasmuch as this people [Israel] refuseth the waters of Shiloah [Siloam]
that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son [Pekah];”
Shiloah, meaning sent,
the waters of which “go softly”, i.e., gently, was the name of Jerusalem’s
secret water supply, and here represents God’s Word, and His tender care for
His people. As those waters went “softly” i.e., in just the right amount,
neither too much nor too little, so does God supply the needs of His own,
His supply being in exact proportion to the degree of need. But Israel in
their folly had turned their backs on Jehovah, and looked to the evil Rezin
and Pekah to deliver them
8:7. “Now
therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river
strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall
come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:”
The invading hordes of the
Assyrians are presented here under the figure of their river, the Euphrates,
in flood overflowing its banks, and destroying Israel and Syria.
8:8. “And he
shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even
to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of
the land, O Immanuel.”
There are two widely held
views of this verse: one, and the more preferable, being that it refers to
the almost total annihilation of Judah by Assyria, the surviving remnant
being represented by just the head, the rest of the body being destroyed;
the outstretched wings filling the land being the figurative description of
the broad extent of the invasion, the lament being addressed to Immanuel.
The other view is that
only the first part of the verse “even to the neck” has the same meaning;
but that the latter part “and the stretching out of his wings ....”
describes Jehovah’s overshadowing protection of His people.
8:9.
“Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and
give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken
in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.”
The warning is addressed
to Syria and Israel, and all others who may be tempted to attack Judah; its
three-fold repetition emphasizing the certainty of their destruction. His
care for believers of this present dispensation is no less zealous, and is
expressed in the words of Zechariah 2:8, “... for he that toucheth you
toucheth the apple of his eye,” and again “I have loved you with an
everlasting love,” Jeremiah 31:3.
8:10. “Take
counsel together and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall
not stand: for God is with us.”
All the schemes conceived
for Judah’s destruction would be brought to nothing, for those who opposed
her made themselves also the opponents of Jehovah, as do those who plot
against believers today. The success of the enemies’ evil devices is not to
be measured in present results, for even God’s permitted death of His own
simply transports them into heaven, while the lake of fire and its eternal
torment will be the portion of the enemy who dies unrepentant.
8:11. “For the
Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should
not walk in the way of this people, saying,”
Taylor has translated this
verse, “The Lord has said in strongest terms: Do not under any
circumstances, go along with the plans of Judah to surrender to Syria and
Israel.”
God’s warning to Isaiah
not to acquiesce in any way with Judah’s plan to surrender to the enemy,
applies also to believers today. Apostate Christendom is doing everything in
its power to entice genuine believers to be more liberal in their views, and
to be willing to join the travesty which is Satan’s counterfeit of the true
Church; but God’s word against such folly is conveyed in His call to the
genuine believers already in that evil system to come out of it, “Come out
of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins, and that ye receive
not of her plagues,” Revelation 18:4.
8:12. “Say ye
not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A
confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.”
This verse is also
translated, “Call not alliance what this people calls alliance, and fear
not, nor stand in awe of what they fear,” NAB; “Pay no attention to
the rumors of this people, and do not be afraid of what they fear nor be in
dread of it,” Phillips; “Don’t let people call you a traitor for
staying true to God. Don’t you panic as so many of your neighbors are doing
when they think of Syria and Israel attacking you,” Taylor.
God continues to warn
Judah against forming any alliance in hope of saving themselves from the
invading enemy. They were to put their trust in Jehovah, and to be
fearless, knowing that He is omnipotent.
The same warning and
encouragement are given us, for nothing can happen without God’s permission;
and even when He permits adversity to touch us, we should remember that it
by just such testing that He strengthens our faith. Professed faith that
crumbles under testing isn’t faith at all. Relative to the testing of faith
it is written, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need
be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:6-7.
8:13.
“Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him
be your dread.”
In the present context
“sanctify” means to venerate, to stand in awe of. It was God the people
were to fear, not out of slavish dread, but for fear of sinning against Him,
thus forfeiting His blessing, and provoking His anger.
The admonition applies
also to us; but regrettably is largely ignored even by many genuine
believers, our response to this command being manifested more often in the
breach than in the observance.
8:14. “And he
shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of
offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin (trap), and for a snare to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
To believers the Lord
Jesus Christ is a sanctuary, i.e., a cover, a hiding place, a protection,
from the wrath which God must execute against every rebel. But to
unbelievers He is not the great Rock on which believers fall repentantly,
and rest the eternal security of their souls; but rather the great crushing
Rock that will fall upon them in judgment, casting them down first into
hell, and eternally into the terrible torment of the lake of fire. See 1
Peter 2:6-8, “Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious:
and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore
which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the tone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and
a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at
the word, being disobedient ....”
In the context of this
verse “both houses of Israel” may represent both Jew and Gentile; and
Jerusalem, the religious system of each. Men however, are not saved by
religious practices, no matter how punctiliously performed, but by
confession of utter sinfulness, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior.
8:15. “And
many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and
be taken.”
The Christ, Who trusted as
Savior, is the believer’s Way to heaven, is a stumbling block to the mere
religious professor; and only eternity will reveal the myriads who have
doomed themselves to hell and the lake of fire, by putting their faith in a
religious ritual which has Christ as its icon, but who have never trusted
Him as Savior.
8:16. “Bind up
the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.”
This is more clearly
rendered by Taylor, “Write down all these things I am going to do,
says the Lord, and seal it up for the future. Entrust it to some godly men
to pass on down to godly men of future generations.”
There is no stronger
testimony to the Divine Authorship of Scripture than fulfilled prophecy; nor
is there any better guarantee of the fulfillment of the small part of
prophecy remaining to be completed, than that which has already become
history.
8:17. “And I
will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I
will look for him.”
To wait upon the Lord
involves patient obedient waiting for the clear revelation of His will
before embarking on any activity, for His timing is always perfect. To act
before His time is as worthless as to do so after His appointed time; and
relative to being saved, it is written, “Behold, now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” 2 Corinthians 6:2.
Tomorrow may be too late!
Jacob is always associated
with the flesh, as his new name Israel is with the spirit, that new name
being given Jacob at the time of his conversion. God’s hiding “his face from
the house of Jacob” therefore, translates into the truth that men must trust
in Christ as Savior before God will reveal to them either Himself or His
truth, as it is written, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned,” 1 Corinthians 2:14.
In the present context “I
will look for him” means simply that the prophet would continue to wait for
God’s leading; but this doesn’t forbid our seeing in it the reminder that we
too should wait, not only for His leading, but also for His coming to
rapture His Church to heaven. That coming could be today.
8:18. “Behold,
I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders
in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.”
It is in the meanings of
their names that Isaiah and his children were “for signs and for wonders in
Israel ...” for Isaiah means save thou, Jehovah; Jehovah will save;
Shear-jashub, a remnant shall return; Maher-shalal-hash-baz, your
enemies will soon be destroyed; quickly the spoil, hasting the prey.
Few will have difficulty seeing in the meanings of these names the outline
of Israel’s history right up till the Millennium.
It is to be noted
incidentally, that the study of the meanings of biblical names affords a
wealth of instruction; and a tool I highly recommend in connection with such
a study is the Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names by J. B. Jackson,
published by, and available from, Loizeaux Brothers of Neptune N.J., or from
most Christian book stores.
8:19. “And
when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and
unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their
God? for the living to the dead”
Taylor translates this,
“So why are you trying to find out the future by consulting witches and
mediums? Don’t listen to their whisperings and mutterings. Can the living
find out the future from the dead? Why not ask your God? “Check these
witches words against the Word of God!” He says, “If their messages are
different than Mine, it is because I have not sent them: for they have no
light or truth in them.”
That the people did
consult mediums is certified in 1 Samuel 28:7-20, which records Saul’s
attempt to know the future by having the witch at Endor bring up the spirit
of Samuel. It might have been expected that necromancy would be scorned by
today’s educated society, but the truth is that the evil practice still
flourishes.
8:20. “To the
law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.”
Moffatt’s rendering of
this verse is, “When they tell you to consult mediums and ghosts that cheep
and gibber in low murmurs, ask them if a nation should not rather consult
its God. Say, “Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult the
Message and the counsel of God!” But that will only be their cry, when
there is no dawn of hope for them any more.”
Taylor has translated it,
“So why are you trying to find out the future by consulting witches and
mediums? Don’t listen to their whisperings and mutterings. Can the living
find out the future from the dead? Why not ask your God? Check these
witches’ words against the word of God!” He says, “If their messages are
different than Mine, it is because I have not sent them; for they have no
light or truth in them.”
8:21. “And
they shall pass through it, hardly bestead (hard pressed) and hungry: and it
shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret
themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.”
8:22. “And
they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of
anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.”
Phillips has translated
these two verses, “They will wander through the land, miserable and hungry.
Hunger will drive them to fury and they will curse their king and their
God. They will look up to heaven and they will look round upon the earth
only to see darkness and distress, misery and gloom - darkness that no light
can pierce.”
Taylor’s rendering is, “My
people will be led away captive, stumbling, weary and hungry. And because
they are hungry they will rave and shake their fists at heaven and curse
their King and their God. Wherever they look there will be trouble and
anguish and dark despair. And they will be thrust out into the darkness.”
Their “passing through it,
etc.,” refers to their passing through the land on their way to captivity in
Assyria; and their fretting themselves means that they will rant and rave
and revile their king and their false gods.
While this describes their
misery as they went away into captivity in Assyria, there can be little
question that the same description applies also to their state following the
sack of Jerusalem by Titus in AD 70. All of these however, are also
foreshadowings of the still more terrible calamities that will overtake
them, and the whole world, in the now imminent Great Tribulation, the rebels
of that coming day being as described in Jude 13, “raging waves of the sea,
foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness for ever.”
