ISAIAH

Isaiah 8:1-10

quote:

"Then the LORD said to me, 'Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. 2 And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.' 3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father ' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria." 5 Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying, 6 "Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. 8 Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. 9 Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. 10 Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us."

Isaiah was asked to write upon a tablet in large letters and in familiar characters so that all could read and understand it. Two witnesses were to serve in order that when the event came to pass, they could verify the tablet that contained the prophecy had been inscribed earlier and has now come to pass. Isaiah was directed to title the inscription "Maher-shalal-hash-baz".

The name Maher-shalal-hash-baz would be given to Isaiah's new son. Isaiah's wife would have a son, who would carry a prophecy in his name, just as his former son had. The earlier son Shear-jashub spoke of God's mercy, meaning "the remnant shall return". But the latter speaks of God's judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning "make speed to the spoil, hasten to the prey". It gave the understanding that the Assyrian army would come upon them with great speed and make great spoil.

As in Chapter 7:15-16 the infancy of the Messiah was made the measure of time that Judah would suffer from her two enemies, Israel and Syria. So too, the infancy of Maher-ahalal-hash-baz is made the measure of the time that would elapse before the king of Assyria would overtake Damascus and Syria. This was the length of time an infant reached the age where he could say "my father" and "my mother". There is a significant relationship between these two prophecies. Seeing that Maher-ahalal-has-baz had been born in accordance with the prophecy, those with watchful eyes could be certain that in due time God would fulfill the promise concerning the virgin, and that she too, would bear a son, who would be Immanuel, "God with us", the Messiah.

"These people" in verse 6 refers to both houses of Israel – to Ephraim, who preferred an alliance with Rezin of Syria to one with the kings of Judah, and to Judah, who desired to seek an Assyrian alliance. Isaiah 8:14 shows that both nations are spoken of and both alike rejected the divine Shiloah. "Shiloah" means "sent". It is better known under the later name of Siloam -- the only perpetually flowing spring of Jerusalem. Isaiah is using this as a metaphor to say that both houses of Israel have rejected the divine waters of the river of life.

Verses 7-8 imply that, inspite of the temporary deliverance from Syria and Israel implied in "Immanuel", greater destruction was to follow. "Your land, O Immanuel" in Isaiah 8:8 in the full sense is applicable only to the Messiah -- given that the land of Judea is His, was, and still is a pledge that, however overrun, it would be saved in the end.

Though Judah may for a while be exiled, the succession of the house of David will not cease, for Immanuel Messiah is to be born as an heir of David. "Immanuel" is Isaiah's watchword for the day! "God is with us!" Jesus, the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, says in Matthew 28:20b, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He is every moment, ever present!

Let's let "Immanuel!" -- "God is with us" -- be our daily watchword!