Isaiah chapter 8
Isaiah had a wife and a son. Isaiah had a group of disciples.
ISAIAH HAD A WIFE AND A SON
VERSE 1. The LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;
Maher Shalal Hash Baz’. This means “Swift to plunder and quick to carry away.”
VERSE 2. and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
faithful witnesses. This reminds us of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 11:3. I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
VERSE 3. 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.’
the prophetess. The Bible names seven female prophets. The Bible and the Jewish tradition and the early Christians accept female prophets:
Female Prophets in the Old Testament
Female Prophets in the New Testament
VERSE 4. For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
VERSE 5. The LORD spoke to me yet again, saying,
VERSE 6. “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
this people. That is, the people of Judah.
VERSE 7. now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.
VERSE 8. It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
It will reach even to the neck. They will have had it “up to here” with all their troubles.
VERSE 9. Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
VERSE 10. Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
ISAIAH HAD A GROUP OF DISCIPLES
VERSE 11. For the LORD spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
VERSE 12. “Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized.
NLT translation. Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
Don’t call everything a conspiracy. This is exactly what conspiracy theorists do.
But they distort the nature of reality. They reject the truth. They embrace lies.
The Bible forbids it.
In our day many professing Christians have embraced a conspiracy theory worldview. They have rejected the truth and embraced lies.
Isaiah 6:10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Hosea 7:3. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
Nahum 3:1. Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery—no end to the prey.
Romans 1:25. who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:4. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (NIV translation)
2 Thessalonians 2:11. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. (NLT translation)
VERSE 13. The LORD of Hosts is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.
VERSE 14. He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
NLT translation. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
a stumbling stone. St. Paul calls us to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. However, that message doesn’t resonate with everyone. We need to be OK with that. Read more »
VERSE 15. Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
Many will stumble. St. Paul calls us to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. However, that message doesn’t resonate with everyone. We need to be OK with that. Read more »
VERSE 16. Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples.
my disciples. The prophet Isaiah had disciples. He entrusted them with the best portions of his spiritual insights and messages from God.
It is the normal way of things that the veteran follower of the Lord Jesus Christ has disciples. To our disciples we entrust the spiritual treasures the LORD God has entrusted to us.
As you grow in your firsthand knowledge of the faith, we invite you to begin praying for the disciples that God will one day entrust to you.
VERSE 17. I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
I will wait for the LORD. This is the essence of Contemplative Prayer. It is to wait.
We sit still. We wait for the LORD God.
VERSE 18. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.
VERSE 19. When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
NLT translation. Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
consult the spirits of the dead. In ancient times, the Jewish people were forbidden from going to a Medium or a Necromancer. Why was that? Read more »
VERSE 20. Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
VERSE 21. They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
VERSE 22. and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
ISAIAH
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, True Fasting
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.