The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me. Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.
He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.” I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.
When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
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There's some tough material in Isaiah 8. It's a little hard to know to whom Isaiah is directing his words. He is a prophet in Jerusalem speaking to the people of Judah, I assume. But there are times his words are directed to the enemies of Judah. The events from chapter 7 help to understand the setting for the oracle. The threat of military invasion from a joint army from Ephraim and Aram is what brings about this prophecy. It is meant to ease the fears of King Ahaz and the people of Judah. God is with them.
As in chapter 7 where the birth and growth of a child is a sign, so now in chapter 8 God directs Isaiah to impregnate a female prophet and name the boy, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means "Hurry to the spoils" or "He has made haste to the plunder!" The meaning of this sign is that Assyria will invade the land and consume Judah's enemies before they can do Judah harm. The call to the plunder means there will be deserted towns and cities, palaces and mansions there for the taking after the battle subsides. Before the child can say Momma or DaDa, the threat from Ephraim and Aram will be gone. God rallies them to battle and then crushes them with the might of Assyria.
God instructs the people of Judah that they should not fear the enemy. Instead they should fear God. Holy dread is called for since the Holy One, the Creator of all, is with them.
How shall they fear God; by running and hiding? No! They fear God by reading His word and keeping His commandments. The people of Judah should show proper fear of the Lord by obeying. But Judah and Jerusalem are not faithful as Isaiah has already established in earlier chapters. God will test them when the Assyrian army invades Judah. While Assyria may remove the threat of Ephraim and Aram, the Assyrian army remains a threat themselves. Many Judeans will fall at the hand of Assyria. God is in this act of war both as protector and as refiner.
Judah will be refined by the experience. Isaiah points to their foolish ways, consulting mediums and spiritists for counsel. They should instead consult the Lord, what He has revealed in the Law of Moses, what He has spoken through the prophets. Isaiah asks and answers, "Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning."
Those who ignore the divine word of God, those who walk about ignorant of the scriptures and the life-giving hope and wisdom they hold, are destined to go through life distressed, angry and fearful.
The closing verses of Isaiah 8 move me the most. We live in a time where a great many people are distressed and angry, cursing God and everyone else. The hopelessness and frustration has led some to kill others. School shootings are a symptom of what's going on with our country spiritually. As we dial 1-900 numbers to consult psychics, or some other entertaining diversion, we ignore the scriptures which point us to Christ, the light of the world. As we spend our money on pleasures and trinkets we keep ourselves blind to real treasure. Faith is of greater value than gold or silver. Unless we repent and turn our eyes, ears, and hearts to the Lord, we will remain estranged from the Giver of life.
Isaiah describes what life is like estranged from God.
Isaiah 8:21-22 NIV
Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
Isaiah meant these words for any prophet or counselor, psychic or sage, who does not consult the living God and His word, but this description seems to depict quite well the spiritual destitution of our society of late. People are angry, frightened and desperate.
I wonder how differently we might live if we knew Immanuel, God with us?
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