Isaiah 8 Commentary
Judah, Her Attackers, Punished.
The word of God can change your life. Read it daily…FOR HELP CLICKHERE
KEY THOUGHT: But a stone of stumbling and a rock of [m]offense
To both the houses of Israel, [Isaiah 8:14b NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Isaiah 8 NKJV
Assyria Will Invade the Land
8 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning [a]Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 Then 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; 4 for before the child [b]shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the [c]spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:
6 “Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of [d]the River, strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will [e]go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8 He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will [f]fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.[g]
9 “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For [h]God is with us.”
Fear God, Heed His Word
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with [i]a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their [j]threats, nor be [k]troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a [l]sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of [m]offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and [n]taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there[o] is no light in them.
21 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse [p]their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
Footnotes
a. Isaiah 8:1 Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty
b. Isaiah 8:4 knows how
c. Isaiah 8:4 plunder
d. Isaiah 8:7 The Euphrates
e. Isaiah 8:7 Overflow
f. Isaiah 8:8 Lit. be the fullness of
g. Isaiah 8:8 Lit. God-With-Us
h. Isaiah 8:10 Heb. Immanuel
i. Isaiah 8:11 Mighty power
j. Isaiah 8:12 Lit. fear or terror
k. Isaiah 8:12 Lit. in dread
l. Isaiah 8:14 holy abode
m. Isaiah 8:14 stumbling over
n. Isaiah 8:15 captured
o. Isaiah 8:20 Or they have no dawn
p. Isaiah 8:21 Or by their king and by their God
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 8 Commentary
Isaiah is full of symbols and teaching aids. Chapter 8 introduces another symbol. Isaiah’s wife conceives, and the LORD orders Isaiah to name the boy ‘Quick Loot, Fast Plunder’. It is a message against Samaria and Damascus. Both nations would be scattered soonest – right before your own eyes!
The LORD uses a real-life event in real time to emphasize the timing of His judgment against Samaria and Damascus. The name suggested that the end had come for both nations. They didn’t have time.
In the same breath, the LORD announces that Judah too will be attacked by Assyria. By the time of Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, Judah was only a little more than a city-state because of the Assyrians!
The LORD’s judgment causes fear amongst the people. But Isaiah should never share the people’s fear. “Don’t fear what they fear.” It is similar to the LORD’s earlier message to the righteous: “Go tell the righteous, it is well.”
The world is ruled by fear.
In the world of darkness, the fear of death tops the list. Yes, death by itself and death for what it stands for. Death terminates everything, so the world understands. So men and women live like success here and now is everything. You accumulate nothing and fear losing the same nothing!
In the world of the Son’s government, the fear of God rules. But fear in the world of light never goes by common definitions. Call it reverence, freedom, obedience, love, and holiness, among the fruit that naturally oozes from man’s fear of the sovereign Creator God.
Isaiah shouldn’t fear like them. Let the saint react differently to issues of life. Immanuel, God-with-us, has the final word. After all, He is the sword behind the battle.
Then Isaiah seems to write to his own disciples – his followers. He wants them to keep the messages of the LORD through the prophet. Probably this book exists because of this instruction here.
It is these messages that should direct the thoughts of the remnant. Don’t consult the dead. For us, the dead could be anything dead, like men’s ideas and predictions. Only the word of the LORD stands. Forget fortunetellers, physics, mediums, or gurus.
False peace, false success, and false messages. The only real stuff is fear. You cannot resolve this problem by personal strength.
Men and women curse their leaders. Unfortunately, they also curse the LORD God. But men and women in leadership are mere pons. Behind it all is the name of the LORD God. Think about it and have the right picture of events. The LORD God is sovereign. He rules.
- Isaiah 8 Commentary
- Isaiah 7 Commentary
- Isaiah 5 Commentary
- Isaiah 4 Commentary
- Isaiah 3 Commentary
- Isaiah 2 Commentary
- Isaiah 1 Commentary
- Song 8 Commentary
- Song 7 Commentary
- Song 6 Commentary
- Song 5 Commentary
- Song 4 Commentary
- Song 3 Commentary
- Song 2 Commentary
- Song 1 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 12 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 11 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 10 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 9 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 8 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 7 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 6 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 5 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 4 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 3 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 2 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary
- Proverbs 31 Commentary
- Proverbs 30 Commentary
- Proverbs 29 Commentary
- Proverbs 28 Commentary
- Proverbs 27 Commentary
- Proverbs 26 Commentary
- Proverbs 25 Commentary
- Proverbs 24 Commentary
- Proverbs 23 Commentary
- Proverbs 22 Commentary
- Proverbs 21 Commentary
- Proverbs 20 Commentary
- Proverbs 19 Commentary
- Proverbs 18 Commentary
- Proverbs 17 Commentary
- Proverbs 16 Commentary
- Proverbs 15 Commentary
- Proverbs 14 Commentary
- Proverbs 13 Commentary
- Proverbs 12 Commentary
- Proverbs 11 Commentary
- Proverbs 10 Commentary
- Proverbs 9 Commentary
Loving Scripture….
LOVING SCRIPTURE 
Leave a comment