Isaiah 8 Commentary

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.

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