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Overview

Isaiah 8 is a continuation of Isaiah 7. Both are prophecies against Israel (the northern kingdom) and Syria. The unique part of Isaiah 8 is that God commands Isaiah to write on a tablet and then get confirmation from two witnesses. This tablet was to be shared publicly, warning the people of Judah of God’s imminent judgment. 

Isaiah 8:1-4

Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters,‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.” And 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 boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

I know that for me, when I first studied Isaiah back in college, it seemed to just be a constant stream of doom and gloom prophecies. But now, looking with a different eye, I see God’s patience. I see God’s mercy. I see God’s accomodations. The God of the Universe, in an attempt to provoke Judah to repentance, uses a variety of methods to get their attention. Now God uses a tablet and two reliable witnesses to awaken His people. 

God also uses Isaiah’s wife. She is called a prophetess, which either means she is in the formal sense or just Isaiah’s wife. Either way, she bore a child, whose existence and very name had a specific meaning. Whenever you saw Isaiah’s son, you were reminded of this prophecy. And when this prophecy was fulfilled (which it was, probably two years after his birth), the people of Judah will be reminded that YHWH knows the future. Be aware. If that prophecy came true, so will the others. 

Isaiah 8:7-8

Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

The context here is Assyria’s future destruction of Israel. But Judah will still feel the waves of war, of suffering. Assyria will not conquer Judah, but there will be loss. Notice the end of verse 8. Judah is Immanuel’s Land. Not King Ahaz. Not the people of Judah. It is Immanuel’s Land. None is going to change that. Not even the most powerful nation in the world at that time. 

Isaiah 8:11-15

For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

God reminds His prophet not to fear man, but rather fear God. This is not meant to be understood as “dread” or “terror”. This is a reverence, an awe of God. 

God reminds Isaiah that He can either be a sanctuary or a stone of offense. Either we can run to God, letting His shelter overshadow us or we can be offended by His words, His laws. It is noteworthy to remember that the apostle Peter quoted this verse around 800 years later. 

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (I Peter 2:6-8)

Peter is obviously referring to Jesus. For those who place their trust in Him, He is our cornerstone. We literally build our whole lives from this stone, from this starting point. But for those who reject Jesus, He is a stumbling block, a stone of offense.

A rock is immovable. A cornerstone recalibrates. Let Jesus today recalibrate your life. Start with Him. Build on a foundation that will never break, never wash away.