Isaiah 8
Isaiah is given a writing task by the
Lord in this chapter. He is to write on a tablet the words “Swift is the booty,
speedy is the prey” (v. 1). This writing had to be done in the presence of two
faithful witnesses for testimony that the Lord selected: Uriah the priest and
Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah (v. 2). Some interesting points are involved
here. If this Uriah is the same Urijah who built the heathen altar copied form
the Assyrian fashion at Damascus for king Ahaz after 727 BCE, then Isaiah wrote
this tablet prior to that date when faithful Uriah became unfaithful Urijah (2
Kings 16:10-11). The second point is that Zechariah was probably the greatgrandfather
of the prophet Zechariah. Jeberechiah was the grandfather of Zechariah and his
child was probably Iddo who’s son Berechiah was the father of the prophet
Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1). Isaiah then approached his wife who is called “the
prophetess” and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord gave the name
Maher-shalal-hash –baz. The agglutinating stringing of words together in one
block like this, is a characteristic of the Sumerian syntax and grammar. Isaiah
was a learned man who knew Akkadian well. Akkadian also uses some Sumerian
loanwords and expressions. They both wrote on clay tablets. Probably before 724
BCE, the boy of Isaiah was born since before he could speak “the wealth of
Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of
Assyria” referring to the fall of Samaria between 723-721 BCE by Shalmanezer V.
The Lord reiterate why the punishment was in process over Israel (v. 5). The
remnant weed has “rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoice in
Rezin and the son of Remaliah” (v. 6). Their fascination with Aram and Pekah of
Israel, led them to their punishment. This was in the days of Ahaz in 727 BCE
when Ahaz went to Damascus to pay for Tiglath-Pilezer III and copied the sketch
of the altar there. “Now behold the Lord is about to bring on them the strong
and abundant waters of the River [Euphrates]” (v. 7) which was Tiglath-Pilezer
III. “Even the king of Assyria and all his glory” (v. 7b). It will come into
Judah “and pass through . . .and the spread of its wings will fill the breadth
of Your land O Immanuel (Christ)” (v. 8). This world empire was to colonize all
peoples after breaking them “be broken O peoples and be shattered and give ear
all remote places of the earth” (v.9a-b). Even thought nations will militarily
prepare against Assyria, it would not succeed (v. 9c-d). They will devise a
plan but it will not succeed (v. 10). The reason is that with the remnant seed,
God is with them “God is with us” which is the equivalent of Immanuel or the
Christ promise to come mentioned in v. 8c. Isaiah said that this is what the
Lord told him and the Lord instructed him to be not like the remnant weed but
like the remnant seed (v. 11). The identification of the remnant weed is then
given: the remnant weed says “a conspiracy!” but the remnant seed should not
share that view (v. 12a); remnant seed should not fear what the remnant weed
fear (v. 12b); the remnant seed should regard as holy the Lord (v. 13a) not
politics; the Lord should be the remnant seed’s fear not like remnant weed who
fear politics (v. 13b); the Lord becomes a sanctuary to the remnant seed but
the remnant weed likes the cult of politics they set up for themselves (v.
13d); for both Israel in 723 BCE and Judah in 586 BCE there was a coming
kingdom of the Messiah “a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over” (v. 14b).
The exiles and historical events are all related to the Rock of Ages to Whom we
all should be cleaving (see the final kingdom of the Messiah as a Rock in
Daniel 2). Jerusalem was to suffer “many will fall on them” and then they will
fall and be broken, the inhabitants snared and caught in history many times (v.
15). For the remnant seed there is a message: bind the testimony; seal the law
among the disciples (v. 16); wait for the Lord Who is hiding His face from the
house of Jacob; look eagerly for Him (v. 17); Isaiah as a remnant seed is with
the mission, his wife, his children and him “are for signs and wonders in [spiritual]
Israel” and this mission was given “from the Lord of hosts [angels] Who dwells
on [heavenly] Mount Zion” (v. 18). The problem with the remnant weed are
continued: the consult mediums, spiritism “who whisper and mutter” but the
remnant seed consult God (v. 19); the remnant weed goes to ancestral graves to
speak to the dead but Isaiah says that the remnant seed goes to God to speak to
the living God (v. 19b). The remnant seed follows the Law and the Testimony (v.
20). This is how you know true religion “if they do not speak according to this
Word [Law including the Saturday Sabbath keeping command and Testimony
including the gospels about Christ’s substitutionary death for our salvation]
it is because they have no dawn” (v. 20b). The remnant weed will have hard
times in the Time of Trouble “they will pass through the land “hard-pressed and
famished” and when they are hungry they will curse their rulers and also God “as
they face upward” (v. 21) since God is going to send plaques during this time
to fall on the remnant weed and evil ones but not the remnant seed. They will
look to the earth at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Time of Trouble “and behold distress and
darkness the gloom of anguish and driven away into darkness” the fatal result
(v. 22).
Dear God
The remnant seed
and weed exists in our day and age but we wish not to be part of the weed.
Grant that our faith is established, our consultation is You, our standing is
with Christ our Advocate and the plaques coming will have no effect on us.
Amen.