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.