Isaiah 8:1 ¶
Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it
with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. 2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to
record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she
conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name
Mahershalalhashbaz. 4 For before the
child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of
Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of
Assyria. 5 The LORD spake also unto me
again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this
people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and
Remaliah’s son; 7 Now therefore, behold,
the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even
the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his
channels, and go over all his banks: 8
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall
reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill
the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
Let’s do a comparison between Isaiah, chapter
8, and the 8th book of the Bible for those who believe that the
chapters in Isaiah match a book of the Bible. Those who believe in the
comparison, calling Isaiah a mini-Bible, refer to the 8th book
called Ruth They both contain themes of a witness, a conception, and baring a
son.
2 And
I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah
the son of Jeberechiah. . 3 And I went
unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to
me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Ruth 4:11a
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are
witnesses…13 ¶ So Boaz took Ruth, and
she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception,
and she bare a son.
Isaiah is told to prophesy that he will have
a son and before the son can even so much as cry out and say father and mother
these enemies, Israel and Syria, spoken of in chapter 7, will be spoiled by the
Assyrians. This puts events as being very close.
Assyria will even invade Judah because they
have, as ancient Jewish sources are reported by Gill to have interpreted,
refused the gentle rule of the house of David. They will get the oppression and
destruction of Assyria. This is what the reference to the waters of Shiloah
is about. Israel might have rejected the harshness of Rehoboam but it was
nothing compared to what is going to come upon them.
Strong’s says that Mahershalalhashbaz means,
“swift is the booty, speedy is the prey,” referring to the imminency of the
Assyrian oppression.
Isaiah 8:9 ¶
Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and
give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in
pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to
nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a
strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this
people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A
confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy;
neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13
Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your
fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a
stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for
a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall,
and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
Another note of significance is the Jewish
understanding of Isaiah, chapter 8, in regard to the Messiah to come. The
Targums were the Second Temple Period, the time of Jesus, and their interpretation
in Aramaic of the Hebrew scriptures so the Jews taught this at the time of
Jesus’ ministry.
Verse 14 regarding a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense is spoken of as a Messianic stone in certain
Jewish Targums and we will see soon how this is applied in the Christian New
Testament.
First, from Paul;
Romans 9:30 ¶
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after
righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is
of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed
after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that
stumblingstone; 33 As it is written,
Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Then from Peter;
1Peter 2:7
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head
of the corner,
8 And
a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the
word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Isaiah prophecies in verse 9 of chapter 8
that the confederacy against Judah will be broken. He says not to fear Israel
and Syria but to only fear God, the only one you should truly be afraid of.
Syria was taken by Assyria.
2Kings 16:9
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went
up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir,
and slew Rezin.
Then, Assyria took Ephraim and Israel.
2Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and
carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the
river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Remember in verse 10, the sign of Immanuel
promising the defeat of the confederacy against Judah from;
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Defined for us in the text from;
Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Here is the statement that the Messiah, Jesus
Christ, identified by cross-referencing, is God. There is a striking and
definitive doctrinal statement that we should acknowledge.
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