Sunday, June 22, 2025

Isaiah 8:11

Isaiah 8:11 says, 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, Isaiah said God spoke to Him with a strong hand, or in other words He made it very clear what He expected of IsaiahGod told Isaiah very clearly that he was not to walk in the way of the people of Judah, who were living in fear of their enemies.  We cannot walk in the way of the world out of fear but must remain faithful to God.   

Verse twelve adds, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.  God warned Isaiah not to put his faith in confederacies, or pacts with the people around him looking for securityIsaiah was not to be afraid as they were, because God was with him.  Today, we cannot stop putting our faith in God when things aren’t going well, and the world looks too powerfulNo pact that we make with the world that goes against God’s will can ever keep us safe.   

Verse thirteen continues, Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  God told Isaiah to sanctify the Lord of hosts and let Him be Isaiah’s fearWe should be more afraid of what will happen to us if we don’t obey God and have His protection than we are of the enemies we have in the world todayI don’t believe that we serve God out of fear of what He will do to us if we don’t as followers of Christ, but out of an understanding of how helpless we are if we don’t have His protection.   

Verse fourteen states, 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.  Isaiah was told that God would be a sanctuary for him if he continued to put his faith in Him, but that God would be a stumbling block for both houses of Israel, the divided kingdom, and for Jerusalem, the city of God, because they had turned away from Him and put their faith in other gods and nations.  We know that Jesus Christ is a stumbling block to those who don’t put their faith in Him, but He is a sanctuary for those who doWe just have to decide which He will be for usStill, many people who profess to be Christians find Jesus Christ to be a stumbling block, proclaiming that He is not the only One who can save.   

Verse fifteen adds, And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.  Isaiah was then warned that many of the people of both Israel and Judah, including those from Jerusalem, would fall and be taken away captiveIf we fail to put our faith in Jesus Christ, even if we call ourselves a Christian nation, may find ourselves taken away captive by the powers of other nations who fight against God and His commandments.   

Verse sixteen continues, Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.  Isaiah was told to bind up the word of God and seal itGod’s word was not to be destroyed but kept faithfully by His peopleMatthew Henry says that binding up and sealing the word of God meant that it wasn’t to be added to or taken away fromWe cannot try to add or take away from to what the Bible teaches but must just faithfully believe and obey what it says, because it is the written word of GodIf God’s word says something is a sin, no matter what the world may say, we must believe in God’s word and live faithfully by what it teaches us without fear.   


No comments:

Post a Comment