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 Isaiah.  God 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 security.  Isaiah 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 powerful.  No 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 fear.  We 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 today.  I 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 do.  We just have to decide which He will be for us.  Still, 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 captive.  If 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 it.  God’s word was not to be destroyed but kept faithfully by His people.  Matthew Henry says that binding up and sealing the word of God meant that it wasn’t to be added to or taken away from.  We 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 God.  If 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.   

Isaiah 8:5

Isaiah 8:5 says, The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,  As He did with Isaiah, God doesn’t just talk with us once, but He continues to talk with us if we listen.   

Verse six adds, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;  This refers to the fact that the people of Judah were not satisfied with what God had provided for them but wanted something greater, comparing the river through Jerusalem which was small and peaceful to the Euphrates River, which was big and somewhat dangerous.  We as followers of Christ should be satisfied with what God provides for us and it should bring us peace, but often we want more, even if it is dangerous to our faith in God.   

Verse seven continues, 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:  Since the people were not satisfied with what God had provided and the peace He brought to them, He was going to remove His protection from them.  Then, He was going to allow the nation of Assyria to defeat them, comparing them to a mighty river that would wash over them.  If we stop putting our faith in God, for whatever reason, we place ourselves in danger of having our spiritual life defeated by the world, even though as Christians we are still a part of God’s family.   

Verse eight concludes, 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.  Isaiah said that God had warned that the nation of Assyria would completely overflow Judah, to the neck, or Jerusalem, but it would not fall, since it was God’s holy city and He would protect it.  There would be no safe place for them.  If we stop relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we as followers of Christ may have our spiritual lives totally subjected to the views of the world, but if we are truly a believer in Christ, we will never be totally defeated spiritually.    

Verse nine states, 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.  Now, Isaiah returns to the present distress that Ahaz was in.  The people were called on to unite in going against the enemy and to be prepared for the fight by girding themselves in their armor.  We as Christians today must be united in serving God and prepared for the spiritual battles we will face by putting on the whole armor of God.   Still, Isaiah said that even if the people of Judah professed to be following God but didn’t really put their faith in Him, even if they seemed ready for battle, they were going to fall.  If we are only giving lip service to God, we are likewise going to be subject to fall in our spiritual life.   

Verse ten adds, Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.  The people were called on to counsel together, and this defeat would not last forever, because God was with those who believed in Him.  Matthew Henry points out that ‘God is with us' is the meaning of Immanuel, which refers to Jesus Christ.  Even if the people of Judah were overrun physically, as long as they remained faithful to God, their victory was assured when Jesus Christ would come to redeem all who had put their faith in God and the coming Messiah.  No matter what happens to us as Christians today in this world, we are forever saved by our faith in Jesus Christ.   

Isaiah 8:1

Isaiah 8:1 says, Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.  God told Isaiah not to just proclaim His word but to take a great scroll and write what He had to say concerning Mahershalalhashbaz, which Matthew Henry says means make speed to the spoil.  This scroll would contain this chapter and the next four of the Book of Isaiah, which is why it needed to be a large scroll.  It would also make it possible for the prophesy, which concerned the great destruction coming on the people of Israel and also the great trouble that was coming to the people of Judah by the rise in power of Assyria to read beforehand.  It would also provide a record for the people to see when the prophesy came true.  All of the Book of Isaiah and the Bible in its entirety is the inspired word of God, and we can read it to see the prophesies that have been fulfilled and also to know the coming events toward the time of the return of Jesus Christ.   

Verse two adds, And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.  Isaiah said he took two faithful witnesses, Uriah and Zechariah, to actually record the words.  Matthew Henry says that they were there to attest to the truth of the vision, since we are told in the bible that where two witnesses attest to the truth of something that it is established.  To me, it seems more like they were to write down what Isaiah said.  He also points out that Uriah was known for trying to please Ahaz with an idolatrous altar, but that now he was to be a faithful witness.  I believe that this tells us that just because a person may have failed in the past doesn’t mean that they can never be used by God in the future.   

Verse three continues, And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.  The prophesy started with Isaiah having gone to the prophetess, his wife, who conceived and bore another son, whose name was also to be a sermon to the people, but though the name of his first son proclaimed the mercy of God and the name of this son was to proclaim the judgment of God.  We can either accept the mercy of God as given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross which paid the penalty for the sins of everyone for all time, or we can one day face His judgment.  These are the only two choices.   

Verse four concludes, 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.  Isaiah said before the child was old enough to talk that the riches of Damascus, or Syria, and the spoil of Samariah, or Israel, the ten northern tribes, would be taken away by the king of Assyria.  This prophesy was to be fulfilled soon.  They had entered into a pact to war against Judah, but they were soon to be defeated themselves.  No matter how many people may join together to war against Christians today, their everlasting defeat has already been accomplished.