Question of the day: When was the last time you laughed, and what were you laughing about?
Read: Isaiah 8:1-17
8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a] 2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me. 3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 “Because this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoices over Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—
the king of Assyria with all his pomp.
It will overflow all its channels,
run over all its banks
8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,
passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,
Immanuel[b]!”
9 Raise the war cry,[c] you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.[d]
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
16 Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
Let's start way back in verse 1.
This is an interesting verse. First we see that God is telling Isaiah to write down with an ordinary pen a very interesting word. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz is literally translated "Swift is booty, speedy is prey"
So Isaiah brings in people to witness him writing it down. Then...
He makes love to his wife the prophetess and God tells him to name his son. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
First it is important to note that his wife is a prophetess. Some commentaries suggest that she is called a prophetess because of her husband is a prophet. However, no where is that done in the bible and it seems to not be so in the culture of the day. In the Andrews Bible Commentary it is said that for these reasons it is more likely that she was a working active prophetess. What a couple they must have been. Isaiah was married to a woman who was also working for God in a prominent way. So they have a son, and name him swift is booty, speedy is prey. I mean that is a name. Wow. why?
This was to be a constant reminder of what was going to happen. So every time they called him, loving spoke to him, they heard the warning, or the prophesy.
We have a name that is a warning that the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria would be taken by the King of Assyria, confirming the prophecy in 7:3-9.
This was so important God asked Isaiah to name his son as a reminder. We as the Seventh-day Adventist Church make a big deal about prophesy and yet many of us who have grown up with prophesy being more important than KNOWING God have not spent much time focusing on prophesy. I will confess, this has made me rethink that. Perhaps, I personally need to take another look, at prophesy, from a fresh perspective and find out how it helps in strengthening not only my relationship but it propels me to LIVE a life for Him.
Do you think prophesy is something that is important to us today?
Now on to the prophesy.
In verse 6 we see a contrast of two bodies of water. First the gentle flowing waters of Shiloah. These represent the gentle and sustaining care of God. Second, the mighty flood waters of the Euphrates, this is a poetic way of describing the overwhelming power of the Assyrian army.
So because of their rejection of God's sustaining gentle care, God opens the floodgates and allows the Assyrian army to wreak havoc.
In my study bible it talks about the two sides of God, the kind and gentle God and the angry God. I respectfully disagree and see this so different.
Here the poetic language gives us a more accurate picture.
God is always a loving God. He is a God however, that loves and that loves leaves us ALWAYS with choice! LOVE NEVER FORCES! Just yesterday I was heard a story about a precious person who was being physically and emotionally abused by their spouse. We know that is NOT love. It is amazing though how much abusers use "love" as a justification for what they are doing. Whenever force comes into play it is not about love.
With that in mind. When the Israelites chose to reach out to others for their protection and then they rejected the kind and gentle protection of God. No longer were the angry waters of the Euphrates held back (or the Assyrian army.)
Jesus said, "Come unto me and I will give you rest... For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Living for God, obeying His laws, is like the gentle flowing waters of Shiloah. It when we look to meet our needs outside of Him, in ways that go against His guidance and plan, that we are overcome by the flood waters.
In verse 8 it says, "reaching up to the neck". What does that mean?
What about the wings and then Immanuel? What does this mean?
Then in verse 9-10.
Here is the HOPE! Here is the assurance. Ultimately, no matter what, no matter how much planning, the battle is already won. We have that assurance. Because of Immanuel! Because God is with us, we have this Hope!
Verses 12-15
What in this passage did you find applicable to you right now? Today?
Verse 16-18.
To bind up, or seal God's instructions is quite literally to KNOW them, to preserve them. To make sure it is clear and shared. We are also to be disciples spreading the right and true word. We are to KNOW and to share.
I can't imagine a more important message for us today! Seriously, when the world is caught up in conspiracy theories, and arguments and nastiness, we should be spreading the good news, and perhaps not by talking but by doing! We should be sharing LIFE, not contributing to the rhetoric of division and hate!
What is that LIFE we should be sharing? (Hint, you can share it without talking about what it isn't!)
What is something we see or learn about God in this chapter?
How do we see HOPE?
How do we take this lesson and LIVE differently?
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