Isaiah 8

 

The Lord warns of coming destruction

 

1 Then the LORD said to me, Take a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning ‘speed to the spoil, rush to the prey.’ 2  I took faithful witnesses to myself to record this, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and birthed a son. Then the LORD said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz. 4 For before the child will know to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

 

  • God told Isaiah to name his son ‘swift to the prey.’
  • His will was done the hard way because His people refused His easy way.
  • But God protected those who trusted in Him.

 

5 The LORD spoke to me again saying, 6 For these people refuse the waters of Shiloah that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 7 So now behold, the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he will come up over all his channels, and overflow all his banks: 8 And he will sweep on into Judah; he will overflow and pass through, it will rise up to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

 

  • The name Immanuel means ‘God with us.’
  • It is a reminder of who they are supposed to be and who they have failed.
  • The Lord is with us, and if we miss that, we have, like this people, missed everything!
  • But the Lord is merciful.

 

The Lord is a sanctuary for those who trust in Him

 

9 Be broken, O people, and be shattered; listen, all you of far countries: gird yourselves, and you will be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and you will be broken in pieces. 10 Call your councils of war, develop your strategies, prepare your plans of attack—and then die! For God is with us! 11 For the LORD said this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Do not say, a conspiracy, to all those to whom this people say, a conspiracy; or fear their fear, or be afraid. 13 Sanctify the LORD of armies himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

 

  • The people were saying that it wasn’t God, but a conspiracy of treason by another nation.
  • God told Isaiah not to go along with this.
  • In chapter 7 Rezin and the son of Remaliah plotted to against God’s people to destroy them. Their counsel will not stand.
  • God in Isaiah 8:7 was going to bring the king of Assyria against these two nations.
  • What they planned against God’s people was going to happen to them instead.

 

14 And he will be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a noose to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them will stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait on the LORD, that hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in mount Zion.

 

  • The Lord told Isaiah not to be afraid though disaster was coming. He and his family would be safe in God.
  • Zion is a spiritual symbol of the place in our lives where we have claimed God’s promises and conquered our enemies by faith in His word.
  • He still dwells in Zion today.
  • Hebrews 13:5 Let your life be without covetousness; and be content with what you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
  • Ephesians 3:17-19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, the you may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

19 And when they say to you, Consult the mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter: should not a people seek their God? (Should they ask) the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 And they will pass through the land hard pressed and famished: and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 And they will look to the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, gloom and anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.


  • God commanded His people back to His word.
  • That is our light. That is what He counsels.
  • In His word, God has already given the very best answer that could ever be.
  • It brings God’s peace, comfort, blessing, and victory.
  • When we don’t take the solution God offers, there is trouble, darkness, gloom, and anguish.
  • When we need a doctor, do we go to a quack? Or do we find the person most qualified to deal with our problem?
  • 1John 3:20 God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
  • John 1:9 (Jesus) was the true Light, that lightens every man that comes into the world.

 

                                              Isaiah 9

 

1 Nevertheless the dimness will not be like it was in her distress, when at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more grievously afflicted her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light has shined.

 

  • The first thing that God created was light—Genesis 1:3.
  • Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in Matthew 4:15, 16.
  • I John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

 

3 You have multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they rejoice before you like the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For you have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this will be with burning and fuel of fire.

 

  • Their joy was based on the amount of the harvest rather than the God who provides all things abundantly for us to enjoy (I Timothy 6:17).
  • Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

 

Our heavenly Father gave us the best gift that could ever be given

 

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government will be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

  • God has promised to send His Son to end all war and rule earth justly. All the wonder of life that can be, will be.
  • Revelation 19:11-13 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a garment dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

 

8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it has lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people will know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks have fallen down, but we will build with cut stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the LORD will set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they will devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people do not turn to him that strikes them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

 

  • The Lord sets adversaries against those who do not return to Him.
  • God made the solution simple—turn to the Lord, seek the Lord.

 

The Lord cuts off leaders and teachers of lies

 

14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15 The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. 16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and those that are led by them are swallowed up. 17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, nor mercy on the fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and does evil, and every mouth speaks vileness. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out. 18 For wickedness burns like the fire: it will devour the briers and thorns, and will kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they will mount up like the lifting up of smoke.19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is darkened, and the people will be as the fuel of the fire: no man will spare his brother. 20 And he will cut on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied: every man will eat the flesh of his own arm: 21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and together they will be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.

 

  • Ezekiel 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel… Woe to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! 3 You eat the fat, and you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill them that are fed: but you do not feed the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the diseased. You have not healed the sick. You have not bound up what was broken. You have not sought out those driven away. You have not sought the lost; but you have ruled them with force and cruelty. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became food to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.  6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill… and none searched or sought after them. 11 This is what the Lord GOD says; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so I will seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them on the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold will be on the high mountains of Israel: there they will lie down in a good fold, and they will feed in a fat pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

 

 

                                               Isaiah 10

 

The Lord is our helper who holds us up

 

1 Cries of grief to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! 3 And what will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation that will come from far off? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without me they will bow down under the prisoners, and they will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.

 

  • God pronounced cries of grief on self-serving judges, leaders, and lawmakers.
  • Psalm 145:14 The LORD upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that are bowed down.

 

5 O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation. 6 I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath I will give him a command, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 However he does not intend this, neither does his heart think it; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

 

  • The leaders took the spoil from the people by writing laws to extort unjust gain.
  • Then God sent Assyria to take that spoil from the leaders.
  • Assyria didn’t realize that God was using them to do His will.
  • Israel said they were God’s people and that they were obeying God but they were serving themselves and seeking false things that did not satisfy.


8 For he says, Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus? 10 My hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her idols? 12 So when the Lord has finished his whole work on mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the pomp of his haughtiness.


  • After God used the king of Assyria to discipline Israel for their unfaithfulness to Him, then He was going to punish the Assyrians.

 

13 For he says, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: 14 And my hand has found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 15 Does the axe boast itself against him that chops with it? Or does the saw magnify itself against him that shakes it? As if the rod could shake itself against those that lift it up, or the staff could lift itself up as if it were not wood. 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of armies, will send leanness among his fat ones; and under his glory he will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. 17 And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

 

  • Briers are deep patches of thorns.
  • Thorns are part of the curse at the fall—a curse that brought humbling to man so that man would choose to return to God who is our life.
  • I John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

 

18 And will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, from the soul to the flesh: and they will be as when a standard-bearer faints. 19 And the rest of the trees of his forest will be few that a child could count them. 20 And in that day the remnant of Israel, and those that escape from the house of Jacob will no longer lean him that struck them; but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

 

  • Victims of abuse often think the pain of abuse will be healed if the one who hurt them apologizes and comforts them.
  • This verse tells us that keeping our hearts and minds on God is what heals.

 

21 The remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel are as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them will return: the consumption decreed will overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a consumption determined in the midst of all the land. 24 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of hosts/armies says , O my people that dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian: he will strike you with a rod, and will lift up his staff against you, like Egypt.

 

The Lord’s indignation is brief

 

25 But in a very little while, and the indignation will stop, and my anger in their destruction. 26 The LORD Almighty will beat them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the LORD’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea.

 

  • Psalm 30:5 For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

  

27 And in that day his burden will be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing. 28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron;at Michmash he has laid up his carriages: 29 They have gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 31 Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day: he will shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will lop off the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature will be chopped down, and the proud will be humbled. 34 And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by a mighty one.

 

  • Since Eden man has lifted himself up against God.

 

 

                                             Isaiah 11

 

God will send earth an awesome ruler

 

1 A rod will come out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch will grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And will make him delight/breathe in the fear of the LORD: and he will not judge according to the sight of his eyes or decide according to the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness he will judge the poor; and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.


  • God spoke the earth into being at creation (Psalm 33:6. 9, Genesis1).

  • This rod out of the stem of Jesse (King David’s father) is the promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, the Savior God had promised to send at man’s fall.

  • Because this person will be the Lord who knows all things He will be able to judge everything perfectly (1John 3:20).

 

5 And righteousness will be the encircler of his loins, and faithfulness the encircler of his heart. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear will feed; their young ones will lie down together: and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 And the nursing child will play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child will put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

 

  • The Lord’s reign will have no hint of injustice.
  • He will rule for the true benefit of each living person whom He created, died for, and loves.
  • He will end all violence in the animal kingdom.

 

9 They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And in that day there will be a root of Jesse, that will stand for a flag of the people; to it the Gentiles will seek: and his rest will be glory. 11 And in that day, that the Lord will set his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which will be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners/wings of the earth. 13 The envy of Ephraim will depart, and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off: Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not trouble Ephraim. 14 But they will fly on the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they will spoil those of the east together: they will lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon will obey them. 15 And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he will shake his hand over the river, and will strike it into the seven streams, and make men go over in shoes. 16 And there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who will be left from Assyria; like it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

 

  • The Lord will change earth’s topography. Waters cover 3/4 of the earth’s surface and fill the sea.
  • After thousands of years of trouble on earth, there will be no more poverty, famine, disease, sickness, injustice, violence, or war.
  • This, His rest, will be glorious.

 

 

                                              Isaiah 12

 

The Lord comforts after correcting

 

1 And in that day you will say, O LORD, I will praise you: though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comforted me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.

 

  • This chapter continues Isaiah11 which speaks of a future time when God comes back to earth to make things right.
  • The passage was written to the nation Israel, who was corrected many times for her worship of false gods.
  • 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
  • Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

 

He has done excellent things

 

4 And in that day will you say, Praise the LORD, call on his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the LORD; for he has done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout for joy, O inhabitress of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you.

 

  • Psalm 97:9 ...you, LORD, are high above all the earth: you are exalted far above all gods.
  • Jeremiah 10:12 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
  • Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the exact image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY: Isaiah 8-12

 

  • The Lord is a sanctuary for those who trust in Him
  • Our heavenly Father gave us the best gift that could ever be given
  • The Lord cuts off leaders and teachers of lies
  • The Lord is our helper who holds us up
  • The Lord’s indignation is brief
  • God will send earth an awesome ruler
  • The Lord comforts after correcting
  • He has done excellent things