[Linux4christians] Thursday - Isaiah 8

Wed Jun 29 22:41:20 EDT 2011

    Thursday

      Isaiah 8

A Sign-Child is Born

8:1 The Lord told me, "Take a large tablet and inscribe these words on 
it with an ordinary stylus: 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.' 8:2 Then I will 
summon as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of 
Jeberekiah." 8:3 I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she 
conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, "Name him 
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, 
'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of 
Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

8:5 The Lord spoke to me again: 8:6 "These people have rejected the 
gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son 
of Remaliah. 8:7 So look, the sovereign master is bringing up against 
them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River -- the king 
of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and 
overflow its banks. 8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and 
engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his 
wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel."

8:9 You will be broken, O nations; you will be shattered! Pay attention, 
all you distant lands of the earth! Get ready for battle, and you will 
be shattered! Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!

8:10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, 
but they will not be executed! For God is with us!

The Lord Encourages Isaiah

8:11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and 
warned me not to act like these people:

8:12 "Do not say, 'Conspiracy,' every time these people say the word. 
Don't be afraid of what scares them; don't be terrified.

8:13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. 
He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, 
and a rock that makes one stumble -- to the two houses of Israel. He 
will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.

8:15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be 
seriously injured, and will be ensnared and captured."

8:16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, seal the official record of 
God's instructions and give it to my followers.

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected the family of 
Jacob; I will wait for him.

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and 
object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who 
lives on Mount Zion.

8:19 Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

They will say to you, "Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up 
underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter 
incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking 
the dead about the destiny of the living?" 8:20 Then you must recall the 
Lord's instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. 
Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually 
darkened. 8:21 They will pass through the land destitute and starving. 
Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and 
their God as they look upward. 8:22 When one looks out over the land, he 
sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people 
forced from the land.

      Prayer

Lord, You loved the people and they rejected You, and after generations 
of grace Your discipline came to them. May I remember to respond 
appropriately and obediently to Your love and not give you a reason to 
discipline me.

      Commentary

Isaiah was instructed by the Lord God to write a name that meant 
something similar to "come quickly" and for that name to be witnessed on 
the tablet by others.

Isaiah then went to his wife, labeled as a "prophetess" as was the 
custom for the wife of a prophet, and they had a child -- whom they 
obediently named as instructed. Before he was of the age of 
accountability the king of Assyria was to plunder Ephraim and Syria as 
prophesied. [Note: There is scholarly debate as to the possible 
rhetorical vs literal meaning of Isaiah's son as a foreshadowing of 
Jesus, but the text fails to support that, and such is unnecessary to 
the later text 7:14 which Jesus is prophesied.]

The Lord then prophesied that after obliterating Ephraim and Syria the 
Assyrians would over-run Israel and Judah and all of the nations around 
them. [Note: The term "Immanuel" (God with us) is used to describe the 
nations of Israel, as they were the earthly expression of the Lord God, 
a vague shadow compared to Jesus the Christ -- The Immanuel" (God 
literally with/among us - in the flesh.)

The Lord God warned Isaiah to take care not to follow the actions and 
thinking of the people:

"Do not say, 'Conspiracy,' every time these people say the word. Don't 
be afraid of what scares them; don't be terrified."

"... recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the 
one you must respect; he is the one you must fear."

"He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a 
rock that makes one stumble -- to the two houses of Israel. He will 
become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem. Many will 
stumble over the stone and the rock, and will fall and be seriously 
injured, and will be ensnared and captured."

"Tie up the scroll as legal evidence, seal the official record of God's 
instructions and give it to my followers."

Isaiah then said "I will wait patiently for the Lord, who has rejected 
the family of Jacob; I will wait for him. Look, I and the sons whom the 
Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from 
the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion."

Isaiah was warned further that the people, filled with spiritual 
darkness in their rebellion, would ask him to call upon demons and 
ghosts and witches in the hope that the dead might tell them of the 
future of the living. It would be yet another act of foolishness and of 
rebellion and he was to ignore them as their punishment descended upon them.

      Interaction

        Consider

The Lord God would protect Isaiah, and others, who honored their 
relationship with Him but would bring trouble to rebels and create 
challenges to others who denied His presence.

        Discuss

Why would the Lord God cause Isaiah to write 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.' 
(come quickly) on a tablet for others to see?

        Reflect

Just as Saul turned to witchcraft so also did the people of Isaiah's time.

        Share

When have you observed people acting and thinking in pagan ways in hopes 
of a God-less magical solution to their problems?

      Faith in Action

        Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you 
think 'magically', hoping for a solution to a problem, rather than 
taking it to the Lord God in faithful and trusting prayer and then 
leaving it with Him.

        Action:

Today I will confess and repent, seek and accept forgiveness from the 
Lord God, and then begin a disciplined prayer-practice of bring 
everything to the Lord in prayer.

        Be Specific ______________________________________________________

    Friday's text will be:

      Isaiah 9 - 10

-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
Defend free speech or lose your freedom.
I don't google I SEARCH! Startpage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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