ISAIAH 8 MAHERSHALALHASHBAZ

 

ISAIAH 8

 Mahershalalhashbaz

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. 

The LORD instructed Isaiah to take a large tablet—whether of wood, stone, or parchment—and engrave upon it, using a stylus, the message concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz in bold, deep characters so that the information would be read by all the people of Judah. It was to be like a public proclamation.

Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 

In obedience to the LORD’s command, Isaiah gathered faithful witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah—to attest to the engraving of this prophetic message.

Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. 

Isaiah then went to his wife, the prophetess (as the wife of the prophet was called), and she conceived and bore a son. The LORD instructed him to name the child Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, meaning “swift to spoil, speedy to prey.”

Isa 8:4  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. 

Before the child could utter “father” or “mother,” the wealth of Damascus (Syria’s capital) and the spoils of Samaria (Israel’s capital) would be seized by the king of Assyria.

Isa 8:5  The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, 

The LORD spoke to Isaiah again, saying:

Isa 8:6  Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 

Because this people reject the gently flowing waters of Shiloah—a symbol of God’s provision through the house of David—and instead place their trust in Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (son of Remaliah, king of Israel).

Isa 8:7  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: 

The LORD will bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates — the vast and powerful army of Assyria — as an act of judgment for turning their trust away from God’s provision. The enemy will come with his magnificent and splendid retinue, bearing all the insignia of royalty, as he sweeps through the entire nation, overwhelming the land.

Isa 8:8  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.

The Assyrian army will sweep through Judah, flooding it like an unstoppable tide. It will rise up to the neck — to Jerusalem itself — spreading destruction across the cities and towns, devastating both Judah and Israel— the people called by God’s name. O Immanuel, though this is your land, the people have rejected the presence of God.

Isa 8:9  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.

The prophet calls the attention of the enemy nations and sounds an alarm, urging them to tremble before the advancing Assyrian army. Their confederacy was about to be utterly shattered; they would be conquered. Listen, distant lands — Syria and Samaria! Arm yourselves, but you will be broken. The warning is given twice — once to each nation — and with it, the certainty that both would be scattered like fragments of broken pottery.

Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. 

The prophet almost mockingly urges them to take counsel together — but it will fail. Let them speak their plans, yet they will not stand, for God is with us.

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

Isa 8:11  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, 

With a firm directive, the LORD took hold of Isaiah, instructing him not to follow the way of the people—who, in fear and distrust, were seeking foreign aid instead of relying on Yahweh.

Isa 8:12  Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 

Isaiah was commanded not to agree and accept the people’s cry for alliances. He was not to fear the confederacy of invading armies, nor was he to seek refuge in foreign military alliances out of fear for the nation’s survival.

Isa 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 

Instead, Isaiah was to sanctify the LORD—regarding Him with deep reverence and awe. He was to honour and regard Him as the only source of safety and defence and his sole dependence should be upon Him. He should be afraid of provoking God’s wrath by looking to other sources of help but only depend on God.

Isa 8:14  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. 

To those who trust Him, the LORD would be a sanctuary, a place of safety. But for both the houses of Israel and Judah, rejecting God’s counsel and despising His protection would result in their downfall. They would stumble over His truth, suffering judgment like a bird ensnared in a trap.

Isa 8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 

Many among them would falter in faith, stumble, fall, and suffer injury. Their spiritual blindness would lead them into captivity.

Isa 8:16  Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 

God’s message to the people was sealed—the testimony secured. Isaiah was to bind up the prophetic revelation, preserving it as law among the faithful who would uphold it in obedient trust.

Isa 8:17  And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 

Isaiah responded in faith, declaring his commitment to wait upon the LORD. Though God had hidden His face from the rebellious house of Jacob (Israel & Judah), Isaiah would still look to Him with steadfast trust.

Isa 8:18  Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 

Isaiah and his sons bore divinely significant names—each a prophetic sign of God’s work in Israel.

• Isaiah meant “Salvation of Yahweh.”
• Shear-Jashub meant “A remnant shall return.”
• Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz meant “Swift to spoil, speedy to prey.”

These names foreshadowed the LORD’s impending judgment and redemption. As Immanuel meant “God with us,” He remained present in Mount Zion, reaffirming His role as both Saviour and protector.

Isa 8:19  And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 

If the people turned to necromancers and spiritists—seeking guidance from the familiar spirits of the dead through deceptive practices—they would stray even further from the truth. Should not the people of the living God seek Him instead of consulting the dead? 

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 

Whether it be the dead, their invisible spirits, or the living — if they do not speak in accordance with the messages already given and revealed by God through His prophets and commandments, they have not even the twilight of true knowledge; with them, it is total darkness!

Isa 8:21  And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 

And those who had sought counsel from necromancers and spirits will wander through the land, hard-pressed and famished, their bodies weakened and their spirits barren. As their hunger grows — both for bread and for answers — they will work themselves into bitter rage, denouncing their king and blaspheming their God. In their wrath and despair, they will lift their faces heavenward, not in humble repentance, but in defiance, only to behold the tokens of their Creator’s displeasure. Their curses will rise against both throne and heaven, yet no relief will come, for the words of soothsayers and necromancers have left them in deeper darkness.

Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. 

In utter despair, they would turn their gaze toward the earth, seeking relief—but only trouble, oppression, affliction, and tribulation would await them. Darkness would engulf them completely, pushing them deeper into calamity that cannot be escaped and anguish that consumes all hope.  This was the bitter consequence of rejecting the light of God.

 

*******