Signs to Trust in God

Isaiah 8 ESV

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ 2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.” 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.” 5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” 9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. 11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” 16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

God gives signs

Shear-hashub and Immanuel

Chapter 7 contains an important section that we will visit in future sermons. The setting is Ahaz's reign, a descendant of Uzziah. He became king in the Southern Kingdom (Judah). During this time, the king of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) conspired with nearby Syria to make an alliance to invade Judah. This worried King Ahaz, and God sent Isaiah to encourage him. Isaiah’s went to the king with his firstborn son, Shear-jashub. His name meant, "a remnant shall return". This prophetic name was meant to inform Ahaz that God would keep his covenant promise in the future. But God also gave Ahaz another sign of his promise. It was the sign of Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14–16 ESV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

God promised Ahaz that Judah's enemies would soon be gone because God would allow the distant Assyrian nation to conquer Israel and Syria. Immanuel means "God is with us". And the sign of Immanuel became a time marker.

Combined, these two boys would be the hope for Judah. Despite the political rumors and threats, Judah's enemies, Israel and Syria, would not be around much longer.

The Sign of Maher-shalal-hash-baz

Chapter 8 begins with God telling Isaiah to pronounce another boy as a sign of God's promise and timing. Before the child was born, Isaiah was commanded to write the child's name upon a large tablet. This four-part name was a combination that literally meant "plunder-speeds-hastens-spoils", which gave the following meaning, "The enemy hastens to the spoils of war, they speed to their prey." And the text gives us the timing that Isaiah's child came within that short time frame of less than a year. The birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz would mark the timeline of the destruction of Israel (capital city Samaria) and Syria (capital city Damascus). This third child with a prophetic name would give King Ahaz a more accurate time marker than Immanuel. God would choose the Assyrians to be the method of overthrowing these two nations.

God’s Covenant Response

God is not acting whimsically or unpredictably. He is acting righteously and faithfully. When the kingdom divided into the North and South, Israel (North) never had a king that "did what was right". The corruption of true worship marked their culture. The idolatrous practice of the surrounding nations developed within their understanding of God. The Assyrians would ultimately conquer Israel in 722 B.C. This was their covenant consequence.

God poetically shared a word-picture to describe the situation of rejecting Him by referring to the waters of Shiloah . In the city of Jerusalem, water collected in an area called Shiloah. The Gihon Spring, located outside the city, provided adequate and steady water flow into the city. God declared that his covenant people had rejected the gently flowing water that sustained the people of Jerusalem. As a result, God would send a different source of water. It would be a strong river that flowed from a distant area, Assyria. It would be like rushing flood water that would thoroughly cover the city's outmost parts with destructive force. The sign of God's preservation of Judah during this time would be Immanuel. All their enemies could try, but they would find themselves defeated.

God gives warnings to live differently

The remaining verses take on a different nature. Isaiah reflects upon the Word of God for his life. How ought this believer in God react to the prevailing situation of the rumor of war? God encourages Isaiah to live differently from the people of his community. Recall that he had seen the vision of the True King seated on the throne in the Temple. God was the Holy king that caused Isaiah to fear for his life. God responded to Isaiah's confession in Isaiah 6:5.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Because God atoned for Isaiah's sinful heart, he could no longer live like the others around him. If they were caught up in the drama and fear of a conspiracy, he could not. If they were overwhelmed by the talking heads of the day, he could not. He could only recall that He had seen the fearful presence of the Holy Lord and lived because of God's grace upon his life. That powerful encounter would forever correct his view of things. He would only fear and dread God. While we may find this notion of "dreading" God somewhat uncomfortable, it is entirely appropriate. If we were to encounter God's holiness like Isaiah, we would fall on our faces with very little effort.

Isaiah is also encouraged to receive God as a sanctuary. While the sanctuary implies a safe place, it is only safe because God's holy presence is present. But not all will receive God as the Holy Lord. Like Israel, some would set God up as just one of the many options available for a person to add to their spiritual journey. Some, who were raised in the faith, might have wanted to "outgrow" and experience the other spiritual options. Others may have wanted to pursue life "without the God of Israel." Some may have "deconstructed" their faith and concluded that all was just a way to control the masses. As you may recognize, these are the same tendencies that our children and we face today when we consider to let God be the center of our lives.

A stone of stumbling

Faith in God would become a "stone of offense and a rock of stumbling". We should note that in verse 14, both Judah and Israel are called to examine their sinful hearts. Just because God was judging the North and preserving the South for a time did not mean that the Southern Kingdom was without their own sinful rebellion.

God's covenant faithfulness continues in Him sending us the true Immanuel. God gave us Jesus and the New Covenant. In this New Covenant, we encounter the same options: receive or reject.. When we chose to reject or ignore Christ, He doesn't vanish or become smaller. He remains like a large stone. Those who stumble do so because they refuse to look and recognize that they must receive or reject. If they ignore, they stumble. If they reject, they will fall and be broken.

1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Those who receive Christ will find that He has become a cornerstone and foundation on which to build a life.

Keep the Testimony and Wait

Isaiah is encouraged to bind up the testimony, which is a way to describe holding on to the Word of God and to safeguard it from tampering. God's Word is sufficient for us. We do not need to add to it, enhance it, nor alter it to fit our "modern" tendencies. God's Word is able to stand firm throughout all time and circumstances because it proceeds from God. Isaiah mentions "disciples" as those who receive the Word of God and commit themselves to trust and obedience.

The Word of God commands God's people to place their trust in Him through waiting. Waiting is often our least favorite option when we encounter overwhelming situations that ought to make us fearful. But this is the only logical option for the one who recognizes the holiness of the True King. Those who reject will not "see" correctly to catch a glimpse of the glorious Lord. Isaiah does not need any more signs or visions to be convinced. He saw the vision of the Holy Lord and received the signs of Shear-hashub and Maher-halal-hash-baz. He will look nowhere else.

Consequences of Rejecting God’s Counsel

But not all would take this path that Isaiah chose. King Ahaz, although given the sign of safety, failed to live in obedience to God. Consider what the Bible says of this man.

2 Chronicles 28:1–4 ESV

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Ahaz did not follow in the steps of the "good" kings. The remainder of chapter 28 lists the other sins he committed, including Assyria for help and consulting the other nations' gods. Isaiah warns all who would seek their counsel from other sources than God. In those days, and like today, people take counsel from spiritual advisors. Mediums, psychics, and spiritual coaches are still around. Along with these, horoscopes and good luck charms are ways people seek to deal with their fear of the future and potential danger. When a close person passes away, the opportunity to "communicate" with us seems comforting, but it is mostly a scam. Whatever one would hope to receive from these pursuits will never match the steadfast love of the covenant God. Judah and Israel's people should have known better, yet they departed from God's truth and ultimately received the consequences of that rejection.

Trusting God in all things through Fearing the Holy Lord

We are coming to the final two months of 2020. The past months have been difficult and worrisome with Covid 19. Add to that the social unrest and the upcoming election. We may find ourselves looking for solutions to keep us safe, meet our basic needs, and help us mentally cope with the disruption of relationships. What do we offer as Christians to this situation? As in all situations, we only have God. Saying that may not seem like it is a sufficient solution, but the scriptures give us only one option. Our only option is to trust in God. This is why we ought to proclaim the gospel as the foundational content of our lives and conversation. If we do not have Christ, then we have no hope. Judah was tempted to seek other solutions when they heard the conspiracies of the day. It might seem to make more sense to get military help when you are threatened, but God does not give that advice. He commands his people to receive His word and covenant faithfulness. He calls his people to "live by faith."

Our faith is expressed in recognizing that God is fearfully Holy! Oh, that we would catch a glimpse of that truth and allow it to turn our fear of things into a reverent fear of God.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C.S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Christ. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter. "Ooh," said Susan, "I though he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." "That you will, dearie." said Mrs. Beaver. "And make no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knee's knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then isn't he safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you!" 

Our Daily Bread, February 17, 1994.

Christ a Stumbling Block or Foundation

We ought to recall that Isaiah's encounter with the Holy God moved him to fear, but it also opened up the opportunity to receive forgiveness and mission for living. His task was not easy, but it was simple. He called all people, Northern, Southern, and everywhere, to not neglect the Living God who placed himself on their road of decision. As gospel carriers, we, too, have to remind ourselves and others that we must come to the point of a decision concerning Jesus and the Gospel. We must embrace it or reject it. There is no in-between.

And yet we pray for God's mercy and grace to those who currently reject or ignore it. Consider how long you may have ignored and rejected the Stone of Jesus Christ. And by God's grace, you have come to know Christ as the cornerstone of your life. Continue to build upon Christ. God has given us the sign of Jesus Christ. His name means “God Saves”!