When Trouble Comes
From the Eyes of The Prophet Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsHow we should respond when trouble comes.
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Isaiah 8:1-22
Isaiah 8:1-22
1 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 Then 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 child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:
6 “Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of the River, strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8 He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
9 “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.”
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek 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 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
Where do you turn when you are overtaken by fear? What do you do when trouble is advancing on you and is all around you?
Isaiah receives the prophecy from the Lord before it happens and instructs Isaiah on what to do when it comes.
I. The Lord Speaks to Isaiah. (Vs1-4)
1 Moreover the Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3 Then 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 child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
The Lord comes to Isaiah and instructs him to get a scroll and write on it “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz”. Isaiah asks Uriah and Zechariah to be witnesses to his doing this.
So then Isaiah goes into his wife and she conceives a son and the Lord tells Isaiah to name him “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” which means “swift to the plunder, quick to carry away”.
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means swift to plunder, quick to carry away.
Then God tells Isaiah before that child is old enough to say papa or mama, the king of Assyria will wipe out the Northern Kingdom and Syria. God gives the when of the Assyrian invasion of the North. He then turns his attention to Judah and the coming trouble or invasion upon them. Just as sure as the invasion of the North was the coming of trouble to Judah.
II. The Coming Trouble (Vs5-8)
5 The Lord also spoke to me again, saying:
6 “Inasmuch as these people refused
The waters of Shiloah that flow softly,
And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them
The waters of the River, strong and mighty—
The king of Assyria and all his glory;
He will go up over all his channels
And go over all his banks.
8 He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
Like the Northern Kingdom, Judah had rejected the safety and protection of God. Shiloah was the brook at the foot of Mt Zion and it symbolized divine protection. Because Judah refused these she would experience the flood of the mighty waters of the Euphrates which was the Assyrian army.
He will go up over the banks and pass through Judah and he will reach up to the neck, he fill the land. He says something very interesting in verse 8 “Your land, O Immanuel”.
This land belongs to Jesus. It is His land.
III. The Deliverance of the Lord. (Vs 9-10)
9 “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces!
Give ear, all you from far countries.
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces;
Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.”
The Lord reassures that all the attempts at destroying Judah at this time would be futile. All the boasting and threatenings would come to nought. Go ahead armies, prepare yourselves, take counsel together and try as you might but it will not work.
I find this very interesting. According to the account recorded in 2 Kings 19:35
35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
Remember this is prophesied before it happens and in 2 Kings 19:35 it actually happens. 185,000 men surrounded Judah ready to destroy her and take her captive. That night the Angel of the Lord appears and kills all 185,000 of them. When morning comes there are corpses lying all over the place.
What I find the most interesting thing in all of this is back in Isaiah 8:10
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
Speak the word, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.”
Isaiah reveals that it is Immanuel or Jesus who delivers them. Jesus was the Angel of Lord as a pre-incarnate Christ who killed the 185,000 that night. Isaiah saw it before it happened the God is with us which is Immanuel. Deliverance came from the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. The Response of Isaiah. (Vs11-22)
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek 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 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
How was Isaiah supposed to respond to this? Where would he go from here?
There are four things God tells Isaiah to do when the trouble comes.
Do not respond like the World. (Vs11)
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
2. Fear the Lord, not man. (vs12-15)
12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
13 The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
14 He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.”
3. Wait upon the Lord (vs16-18)
16 Bind up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait on the Lord,
Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.
18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!
We are for signs and wonders in Israel
From the Lord of hosts,
Who dwells in Mount Zion.
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
4. Seek the Word of God. (Vs 19-22)
19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek 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 They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
When trouble comes do not respond like the world, Fear the Lord, wait upon the Lord and seek the Word of God. Then watch and see the deliverance of the Lord.
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”