Sermon Tone Analysis

© February 6th, 2022 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Isaiah

I enjoy movies that take me by surprise at the end—movies where you’re thinking things are one way and then at the end you find it’s something completely different.

What I’ve learned from watching such movies, however, is that directors like to drop hints throughout that you may pick up on when you watch the movie a second time.

Once you understand what’s going on, you realize that some of the details you thought were insignificant actually tell you a lot.

A similar principle applies as we read the Bible.

Sometimes we are given information that seems somewhat random and pointless, but we need to remember that the writer put that information there for a reason.

It’s intended to communicate some truth to us, so we should stop and take the time to understand what they’re saying.

I believe we find one of those sections in our text this morning.

Last week, we looked at the story of King Ahaz and his concern about the invasion of the northern kingdom, Israel, and their ally, Syria.

Isaiah told him not to worry about those people, because God would take care of it.

When God told Ahaz to name a sign by which He could prove His faithfulness, Ahaz refused.

So Isaiah said God declared the sign would be that a virgin would conceive and have a child and before the child was old enough to speak clearly, Assyria would be destroyed.

Isaiah goes on to reinforce this idea throughout the remainder of chapter 7. When we get to chapter 8 (remembering there weren’t chapter breaks originally), it seems the story shifts randomly for a moment.

But that’s where we need to stop for a second and ask why Isaiah shifts focus when he does.

The Boy with the Strange Name

Isaiah shifts his focus to the birth of a child (many think this was Isaiah’s own son).

We may be tempted to think these are just the words of a proud father, but we would be wrong.

Then the Lord said to me, “Make a large signboard and clearly write this name on it: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” 2 I asked Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah, both known as honest men, to witness my doing this.

3 Then I slept with my wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

4 For before this child is old enough to say ‘Papa’ or ‘Mama,’ the king of Assyria will carry away both the abundance of Damascus and the riches of Samaria.”

(Isaiah 8:1-4, NLT)

Isaiah says the Lord told him to make a sign with the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz written on it.

He did this in the presence of two reliable witnesses.

Then a young woman (again, many think this was Isaiah’s wife) became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

Isaiah gave him the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz at the direction of the Lord.

There are lots of strange names in the Bible, but this one seems to take the cake.

The name is significant, because it is prophetic and symbolic.

It means “swift to plunder and quick to carry away.”

God said that was exactly what would happen before this child was old enough to say “Papa” or “Mama”.

Assyria would plunder Israel and carry them away.

So why would Isaiah include this story here?

Is it just to give us another prophetic view of what will happen?

Possibly.

But I think (as do many scholars) that the reason Isaiah includes this story here is that this child was part of the fulfillment of the prophecy he made in chapter 7. If you recall, we talked last week about how there was both an immediate fulfillment of the prophecy, as well as a long-term fulfillment of it in the person of Jesus.

It seems possible that Isaiah married a young woman (who would have been a virgin) and then she conceived and gave birth to a son.

This child was to be the evidence of the fact that God was with the nation of Judah, so they should not fear the armies of Israel and Syria.

This would have been the near fulfillment of the prophecy.

I believe the reason Isaiah includes this story is because he is showing us how the prophecy he made just a few verses before was fulfilled.

Regardless of whether the birth of this child is the fulfillment of the prophecy in chapter 7 or not, he does fulfill the prophecy in chapter 8. Isaiah said that Israel and Syria would fall before the child could speak well, and that timeline seems likely.

When Isaiah spoke to king Ahaz the first time, it was likely in around 735 BC.

Assyria destroyed Israel in 732 BC.

This means that if Isaiah made these prophecies before the child was conceived, then at the oldest the child would have been 2 years old when the prophecy was fulfilled—in other words, he still would not have been able to speak clearly.

It’s possible (even likely) that the child was even younger than that.

The point is that God did exactly what He said He would.

God proved Himself faithful to His promises.

Unfortunately, Ahaz did not trust in God’s promises and went in a different direction.

Ahaz’s Attempt at Alliances

Ahaz didn’t trust in the Lord, and he tried to give Isaiah the brush-off.

To Ahaz (and likely many of his advisors), there seemed to be no way they could defeat the armies of Israel and Syria.

They were outnumbered, and Ahaz was understandably scared.

God had been clear that he didn’t need to worry about these armies, but Ahaz ignored the Lord, ignoring his promises and continuing to make sacrifices to false gods.

Ahaz didn’t trust God, and when the armies of Israel and Syria came to attack them, he decided to call in reinforcements.

He sent a note to the king of Assyria (the superpower of that day) and asked for his help.

But things didn’t go the way Ahaz thought they would.

God had prophesied that this would be the case.

5 Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, 6 “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it.

They are rejoicing over what will happen to King Rezin and King Pekah.

7 Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory.

This flood will overflow all its channels 8 and sweep into Judah until it is chin deep.

It will spread its wings, submerging your land from one end to the other, O Immanuel.

(Isaiah 8:5-8, NLT)

God told Isaiah that the king of Assyria would come and wipe out the people of Israel and Syria, but that this flood that would overwhelm these two nations would also sweep into Judah, until it was chin deep.

This is a poetic way of saying that God would not allow Judah to be destroyed by the Assyrians, but they would barely survive.

They would be like a person just keeping their head above water—surviving, but only just.

When the king of Assyria heard that Ahaz needed help, he decided Judah was weak and ripe for the taking.

Instead of helping Ahaz, he attacked him!

Ahaz responded not by running to the Lord, but by closing up the temple and giving the king of Assyria all the valuable things from inside the temple and his own palace.

He then set up altars to false gods and commanded the people to worship them instead of the Lord.

Though Assyria didn’t destroy Judah at this time, they only barely survived.

Isaiah’s Hope

Isaiah saw everything that was happening around him.

I’m sure it grieved him as the people continued to rebel against the Lord.

But Isaiah shouldn’t have been surprised at this outcome—God had told him that his message would mostly fall on deaf ears.

God had said the people would hear him but would not listen to him.

Still, Isaiah had a confident hope, even as the world around him seemed to be falling apart.

9 “Huddle together, you nations, and be terrified.

Listen, all you distant lands.

Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!

Yes, prepare for battle, but you will be crushed!

10 Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless.

Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed.

For God is with us!” (Isaiah 8:9-10, NLT)

Isaiah was confident that the Lord would be victorious.

He declared that the invading armies could make all the plans they want to, but they would be no match before the Lord.

I’m sure the people around Isaiah thought he was crazy.

But he wasn’t, he just had a very different perspective.

Isaiah said the Lord had told him to think differently from the people around him.

God’s words to Isaiah sound like words we could benefit from today!

11 The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does.

He said, 12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.

13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.

He is the one you should fear.

He is the one who should make you tremble.

14 He will keep you safe.

But to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

15 Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again.

They will be snared and captured.”

16 Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me.