A Miraculous Ministry
Notes
Transcript
(Isaiah 8:1-9:7)
Intro:
God instructs Isaiah to name his children in a way that they proclaim a message
Isaiah’s own name was significant, “The Lord will save” and reminded his listener of even the worst declamations of judgment that Israel would eventually be restored.
The Signs to Prepare (Isa. 8:1-4)
The Signs to Prepare (Isa. 8:1-4)
Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’
And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”
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;
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.”
Object Lesson:
The large tablet was for public display
It was a visual reminder of God’s judgment
Witnesses:
Uriah and Zechariah, both respected leaders, were to verify that Isiah had foretold the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria
Maher-shalal-hash-baz
Son of Isaiah whose name means “Swift to Plunder”
Before the boy knows how to say Mom and Dad, judgment was coming on Damascus and Samaria
The foretold destruction was VERY near!
This is a companion and expansion of Isa 7:16
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’s judgment on Israel and its resulting deliverance of Judah was about to happen.
Even before the newborn child could talk and make informed moral choices.
The victory of Assyria and its devastation of Israel were a DONE deal! God had declared it and it did happen
The Lord spoke to me again:
“Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
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,
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.”
God gives Isaiah more details which will sweep Israel away like flood.
Ahaz had called on Assyria for help rather than the Lord
The Waters of Shiloah was a stream form the Gihon Spring outside of Jerusalem’s wall flowing to the pool of Siloam inside the wall and was the city’s water supply
It was often used in Scripture to picture the provision of the Lord and their reliance upon Him to defend them
Israel- the Northern tribes had abandoned their dependence on God
Immanuel’s land was to be stripped of earthly glory and wealth by the Assyrians
The Strength to Persevere (Isa. 8:9-22)
The Strength to Persevere (Isa. 8:9-22)
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.
Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
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:
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
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.
And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
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.
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?
To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
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.
And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
Be broken v. 9
Isaiah reminds the invaders that their victory was from God and HE was punishing his errant people
It was not their counsel, might, or genius
They were to be victorious due to God declaring wrath on HIS people.
This was an admonition to stay humble and submit to God
Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
In the Hebrew, God is with us is literally, Immanuel
Jesus, Immanuel, was going to bring and ultimate victory
Final victory and restoration was coming from God
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:
Isaiah was set apart from the people
His message alone would ostracize him
The naming of his children to proclaim a message added to that.
Yet, God reminded him that he was on the right path and fulfilling HIS purpose.
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
Jeremiah and Isaiah were contemporaries and brought the same message of God’s coming judgment
Some accused them of conspiring with and helping the enemy
They called them spies sent to hurt morale
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
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.
God was with them and strengthened them
He was a sanctuary for them and a stubmlingblock or His enemies.:
Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
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.
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?
To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
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.
And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
People were turning to pagan alternatives instead of God
seeking spiritualists to speak to the dead
God’s prophesies were what the needed to be focused upon.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Depend on GOD in times of trouble
Israel and Judah didn’t and suffered the consequences
Be broken over our sin
Stay humble and submitted
Stay Strong in the Lord
He sends us
He sustains and strengthens us