8:1-4 These verses predict the fall of Israel and Syria. Syria fell to Assyria in 732 B.C., and Israel followed in 722 B.C. Isaiah put his message on a large scroll in a public place. God was warning all his people. The name of the child means “swift to plunder and quick to spoil.”
8:6-8 “The waters of Shiloah that go softly” are God’s gentle care. Because the people of Judah rejected God’s kindness, choosing instead to seek help from other nations, God would punish them. We see two distinct attributes of God—his love and his wrath. To ignore his love and guidance results in sin and invites his wrath. We must recognize the consequences of our choices. God wants to protect us from bad choices, but he still gives us the freedom to make them.
8:7, 8 The heart of the Assyrian Empire was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This flood is a poetic way of describing the overwhelming force of the Assyrian army.
8:11 Isaiah, along with most of the prophets, was viewed as a traitor because he did not support Judah’s national policies. He called the people to commit themselves first to God and then to the king. He even predicted the overthrow of the government.
8:11-15 For the people of Judah, fear of invasion was a constant threat. They had powerful enemies on their doorstep. Yet Isaiah said, “The LORD of hosts . . . let him be your fear . . . He shall be for a sanctuary.” Fear is a powerful enemy of our faith and a strong deterrent to the believer’s peace of mind. Fear of war, terrorist attacks, disease, and pollution can rob us of our trust in God. God is our shelter and hiding place (4:6). Ask him to drive inappropriate fear from your heart and to help you fear only him.
8:16 Because some people faithfully preserved the teaching of God and passed on these words from generation to generation, we have the book of Isaiah today. Each of us needs to accept the responsibility to pass on God’s Word to our children and grandchildren, encouraging them to love the Bible, read it, and learn from it. Then they will faithfully pass it on to their children and grandchildren.
8:17 Isaiah decided to wait for the Lord, though he “hideth his face from the house of Jacob.” For some believers, patient waiting becomes the most difficult testing they must face: waiting for illness to pass, for a child to return to God and the church, or for God to make matters right in a particular situation. Many of the prophecies God gave through the prophets would not come true for 700 years; others still haven’t been fulfilled in our lifetime. Are you willing to accept the Lord’s timing, not yours?
8:19 The people would consult wizards and mediums, seeking answers from dead people instead of consulting the living God. God alone knows the future, and only he is eternal. We can trust God to guide us.
8:21 After rejecting God’s plan for them, the people of Judah would blame God for their trials. People continually blame God for their self-induced problems. How do you respond to the unpleasant results of your own choices? Where do you fix the blame? Instead of blaming God, look for ways to grow through your bad choices and failures.