As we read today’s passage, we will see how Isaiah and his disciples respond to the bad news of the Assyrian, When faced with the crisis and bad news of the Assyrian invasion, they continue to live contrasting lives to the ones around them. They fear the LORD above anything and everything, and they turn to his word, which leads them to hope in Him for deliverance.
(A) Fearing and Honouring the LORD as Holy (Isa 8:11-15)
As we have been reading so far, we know that Judah faced the threat of Syria and Israel’s attack on Jerusalem, possibly to get Judah to join into their alliance against the coming Assyrian invasion (Isa 7:1). Ahaz (King of Judah) and the people of Judah had their hearts shaking as the trees of the forest shake before the wind (Isa 7:2). God promises that this attack “shall not stand and shall not come to pass” (Isa 7:7).
God also offers Ahaz a sign “deep as Sheol or high as heaven” to help him place his trust in God (Isa 7:10-11). This is to give Ahaz confidence in Him and what He will do but Ahaz refused to take up God’s offer in a seemingly pious manner (Isa 7:12). Instead Ahaz turns to Assyria for help against Syria and Israel (2 Kings 16:7). God gives him a sign anyway, in the form of a child called Immanuel (Isa 7:14-15). The very help that Judah turns to (Assyria) will come to destroy the land of Judah (Isa 7:17:-25). The Assyrian invasion will come like river waters and sweep into Judah, “reaching even to the neck”. Judah will nearly drown from this invasion (Isa 8:8).
But God will still protect his people in some way or form as Isaiah prophesises that the planning/military power and the gathering of their enemies will be shattered and not stand (Isa 8:9-10). That is because “God is with us” (“Immanuel”) (Isa 8:10).
After God’s assurance that their enemies will not stand, Isaiah says: “For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me,” (Isa 8:11a). God is still speaking and also deeply impresses upon Isaiah his message; it was compelling. God’s strong hand signifies God’s might and power in salvation (cf. Ex 13:14). God is still able to save. We have a speaking God, and he continues to reveal himself to his people through Isaiah even though most of Judah have turned their backs on Him. God is still speaking, and still seeking his people.
God also gives a warning to Isaiah. Isaiah was not to walk in the way of this people (Isa 8:11b), Isaiah and his disciples are not to be the same as the rest of the people of Judah and not to follow others into their sin and idolatry.
In what way are they different? God says, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy” (Isa 8:12a). In our context, it could be because Judah as a people is already thrown into panic by the announced attack of Syria and Israel and the threat of the Assyrian empire. God calls his people not to listen to conspiracy theories about what will happen or be swayed/anxious/nervous about what others call conspiracy. They were not to listen to every plot or scheme that you hear about even as a nation panics, nor were they to be swayed by popular thinking or opinion.
In a similar way, there are countless theories presented to us today to teach us how to live our lives, and what to believe. This extends to other parts of life, where we hear many other ways to help ourselves or “improve” our lives. This is also a very relevant word for us today, in a pandemic. There are countless conspiracies that we could be tempted to read or spread. God’s people today are not to be easily swayed by conspiracy theories too!
He also says. “Do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread” (Isa 8:12b). More broadly, God’s people are called not to fear what others might fear. Previously, we saw that Ahaz and the nation of Judah had their hearts shaking (Isa 7:2). God tells them to “be careful, be quiet, do not fear and do not let your heart be faint” (7:4). Here, once again God calls his people not to be fearful nor be in dread of the Assyrian crisis. God’s people are characterised by calmness even as panic is all around.
Instead, Isaiah should honour God, the LORD of hosts and let Him be their fear and dread (Isa 8:13). God alone is set apart. The LORD of hosts, translated also as “LORD Almighty” (NIV), “the King, the LORD of hosts” (cf. Isa 6:5) speaks of the powerful and almighty God sitting on his throne over all creation, the one who is high and lifted up. He is more powerful than Assyria or any other human nations. No one is more powerful, and no one is sovereign over all creation, and rightfully God alone deserves to be feared.
Therefore, Isaiah and his disciples are meant to fear God alone, to honour him as holy because nothing else comes close compared to him. They are to worship God alone and nothing else. In these times, uncertainty makes us reach for (1) more info (2) more explanations. We are quickly aware of new threats, new dangers, new anxieties. We can't stop thinking about and waiting for the next 'Breaking News’. Are we as aware of the holy God? Are we searching for Him, longing to hear from Him, looking out for one another as He has called us to? Consuming popular conspiracies and fears fills our heart with worry, but consuming our heart with the majesty of the LORD fills us with assurance and peace.
God’s people are meant to be different from the rest of the people around them, and today, we too are called to be different. We fear so many things today apart from God, the LORD of hosts, the King. How are we different in our fears? Have we allowed other things or people to be bigger, more powerful, more wise, more valuable than God? When we let ourselves be in dread of these lesser things compared to God, we have failed to honour God as God alone, to honour him as holy. We tell ourselves that these things are bigger and more important than God.
When we let our hearts hold these fears above God, we basically believe that God has no control over these things. Even if we don’t really think or know that God is not in control, we behave so functionally. We can read and know truths, but in reality, we behave more like Ahaz and have shaking hearts. Our fears bring to light the idols of our hearts, and over here, it is clear that what we fear, we worship above God. Do not fear what the world fears. As Bible teacher Ray Ortlund puts it, “Dare to treat God as God. Don’t respond to life in a way that makes God look helpless and weak and worthless”. Fear God alone.
In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter writes: “but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy”. He uses the same language that Isaiah uses for the “LORD of hosts” for “Christ the Lord”. So we could say: “Let Christ be your fear, and let Christ be your dread”.
But what does it mean for the Christian to fear God and honour Him as holy? We fear God by reverencing Him. This means we are not distracted when we pray. This means we take his word seriously and with obedience. This changes how we approach worship. In all parts of our life we will also seek to love God and neighbour. We fear God by recognising that He is God alone and holy (and we are not). We do this not by running away from God, but by drawing close to God through Christ.
When we fear God, we draw close to Him as he has called us to through Christ. We rest on Christ’s work done on the cross, and cling desperately to Him for the salvation of our souls from sin. We repent and turn away from our lesser fears. What does this look like? When we fear our bosses, we run to Christ knowing he holds ultimate authority over our lives. When we fear what others might think of us, we run to Christ knowing that he loves and died for us while we were yet sinners (cf. Rom 5:8). When we fear death, illnesses or even COVID, we run to Christ who conquered the grave (cf. 1 Cor 15). When we fear suffering, losing our comforts, making mistakes, uncertainty, we run to Christ who suffered infinitely more for our sake on the cross.
How do we fear God? When we read this passage, we are also to realise that it is not just about consuming the right stuff — the right podcast, the right music etc. It’s about thinking and meditating on truths. We need to look at our fears, call to mind Scripture to apply it to our fears, and then working through and processing it out. After all, we are all natural meditators. It’s just what we are meditating on! Arrest our heart, identity our fears, and bring that to God to say that He is our fear and He is our dread.
Isaiah also shows us two outcomes (isa 8:14-15). To the one who fears God and honours him as holy, the LORD of hosts will become a sanctuary (Isa 8:14a)—a safe place, a place where He is present and dwelling, where “God is with us” (Immanuel). To the one who fears anything but God alone, God will be a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling (Isa 8:14b). Not fearing God alone is not neutral, it is dangerous for it causes us to trip and stumble. It causes us to fall and it hurts.
In 1 Pet 2:4-8, Peter applies Isa 8 to Christ. Christ is identified as a “living stone rejected by men” and the “rock of stumbling”, and Peter quotes exactly Isa 8:14 and connects this to his quotation of Ps 118:22 (which Jesus quoted). There is no evading God and God will judge those who reject him. This is true of both the OT and the NT. We are still called to fear God today.
(B) Turning to the LORD’s Word and Hoping in Him (Isa 8:16-22)
God’s people are to preserve his word, and his teaching/law is sealed up among them (Isa 8:16). They safeguard God’s word and what God has testified as truth and keep God’s words front and centre of their lives. They live based on God’s promises and what He has revealed to them. They teach and preach God’s word to each other and remind each other on how they can obey God.
Keeping God’s word leads them to “wait for the LORD” who is currently “hiding his face from the house of Jacob” (Isa 8:17). It’s a picture of God who seems to have turned His face from them. Remember the spiritual state in this time. Due to the distrust of Ahaz their king and his idolatrous ways (cf. 2 Ki 16:1-4), the people of Judah were committing idolatry against God. They were not a faithful people to God. Hence, God’s favour was not upon them (“hiding his face from the house of Jacob”, cf. Num 6:25). The Assyrian empire that they trusted in so much is going to come and wipe them out as mentioned before (Isa 8:5-8).
Yet, God’s followers “wait for the LORD, and hope in him”. They patiently wait for the only one who is able to deliver them from this crisis. They know from his word and law God’s mighty acts of salvation in the past. They know from his word that “God is with us” (Isa 8:10). They wait upon God to save them from their enemies, not for Assyria or anyone to come help them.
What are you waiting for today? What are you hoping in? For the students in our midst, you could be waiting for the term to be over, or for graduation from university. Some of us are waiting to find a new job, or for a promotion in the workplace. Some of us are waiting to find a life partner or for those that are married, we are waiting to have kids. Perhaps we are waiting for COVID restrictions to lift or for us to be able to travel again. Others could be living for something more short term — for the end of the work week and for the weekend. Maybe, some others are waiting for your ministry to bear fruit.
Everyone is waiting and hoping in something. We spend our lives anticipating and waiting. We wait for many things and sometimes, waiting is hard and it seems like God is “hiding his face” from us. Why does God hide his face? Sometimes, God knows that the process of waiting is best and more needed than the answer we are yearning for. God’s hand can feel really hard on us and the process of waiting seems so long and difficult. But God also knows that sometimes, Him hiding His face is good for us. In my experience of waiting, waiting causes us to long for God and rely on him as our idols are torn apart, and we have nothing else to hold on. In a crisis, God’s people wait for the LORD and hope in him to deliver. They cling closely to him because they know there is no other more worthy of their trust
Is what you’re waiting for worth the wait? Maybe some of us have had the experience when we have queued for food. But this can also be true for other things that we are waiting for, that we think will fulfill us and give us the joy and delight that we desire. There is no other more worthy of their waiting. Nothing can bring as much joy, fullness and delight as God can for us. We have his word today given to us, and we wait upon God to fulfil all his promises in Christ’s return. Think of all the times you have waited and received what you’ve been waiting for, did it fulfil you?
We wait for that which is our hope. His face hidden, and our patient, hopeful, even painful waiting can also be for good. Faith grows as we wait. He is the only one that can save us from our lesser dreads and conspiracies. He has done it before and He will do it again.
Isaiah also says that his children and him are signs and portents in Israel (Isa 8:18). Isaiah and his children are used by God to point the people back to God. Shear-jashub (Isa 7:3) which means “a remnant shall return” is a two-fold sign of judgment and mercy from God. Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isa 8:1), which means “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens” points to the certain fall. These signs are meant to give confidence for the people to follow God
What signs does God give to his people today? Maybe it isn’t in the form of a prophet and his children but more than anything else, God has given us the sign of Immanuel in Jesus Christ, and what He achieved for us on the Cross. Jesus it the true fulfilment of this prophecy, and all the prophecies of the Old Testament. On the Cross, we finally see how God’s love and mercy meets, and how sinful man can be reconciled with a holy God. That is the greatest possible sign that we can trust and wait on the Lord.
Moreover, God graciously gives us people to point us to himself. In the context of our lives, it could be your elder or pastor or even any brother or sister in Christ who points you to God and calls you to trust in him. That is what God’s followers do, they point not to themselves but point others towards God. Who/what are you pointing others towards now? What sort of life are you encouraging the ones around you to live? Are you encouraging them to love God more or are you turning their attention away from God? If someone scrolls on your social media feed, what sort of life are they encouraged to live?
However, what do the people turn to instead of God’s word? They “inquire of the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter” (Isa 8:19). They are warned against popular superstitions. These mediums and necromancers were people who claimed to have knowledge about the future. They chirp and mutter softly, almost to signify how unclear and confusing they are.
Hear Isaiah’s disbelief: “should not a people inquire of their God?”, “should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isa 8:20). Rather than relying on God’s word, people will turn to superstitions. They turn to other sources for their wisdom and comfort.
Who are your “mediums and necromancers” of today? Where do you turn to for wisdom? What authority have we placed above God’s word in our lives? What have we regarded as “better advice” than God’s word? Here Isaiah calls them back to God’s teaching and testimony (Isa 8:20)! Run to the Bible, run to the truth! In His word we will find everything we need.
Those who “do not speak according to this word” have no dawn (Isa 8:20b). They have no hope apart from God’s word; their worldly wisdom leaves them hopeless and they are stuck in their darkness. They will be distressed (in fear, not comfortable, anxious) and hungry/unsatisfied. They will be angry and speak contemptuously against (curse) their king and their God. They will look upward and to the earth, but all they see is distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish and will be thrust into thick darkness. Being in thick darkness, they will be completely devoid of hope and God’s presence, only gloom and anguish remains.
On our own, we are no different from Judah in our fears and dread, in what we worship as holy, in what we wait and hope in. We were in darkness, in our sins, but God shines into our hearts to give us a saving knowledge of Christ, But God has “shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). He helps us to see the glory and beauty of Christ above all things, that we might fear him and honour him as holy, wait for his return, and hope in him alone. 1 Pet 2:9 we read of how God calls us “out of darkness into his marvellous light”. He picked us out of our darkness and sin, to be with him that he might be a sanctuary for us today.
Will you turn afresh to God today? Fear God, Honour Him as holy, Trust in His Word, Wait for the LORD. He shines light into our life!