And Jehovah said to me, Take thee a great tablet, and write thereon with a man's style, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Ahaz has just refused to ask God for a sign, and God has promised Immanuel anyway. Now God tells the prophet to write a strange four-word name on a large tablet, before the child who will carry it is born.
God does not only speak this message. He tells Isaiah to write it down. Commentators list this command with other places where God told a prophet to record what he was given.
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Habakkuk all say the Lord charged them to put their predictions in writing: "The LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters…" (Isa. 8:1)… These passages show the authority on which the writers recorded their sayings. They also show that they wrote what the Lord commanded them to write.
The name is not just a label. Its meaning is spelled out in the verses that follow.
Symbolic name given to one of Isaiah's sons. Isa. 8:1-4. It means "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." The child was to be called this because the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away before the king of Assyria — and all this before the child knew how to cry "My father" or "My mother." See 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:9.
The name also pictures the invader himself:
The Lord directs the prophet to name the child who would be born Maher-shalal-hash-baz, as a sign of what would soon take place. The name pictures the ravenous character of the Assyrian.
Isaiah does not write in secret. He takes two named witnesses, and then the child arrives.
"And I took faithful witnesses to record for me: Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 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" (vv. 1-3)… And all this, as the inspired history proves, was fulfilled to the letter.
Even the witnesses' names carry a message. One writer reads them alongside the names of Isaiah's two sons:
The names are significant… Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are just as full of meaning. Urijah (Jehovah is light), Zechariah (Jehovah remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of Jehovah).
The tablet announces loss. Yet the same God who brings the invader had promised Immanuel.
Still, the grace of God remains toward His people. His punishment comes; but if He brings the Assyrian, He promises Immanuel at the same time. If Maher-shalal-hashbaz points to the Assyrian speeding to the spoil and hurrying the prey, God still cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land… Human nature looks for support in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence when there is only God for tomorrow.
Isaiah's two sons are signs. But neither of them is the Son promised between them.
These chapters make it plain that Shear-jashub (the remnant shall return) was already born… It is just as plain that Maher-shalal-hash-baz was still to be born of the prophetess. Both names set out great events of lasting interest to Israel. One pledges the return of the remnant; the other points to the Assyrian attack and what would follow… But between the two comes a completely different promise: the virgin's Son. Any fair reading of it rules out both the king and the prophet with their children.
- Written — God told Isaiah to write the message down, not just say it. The prophets wrote at God's command.
- Named — the four words mean "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." They picture the Assyrian who would strip Damascus and Samaria.
- Witnessed — Isaiah took Uriah the priest and Zechariah as faithful witnesses to the record.
- Fulfilled — before the child could say "father" or "mother," the king of Assyria carried off the spoil. It happened to the letter.
- Immanuel — the same God who sent the threat had promised the virgin's Son. He will not abandon the house of David or Immanuel's land.
And I took unto me to witness, sure witnesses, Urijah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
God tells Isaiah to write a coming judgment on a large public tablet, and to have two named men certify it. So why does God's own word need human signatures?
The two witnesses are attached to a document written in advance of the events it describes. One writer sets the whole scene out and then points to what history did with it:
"And the Lord said to me, Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, for Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I took (or will take) faithful witnesses to record this, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." … "For before the child knows how to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria" (v. 4). And all this, as the inspired history proves, came true to the letter.
Writing down a message, rather than merely announcing it, was a repeated instruction from God to His prophets:
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Habakkuk all say the Lord charged them to write down what they predicted. "The Lord said to me, Take a large scroll, and write in it with a man's pen…" (Isa. 8:1)… "The Lord answered me and said: Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, so that he may run who reads it" (Hab. 2:2). These passages show the authority on which the writers recorded their sayings. They also show that they wrote what the Lord commanded them to write.
God binds Himself here to the very rule of evidence He gave His people. A single reliable man would satisfy most of us; Scripture says otherwise:
We may judge of its importance from this. Moses presses it on Israel's attention again and again. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and the Holy Spirit in the apostle Paul, in two of his epistles, insist on the principle of "two or three witnesses," in every case. One witness, however trustworthy, is not enough to decide a case… Let us remember that God is wiser than we are. It is always our truest wisdom, and our greatest moral security, to hold fast to His unerring word.
Commentators identify the first signer with a man who appears again in the history of the kings:
The priest Isaiah used as a faithful witness to record his prophecies. Isa. 8:2. At the king's order he built an altar in Jerusalem, copying one that Ahaz had seen in Damascus, 2 Kings 16:10-16, where he is called Urijah.
If so, the man who certified Isaiah's tablet later gave his king exactly what he wanted:
King Ahaz finds in Urijah the high priest a willing tool for his idol-worshipping plans. Untrue to his name (light of Jehovah), he obeys his king's orders without conscience.
The second witness comes from a priestly family, and his name helps solve a puzzle in Matthew's Gospel:
The names Zechariah and Berechiah were well-known names in the priestly family. In Isaiah 8:2 Isaiah's faithful witnesses are Uriah and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah — that is, Berechiah. Berechiah seems to have been the name of the head of the family. Matthew could therefore call Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of Berechiah too, tracing him back to his ancestor.
- Written. God told Isaiah to put the message on a large tablet in ordinary handwriting. He told Jeremiah and Habakkuk to write too. The authority is God's; the pen is a man's.
- Attested. Two named men signed the record before the event. That is God's own rule of evidence: one witness, however trustworthy, is not enough to settle a case.
- Named. Both witnesses are public figures — Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. Anyone could check the record, not just believe it.
- Flawed. Commentators identify Uriah with the priest who later built Ahaz's copied altar. A true record does not depend on the later faithfulness of the man who signed it.
- Fulfilled. Assyria stripped Damascus and Samaria before the child could speak. It all came true to the letter, and the tablet's signatures still stand against every doubt of God's word.
And I came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son; and Jehovah said unto me, Call his name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Isaiah's son is born, and God gives him a name that already stood written on a public tablet. Two questions follow: who is this "prophetess," and why does God hang a prophecy on a child's name?
This is no ordinary name. It announces plunder, and it sets a deadline.
A symbolic name given to one of Isaiah's sons, Isaiah 8:1-4. It means "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." The child was given this name for a reason. Before he could cry "My father" or "My mother," the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away before the king of Assyria. See 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:9.
Look at the order. The words went onto a tablet first, and named witnesses attested them. The son was born after that.
"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 got reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me" (vv. 1-2)… And all this, as the inspired history proves, was fulfilled to the letter.
The other names here speak too — Isaiah's other son, and the two witnesses.
The names are significant… Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are equally full of meaning. Urijah (the LORD is light), Zechariah (the LORD remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of the LORD).
Chapter 7 promised a son born of a virgin. Chapter 8 gives a son born to the prophetess, Isaiah's own wife. Readers have long tried to merge the two, but Kelly keeps them apart.
These chapters make it as plain as can be. Shear-jashub (= the remnant shall return) was already born, and he went with the prophet, as we see at the beginning of Isaiah 7. It is equally plain that Maher-shalal-hash-baz (= hasten prey, speed spoil, Isaiah 8) was to be born of the prophetess. Both set out the great events of undying interest to Israel. One pledges the return of the remnant. The other signals the Assyrian attack and what follows… But between the two comes a wholly different promise, the virgin's Son, which in any fair reading excludes both the king and the prophet with their children. His name Immanuel (God with us) speaks of far better things.
Interpreters have differed here over the young woman of chapter 7. The title "the prophetess" in this verse has been one of the deciding arguments.
Kimchi held that the young woman could not be Isaiah's wife. If she were, she must have been called the prophetess, as in chapter 8:3. So he took her to be the wife of Ahaz… Even Kimchi rules out Isaiah and the prophetess, since he asks how the land could then be called Immanuel's land.
This child was born into a nation that had turned from God's gentle way to human strength. Yet the chapter that names the invader also names Immanuel.
Still, the grace of God stays with His people. The scourge of God comes; but if He brings the Assyrian, He promises Immanuel at the same time. If Maher-shalal-hashbaz testifies to the Assyrian hurrying to the spoil and hastening to the prey, God cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land (vv. 1-10)… This people had refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David, rejoicing in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent.
Later in the chapter Isaiah's two sons stand as signs. The New Testament quotes that verse, and it reaches believers too.
The last quotation is from Isaiah 8:18. The children the Lord had given to Isaiah were for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord. The two sons of Isaiah had received their names of significant meaning from heaven. Believers are children, belong to Him, and are signs and witnesses both to unbelieving Israel and to the world.
- Written — the words went onto a tablet before the child existed. The word came first, the event second.
- Witnessed — Uriah and Zechariah attested it. Even their names carry the message: "the LORD is light," "the LORD remembers."
- Named — "swift for spoil, hasty for prey" made the boy a walking announcement: Assyria would strip Damascus and Samaria.
- Timed — a toddler's speech set the deadline. Before he could say "father" or "mother," it was done — fulfilled to the letter.
- Signs — Isaiah's sons were signs and wonders in Israel, and believers stand as signs and witnesses too.
For before the lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
Isaiah had already given King Ahaz one sign in a child's name. Now a second child arrives, and his name announces judgment on Syria and Israel before it falls. The verse even sets the deadline: the time it takes a baby to learn to say "father" and "mother."
God gave the name before the child arrived. The name itself carried the prediction, and it described the invader who would carry it out.
As a sign of what would soon happen, the Lord tells the prophet to name the child who was to be born Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The name means "Swift for spoil, hasty for prey." It describes the greedy, devouring character of the Assyrian.
Isaiah's other son and the witnesses carried meaningful names too.
The names are significant... Isaiah's other son was named "Shear-Jashub," which means "a remnant shall return." The names of the sure witnesses are just as full of meaning: Urijah (the Lord is light), Zechariah (the Lord remembers), and Jeberechiah (Blessed of the Lord).
Damascus was the capital of Syria and Samaria the capital of Israel, so this verse names the two powers Ahaz was afraid of. It also answers a question raised in chapter 7: whose land would be left empty?
The word for land or ground, "adamah," does not mean only one single country. It carries a wide range of meaning, depending on the context... Here the two kings define it as the land of both of them, not of one only. Compare Isaiah 8:4... See also 2 Kings 15:29-30; 2 Kings 16:9. So the "two kings" appear to be those of Syria and of Samaria, or Israel, and "the land" is the land belonging to each.
A prophecy with a deadline can be checked against what happened next. Kelly reads later history as the verdict.
The Lord explains this to Isaiah, and Isaiah passes it on (v. 4). And all of it, as the history recorded in Scripture proves, came true to the letter.
Ahaz had already turned to Assyria for protection against Syria and Israel. The word about Damascus and Samaria answered his ask and warned him: the same power would one day turn on Judah.
Ahaz prefers to trust the king of Assyria against Pekah and Rezin rather than to trust the Lord and obey Him... So what the Lord had spoken against Israel, which had sought the support of Assyria (Hosea 5:13-14), He now speaks against Judah, who sought this same alliance. At first this trust in Assyria seemed to work well for Judah. Tiglath-pileser seized Damascus, carried away its people, and killed Rezin. The prophecy Amos gave long before (Amos 1:3-5) is now fulfilled.
The child's name is not the only name in play. The prophecy sets two figures side by side, and both belong to one story.
We already have the two great parties the prophecy deals with: Immanuel and the Assyrian. The virgin would conceive a Son — Messiah, Immanuel. The Lord would bring upon the unworthy son of David the king of Assyria — the only one he had looked to for help. The humblest Jew ought to have cried to the Lord.
Behind Ahaz's choice lies a question of trust: what do we lean on when only God is left?
Even though Maher-shalal-hashbaz points to the Assyrian rushing to the spoil and hurrying to the prey, God cannot abandon the house of David and Immanuel's land (vv. 1-10)... The people had despised the house of David. They took joy in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can find a support, it finds it in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence if only God is there for tomorrow... God would have us appear the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.
Commentators differ on how far the chapter reaches. Writers agree that the Assyrian campaigns fulfilled verse 4. Some also look for a fuller completion of the verses that follow, "at the end of the days" (An Outline of Sound Words).
- Name — "Maher-shalal-hash-baz" means "swift for spoil, hasty for prey." The child's name was the prophecy. It pictured the greed of the invader.
- Clock — the deadline was a baby's first words. History matched it: Damascus fell and Rezin died.
- Cause — Ahaz trusted the king of Assyria instead of the Lord, so the Lord turned that same power against Judah.
- Contrast — two figures stand together: the Assyrian who plunders, and Immanuel, whose land it stays.
- Lesson — God removes the props men lean on so that He alone is their strength.
And Jehovah spoke again to me, saying,
God speaks to Isaiah again, right after the sign-child Maher-shalal-hash-baz. This new word turns from Israel's enemies to Judah's own heart, and explains how a people offered a quiet stream ended up under a flood.
God speaks again to a people who had already turned His words down. Compassion is why the word comes at all.
But the Lord God of their fathers had not yet passed the solemn sentence, "There was no remedy." He would not yet hold back His hand, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, even though they had despised His words. And again He gives another sign, another symbolic child, whose name was Maher-shalal-hash-baz — "in making speed to the spoil he hastens the prey."
Shiloah was a small, quietly flowing stream by Jerusalem. In the message that follows this verse it carries a meaning: God's promise to David's line, which the people traded for a military alliance.
The people despised the promises to the house of David — despised the waters of Shiloah, and, trusting in human strength, cried out for a confederacy. The house of David itself, despising the promises, sought help by an alliance with the Assyrian, and removed the altar of Jehovah, putting a heathen altar in its place in the temple.
A gentle stream makes no show of strength. That is why the people turned from it.
This people had refused the softly flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David, rejoicing in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can have a support, it is in man, in what looks strong; it has no confidence if there is only God for tomorrow. From the moment we would rest tomorrow on a good thought of today, it is our own righteousness. God would have us be in appearance the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.
Judah wanted the Assyrian as a helper. God gives him to them in another role.
They despised the waters of Shiloah, so the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them as their master the one they leaned on. Such is the end of man's wisdom.
God lets the flood rise, but it meets a limit. The land belongs to Immanuel, and the scene reaches past Isaiah's own day to the last days.
We are here looking at the scenes of the last days, whatever picture of them was given in the partial fulfilment near at hand. They despised the water of Shiloah. So the far different waters of the Assyrian must come, and these all but overwhelming, when He shall at length appear to vindicate His land. His incarnation had been announced to the unbelieving Ahaz as God's sign in mercy. The Assyrian fills the land in his pride, reaching even "to the neck." Yet he is not just checked and put to shame. He is utterly and for ever broken in Immanuel's land.
The same pool appears again in the New Testament, under the name Siloam. Its name carries a message.
A pool on the south of Jerusalem near the west slope of the Kidron valley... In Isaiah 8:6 the name SHILOAH is used as a symbol. The people refused its waters that went softly, preferring Syria and the king of Israel. The strong waters of Assyria would sweep them away. In the New Testament the man born blind had clay put on his eyes and was sent to wash at Siloam, which means "sent." Christ is the Sent One. So the picture teaches us that light comes when we know Christ in His humiliation as the Sent One of God.
- Again — God speaks once more while the sentence still waits. He had compassion on His people and His dwelling place, though they had despised His words.
- Shiloah — the quiet stream stands for God's promise to the house of David. The nation swapped it for human strength and an alliance.
- Gentleness — God's soft-flowing way keeps the heart dependent on Him. The flesh wants a support that looks strong, and will not have only God for tomorrow.
- Reversal — refuse the small stream and you get the great river. The power they leaned on comes back as their master, and there man's wisdom ends.
- Immanuel — the flood rises to the neck and no further, for the land is His. The pool they refused means "sent," pointing to Christ in humiliation as the One sent from God.
Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, and rejoiceth in Rezin and in the son of Remaliah,
Isaiah points to a small stream that runs quietly past Jerusalem, and to a people who wanted something stronger. Behind the picture is a real crisis: two enemy kings pressing on Judah, and a nation deciding whom to trust.
Rezin and the son of Remaliah were two kings who joined forces against Judah.
He was king of Syria. Together with Pekah king of Israel he attacked Ahaz, king of Judah. Isaiah was sent to comfort Ahaz, but Ahaz asked Assyria for help and sent its king silver and gold. Rezin was killed, Damascus was left in ruins, and its people were carried off into captivity.
Shiloah is a real place, the pool also called Siloam, and its name carries a meaning that reaches into the New Testament.
Siloam is a pool on the south side of Jerusalem, near the west slope of the Kidron valley. In Isaiah 8:6, under the name Shiloah, it stands as a picture. The people refused its gently flowing waters and preferred Syria and the king of Israel, so the strong waters of Assyria would sweep them away. In the New Testament the man born blind had clay put on his eyes and was sent to wash at Siloam, a name that means "sent." Christ is the Sent One. So the picture teaches us that light comes when we know Christ in His humiliation as the One God sent.
The quiet stream stood for God's promises to David's family. Turning from it meant leaning on human strength instead.
But they refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. Those waters stood for the promises made to the house of David, given to cheer the heart of the faithful one until Shiloh would come. Instead they took their joy in human strength, in Rezin and Remaliah's son. So the Lord Jehovah Himself would step in. In place of the refreshing streams of Shiloah He would bring on them a fierce flood, reaching up to the neck, overflowing its channels and its banks — the King of Assyria and all his glory.
A gentle stream gives no visible guarantee for tomorrow. That is the problem, and that is the point.
This people had refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David and taken their joy in Rezin and Pekah, not in God's quiet way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can find a support, it finds it in man, in what looks strong. It has no confidence when there is only God for tomorrow... God would have us look the weakest of all, so that He alone is our strength.
The failure ran through the whole nation, top to bottom.
The people here had no faith, any more than the king in the scene before. Both of them despised the ways and the promises of God. Man was their confidence, just as man was their fear... Their punishment would be just. The raging river, the Assyrian, would rise and overflow, and would almost swallow the land.
The judgment matches the sin. They wanted stronger water, and stronger water is what they get.
Because they despised the waters of Shiloah, the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them, as their master, the very one they leaned on. Such is the end of man's wisdom.
The nation had refused to stay under God's hand, and the result was inevitable.
Because the nation would not remain in subjection, they must be given up to the enemy.
The flood is real, but it has a limit, and the limit is a Person.
Once Immanuel is brought in, everything changes; the land is His. The Assyrian reaches up to the neck, because the waters of Shiloah had been despised. But Immanuel secured it all. So the prophetic Spirit moves on to the events of the last days, and Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, was only a picture of them. He shows all the plans and alliances of the nations brought to nothing because of Immanuel — God with us... And what course should the remnant follow? They are not to be shaken by the fear of the people, and they are not to join their alliances. Instead they are to set apart the Lord of hosts Himself as holy.
The refusal is not the last word on Israel's story.
Then as the Shepherd of Israel He will feed His flock, for they will no longer refuse "the waters of Shiloah that flow gently."
- Refused — the gentle stream stood for God's promises to David's house. Refusing it meant taking joy in human strength instead, in Rezin and Pekah.
- Reason — God's quiet way keeps the heart dependent, and the flesh has no confidence when there is only God for tomorrow.
- Retribution — He sends against them, as their master, the very power they leaned on; that is where human wisdom ends.
- Restraint — the Assyrian flood rises to the neck and no further, because the land belongs to Immanuel, God with us.
- Return — one day the flock will no longer refuse the gently flowing waters. Until then the faithful are not to join the world's alliances, but to set apart the Lord of hosts Himself as holy.
therefore behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall mount up over all his channels, and go over all his banks
God's people refused a quiet stream He had given them and leaned on human strength instead. Isaiah answers that the power they leaned on will flood their land, rising over its banks.
The previous verse names a quiet stream the people turned down. What that water stood for explains why God answers with a flood.
They refused the soft-flowing waters of Shiloah — those promises to the house of David, given to cheer the heart of the faithful one until Shiloh would come. They rejoiced instead in human strength, in Rezin and Remaliah's son. So the Lord Jehovah Himself would step in. Instead of the refreshing streams of Shiloah, He would bring on them the fierce torrent that would reach to the neck, overflowing its channels and its banks — the king of Assyria and all his glory.
Why would anyone prefer the strong current? Because something in us cannot rest on God alone for tomorrow.
This people had refused the softly flowing waters of Shiloah. They had despised the house of David and rejoiced in Rezin and Pekah. They did not rejoice in God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If the flesh can have a support, it is in man, in what looks strong; it has no confidence if there is only God for tomorrow... God would have us be in appearance the most feeble, so that He should be our only strength.
Notice who brings the river. The Lord does it, and He shapes the punishment to fit the choice.
They despised the waters of Shiloah. So the Lord brings on them the waters of the river, strong and many. He sends against them as their master the one on whom they leaned. Such is the end of man's wisdom.
The "waters of the River, mighty and many" are not about weather. Rising, overflowing water is a standard picture in the prophets, and this verse names what it means: a king and his army.
This is a figure well known in the prophets, used to signify overwhelming destruction by invading hostile armies. See, for example, Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 28:2; Jer. 47:2; Dan. 11:22. It may also allude to the flood of Noah's day, when the overflowing waters swept away the corrupt and the ungodly.
Others read the picture in a related way — rivers standing for peoples in motion, driven by the principles that rule them.
The rivers represent the activity of the people under certain principles; Isa. 8:5-8. The waters of the river (v. 7) are the king of Assyria and all his glory.
The flood rises high, but it does not drown the land. Kelly reads the picture as pointing past Isaiah's own day to the last days, and past the invader to the One who owns the land.
We are here looking at the scenes of the last days, whatever foreshadowing there may be in the partial fulfilment near at hand. The water of Shiloah was despised, so the far different waters of the Assyrian must come, and these are all but overwhelming. Then He shall at length appear to vindicate His land — the One whose coming as a man God had announced to the unbelieving Ahaz as His sign in mercy. The Assyrian fills the land in pride, reaching even "to the neck". Yet he is not simply checked and put to shame. He is broken utterly and for ever in Immanuel's land.
The chapter does not leave the godly to be swept along with the nation. They are given a different fear, and a shelter.
This overwhelming disaster would come on the nation as a whole. But God would keep a faithful and godly remnant safe. The pledge of that deliverance was that the virgin's Son, Immanuel, is with them (v. 10). The land is Immanuel's, and He will be in the midst of His people... The godly are therefore urged not to fear what the ungodly fear, but to "sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary" (Isa. 8:12-14).
- Refused — The people turned down God's quiet stream — the promises tied to David's house. They cheered for human strength instead.
- Preferred — God's gentle way keeps the heart dependent day by day. The flesh reaches for what looks strong. So God leaves His people looking weak, that He alone may be their strength.
- Repaid — The Lord Himself brings the river up: He sends back the power they leaned on, now as their master. That is where human cleverness ends.
- Restrained — The flood is an invading army, and it rises only to the neck. The land is Immanuel's, and there the invader is broken for ever.
- Refuge — In the rising water the faithful do not join the panic. They treat the LORD of hosts as holy, and He becomes their sanctuary.
and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
Isaiah has warned that Assyria will pour over the land like a river bursting its banks. Here the flood sweeps south into Judah — and the verse names the trampled land as Immanuel's, the child promised in the chapter before.
Shiloah was a small stream whose water flowed softly. The prophet uses it as a picture of God's gentle way with His people. Judah preferred the visible strength of neighbouring kings. One writer shows how the punishment matched the sin:
The people here had no faith, any more than the king in the earlier scene. Both of them despised the ways and the promises of God. Both their trust and their fear rested on man. Ahaz cowered before the two kings of Israel and Syria, whose fierce anger the Lord scornfully called two tails of smoking, burnt-out sticks. The people refused the softly flowing streams of Shiloah. Their punishment would be just. The violent river, the Assyrian, would rise and overflow and almost overwhelm the land.
Rezin and Pekah were the kings of Israel and Syria. Leaning on them instead of God exposes a habit of the human heart:
They had despised the house of David. They rejoiced in Rezin and Pekah instead of God's gentle way, which keeps the heart always dependent. If human nature can find support, it is in man, in whatever looks strong. It has no confidence when God alone is there for tomorrow.
The flood rises, but it stops at a line God draws. "To the neck" means the head is still above water. Assyria ravaged Judah, but Jerusalem stood.
Judah would not go unpunished. But the king of Assyria's power against Judah would be limited, for God would not allow him to take Jerusalem. This took place in the days of Hezekiah. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, took Samaria and carried Israel into captivity. Some years later, "Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (2 Kings 18:13). But when Sennacherib sent his general Rab-shakeh against Jerusalem, the Lord stepped in, saying, "I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David" (2 Kings 19:34).
The invader's wings spread from border to border. Yet the verse names the true owner of the land: Immanuel.
Assyria did not know then, and the nations have not known since, that the land belongs primarily to Immanuel and only secondarily to the Jew.
Later the Owner came in person:
When Immanuel came into it, though it was His land, He had no place to lay His head in it. And who was to blame for that? The people who had sold the land and themselves into bondage, and did not recognise the Kinsman-Redeemer when He lived among them.
One writer reads the verse on two levels: the Assyrian of Isaiah's day, and a later invader he foreshadows.
Isaiah 8:8 foretells that the wing of the king of Assyria would fill the breadth of the land — the land of Immanuel. This happened soon after. Yet it is also a picture of the Assyrian's attacks in the last days.
For those who trusted God while the water rose, the name at the end of the verse was the whole answer.
This overwhelming disaster would come on the nation as a whole. But God would deliver a faithful and godly remnant. And the pledge of this deliverance was that the virgin's Son, Immanuel, is with them (v. 10). The land is Immanuel's. He will be among His people, as He was with the three young Hebrew men in the fiery furnace, and as Jesus was with His disciples on the sea.
- Refusal. Judah refused the quiet stream of God's way and leaned on stronger-looking men. So God sent the river they admired.
- Flood. God brought the Assyrian over Judah like a river bursting its banks, overflowing the land from border to border.
- Limit. "To the neck" is mercy inside judgment. The water rose high, but God fixed where it stopped and would not let Assyria take Jerusalem.
- Deed. Even at the flood's height God names the land Immanuel's. The nations occupy it, but they have never owned it.
- Presence. The name over the land is also the remnant's safety: Immanuel is with them, standing with His own inside the trouble, not only after it.