Isaías 8

Isaías 8

Calvin explaining that The unbelieving multitude… is concerned with material advantage and possessions. When it sees the true people of God despise these things and cleave unto the Lord, it despises that people. Here we may learn that one mark of the true Christian is his willingness to sacrifice material possessions for the kingdom of Christ. (The Book of Isaiah 3 Vol. Edward J. Young) Signs (0226)('oth) means a signal, a mark a miracle and is used to describe amazing events such as God bringing Israel out of Egypt (Ex 4:8, 9, Nu 14:22) or a sign serving to authenticate the message as from God (1Sa 2:34, 10:7, 9) in contrast to the signs from false prophets (Dt 13:1, 2). King Hezekiah received a sign from Jehovah that the He would add fifteen years to his life (Isa 38:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; Gideon - Jdg 6:17-note) Wonders (04159) (mopet) are events which are given by God in order to arrest one's attention. Mopet is a portent which is something that foreshadows a coming event, something that indicates a future event, especially a momentous or calamitous one. Mopet - 35v in the OT - Ex 4:21; 7:3, 9; 11:9f; Deut 4:34; 6:22; 7:19; 13:1f; 26:8; 28:46; 29:3; 34:11; 1Kgs 13:3, 5; 1Chr 16:12; 2Chr 32:24, 31; Neh 9:10; Ps 71:7; 78:43; 105:5, 27; 135:9; Isa 8:18; 20:3; Jer 32:20, 21; Ezek 12:6, 11; 24:24, 27; Joel 2:30; Zech 3:8 Oswalt comments on the phrase "I and the children" that… Their very existence, as well as the strangely evocative names he had felt led to give them, was testimony of God's working among his people. Furthermore, they were evidence that although God's face might be hidden for a time, it was still true that his dwelling was upon Mount Zion (Isa 2:2). They were thus an indication that the coming upheaval and destruction was ultimately only temporary. (The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39) David Guzik draws a great point of application from this passage reminding us that as followers of Christ… We are also the children of God, and we are His message. Hebrews 2:11, 12, 13-note quotes this passage to communicate this truth: For both He (Jesus) who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, "I WILL PROCLAIM THY NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING THY PRAISE." And again, "I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM." And again, "BEHOLD, I (Jesus) AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD (The Father) HAS GIVEN ME." (Note: In NAS, NT passages in all caps signify direct OT quotations). Comment: Isaiah’s statement about his natural family is quoted by the writer of Hebrews who applies it to Christ and His spiritual family. Just as much as Isaiah's children were living witnesses of the truth of God's word, so are we as God's children. (Isaiah 8 Commentary) From Jehovah - In other words Isaiah is saying these signs and wonders are not something he has concocted but are received from the very presence of the great I Am. Thus they are worthy of our full attention. In addition the fact that these signs/wonders are from the LORD undergirds the prophet's own faith in the face of the coming storm. Beloved, a storm is coming. Are you going into the presence of Jehovah, bowing down and in humility receiving His trustworthy Word of Life that by it your faith might be strengthened for the future fray? The LORD of hosts - See study of Jehovah Sabaoth, LORD of hosts (of armies). The people of Isaiah's day were eager to consult inadequate and dead sources (next verse) about the future, while ignoring the living God. Unbelieving Judah had living among them the signs of their own fate and faithlessness, but they choose to ignore/reject them. Is this not similar to what many unbelievers do today - they have a believing spouse or relative or co-worker as a "sign" in their very midst and yet they refuse to hear and heed his or her testimony, instead rejecting their words of warning and of hope which is found in Christ and seek for other lesser gods (money, success, false religions, etc) who are no gods at all! Who dwells on Mount Zion - Who? Christ Jesus. He promises to dwell in Zion (Jerusalem) forever and ever amen. Young comments that… The wicked majority of the nation appealed to the Temple (Ed: cp Jer 7:4 - False prophets deceived the people with promises that God would never permit the temple to be destroyed.). Outwardly they were worshipers of Yahweh. Isaiah now points out to them that their confidence is vain, for it is this very Yahweh who dwells in the Temple on Zion that has set forth the Messiah and His own for signs and wonders. Many there are who make an outward profession of orthodoxy whose hearts are in reality far estranged from the Lord (Ed: See Mt 7:21-note, Mt 7:22, 23-note, cp Isaiah records the same problem of professors who were not possessors of faith in Messiah - Isa 29:13). Such a condition is about us today in the fact that the great Protestant denominations, while retaining ancient creeds, have nevertheless for the most part departed far from the faith once for all delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). (The Book of Isaiah 3 Vol. Edward J. Young) A number of OT passages refer to the LORD dwelling in Zion… Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel (Messiah). (Isa 12:6) Then (At the Second Coming) the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts (Messiah) will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders. (Isa 24:23) Thus says the LORD, 'I will return (Messiah at the Second Coming) to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then (When? In the Millennium) Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.' (Zech 8:3) Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone, a costly Cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it (Christ Jesus) will not be disturbed. (Is 28:16). Isaiah 8:19 When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?: Consult: Isa 19:3 Lev 20:6 Dt 18:11 1Sa 28:8 1Ch 10:13 2Ch 33:6 Mutter: Isa 29:4 Should: 1Sa 28:16 2Ki 1:3 2Pe 2:1 the living: Ps 106:28 Jer 10:10 1Th 1:9 Isaiah 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ABSENCE OF FAITH INCREASE IN SUPERSTITION When they say to you - They refers to unbelieving Jews who try to pressure the "disciples" (true believers) to turn from the Truth and to Lies. Isaiah is forewarning the disciples that they will be confronted by "popular religion" and superstitions. Beloved, things have not changed much, for if you take an orthodox stand, you can be assured that before long you will be exposed to various winds of doctrine (mysticism, churches subtlety drifting from sound doctrine, e.g., 2Ti 4:3,4-note, Ep 4:12, 13-note, Ep 4:14-note, Ep 4:15, 16-note) and the only way to withstand these constant doctrinal winds is to stand firm on truth (cp Titus 1:9-note) in full dependence on God's Spirit and strengthening grace (cp 1Pe 5:12-note) Mediums (0178) (ob) describes a necromancer who supposedly conjure the spirits of the dead for purposes of revealing the future or influencing the course of events. Ob - 15v in the OT - Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Dt 18:11; 1Sa 28:3, 7, 9; 2Ki 21:6; 23:24; 1Chr 10:13; 2Chr 33:6; Job 32:19 (different meaning here = wineskin!); Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4 Spiritists (03049) (yiddeoni) are those who contact dead spirits in search of information. Yiddeoni - 11v in the OT - Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Dt 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2Ki 21:6; 23:24; 2Chr 33:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3 Whisper (KJV = peep) (06850) (sapap) means to speak in low-volume, muttering tones, as a figurative extension of the chirping sound a bird makes and thus is used again by Isaiah (Isa 10:14) to describe the sound of birds, a figurative description of those who had been conquered by the Assyrians. These mediums and spiritists "chirp" like birds! Sapap - 4v in OT - Isa 8:19 Isa 10:14 Isa 29:4 Isa 38:14 (twitter) Mutter (01897) (hagah) strictly speaking it means to utter any dull, confused sound and hence it is employed of inward utterance, of the words a man speaks to himself; and also of giving open and loud expression to the thoughts. The meaning of hagah is a low sound, characteristic of the moaning of a dove (Isa 38:14; 59:11). Most of the OT uses refer to the positive, profitable discipline of Biblical Meditation (E.g., see first use = Joshua 1:8-note), but as used here by Isaiah hagah refers to wizards, necromancers, etc, who made strange noises when they practiced their occult techniques. Brenton's English translation of the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 8:19 is interesting… And if they should say to you, Seek those who have in them a divining spirit, and them that speak out of the earth, them that speak vain words (The Greek word here actually means "ventriloquist" or familiar spirit [of a ventriloquist]), who speak out of their belly: shall not a nation diligently seek to their God? why do they seek to the dead concerning the living? Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter - Who are they? As alluded to above, they refers to Isaiah's audience in Judah who lacked the trust in God which the prophet possessed and who therefore stumbled over Immanuel, the Stone, the Rock. In their fear of pending doom they were forced to seek answers to their concerns and doubts from the mediums and the spiritists." Someone has well said that when a society turns from faith in the true God, there is often a "revival" of superstition in proportion to the loss of faith. Does this not describe America in the 21st century? Beloved, if one refuses the Holy Spirit of Christ, he opens himself to the unholy "world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places!" (Ep 6:12-note) Erwin Lutzer writes - To try to contact the dead is to invite fellowship with hosts of darkness pretending to be helpful angels of light. Isaiah the prophet warned the people that to consult a medium was to turn one’s back on God. “When they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” [light] (Isaiah 8:19–20). The point, of course, is that all information about life after death that comes from spiritists or channelers is unreliable. Those who turn to the occult world for knowledge of death are misled. Yes, there is life after death, but we cannot learn the details from demons, whose chief delight is to confuse and deceive. No wonder the theology allegedly given by Pike’s son was so convoluted. We have no right to try to peek behind the curtain by communicating with those on the other side. Once the curtain has opened to admit a fellow traveler, it closes and we must not try to peek behind the veil. (One Minute After You Die) Related Resources: What does the Bible say about praying to / speaking to / talking to the dead? Did the witch of Endor really summon Samuel from the dead (1 Samuel 28:7-20)? What does the Bible say about praying for the dead? What is a séance? Can I ask God to deliver a message to a loved one who has died? What does the Bible say about necromancy? A NATION SHOULD SEEK GOD NOT SPIRITS Should not people consult their God? - Rhetorical question. Clearly calls for an affirmative answer. The living God speaks through His living Word and it is He alone we should consult (cp Isa 44:6, 45:5, 6, 7, Isa 43:10, 11, 12, 13). Who do you consult when you experience adversity and/or affliction? Isaiah tells us who to consult in the next passage -- go to the law and the testimony! Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? - How tragic and utterly foolish is such a godless process (cf. 1Sa 28:6, 7, 8)! This temptation is ever before us, especially in times of national or personal sorrow. The effect of these practices is to forget God and to deny His very existence! How tragic when men want to hear muttering and chirping from the darkness in place of a clear "thus saith the LORD" in the light! W A Criswell comments that… People through the ages have turned away from God during times of great distress, when actually they need Him most, and consulted those who offered false hope. The Lord strictly forbids any kind of divination, fortune-telling, astrology, or necromancy (cf. Dt. 18:10; 1Sa 28:7-20; 2Ki 21:6). The phrase "wizards who whisper" is a reference to ventriloquists who sought to disguise their voices as representations of ghosts or spirits from another world. (Criswell, W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson) Henry Morris… Throughout Scripture, the Lord unequivocally condemns consultation with spirit mediums, fortune-tellers, astrologers, witches and all other occult sources of supposed knowledge and guidance (Ed: Lev 19:26, Dt 18:9-14). The New Age movement involves a plethora of such activities and should be avoided by all Christian believers. Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn: the law: Isa 8:16 Lk 10:26 16:29-31 Jn 5:39,46,47 Ac 17:11 Gal 3:8-29 Gal 4:21,22 2Ti 3:15-17 2Pe 1:19 it is: Isa 30:8-11 Ps 19:7,8 119:130 Jer 8:9 Mic 3:6 Mt 6:23 22:29 Mk 7:7-9 Ro 1:22 2Pe 1:9 dawn: Heb. morning, Pr 4:18 Ho 6:3 Mal 4:2 2Pe 1:19 Isaiah 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries BACK TO THE BIBLE To the law and to the testimony - In Psalm 19:7 we see this same combination which in that context refers to the Word of God. God's Word is the plumbline by which all of men's opinions are to be judged. NET Bible translation… Then you must recall the LORD's instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. The law reveals God's will for man, what He requires of him. The testimony reveals God's will, bearing witness that what is stated or written is from God. They (and we) were not to go to mediums and spiritists but to the written Word of God which provides all the counsel and guidance one will never need for life and godliness (cp 2Pe 1:3-note). God's Word is the only absolute and absolutely trustworthy standard for our short time here on earth! Returning back to the Bible (the Truth) assures counters the false predictions (the Lie) obtained by consulting the dead. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, do you run to horoscopes, fortune tellers, etc, are do you run to the Word of God allowing it to renew your mind and guide your thinking. (cp Ro 12:2-note). Teed comments… It is always amazing to me to see how many Christians will consult the daily horoscope in the newspaper. They see no harm in it and apparently are not aware of the several places where God distinctly forbids such activities (Deuteronomy 18:9, 10, 11, 12; Leviticus 20:27; 1Samuel 15:23). Looking to astrology, psychics and other such individuals is not only sinning, it is putting oneself in alliance with the devil and his evil ways. (Isaiah 8 Teed Commentaries) Leupold comments on the law and the testimony that… It was important then. It is important now. In fact, the giving heed to it is the most important issue of the day. It could therefore be aptly paraphrased: Let the nation turn back to that basic instruction which has come to it from God in the past; to do so is their only hope. It is because they have no dawn - Isaiah is explaining why they do not speak according to God's Word (this is the great need today even among "Bible believing" Christians - to order their thinking according to God's Word - cp Ro 12:2-note). As Vine says these people without dawn "abide in perpetual darkness". Those who do not speak according to "thus saith the LORD" are those who have no light of salvation and thus are spiritually dead in unbelief and the darkness of their trespasses and sins. They possess no spiritual light (cp Jer 23:16) John explains how such individuals respond to the True Light… This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (Jn 3:19, 20). This verse introduces the theme of divine light, which is important later in the passage. The true source of light is God's word, for God is Himself light (Isa 10:17; cp 1Jn 1:5). Isaiah was a man who had God’s light, and he was not afraid to let it shine. Warren Wiersbe… When you obey God’s word, you walk in the light and don’t stumble (Prov. 3:21–26; 4:14–19), but when you reject the Word, you walk in the darkness and can’t find your way (Isa. 8:20). Worldly and ignorant spiritual leaders produce worldly and ignorant people, and this brings destruction to the land. (Wiersbe, W. W. Be Amazed. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books) Six Marks of a False Prophet - Any one of the Bible’s six marks of false prophets is sufficient identification: (1) Through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1, 2, 3, 4) (2) Their prophecies don’t come to pass (Dt. 18:20, 21, 22) (3) They contradict God’s Word (Is. 8:20) (4) They bear bad fruit (Mt. 7:18, 19, 20); (5) All men speak well of them (Lk. 6:26) (6) They deny that Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh (1Jn. 4:3). (From Dave Hunt) Isaiah 8:21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.: through: Isa 8:7,8 hard pressed: Isa 9:20 Dt 28:33,34,53-57 2Ki 25:3 Jer 14:18 52:6 La 4:4,5,9,10 Will be enraged: Pr 19:3 curse: Ex 22:28 2Ki 6:33 Job 1:11 2:5,9 Rev 9:20,21 16:9-11 Isaiah 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries FORSAKE THE LORD FORSAKEN BY THE LORD They - Those who did not speak according to this Word, those who refused to believe Isaiah's prophecy and ultimately who failed to believe in the Rock of their Salvation, the Messiah. They will pass through the land - Literally they will traverse the land of Judah but it will not be an easy journey as Isaiah explains. Hard-pressed (07185)(qasha/qashah) is a work that apparently arose from an agricultural milieu and emphasizes the subjective effect exerted by an overly heavy yoke. Their passage through the land would be cruel, oppressive and hard to bear just as if they were wearing a heavy yoke! The other nuance of qasha/qashah is that of the rebellious resistance of oxen to the yoke, an apt description of stubborn and stiff-necked individuals (Ex 32:9KJV ~ making of a golden calf, cp Dt 10:16, Jdg 2:19 2Ki 17:14; Neh 9:16). FAMINE FOLLOWED BY FRETTING Famished (07456) (ra'eb) means to be hungry, intensely starved, exhausted from want of proper sustenance. While this may speak primarily of physical food, there is no doubt that these rejecters of the law and the testimony were experiencing serious spiritual malnourishment of their souls. Will be enraged and curse - When they should repent and return to their Maker, they become angry and curse Him! Famine "feeds" fretting which leads to anger in one's heart which manifests itself in vile, evil words (Mt 12:34 15:19). Solomon describes a heart which rages against Jehovah… The foolishness of man subverts (twists) his way, and his heart rages (Pictures one who storms against Jehovah like a raging sea - Jonah 1:5) against the LORD. (Pr 19:3) Comment: This proverb states that men run into troubles and failures because of their own folly, and then they blame the Lord for their failures! They… curse their king and their God - These individuals have become in effect "spiritually insane." God Who would/could be their rightful help (See Jehovah Ezer: The LORD our Helper) is intentionally rejected and reviled! That's what happens when one turns from the Truth of God's Word and from the Living God to the false gods and lying counselors of this dark, godless world! (cp the deceivers who themselves become progressively more deceived 2Ti 3:13-note, see also the retributive effect of those who actively turn away from the truth - they are left in a state in which they are spiritually open to be turned aside to myths! 2Ti 4:3,4-note) They face upward - Apparently toward heaven, the abode of God. They know where He lives, but they don't want any part of His Person or His plan for their life! And so they are enraged when they begin to reap the fruit of the evil seeds they have sown. And they blame God not themselves for they are spiritually blind to the fact that they themselves are ultimately to blame for their hard pressed, famished state! Their attitude and actions are but a foreshadowing of those who dwell on earth (Earth Dwellers = a specific name for unbelievers in the Revelation) in the days of of the final outpouring of God's holy and righteous wrath… And men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues; and they did not repent, so as to give Him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. (Re 16:9-note, Re 16:10-note, Re 16:11-note) Earlier Isaiah had stated those who rejected God would receive no light… And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds. (Is 5:30-note). Isaiah 8:22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness: look Isa 5:30 9:1 2Ch 15:5,6 Jer 13:16 30:6,7 Am 5:18-20 Zep 1:14,15 Mt 8:12 24:29 Lk 21:25,26 Jude 1:13 driven away into darkness: Job 18:18 Pr 14:32 Jer 23:12 Mt 22:13 Isaiah 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Then they will look to the earth - After looking up and cursing God they turn to terra firma but still find no help and no hope! The distress is unrelieved. They have had light in the form of signs and wonders, but they have rejected the light God graciously gave. Behold (02009)(hinneh) is an interjection which says in essence "Pay attention to what I am going to say!". "Listen up!"