First Upload: Wednesday March 13, 2019
Last Modified: Tuesday June 23, 2020
Author: Eduardo Freire Canosa
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1 The Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
2 And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me."
3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
4 Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 "Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River—the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks
8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!"
9 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
11 The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:
12 "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,
14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured."
16 Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.
22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
Thirteen verses prolong the story of the Lord's testing of King Ahaz. They are moved back to Revised Chapter 7.
Verses 5-8 foretell the Assyrian invasion of the land of Judah.
Revised Chapter 8 enlists four verses of the canonical chapter, imports fourteen and a half verses from seven chapters and dons the title, "Assyria Will Invade Judah."
1-4. The Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me." 3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."
Analysis: These four verses were written before the "wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria" was carried off by the king of Assyria. Verse 4 intimates that the rumours of invasion vexed the people of Judah for two or three years of the monarchy of Ahaz ("Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother'").
Destination: Revised Chapter 7, "The Lord's Testing of King Ahaz." See verse 16 for the placement of these four verses.
9. Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Reason: The setting is apocalyptic, all the nations of the world are enjoined to prepare for war.
Destination: Revised Chapter 24, "The Day of The Lord."
10. Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
Analysis: The clause, "for God is with us," tabs the monarchy of Immanuel. Then Hezekiah had two potential adversaries, Cushite Pharaoh Tirhakah (2 Kings 19:9) and Assyrian king Sennacherib.
Destination: Verse 10 instals well in Revised Chapter 18, "Cush."
11-15. The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said: 12 "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, 14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. 15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured."
Background: The only "conspiracy" that affected "this people" directly during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah was Ephraim's betrayal of Judah. Ephraim allied itself with Aram for the purpose of invading Judah and the people became very fearful at the news (Isaiah 7:1-2). The Lord then became for both houses of Israel (Ephraim and Judah) "a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" because Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria eventually invaded Ephraim, conquered a portion of it and deported the people to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29) and also because Judah demeaned herself by opting to become his vassal (2 Kings 16:7-10).
Destination: Revised Chapter 7, "The Lord's Testing of King Ahaz."
16. Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples.
Background: The "testimony" is the scroll with the words Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz written on it (verses 1-2). The law is the Torah, opponent of idolatry.
Destination: Revised Chapter 7, "The Lord's Testing of King Ahaz,"
1 The Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me." 3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria. 16 Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples."
17. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.
Analysis: During the Lord's testing of Ahaz, the Lord hadn't yet hidden "his face from the house of Jacob." Therefore verse 17 was written a bit earlier.
Destination: Revised Chapter 3, "The Lord's Displeasure With Judah and Jerusalem."
18. Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
Explanation: Whom is Isaiah talking to in the company of his children? It can only be King Ahaz (cf. Isaiah 7:3). When? During the prophet's second attempt to persuade the king to stay faithful to the Lord. The "signs and symbols" are the children's names, Shear-Jashub (Isaiah 7:3) meaning "A Remnant Shall Return" (Internet) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah 8:1-3) meaning "Hurrying To The Spoil" (Internet).
Destination: Revised Chapter 7, "The Lord's Testing of King Ahaz,"
Corrected 7:10 Again Isaiah spoke to Ahaz, 18 "Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion. Second Half of 48:16 And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, with his Spirit: 51:12 'I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, 51:13 that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? 19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 7:11 Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.'"
19-20. When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
Analysis: The interjection, "To the law and to the testimony!" bonds these two verses to verse 16 and to the period of the Lord's testing of King Ahaz.
Destination: Revised Chapter 7, "The Lord's Testing of King Ahaz." See verse 18 for the placement of these two verses.
21-22. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
Analysis: These two verses do not appertain to the Lord's testing of King Ahaz. The people depicted here are wandering outcasts of the house of Jacob. In the days of the Lord's testing of King Ahaz, no one roamed through the land, everyone in the countryside ran away to the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:8).
The wanderers of verses 21-22 are unbelievers who have no fear of God, they curse him. This reaction to their dire circumstance agrees well with the temperament of "those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes" (Isaiah 5:18) and who moreover mock the faithful (Isaiah 5:19).
Destination: Revised Chapter 5, "The Vineyard of The Lord,"
5:18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, 5:19 to those who say, "Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it."5:24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
12:1-3. In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
12:4-6. In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
25:9. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."
27:13. And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
28:5-6. In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. 6 He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
28:21. The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
Second Half of 33:23. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
35:3-4. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."
42:17. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame.
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 "Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River—the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks 8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!
35:3 "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.'
25:9 "In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'"
28:5 In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. 28:6 He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
28:21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task. Second Half of 33:23 Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
12:1 In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
12:4 In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 12:5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 12:6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
27:13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. 42:17 But those who trust in idols, who say to images, "You are our gods," will be turned back in utter shame.
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