Isaiah 9: 8-12

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

⁸ The Lord sends a message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
⁹ And all the people know it,
That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰ “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
¹¹ Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from Rezin
And spurs their enemies on,
¹² The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

There are many times when I appreciate the subheads contained within chapters of Scripture. As with other forms of documentation, subheads break up large amounts of text. They make it easier to read, to know what is contained within a section and to help remember where certain passages are. But, the original text of the Bible was not written with these subheads, and, sometimes, the editors'/translators' choices are curious.

My study Bible explains that Isaiah 9:8 begins a poem, which runs several stanzas through 10:4--which is after a new chapter subhead while 10:5 does not contain a new subhead. You might think a poem would stand on its own. But, I'm not a Biblical scholar/editor/translator. Just so you know what you're reading!

You will recognize the refrain of the poem, which is found in verse 12, and will be repeated throughout the poem. We first read it as part of Isaiah 5:25--

"On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. 
And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent,
But His hand is still stretched out."

^{--Isaiah 5:25 (italics mine)}

^{The Lord's discipline is still to be completed.}

^{Back to the top, verse 8, "the Lord sends a message against Jacob...." We know that Jacob was the father of sons representing the original 12 tribes of Israel. God changed Jacob's name to Israel ("...For you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."--Genesis 32:28b) after Jacob wrestled with Him. The second part of verse 8 further clarifies: "It falls on Israel," meaning the Northern Kingdom, the 10 tribes (as opposed to Judah, the Southern Kingdom). To make that even more specific, in verse 9, Isaiah uses 'Ephraim' for the nation of Israel and those of its capital city, "Samaria."}

^{What was the word sent forth? Prophets and others had told the nation of its "pride and arrogance of heart." As we learned from studying Amos and Hosea--prophets to Israel--the nation had a massive struggle with its self-sufficient nature. It had worked itself up to a stage of not finding a need for God, all the while building up its city walls and fortresses, and giving itself every good pleasure for living. Besides 'haughtiness' and 'highhandedness,' it seems appropriate to find 'lordiness' listed as synonymns for 'arrogance.' [Dictionary.com] Israel was lord of itself, despite the words of Truth handed down through its messengers. Striving took on a whole new emphasis.}

"Boast no more so very proudly,

Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;

For the Lord is a God of knowledge,

And with Him actions are weighed."

--I Samuel 2:3 (from Hannah's "Song of Thanksgiving")

^{The actions of people are weighed before God, and God's actions should be weighty matters when they fall upon His people! "All the people will know it," returning to verse 9. If they hadn't learned through the words of God's messengers, God would demonstrate His point through His actions.}

^{"Those are ripening apace for ruin whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences; for God will walk contrary to those who thus walk contrary to him and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were stronger than he."}

^{--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible}

^{Verse 10 is a response by Israel to what God has been trying to tell them about their heart. "If there is trouble to come, Lord, no problem. We can handle it. If the nations tear down our homes, we'll rebuild, and rebuild even better than before! We'll use 'smooth' or 'hewn' (King James Version) stones and long-lasting, sturdy cedar instead of the fickle sycamore. It's OK, Lord. Thanks, anyway. We got this!"} Again, Israel's take-charge ways would get the best of them.

^{In verse 11, God tells how. He plans to send in forces which are Rezin's (king of Syria) adversaries. That would be the Assyrians. The Syrians or "Arameans" would also be involved, as would the Philistines who carried a long battle history. God was raising up forces all around. Where's your mighty fortress now?}

^{"Did we in our own strength confide,}

^{our striving would be losing,}

^{were not the right man on our side,}

^{the man of God's own choosing...."}

^{--from A Mighty Fortress is Our God (lyrics by Martin Luther)}

 

^{"Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.}

The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: 

'I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And detest his citadels;
Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.'"

--Amos 6: 7 and 8 

The poem continues.... 'Til next Wednesday. (And thanks for your patience in waiting a day, as I had seasonal service opportunities not to be missed yesterday!).... 

Photo: www.keyway.ca

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Next week: Isaiah 9: 13-17

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 8: 1-4

 

Damascus and Samaria Fall

¹ "Then the Lord said to me, 'Take for yourself a large tablet and 

write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. 

² And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, 

Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.'

³ So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. 

Then the Lord said to me, 'Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 

⁴ for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.'"

Packing a punch with the first four verses of Chapter 8, Isaiah receives more direction from God as well as a second child who will speak His Word to the nation of Judah. Rich text today--don't miss a word. (And, yes, the Hebrew names are definitely important! Be not afraid....)

The Lord tells Isaiah (vs. 1) to get a tablet and write "in ordinary letters" or, more literally, with the stylus of man: "Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey." Commentator Matthew Henry refers to this as the "title" of a book. Goodness, we might even call that a "tweet" today, perhaps!

The background I've read suggests that what Isaiah eventually writes goes beyond just a title (and much more than what I've captured on that sandwich board in the picture). The King James Version uses 'roll' instead of 'tablet,' which definitely implies more text than a headline. The chapters of material that we are reading in Isaiah now, pronouncing what was coming at the hand of Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser, is what God was asking the prophet to record in written fashion for all to be able to access and read.

Not only will this information be recorded for posterity, but God takes to Himself (vs. 2) "faithful witnesses" to affirm His words that Isaiah is bringing forth in this writing. This is almost like having a couple of notary publics present, which falls in line with Scripture's mandate that, "'A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed....'" (Deuteronomy 19:15)

These two "faithful witnesses" are identified by name, and their names are important. The first is Uriah (or Urijah) the priest, whose name means "flame of Jehovah." He was a loyal priest under King Ahaz. The other man is Zechariah (whose name means "Jehovah remembers" or "Jehovah is renown"), who is born of a man named Jeberechiah (whose name means "blessed of God"). We don't really learn anything else about Zechariah or his father, but these are the men God, through Isaiah, chose to serve as witnesses. Burton Scott Easton, writing in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, says, "'faithful witness' means simply 'one whom the people will believe'...."At the time of Isaiah's prophecy, these were the two men for the job. (More on Urijah's faithfulness at the end of this post.)

In verse 3, we switch over to Isaiah speaking, as he says he "approaches the prophetess." This is a term for wife of a prophet, referring to Isaiah's wife. We then learn of Isaiah's second son who, like his big brother (Shear-jashub--"a remnant shall return"--7:3), carries a name that will forever speak to the nation of Judah: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. His son's name--the book's title--"Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey." Or, more thoroughly explained in the Amplified Bible: "...[they (the Assyrians) hasten to the spoil (of Syria and Israel), they speed to the prey]." (8:1)

Every time this boy's mom would call him, a reminder would be issued to Judah that a prophecy was waiting to be fulfilled. Swift and speedy. Recall what we have read before today:

"He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, and will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; and behold, it will come with speed swiftly."

--Isaiah 5:26

It was only a matter of time before Assyrian forces would come upon Syria (Damascus) and the Northern Kingdom (Samaria). How much time? Look at verse 4: "...for before the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother’...." 'Dada' and 'Mama' were first words for children back in that day, too. Not much time before Isaiah's words on the tablet would mark the demise of Judah's enemies.



Isn't it incredible how God uses the people He chooses? The study of the names and their meanings is also a fascinating one. Everything has so much more significance and points to the foreknowledge of God in all things! As a bonus for today, I have to share a little more about Urijah the priest. Yes, He served God's purposes at the time of Isaiah's prophecy. But, Urijah's loyalty to King Ahaz goes to the extreme after the prophecy against Damascus and Samaria is fulfilled.

The story unfolds in II Kings, Chapter 16. We have been here before, as this is where the alliance between King Ahaz and King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria is recorded. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled as Tiglath-Pileser conquers both nations, saving Judah from the threat of her enemies. So, Ahaz meets the Assyrian king at Damascus following the wars. While there, Ahaz sees an incredible altar, most likely one of Assyrian design. In recognition of Tiglath-Pileser's conquest and to honor his new ally [god or idol!], Ahaz sketches a picture of the altar, taking down details and patterns so that Urijah, the priest, might create an identical one for the temple in Judah.

Though loyalty to the king is good in most other kingdoms, being the earthly spiritual leader and guardian of the temple, and not being loyal to God first pretty much negates any sense of true loyalty (especially when the king isn't loyal to God either!). But, Urijah obeys Ahaz and creates the altar. Then Ahaz further changes the temple order by moving the original bronze altar of the temple out and ordaining that Urijah make sacrifices on the newly created [Assyrian] altar. Ahaz takes the former bronze altar for his own private use, which, it is believed by scholars, likely meant sacrificing to the gods of his choosing depending on his needs at the time.



Can God use anyone to complete His purposes? He sure can! Ahaz wasn't the only one whom God used to fulfill His will. Let's not forget the baby of our story today. God used Him, too. When you begin to grasp how deeply God is involved in the things of this world, you might see Him working a bit more in your own life. I know I do!



God speaks further to Isaiah concerning the fall of these nations.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo:

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Next week: Isaiah 8: 5-8

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).