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Isaiah 8
1The LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;
2and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah , and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”
3I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’
4For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the of Assyria.”
5The LORD spoke to me yet again, saying,
6“Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;
7now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.
8It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, O Immanuel.
9Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
10Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak , and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
11For the LORD spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12“Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.
13The LORD of Armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.
14He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare.
15Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
16Wrap up the . Seal the law among my disciples.
17I will wait for the LORD, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of Armies, who dwells in Zion.
19When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20Turn to the law and to the ! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
21They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their and their God. They will turn their faces upward,
22then look to the earth and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.