Meanwhile Isaiah And His Followers Are Not To Align Themselves With Any Political Party. All Are Heading For Disaster. Rather He Must Seal The Testimony of Yahweh (Isaiah 8:11-18).
In the light of this future hope Isaiah now calls on the faithful to stand firm. Like him they must renounce the present conspiracies that are rivalling each other, (what he describes as, ‘the way of this people'). On the one hand are one set of plotters saying ‘we must persuade the king to yield to Syria and Ephraim or else we will be destroyed', on the other another set saying, ‘we must persuade him to gain the help of the king of Assyria, or we are done for', and possibly a third set muttering ‘we must persuade him to put our trust in Egypt, for they have promised to save us'. But the common factor is that they are all seeking to put their trust in men. What his followers must do, however, is put all their hope and trust in God for the future. If He is the One Whom they fear, and in Whom they put their trust, they will find Him to be all the sanctuary that they need, and this will be in direct contrast with those who see such an idea as a stumbling stone, and God's call to faith in Him as a rock of offence. The attitude of such people to Him and His call to faith will trip them up and bring them crashing down.
So like him what his disciples must do is seal up his words, and wait for Yahweh to act in His own way, and have nothing to do with conspiracies. For while He is as yet hiding His face from Judah, nevertheless He has given an indication of what lies ahead for both houses of Israel (Israel and Judah) in the naming of Isaiah's two sons, ‘a remnant will return' and ‘haste the spoil, speed the prey'. And all this in the light of their expectation of the coming of Immanuel. So while at first they must expect disaster, in the end they can be sure of restoration.
Analysis.
a For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand (literally ‘strength of hand'), and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people (Isaiah 8:11).
b Saying, “Do not say (the verb is plural) ‘a conspiracy' concerning all of which this people say ‘a conspiracy', nor fear their fear, nor be in dread (Isaiah 8:12).
c Yahweh of hosts, Him you will sanctify, and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread, and He shall be for a sanctuary (Isaiah 8:13-14 a).
d But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel,
d For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and many will stumble on it and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken (Isaiah 8:14-15)
c Bind up the testimony. Seal the Instruction (Torah - the Law) among those whom I have taught (Isaiah 8:16).
b And I will wait for Yahweh who hides His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him (Isaiah 8:17).
a Behold I, and the children whom Yahweh has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts who dwells in mount Zion (Isaiah 8:18).
In ‘a' Yahweh speaks to Isaiah with a strong hand telling him not to walk in the way of the people, and in the parallel his children are for signs and wonders from Yahweh. In ‘b' his people are not to look to conspiracies, but rather, in the parallel, are to wait for Yahweh and look for Him. In c' they are to set apart Yahweh as holy, and in the parallel are to bind up His testimony and seal His instruction among his disciples. In ‘d' Yahweh will be a stumbling stone and rock which causes offence and in the parallel will be a snare and a cause of stumbling to all who do not believe.
‘For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand (literally ‘strength of hand'), and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, “Do not say (the verb is plural) ‘a conspiracy' concerning all of which this people say ‘a conspiracy', nor fear their fear, nor be in dread. Yahweh of hosts, him you will sanctify, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread, and he shall be for a sanctuary.'
Isaiah now comes back to his present situation. He stresses that in some way which he does not describe Yahweh has spoken powerfully and emphatically to him, ‘with a strong hand'. This might suggest some unpleasant experience that he had had to go through. Possibly this had been necessary because he and his followers had begun to entangle themselves with an anti-Assyria party who would have been happy to enrol such an important figure in their cause. But, as Yahweh had warned him emphatically, they were not to get caught up in conspiracies, or rumours of conspiracies, but were simply to trust in Him.
Judah was clearly rife with conspiracies, with each seeing the other parties as guilty of conspiracy and being filled with dread because of it, and because of what they saw as coming if they had their way. Fear was on every side, for all were afraid of what might come on them if their own idea was not followed. There would be the pro-Israel and Syria party, the anti-Assyria party, the pro-Assyria party, the pro-Egyptian party, and so on. We must recognise that these threats on the horizon were real. On the one hand Syria and Israel were even then about to invade. On the other was the dislike and fear of the ultra-foreign king of Assyria, which was strong among many. A third group were convinced that submission to Assyria was the only hope. But those, including the king, who saw hope nowhere else, must still have been apprehensive. So Jerusalem and Judah were divided in their thoughts. None of the choices really looked appealing. Conspiracy theories abounded everywhere. To them it was just a matter of finding the least disastrous of the alternatives.
But Isaiah was told that he and his followers were not to get entangled with any of these. Rather they were to set their hearts on Yahweh. They were to set ‘Yahweh of hosts' apart in their minds, and thoughts, and behaviour and think only of Him and His will. By fearing and dreading Him they would be freed from any other fear and dread, and would be a testimony to those around them. And by doing this they would discover that Yahweh really was the true and reliable sanctuary, in contrast with all these false sanctuaries.
But while the sanctuary was a place of safety for those seeking protection the thought is more than that. It was also a holy place, it was the sanctuary of God. Thus they would receive not just protection, but positive sustenance and strength. Yahweh would be their strength, set apart in their hearts.
‘But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many will stumble on it and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.'
However to others Yahweh would instead be a stone which caused men to trip up, a rock which caused them to stumble. Because they had wrong ideas about Him and His will, through refusing to consider and believe His word (Isaiah 8:16), they would be led astray and go forward into disaster. They were not the first or the last to think that God was on their side whatever they purposed and however they thought. But they would soon discover otherwise.
‘Both houses of Israel', that is, Israel and Judah. Both still come within the ambit of God's warnings through Isaiah. Both could still listen if they would. But they will not, and therefore they will stumble as a result of what they believe about Yahweh. Their wrong belief and ideas lead will lead them into disaster.
‘For a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.' God's people under David were politically split into three parts, Israel, Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The last named saw their city primarily as the city of David rather than as of Judah. But all three parts will find themselves entrapped by their wrong beliefs about Yahweh, especially Jerusalem.
‘And many will stumble on it, and fall and be broken, and be snared and be taken.' So this stone of stumbling and snare will bring many to disaster. They will fall and be broken, they will be snared and taken, stumbling along, tripping over obstacles, and then finding themselves caught in a snare, and all because they have the wrong ideas about God.
The Sealing of Isaiah's Testimony In The Light Of The Coming King.
Having come to the end of this part of his ministry Isaiah now arranges for his words to be recorded and sealed. He warns that men must either look to God's Instruction (Law) and His word through Isaiah, and trust in Him, or must walk in darkness and come to despair. Then he elucidates what he has prophesied in Isaiah 7:14. Finally the great expected king will come and he will bring light to all who receive him, and the everlasting kingdom will be established (Isaiah 9:1-7). It is simply a question of believing and trusting until that time.
‘Bind up the testimony. Seal the Instruction (Torah - the Law) among those whom I have taught. And I will wait in expectancy for Yahweh who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold I, and the children whom Yahweh has given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts who dwells in mount Zion.'
‘Bind' and ‘seal' are in the singular. Isaiah now gives instructions (we are not told to whom, but it was clearly to a trusted follower) for his testimony (possibly Isaiah 6:1 to Isaiah 8:15) and the teaching of the Law which he has expounded to them, to be bound up and sealed. They are to be kept among his followers as a sealed and witnessed testimony to what he has prophesied and taught. They alone have been privileged to know the truth, and it must be preserved so that future generations may know what God had told all of Israel and Judah to do. Then they will see that the coming disasters were not His fault. Meanwhile Isaiah himself will wait for Yahweh, Whose face is at present hidden from the house of Jacob (all Israel and Judah), and will look for Him. He will await with expectancy the fulfilment of the promises of judgment, and of the glorious future beyond. All is within God's timing and he is confident in God.
The hiding of the face from the house of Judah is in contrast with the general thought of His face shining on them (Numbers 6:25; Psalms 31:16; Psalms 67:1; Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:19). Previously His face had shone on them. Even recently they had just enjoyed the good times during the reign of Uzziah. Now He has withdrawn His face and presence from them for a little while so that it no longer shines on them. But if only all would trust in Yahweh He would bring them through unscathed. (In the Psalms His face shines on them that they might be saved). Thus Isaiah knows that he must learn yet more from God that he may continue to appeal to them.
Some, however, see the first instruction, ‘Bind up -- among those whom I have taught (my instructed ones)', as given by Yahweh to Isaiah.
‘Behold I, and the children whom Yahweh has given me, are for signs and for portents in Israel from Yahweh of hosts who dwells in mount Zion.' But God's truth need not have been hidden from the people. They had had a clear testimony. The first sign was Isaiah himself, and his name (‘in Yahweh is salvation') and his vivid experience of Yahweh. And then there were his children, Shearjashub (‘a remnant shall return') and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (‘haste the spoil, speed the prey'). All three were for signs and for portents among them. And they were given by Yahweh of hosts from His holy hill, from His dwellingplace in Mount Zion. It was indeed on Mount Zion that Isaiah had had his unique experience and call (chapter 6) and from which he had come with his testimony to the people as a prophet from God. So he especially had cause to know that Mount Zion was where Yahweh came to reveal Himself, and where He had revealed Himself. Thus he could not understand why the people would not trust the ever present Yahweh
So he is reminding all that they should not forget that God has been pleased to place His earthly dwellingplace among them on the holy mount, symbolised by the Ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and has sent Isaiah as a sign and a portent through his revelation of God's truth, and through his children, with their unusual names (‘a remnant shall return' and ‘haste the spoil, speed the prey'), especially Maher-shalal-hash-baz whose birth had been so mysteriously proclaimed on the public tablet beforehand. What more evidence do they need?
We should note when interpreting these passages that Isaiah was equally a sign and portent with his sons. Indeed more so. He was the major sign. They were only involved because of his prophetic ministry. Thus the emphasis here is on God's revelation through Isaiah, which has included the giving of unusual prophetic names to his sons. His being a sign and portent may well be especially referring back to his experience of chapter 6 on the holy mount. (Thus the new sign of Immanuel was not referring to these signs, for there all the attention had been on Immanuel). Note that we have here the threefold sign of Isaiah and his two sons.