CHAPTER 8 May 18 
The Sign of Isaiah's Son
Yahweh 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 the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then Yahweh 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 spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.
The Invasion and Warnings
Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, 6Because this people have 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 Euphrates: the king 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; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, 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 the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us. 11For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear what they fear, nor be terrorized. 13Yahweh 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 for both houses of Israel, but He will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured. 16Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among My disciples. 17I will wait for Yahweh, who hides His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. 18Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount 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 testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no light in them. 21They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward, 22and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.

Commentary

8:6 This people have refused the waters of Shiloah- Referring to how Isaiah had stood by the gentle waters in 7:3 and urged them not to fear the Syria-Ephraim confederacy but trust in God, who for all their sins was prepared to deliver them from that threat. Yet instead they tried to find salvation from it by human means. Because of this, God was going to go ahead and bring the Assyrians upon them as He had initially planned. Notice that although He had threatened to do this from the start of Isaiah’s prophecy, He gave them a potential way out by asking them to trust in Him and not fear Ephraim’s threatened invasion. But they failed that test.
8:18 I and the children whom Yahweh has given me- This applies not only to Isaiah’s natural children but to his “disciples” who formed a school of prophets who also preached God’s word to Judah (:16). Yet this is quoted in Heb. 2:13 as a proof that Christ is of the same nature as us. We are therefore invited to see Isaiah here as a type of Christ, and us as that small group of supporters who assisted him in teaching God’s word to a generally unresponsive people. We too are to be people of sign to those around us.
8:20 This is to be our attitude too- we are to assess the claims of others by how far they are in harmony with God’s word. By turning to His word in this way, we are ‘consulting with our God’ rather than men (:19).