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TH1143: On-Line
Teaching Notes
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 8, as we continue our study through the Word of God. And keep in mind the time frame we are in. In 740 BC king Uzziah died and when this earthly king was taken from the throne, Isaiah got a vision of the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords sitting on the throne in all His majesty. It is at this point Isaiah is commissioned by God to go and speak to his people, but God said that they would not listen, they would not repent of their sins. And Isaiah was wondering "how long" he was going to continue in this ministry, and God tells him to continue until His judgment is poured out and the Southern Kingdom of Judah is taken into captivity, which is some 80 years after his death.
We have now moved past the next king, Uzziah's son Jotham, and we are in the reign of king Ahaz, the son of Jotham. And Ahaz was a very wicked king, he served the foreign gods instead of the true and living God. Thus, we are in the year 734 BC now as we pick up our story in Isaiah chapter 8.
ISAIAH 8
VERSES 1-2
1. Isaiah is told by God to write on a large scroll, for all to see, these words, "MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ", which means "speed the spoil, hasten the booty". And as we said last week, Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were plotting to invade Judah and place the son of Tabeel as their new king in the Southern Kingdom, removing Ahaz from the throne. And God is saying that it is not going to happen, in fact in Isaiah 7:7 we read "'thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.'"
VERSE 3
1. We aren't sure if his wife was actually a prophetess or not, she may have been. But in those days if a husband was a prophet then they would call his wife a prophetess. And as I said last week, this may be Isaiah's second wife, his first wife may have died after she bore Shear-Jashub. The reason I say this is because Isaiah 7:14 was also to be a sign to Ahaz, that this army coming against them will be destroyed, Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, before Immanuel, a name they may have called Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, reached the age of 12. And that is exactly what did happen!
VERSE 4
1. Again, this was spoken of in chapter 7, and the prophecy that is being given is that Syria and the Northern Kingdom will be taken captive before the child is old enough to speak. This was spoken in 734 BC, by 732 BC the Syrians were destroyed by Assyria and the Northern areas of the Northern Kingdom were being attacked, until finally in 722 BC the Northern Kingdom of Israel was completely taken into captivity by the Assyrians. (By 669 BC, 65 years after these words were spoken, Ephraim was completely wiped out, the Northern Kingdom of Israel ceased to exist, Isaiah 7:8-9).
VERSES 5-8
1. God offered His people the fresh, life living waters, the waters of peace. But they refused what God had for them and Israel joined themselves to Syria, Judah joined themselves to the Assyrians, for protection. And God is saying instead of peace you will have turmoil as the king of Assyria not only takes captive Syria and Israel, but also come against Judah, almost drowning them too. In the land where God was with them, they refused to look to Him!
VERSES 9-10
1. These alliances they both made with man will not stand, they will be broken, they will be destroyed, and these alliances will eventually lead to Israel's and Judah's downfall and destruction. Now who is God with? Not in these alliances made with man, but with those who look to Almighty God, He is THEIR Immanuel!
VERSES 11-12
1. The people in general were all for these alliances. And God is encouraging Isaiah not to follow them. He was threatened, things were difficult because he stood against these alliances. In fact, they were calling Isaiah the trouble maker. It is not always easy to do what is right, to do what God wants, especially when you are standing alone or in the minority, but it is what is best! It is much easier to be carried away by the liberal tides that are flowing strong, than to go against those tides, and do what God has said.
VERSES 13-15
1. Now we see the result of following and not following the Lord. If you follow Him He will become a sanctuary for you. It speaks of a place of refuge from the battles that are going on around you. Now for those who turn from Him, they will be broken, taken into captivity. And Isaiah is speaking both to the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. These alliances they made will not stand but they will be the thing that breaks them, takes them into captivity.
2. Peter, in Acts 4:11-12, picks up on this idea of Jesus being a stone. He said, "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Jesus is the supporting structure of our faith, and without Him the structure will not stand, our faith is built upon shaky, unstable ground. When we build our faith upon the Rock, it is sure, it is stable, for there is no salvation found in any other name, or in any other thing!
3. Also, in Matthew 21:42-45, in speaking to the chief priests and Pharisees, "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them." The point is this. If you humble yourself, if you are broken over your sinful condition, God will raise you up. If you refuse to come to Him and repent of your sins, then He will fall upon you and crush you into fine dust. You will be eternally separated from Him. You see, either the truth of God breaks you or you will be crushed by it! And yes, the enemy was real, and the enemy was dangerous, but as Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Have a proper perspective of things!
4. The message of the cross to the Jews is a stumbling block. They are looking for a Messiah to sit on the throne of David and free them from the oppression. For the Greeks, it is just plain foolishness. They can't understand how a man dying on a cross can cleanse them from their sins. (I Corinthians 1:22-25). But as Paul said in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
VERSES 16-17
1. Isaiah is not going to let the outward circumstances, the ridicule of the people, distort his view of God and of God's promises to Him and the nation. He was going to treasure God's Words, and wait upon God, hope in the Lord!
VERSE 18
1. Why did Isaiah name his children like he did? Because they were to be signs to the nation of what was coming and of hope. Isaiah means "Jehovah saves", a precious promise during difficult times. Shear-Jashub means "a remnant shall return", even though they refused to repent and judgment came upon them, taking them into captivity, God promised He would bring a remnant of His people back into the land, and He did. And Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means "speed the spoil, hasten the booty", and as I have said, this was a promise that the alliance Israel made with Syria would not hold up, it would be destroyed before they could destroy Judah, and again that is what we see happen.
VERSE 19
1. This is how far God's people had fallen. Instead of going to the living God for comfort, direction, hope, and-so-on, they were going to the dead spirits, demons actually, to find out what they should do, to receive comfort and hope. How sad when a people have turned so far from God that they are now running to demons, the occult for help!
VERSE 20
1. Folks, I don't care how you slice it, this is a rebuke from God to those who have moved outside His Word, for those that are receiving new revelations from God. If you are, or if you are following teachers that do, STOP! God's Word is sufficient for us. Those new revelations, those new doctrines don't lead us to the Light, but into darkness! They are nothing more than doctrines of demons, as Paul tells us in I Timothy 4:1. We read, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." Thus, the only safe guard we have is a commitment to the Scriptures. We must understand that in the "last days", the days we are living in, there will be many "lying signs and wonders." And the Greek words used for "signs and wonders" are the same Greek words that are used for Jesus, except His was truth, theirs is a lie. And thus, the only way to know the truth from a lie is if it is in accordance to the Word of God.
2. In Deuteronomy 13:1-4 we are told about those that are proclaiming signs and wonders and how to test them. We read, "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'; which you have not known; 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him."
In other words, if what they are saying or doing points you away from God, then don't follow them. God is testing us to see if we are going to follow after signs and wonders or if we are going to follow after Him. I think the church in general is failing in this area. People are running to and fro seeking new revelations, miracles, signs and wonders, instead of knowing God through His Word. I have not seen in the Scriptures any revival break out in signs and wonders, but as the Word of God was being read and taught! Be students of the Word and see how God can transform your life!
VERSE 21
1. The days ahead were going to be difficult. There was not only going to be a famine of the Word of God, but a physical famine also. And my how people turn when things get tough. They are mad at their king for getting them in this mess, and at God. The reality here is they brought this upon themselves. God was chastening them with the desire that they would repent and turn to Him. Sadly they became angry with God and blamed Him instead of their own sinful behavior.
VERSE 22
1. Because they refuse to look up and repent, "They will be driven into darkness." Dark days are coming upon them for their sin. And, in a sense, those who seek to consult the dead will be forced to join them!
ISAIAH 9
VERSES 1-2
1. In 732 BC the areas of Zebulun and Naphtali were taken into captivity by the Assyrians, under the reign of Tiglath-Pileser, and it was called "Galilee of the gentiles" since it was under gentile domination. Things were bad, the spiritual darkness was devastating. Things looked very bleak, you might say it was night, things were black! (II Kings 15:29).
2. Now as black as things were, God is going to pierce that darkness with His light. Turn to Matthew chapter 4, and I will show you what I mean, as we see Jesus in His earthly ministry. Starting in verse 12 we read "Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.'" Matthew 4:12-16. A people that were in spiritual darkness, trying to find God, have had that darkness pierced by the light of God Himself! He was there to show them the way out of this spiritual darkness. As Jesus said in John 8:12, "...'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'"
VERSES 3-7
1. We have the privilege of looking at the Scriptures with hindsight for the most part, except for Jesus' second coming. But for the Jews, they did not see the two comings of the Messiah. And many times His first and second coming were placed side-by-side. You see, there was a mystery between Christ's first and second coming, we call it the church age. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 3:1-6, when he said "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel." (Also, Ephesians 3:8-9, 5:32, Colossians 1:26-27). The church age was a mystery to the Old Testament saints and was a mystery until Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, reveals it to us.
And so they did not know what to do with the Messiah who was a suffering servant and one who was to rule from the throne of David. It was difficult for them to see this. And so in verses 1-2 we see the first coming of Jesus spoken of, also in the beginning of verse 6, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." Then in verses 3-5, and the later part of verse 6 and verse 7, we see His second coming being spoken of, the millennial reign of Christ when He will rule the nations from Jerusalem.
2. Jesus is called wonderful. He is extraordinary, marvelous, astonishing. No one or nothing can compare to Him. He is our counselor. We need no one else to go to with our problems because He is the only one that can truly help. The world does not have the answers. He is our mighty God, the second person of the Trinity. Now everlasting Father throws us because Jesus is called the Son in Scripture. This phrase can be better translated "Father of eternity". In other words, He is the source of eternity and what He did on the cross of Calvary gives us eternal life. And as much as man loves to speak of peace, there will be no earthly peace until the prince of peace, Jesus comes. But until that time, you can have the peace of God when you make peace with God through His Son Jesus Christ. (First peace with God: Romans 5:1, Colossians 1:20. Then the peace of God will fill your heart: Philippians 4:7).
VERSES 8-10
1. Assyria already defeated Syria and now they were coming against Israel, devastating the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. They would destroy the land which would demoralize the people. And yet, Israel refused to repent before God, and in their arrogance they are saying that they will rebuild stronger and better what the enemy has torn down. They still didn't get it! They were not going to escape this judgment. Thus, God is going to raise up adversaries against them, as we will see.
VERSES 11-12
1. I see God not punishing the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but chastening them. His desire is for them to repent and return to Him. And even in this chastening they refuse to repent but harden themselves to the Lord. We see the phrase "For His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still." some 3 times in this section, verses 12, 17, and 21. And the idea is that when God's people return to Him, His anger, His chastening will be complete. But because they refuse, "His hand is stretched out still."
VERSE 13
1. In Proverbs 3:11-12 we read, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights." The idea is not only accepting God's chastening, not fighting against it, but to also return to Him, learn your lesson!
VERSE 14
1. Because the Northern Kingdom refused to repent and get right with God, they were going to be cut off as a nation, taken into captivity by the Assyrians. One of the reasons for their failure to see God's chastening is given to us in the next couple of verses.
VERSES 15-16
1. The leaders, both political and religious, lead the people down the path of destruction. Isaiah was telling them the truth, but the people bought into the lie and judgment came. Remember the story of King Ahab and king Jehoshaphat, as the North and South came together to go against Ramoth Gilead. And Jehoshaphat feels obligated to help this wicked king Ahab out, for his son was married to Ahab's daughter. And the prophets of the Northern Kingdom all said to go and God would give them the victory over their enemy. We even see one prophet "...Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, 'Thus says the LORD: 'With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.' And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, 'Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king's hand.'" II Chronicles 18:10-11. And Jehoshaphat is not sure and asks if there are any more prophets in Israel? And the king said "...'There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.' And Jehoshaphat said, 'Let not the king say such things!'" II Chronicles 18:7.
Lets pick up this story in II Chronicles chapter 18, beginning in verse 14. We read, "Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, 'Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' And he said, 'Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!' So the king said to him, 'How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?' Then he said, 'I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.' And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?'" II Chronicles 18:14-17. You see, he was not interested in the truth of God, but in having his ears tickled. Thus, in this battle Ahab is killed, just as the prophet had said would happen.
VERSE 17
1. As much as God wanted to heal them, He couldn't because of their stiff-necked rebellion against Him. God was ready with forgiveness, but judgment would come because of their sin.
2. Are we any different? We are nation living in hypocrisy. We have the 10 commandments on the wall of the Supreme Court. We have "In God We Trust" on our money. And yet, by our actions it shows how far our hearts are from God.
VERSES 18-21
1. These things transpired against the Northern Kingdom of Israel when the Assyrians came through. Things were very bad, famine so horrible that Josephus tells us that they ate their own children, their own placenta's, and Isaiah tells us they even resorted to eating their own flesh to survive. And even in all this they still refused to repent of their sin and turn to God.
2. When we read of these dark days we are thankful they are over, but they are not. There are even darker days coming for the nation of Israel when the antichrist comes on the scene, first as a man of peace, and then after 3 1/2 years he shows his true colors. He goes into the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, demands to be worshipped as god, and when the Jews see that they have made a deal with the devil, many flee to the rock city of Petra, as God will preserve them for 3 1/2 years. In that time over 10 million Jews will be killed by the antichrist and his men. And you might be thinking, "Why in the world is God doing this again?" Simply, as He said to the Jews in Matthew 23:39, "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" His desire is they would once again turn to Him, as a nation, and one day they will, as they welcome their Messiah, Jesus Christ, to the throne of David as their Lord and Savior and King!