The second part of Isaiah 8 presents the only refuge, the
only sanctuary that can save those who are otherwise doomed to His wrath. It
begins with Isaiah's preface, calling what follows that which was told him to
keep him from going the way of national Israel. Isaiah 8:11 (HCSB) For this is
what the LORD said to me with great power, to keep me from going the way of
this people:
It should bring great comfort to those who know Christ as
king to know He will do what is needed to protect us, even from our own inclinations.
That's what this message is.
Isaiah 8:12-13 (HCSB) Do not call everything an alliance
these people say is an alliance. Do not fear what they fear; do not be
terrified. You are to regard only the LORD of Hosts as holy. Only He should be
feared; only He should be held in awe.
So often humans do what seems right to them because they
want to prosper, to be safe. So they will team up with people who are naturally
their enemies; fearing man more than they trust God. Rather than fear man or
what terrifies him, we who call on YHWH as Father should rightly fear Him. He
is totally separate from the creation. All that is from this earth will betray
and crumble. God is - alone - above all and sovereign over all.
Isaiah 8:14-15 (HCSB) He will be a sanctuary; but for the
two houses of Israel, He will be a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip
over, and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many will stumble
over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be snared and captured.
YHWH will be a safe have - a sanctuary - but not for the two
kingdoms of Israel. It's Jesus being referenced here, for He was a stumbling
stone of offense to the Jews of His day. All who do not see Him as the promised
One will fall and be broken, caught in a snare and captured - by Satan. All
whom the Father chose will find refuge in Christ. No one else can; they will
find Him to be offensive and they will stumble and be crushed under the Chief
Cornerstone.
Isaiah 8:16 (HCSB) Bind up the testimony. Seal up the instruction
among my disciples.
Note this: "Seal up the instruction AMONG my
disciples." Progressive revelation - Daniel was told to seal the words
(Dan 12:4); Isaiah was told to bind up the testimony but keep it among the
disciples of God. In Revelation 5 Jesus begins to open the scroll and make it
known to all.
Isaiah 8:17 (HCSB) I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding
His face from the house of Jacob. I will wait for Him.
The servant of YHWH says he will wait for Him, the Creator
and judge of things Who is hiding His face from Jacob (another reference to
national Israel). He will make Himself known to those He has called.
Isaiah 8:18-22 (HCSB) Here I am with the children the LORD
has given me to be signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of Hosts who
dwells on Mount Zion. When they say to you, “Consult the spirits of the dead
and the spiritists who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult their God?
⌊Should
they consult⌋ the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to
the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, there will be no
dawn for them. They will wander through the land, dejected and hungry. When
they are famished, they will become enraged, and, looking upward, will curse
their king and their God. They will look toward the earth and see only
distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into
thick darkness.
Jesus quotes the first part of verse 18 in Heb 2:13. Though it
appears Isaiah is still speaking and refers to his children (signs and wonders),
Christ Jesus is Immanuel, son of a virgin, given by God the Father, for the
deliverance of His people and a sign to them!
Isaiah tells the leaders of Israel and Judah Who the real
king is, the LORD of hosts who dwells on Mt. Zion; and he goes on to tell them
not to continue following the ways of the pagan nations that have consistently
infiltrated their community and culture. All who have not Christ will never be
filled by things of this world - it can only bring distress, darkness, and
affliction.
Turn to Christ while ye yet have breath! He - ALONE - is a refuge from the certain wrath of God that will eternally consume those who are NOT in His Book of Life.