Isaiah 8:15

Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. The words of Yahweh. Verse 12. SAY YE NOT, A CONFEDERACY - rather. A conspiracy; Hebrew, quesher, an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion (Maurer). Do not ye (the godly, such as Isaiah) join in the cry of this people for a "confederacy," which is rather a 'conspiracy,' by either surrendering to the associated king (Vatablus), or forming an alliance with the Assyrian king (Piscator), or deserting, as Shebna is thought to have done, to the Assyrian king () (Grotius). A combination of God's people, the Jews, with the pagan Assyrians, is regarded by God, the Head of the theocr...

15._And many among them shall stumble. _He goes on to threaten the ungodly, as he had formerly begun, and declares that those who refuse to trust in God will not escape without being punished. The threatening runs thus: “when they have _stumbled_, they will then _fall_, and afterwards they will _be bruised_. ” This agrees with the former metaphor, in which he compared God to a stone. Christ has alluded to that metaphor, including both clauses. “He who shall fall on this stone will be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will bruise him.” (Matthew 21:44.) _And shall be snared and taken. _This agrees with the latter metaphor, in which he compared God to a _snare _and _gin_. Let not the ungodly, therefore, imagine that they are stronger or wiser than God; for they will find that he exce

9-16 The prophet challenges the enemies of the Jews. Their efforts would be vain, and themselves broken to pieces. It concerns us, in time of trouble, to watch against all such fears as put us upon crooked courses for our own security. The believing fear of God preserves against the disquieting fear of man. If we thought rightly of the greatness and glory of God, we should see all the power of our enemies restrained. The Lord, who will be a Sanctuary to those who trust in him, will be a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, to those who make the creature their fear and their hope. If the things of God be an offence to us, they will undo us. The apostle quotes this as to all who persisted in unbelief of the gospel of Christ, 1 Peter 2:8. The crucified Emmanuel, who was and is a Stumbling-stone and Rock of offence to unbelieving Jews, is no less so to thousands who are called Christi...

AND MANY AMONG THEM - Many by the invasion under the Assyrian. Many were taken captive; many killed. and many were carried to Babylon. The repetition here of so many expressions so nearly synonymous is emphatic, and shows that it would be certainly done....

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 8:1 THE SIGN OF MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. The sign of Immanuel was recondite. In its more spiritual sense it appealed to faith in an event far distant. Even in its literal import, it was not calculated to cheer and encourage more than a few, since neither the maiden nor the child was pointed out with any distinctness. A fresh sign was therefore given by God's goodness to reassure the mass of the people—a sign about which there was nothing obscure or difficult. Isaiah himself should have a son born to him almost immediately, to whom he should give a name indicating the rapid approach of the spoiler, and before this child should be able to utter the first words which childhood ordinarily pronounces, "Father," "Mother," Damascu

AND MANY AMONG THEM,.... Not all, though the greater part; for Christ was set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, Luke 2:34: SHALL STUMBLE, AND FALL, AND BE BROKEN: stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone; fall by unbelief into other sins and punishment, and be broken in pieces by this stone, Matthew 21:44: AND BE SNARED, AND BE TAKEN; and so die in their sins, and perish eternally. The allusion is to birds being taken in a snare or trap, or with bird lime, and therein or thereby held and detained....

CHAPTER 8 Jehovah's Word Through Isaiah and the Assyrian Announced 1. _The divine instruction and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:1)_ 2. _The Assyrian to come (Isaiah 8:5)_ 3. _The answer of faith (Isaiah 8:9)_ 4. _A word to the faithful remnant (Isaiah 8:11)_ 5. _The coming great distress (Isaiah 8:21)_ The names are significant. Isaiah heard the word “Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” and then is told to call his newborn son by this name. The name means “swift for spoil, hasty for prey.” Isaiah's other son was named “Shear-Jashub,” whic

MORE EXTRACTS ON THE CRISIS FROM ISAIAH'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. It is not clear how many bits of the autobiography are included here, but the section for the most part probably deals with the coalition of Syria and Ephraim. ISAIAH 8:5. Date of the earlier part about 735. The latter part (from and the stretching) is apparently a late addition. Judah despises the trickling waters of Shiloah, _i.e._ Yahweh's gentle working; her desire for measures less tame and more heroic shall be satisfied by the waters of the Euphrates, which shall burst their bounds and flood into Judah, reaching to the neck and threatening the existence of the nation. The reference is to the Assyrian armies (_cf._ Isaiah 28:9). Then with an abrupt transition and a change in metaphor we read of the sheltering wings protecting

STUMBLE. FALL, &C. Note the Figure of speech _Synomymia._...

Isaiah was able to stand alone against the nation during this crisis, because he knew that his thoughts were controlled by a Power not his own....