Today in God's Word—September 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
September 15, Isaiah 8
Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.” -Isaiah 8:1-2
If you've ever worn a shirt that identified you as a fan of a particular college’s athletic program, you may have owned one like I have in mind. A popular style of such clothing is marked with print across the chest that reads, "PROPERTY OF ... ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT." (Insert your favorite team or school into the ellipsis.) Of course it was not really a shirt you stole from the school; it was just a statement of your allegiance to the team. But sometimes objects are marked as the actual property of someone by such signs or labels. You've probably seen bookplates, pasted inside the front cover of a book that identified the book's owner. I had a friend who had some bookplates that said, "Stolen from the library of ...." It was a pointed reminder to return the book to its rightful owner.
Although it may have been written on an ordinary large tablet in common characters, it must have been the strangest document Isaiah ever wrote. It was also probably the oddest item that Uriah and Zechariah ever notarized. It announced that some unspecified thing belonged to a fellow with the longest and strangest name they had ever heard or seen. The curious name meant, "The spoil speeds, the prey hastens." But what did that mean?
When Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah had another baby, the LORD instructed Isaiah to give the strange name from the tablet to the boy. And he told him what his new son's name meant: "before the boy knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria." The name meant that Israel had so long rejected the gentle, benevolent government of God over them, the Lord would give them instead to the raging flood of the
hateful, violent rule of Assyria’s king. The flood of Assyrian conquest wouldn't stop at the border between Israel and Judah. Most of Judah was equally guilty and would also fall prey to the conquering, devouring Assyrians. Only Jerusalem along with a faithful remnant of God's people would be spared from the onslaught and conquest of the terrible Assyrians.
God had been the sanctuary, their protected safe place, for centuries. But Israel went so far into rebellion and idolatry that God gave them into the hands of the ruthless Assyrians. Judah would not completely fall to the Assyrians as Israel did. Their nation would not yet be dissolved. But not long after, Babylon would come and do away with what was left of the nation of Judah.
Just as Isaiah's son Shear-jashub had by his name forecast a return from captivity, so Maher- shalal-hash-baz now announced the coming captivity, and added that it was coming sooner than later. The same powerful God who had been their sanctuary would be their stumbling stone who would bring about their ruin. A righteous remnant would survive, and God's promises to Abraham and David would still be kept. But God was done with the faithless majority that had refused to honor him.
We can see how foolish Israel was when they chose idols as the objects of their worship, and necromancers and mediums as guides for their lives. How can the dead advise the living about life? God said their choice would lead them to a death and deep darkness from which they would never emerge. There would be no dawn.
We might not get any ideas for naming our children from this chapter, but we can learn and remember some valuable lessons. It is a foolish and fatal mistake to refuse to listen to and obey God. It Ieads to ruin and death and darkness. No thinking person should make that choice. God's people should realize that a broken, fallen world cannot advise us about living our lives. The ungodly cannot give godly counsel to us, except perhaps as tragic examples of what we
should not do. And let's all remember that God is all-knowing and his word is sure. The glorious, life-giving gospel of Christ is that same sanctuary or stumbling stone, depending on our response to it. To follow Jesus is to enjoy abundant life. To reject Jesus is to choose the path that leads to darkness and death with no dawn. Maher-shalal-hash-baz's name may be hard to pronounce or spell, but its not hard to understand. When God's people refuse to listen to God's word and serve him, they will be considered the property of someone else, who will destroy them.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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