Sermon Tone Analysis

We are living in times of distress.

Our sin and idolatry as a nation is bringing times of conflict, violence, and economic stress.

Human nature looks for sanctuary, some protection from these things.

We either look to a leader who will solve these problems, or we look for an answer within ourselves.

And these inevitably leave us disgruntled, disappointed, and disillusioned.

Our passage today gives us an alternative.

Isaiah tells us to wait in hope on the LORD and look to the sign of His promise, and we will find a sanctuary.

Choose Your Leaders Wisely

verses 1-10

For those that are inclined to find sanctuary in a leader during times of distress, the Bible offers us plenty of warning.

Take the nation of Israel for example.

They had God with them, but they demanded a human king.

So, God provided one.

The first one wasn’t so good, but...

King David was a man after God’s own heart.

He united the twelve tribes of Israel and the nation flourished.

He built his capital at Jerusalem, a city on Mount Zion, which was on the border between Judah, the largest of the twelve tribes, and Benjamin, the smallest.

Jerusalem means “spreader of peace”.

And it had a supply of water from the Gihon spring outside the city, flowing to a pool in Jerusalem known as Shiloah, or Siloam.

(This matters because washing in the pool of Siloam is the act Jesus chooses to deliver a blind man from walking in darkness in John 9.)

Under King David’s grandson, Rehoboam, ten tribes north of Judah separated themselves from David’s dynasty.

Their new king was a corrupt leader.

First, he created a new capital for the northern tribes in the city of Samaria.

Second, for political reasons, he created a new religious system for his people, to keep them from attending worship in the Temple, located in Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah.

The northern tribes were not just rejecting the king God ordained to unite twelve tribes.

Their new king led them into rejecting God Himself.

The people of Israel are following a blind guide, and walk in darkness for generations.

Idolatry fills the land with injustice, and God must cleanse the land and His people.

If you read the Bible, God’s preferred method of cleansing His people is also the one that provides light to those in darkness: His word.

So...

The LORD speaks to Isaiah in this chapter.

Last week we saw the LORD give King Ahaz a sign of God’s promises.

It was a son born to a woman, named Immanuel, God is with us.

Today, we see a sign for all the people of Judah.

It’s another son, this time with a different name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, “speedy spoil, hasty plunder”.

This poor kid has a name that reminds people that robbers smash, grab, and leave a mess in the living room.

But this mess will be in the northern tribes of Israel and the nation of Syria.

“Once more the word is about to become flesh (cf.

7:3) in the birth of Isaiah’s second son.”

Motyer, Alec.

Isaiah (p.

106).

IVP.

Kindle Edition.

This time, Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz will be a sign that the northern tribes will be taken away as spoil.

Verses 5-10 - Instead of the peaceful streams of living water in Jerusalem at the pool of Shiloah, Israel will experience the flood waters of the mighty Euphrates River, famous for its violent flood stage, representing the Assyrian Empire in conquest mode.

But the promise of verses 9-10 is

Isaiah 8:9 (ESV)

Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries;

strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.

Isaiah 8:10 (ESV)

Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;

speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

When your own schemes and plans fail, who do you blame?

Israel’s plans to establish their own kingdom without God, using alliances with other nations, was failing.

God was still with Judah, but the coming conquest of Assyria would be a warning to them as well.

When world events shake our security and disturb our comfort, it could be that God is trying to get our attention, to warn us.

What is He saying?

Fear the Right One

verses 11-15 - The LORD might be doing something no one understands.

He is able to use world events and the decisions of powerful men to carry out His plans.

He might even be using the “conspiracies” of men to accomplish a bigger purpose.

Conspiracy theories are powerful.

They have power because we like to blame our problems on someone “higher up”, and the way of the world is to create conspiracy theories to explain these problems.

The problem with looking for conspiracies is the fear it produces.

Fearing people and their conspiracies gets a lot of people into a lot of trouble.

It doesn’t resolve anything.

And it robs you of peace, joy, rest, and love for your neighbor.

And worse than that, it robs you of the opportunity to fear the One who should be feared but also trusted.

The LORD Himself speaks to Isaiah “with His strong hand upon” him.

Even faithful leaders can fall into the snare of walking in the way of their faithless people, especially in the way of fearing powerful men.

To convince Isaiah that he should fear the right person, the LORD uses a heavy-handed approach.

I don’t know what it would be like to have the strong hand of the LORD God upon me, but I imagine it’s an unforgettable experience.

It might have felt something like having a large, heavy stone laid on him.

Have you ever been trapped under such a heavy weight, it took all your breath away and you couldn’t get out from under it?

That’s what the LORD says He is like.

He is the unavoidable foundation stone for all of life.

You can try to get around Him or build on some other foundation.

But when He moves in your life, you’ll find He upends everything and everyone else you have leaned on for security and significance.

And He’s unavoidable.

At some point in your life, you will have to reckon with God.

You will either make Him your sanctuary (v.

14), your safe place, or an offensive stumbling block to your life.

He has a way of getting your attention.

And if you don’t run to Him to be your sanctuary, He will find ways to trip you up, trap you, ensnare you.

Not because He’s mean, but because He loves you.

And you won’t find anyone else both so honest and holy to condemn your sin and strong and kind enough to save you from your sin.

We see this in Jesus, God with us.

1 Peter 2:4–5 (ESV)

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

When you come to Jesus Christ, God with us, for your salvation, He becomes your sanctuary from the powers in this world that can overwhelm you like a flood in their ruthlessness.

The people you fear will take more than they give.

But Jesus always provides real life.

He makes you a living stone in a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.

In other words, He will make your life into something of greater value.

He will use you to bring others to God.

But for 2,000 years, Jesus has been fulfilling this prophecy of Isaiah.

He has been the test of faith for Jews and Gentiles alike.

1 Peter 2:8 (ESV)

“A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”