Isaiah is one of the most sublime and difficult books in the Bible. He was a prophet for over fifty years and his body of work covers a lot of topics. Sometimes reading his book is like riding a roller coaster as his prophecies move forward and backward in time. But if it’s challenging to read his prophecies, imagine being the prophet who had to live through it.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, a highly respected 20^th century rabbi and theologian who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America wrote a classic work called The Prophets, and he had this to say about their work:

“This is what the prophets discovered. History is a nightmare. There are more scandals, more acts of corruption, than are dreamed of in philosophy… Others may be satisfied with improvement, the prophets insist upon redemption. The way man acts is a disgrace, and it must not go on forever.”

God needed his prophets to confront people and tell them that their disgraceful behavior could not go on forever.

First the Bad News

God had some creative ways for Isaiah to give the people the bad news. One day he told Isaiah to get a large scroll and an ordinary pen and write this message: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which meant, “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoils.” (Isaiah 8:1)

Isaiah called two reliable witnesses to watch him write those words on the scroll. He needed witnesses because the message was a dire prediction, tied to the coming Assyrian invasion, and it had to be authenticated. It was such an important message that Isaiah named his next son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz so everyone would remember what God had said.

It was King Pekah who opened the door to an invasion by Assyria when he called the Aramean King Rezin to join him in attacking Judah. While King Rezin was occupied in in Judah, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser captured Aram’s capitol city of Damascus. Then Tiglath-Pileser set his sights on invading King Pekah’s land of Israel.

Tiglath-Pileser was going to sweep through Israel and try to take Judah as well. The flood of Assyrians would drown Israel, but Judah would keep its head just above water.

God Was Still in Control

But even as the Lord announced this terrible disaster, he reminded Isaiah that he was still in charge. The nations that shattered Israel would be shattered themselves. He was going to hold them accountable for every action they took.

“Raise the war cry, you nations . . . Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.” Isaiah 8:9-10

It seems like a contradiction that God would use a violent nation for his purposes and then punish them for their violence, but that is exactly what he planned to do.

“Woe to the Assyrians, rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! . . . When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says, ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.’” Isaiah 10:5, 12-13

The king of Assyria would believe he accomplished what he did by his own power and understanding. He wouldn’t acknowledge the God who delivered the nations into his hands. In essence he was going to worship his own strength and power, and God would not allow that to go unpunished.

Come Back to the Lord

Isaiah knew that when God’s discipline fell upon Israel, the people would grope around in the dark for answers. He foresaw that they would be tempted to go to the wrong sources for help so he told them,

“The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread…I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.” Isaiah 8:13,17

The land was full of false prophets, idolaters, and spiritual charlatans so Isaiah told people to stay away from them.

“When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? . . . Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light.” Isaiah 8:19-20

The Word of the Lord was the gold standard of truth. No one should stake their lives on anything less than that.

The Coming Messiah

Isaiah 9:1-7 and Isaiah 11:1-16 are passages about the Messiah and they are filled with light and hope. Israel was about to plunge into seven hundred years of darkness. After the Assyrians finished their work, the ten tribes would be lost, never to return except as a scattered remnant. Assyria was going to fill the land of Israel with strangers who didn’t know God.

But into that dark, lost land God was going to send his son and Jesus was going to spend most of his life in the region of Galilee, preaching, healing and raising the dead. The lost land of Israel, that God loved so much and fought so hard to keep, was going to be the primary site of his Son’s miraculous ministry of reconciliation.

“There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan – The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:1-2

A Branch from the Stump of David

Although he didn’t know his name, Isaiah foresaw that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming as the final descendant of King David to occupy his throne.

“Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” Isaiah 9:7

There is no better way to describe what King Jesus was going to be like than to quote exactly what Isaiah said.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” Isaiah 11:1-5

When we read through the life of Jesus beginning a few months from now, we will see him do everything mentioned in this passage.

Hope for God’s People

The Bible never says that life will be easy.

There is so much suffering and sin in the world that it breaks God’s heart and it breaks ours, too. But threaded through the whole crazy story are the unending love of God and his passionate pursuit of relationship with his people. It may be dark for a while, but God is still there — wait for him. As Isaiah says,

“I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.” Isaiah 8:17