Isaiah 8:1
1 Moreover the LORD [Yahovah] said ['amar] unto me, Take [laqach] thee a great [gadowl] roll,
[gillayown] and write [kathab] in it with a man's ['enowsh]
pen [cheret] concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. [Maher
Shalal Chash Baz] KJV-Interlinear
1 Then
the Lord said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in
ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. NASB
And now God gives yet
another sign as to the demise of the northern countries that have threatened
Judah.
Both Syria or Damascus
and Israel will be no more by the time this sign come into being.
Isaiah is to have a child
born to him and soon. This indicates the
nearness of the demise of those enemy nations.
The name of the child is
given here, ‘Mahershalalhashbaz’ which means hasten to the spoil or plunder
speeds hastens spoil.
This indicates that when Assyria
moves against Syria and Israel, it will come swiftly and take what it will
without virtually any opposition. It
will move against them with speed and ease.
Isaiah is to write on a
tablet, ‘gillayown,’ which is a piece of common material for writing. He is to use a common pen.
Often times the higher
circles of society used engravers with embellished lettering, but this was to
be common and ordinary, such that common and ordinary people could read it and
know what it meant.
God has given Ahaz a sign
which Ahaz rejected or thumbed his nose at. For that Ahaz will be judged.
Now the sign is being
given to all of the people. A writing
will be written and hung up in public so that all may know the sign that is
from God. However, the writing will not
be enough, so Isaiah is going to have a child and his name will in itself be
the sign. That child will most likely be
known by many and they will know it day after day during the childs early life
prior to the fulfillment of the prophecy, and for the childs entire life even
after the fulfillment of the prophecy.
The child will be a
reminder of Gods promise. The writing
will have been long since gone, but the name of the child will continue during
his lifetime.
However, even since the
king was warned and given a sign, and now the people of common origin will have
a warning and a sign, that will be fulfilled within their eyesight, both groups
or the entire population will follow the same rejection path of truth, and
resume their pattern of life which excludes God.
As a result the nation will
be punished of their rejection of truth. Their judgment will be at their own
hands, from their own decisions.
So now they have signs
and a writing.
But too, you have signs
and a writing. You have a sign from the
recent election, and from general things that occur every day around your life,
and you have the writing of the scriptures, which you have always had. What will you do with those signs and truth? What will you learn?
