Isaiah 8:11-22
The call to stay faithful to God
Related texts: 2 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 28
Sometimes folks will ask me “What led to your being a Pastor?” The answer is this: When I was about 16 I sensed the Lord directing me towards being a Pastor. At that age I was of course thinking about what to do with my life. My first thought was to attend University and take a Business degree. However, God began to speak to me about going to Bible College and serving Him in full time church ministry. I prayed about and as time progressed God continued to open doors- and voila- here I am today by the grace of God.
For a few moments I would like to draw your attention to Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6 records for us the prophet Isaiah’s call to ministry and service.
READ Isaiah 6:1-8
QUESTION
Do you think this incredible calling and personal word from God was sufficient to carry Isaiah through his entire ministry? Or, do you think that Isaiah needed further words of encouragement and challenge from the Lord along the way?
ANSWER:
Isaiah, like us, needed some further words of challenge and encouragement from the Lord.
In Isaiah 8:11-22 Isaiah gets what he needed. In this passage he receives a special word from the Lord regarding staying faithful and the blessings that come with this.
It’s so easy to wander from the Lord. Hence we need to be periodically reminded of how important and blessed it is to stay faithful to Him. READ TEXT
CONTEXT
Isaiah has been faithfully serving the Lord for many years. At this point in time a wicked king named Ahaz is on the throne (He’s the third king Isaiah has ministered before. The other 2 were good kings). Recently Isaiah had gone to the king with what would have been interpreted as a good/bad message. The good part of the message of Isaiah- at least in the king’s mind- was that God was going to spare Judah from the present threat of being overrun. The bad part of the message of Isaiah- at least the king’s mind- was that judgment from another nation was coming.
As you might imagine, the pressure on Isaiah because of the times and the messages that he brought from God would have been great. To live faithfully in a time when hardly anyone else was would have been a real challenge.
God knew this and so to Isaiah he gave a special message. The message of Isaiah 8:11ff. A message exhorting faithfulness.
THE MESSAGE GOD GAVE TO ISAIAH
1. Do not follow the ways of the people around you v.11
Do not get entangled in the ways of this world. Go against the flow.
Here’s a message we desperately need to hear. Just as Lot was not immune to the culture of Sodom and Gomorrah, neither are we, neither was Isaiah.
How is it that the people around us are living?
-homosexuality, lying, stealing, witchcraft, the embrace of eastern religions and idol worship, adultery, pre marital sex, pornography, abortion, rudeness, pride, foul language, euthanasia pressures, the constant pollution of self through T.V, movies, radio, and print.
What’s God’s message to us? Do not imitate them. Do not join in with them. Do not read, watch, listen to, talk, condone, participate, in the filth that the people of this world do. We are to be holy as God is holy.
Note what 3 John 1:11 says “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”
Note what 1 Peter 4:1-5 says “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap
abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead”
2. Do not fear what the people of this world fear v.12
What is it that the people around us are afraid of?
Death, dying, various superstitions, news reports of possible wars, disaster, disease, suffering for doing what is right and good (note how Peter specifically mentions this in 1 Peter 3:14 as he quotes 8:12)
Why might Isaiah have struggled with fear?
-his family was involved in his ministry in a very integral way
-his words were not welcome by his hearers
-the days were evil
There are many things that we are tempted to fear: future, people,.,….
Why are we not to be afraid of such things?
God is with us. Our time and person is in his hands. We are to be a people given to fear. If God be for us, who can stand against us?
3. Fear God v.13
The people of this world have chosen the wrong things and people to be afraid of. They should fear God—and what’s very obvious is this: They don’t. Psalm 76:7 tells us to fear God alone.
In Luke 12:4-5 Jesus says to his disciples "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
To fear God is to honor him. To fear God is to hold him in high esteem. To fear God is to be concerned about what he thinks about what we are doing and thinking and planning? To fear God is revere him. To fear God is to prioritize the worship of him. To fear God is to obey him. To fear God is to think and say the right and proper things about him. To fear God is to live respectfully before him. To fear God is to praise Him. To fear God involves more than just a cognitive action on our parts.
What blessing is associated with fearing the Lord?
He will be a sanctuary and place of refuge for you v.13.
For us who are keen on honoring the Lord, God is our shelter. He is our Rock. He is a mighty fortress. Over us He has stretched out his wings. He is our strong tower. To Him we can go with confidence. To Him, He bids us come.
While for us who go to Him, God is a shelter, a rock, a sanctuary, a place of peace and rest, He is not so to those who are in opposition to Him v.14. Rather, He is a stumbling block, a trap, a snare, their destroyer.
Interestingly: Verses14-15 of our text is later used in reference to Jesus. I Peter 2:8, Romans 9:33
4. Do not become entangled in the occult practices of those around you v.19-22
What a snare this has always been for people!
In Deuteronomy 18:9-13 God, through Moses said to the people “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.”
The risk in Isaiah’s day: Rampant idol worship. A king who set up high places everywhere and who even offered his own sons on the altar.
The risk today: Yoga, Tai Chi, abundance of witchcraft based T.V shows and movies, the acceptance of Halloween by those who profess to be the followers of Jesus Christ. Interest in the signs of the Zodiac, tea leaves, Ouiji boards, crystals, fortune tellers, hypnosis
What God says: Stay away from it. Destruction awaits those who practice it
Do you want to know the future? Turn to the Bible and nothing else.
ISAIAH’S RESPONSE TO GOD’S CALL TO FAITHFULNESS
1. I will trust in the Lord and wait patiently upon him v.17
Because of the ever changing circumstances of our lives, it is often hard to trust God and to wait patiently for his help.
Isaiah resolved to not run ahead of the Lord and do his own thing.
To trust in God and to wait upon him is our calling. If we do so, things will work out for the best for us.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
2. I will stay faithful and true to the Word of God
In Isaiah 8:20 Isaiah says “To the law and the testimony”
Isaiah was resolved to live his life in accord with the Word and law of God. We need to have the same zeal for the word of the Lord. We need to have the same degree of commitment.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 it says this of God’s word “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
3. I have accepted and embraced your call to be salt and light in this dark world
At his calling when Isaiah saw the vision of God’s throne room and heard God speak the words “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah said “Here am I. Send me!”
In Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah says. “Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.”
Years have passed and Isaiah’s enthusiasm for the Lord has not dimmed. Not only this, but Isaiah has been joined by his family in a shared enthusiasm in serving the Lord.
The point of verse 18 is that Isaiah and his family had accepted the call to be salt and light in their culture.
In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus says to his disciples “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
What about you?
-Are you enthusiastic about serving God?
-Are you willing to pay the price of serving God, knowing that your heavenly reward is greater far than any earthly suffering you might face for Christ?
-Are you willing to take a stand for Christ and live rightly in the midst of our evil culture which encourages rebellion against God and his ways?
Note: Isaiah’s children by their prophetically given names were literally signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD
Son #1 Shear-Jashub: name meant a remnant will return
Son #2 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz: name meant quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil
CONCLUSION
1. God doesn’t just call a person to Himself and then leave them alone. He cares for, protects, and speaks to those who are His.
2. If Isaiah needed to hear the message “Stay faithful to me”, how much more us?
3. Faithfulness to God involves not doing what the people of this world are doing.
4. Faithfulness to God involves not getting trapped in the fears of the people of this world
5. Faithfulness to God entails fearing and reverencing God
6. Faithfulness to God entails not being entangled in occult practice.
7. Like Isaiah we need to say to the Lord “I will trust in and wait upon you”
8. Like Isaiah we need to say “I will stay faithful and true to your Word”
9. Like Isaiah we need to say “I’m committed to living as salt and light in this dark world”
