Tuesday: What’s in a Name?
Isaiah 8:1-10
Can you imagine playing a ball game with Isaiah’s second boy? By the time you could say “Maher-shalal-hash-baz, throw me the ball!” it would be too late. But even longer than his name is its meaning: “swift is booty, speedy is prey” or “speed the spoil, hasten the plunder.”
The message of the name clearly has to do with rapid conquest, but who conquers whom? Isa: 8:4.
Image © Stan Myers at Goodsalt.com
Isaiah 8:1-10 reinforces the message of chapter 7. Before a child could reach a certain stage, spoils of war from the capitals of Syria and northern Israel would be taken by Assyria. Furthermore, because Judah had refused God’s message of assurance, represented by the gently flowing waters of the Shiloah stream in Jerusalem, it would be overwhelmed by the mighty power of Assyria, represented by flooding from the great Euphrates River.
Because Ahaz turned to Assyria, the names of Isaiah’s sons referred to Judah, as well as to northern Israel: “swift is booty, speedy is prey,” but “a remnant shall return.” Why was there still hope? Because although Assyria would fill Immanuel’s land (Isa: 8:8), they still had the promise that “God is with us” (Isa: 8:10). Indeed, what we see here is a theme that permeates the entire book of Isaiah, which is though there would be judgments on God’s enemies in Judah and other nations, delivered in the form of military disasters, suffering, and exile, the Lord would be with the faithful survivors of His people and restore them to their land.
Why does Isaiah tell us he legally recorded the child’s name and had marital relations with his wife (“the prophetess”)? Isa: 8:1-3.
The timing of this son was central to his significance as a sign. As with the sign of Immanuel, from the time he was conceived and born until the time Assyria defeated Syria and Israel would be less time than it would take for the boy to reach an early developmental stage, in this case calling for his father or mother (Isa: 8:4). When Isaiah legally recorded the boy’s name even before his conception, he made the child and his name a public prophecy that could be tested by subsequent events.
| Despite repeated mistakes on the part of His professed people, the Lord was still willing to save them. How can we take this principle and apply it to ourselves personally, especially when we fail and fall in our own spiritual life? |
(23)
"Maher-shalal-hash-baz" rolls off the tongue quite easily - after a bit of practice. It was one of those curious bible facts that I squirrelled away in my brain so that I could answer questions quickly in JMVs when I was a kid. Imagine giving your kid a "prophetic" name that was a message to the local government. I guess that the in some respects its a bit like an ancient version of Twitter.
The fact remains that Isaiah, used every means available to convince the King that he was on the wrong track. Some of the ancient prophets were pretty persistent with their messages. Ezekiel lay on his right side and then on his left in public for a number of days to get a similar message though to the people.
The one lesson we can probably learn from this period on history is that God was pretty persistent in keeping the message alive. The fact that the thread of God's message survived the indifference and rebelliousness of his special people should be both encouraging and challenging to us approximately 3 millennia later.
Forewarned is forearmed!
All the kings of Israel and Judah were required to write out the Torah for their own guide book which included Leviticus 26 which lists the blessings and curses for those who either kept or rejected the LORD's Covenant. The interesting point of Lev 26:14-39 is that the times of trouble were given in steps, and if there was no repentance the next step would be seven times worse, in the form of plague, famine, sword and wild beasts and finally exile.
The names of the children in Isaiah I believe should have been a reminder to the people and the leaders of the kingdom of Judah of the results of rejecting the Covenant of the LORD, plague, famine, sword and exile all these were sent and/or allowed by the LORD to try to wake up the people to return and repent.
This is how the LORD dealt with His chosen people as a group, thus it is not surprising that in Jesus time the disciples asked did the blind man or his parents sin? John 9:2, Luke 13:2
In our days are our times of trouble due to our rejecting the LORD? If not, why not? How does the Word of the LORD explain it? How does He get us to repent and return to Him?
Sis. Shirley, I'm pondering on your question and for months now I've this inkling feeling that the COVID-19 virus is a sign for us. I'm currently in the UK and situation is worst with this 2nd strain than the 1st. As I reflected if we continue it will be a yr comes March that we have not congregated in our rented church building. This virus has affected the world globally and our churches were not exempted.
Thank God we are able to meet on various online platforms but when I assessed how we use to operate, I think it's a wake up call. We are unableto have communion, fellowship lunches, pathfinder etc, I think something is a stir. The truth be told I think we have been given the time to analyse our relationship with God and to repent of our formalism and be serious about our spiritual connection with God and and turn from our ritualistic worship experiences. The departments that are functioning, I considered to be relevant to what God intends for us to be focusing on at this moment. Such as community service, health and the Prayer Team.
I believe when we are back the 1st thing probably will be done is the Lord's supper(mini baptism). But besides all I've said, the lockdown has been a blessing for me and my family. I've learnt so much from the word of God because I have more time to dig and digest His word. My personal devotion time is not hurried and I've met other brethren from other platforms and have gotten new perspectives of the word and SOP. Thank God for this platform as well. I've gained so much from everyone here!
Proverbs 16:24 says ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: But the wicked shall fall into mischief.’
The key to a victorious life in Christ, I believe, isn’t in never falling into sin or making mistakes. Success is in rising up again. Failure comes in consistently refusing correction.or redirection.
Hebrews 12:5-6 ‘My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Ahaz clearly refused instruction or correction. When we get to the point where our thoughts and ideas supersede God’s we are in danger of complete and utter spiritual failure without remedy.
For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son.....John 3:16-17
Despite repeated mistakes on the part of His professed people, the Lord was still willing to save them. How can we take this principle and apply it to ourselves personally, especially when we fail and fall in our own spiritual life?
We are told that Jesus is love, he is also longsuffering, he suffers long because of his disobedient children. Longsuffering and suffering long does not meant he will always strive with men. We are reminded that he is a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the father upon the third and fourth generation of them that hate him. Exod 20:5-7
He said to Moses after the people sinned. Whosoever sinned against him, he will blot out of his book. Exod 33:31-35.
Keeping mercy for thousands , forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generations. Exod 34:6-7
How do we as a people understands the Love of God that he loves sinners, Yet he dislike and hated for sins?
The lesson writer states: “despite repeated mistakes on the part of His professed people, the Lord was still willing to save them.” I take great exception to use the word 'mistake' in this statement. We cannot make the mistake of calling sin ‘a mistake’. Words matter, they contain a specific meaning to facilitate our understanding. Especially as it relates to Spiritual understanding, we need to be extremely careful about how we define mistake vs. sin.
I found the article ‘Mistake or Sin’ by Sandy Simpson on the website “Apologetics Coordination Team’, very helpful. Her article demonstrates, based on research, that “there is absolutely no Dictionary or Thesaurus definition that both mistake and sin have in common.” Sin has a biblical definition; sin is breaking the Law – 1John3:4KJV. Committing an act of sin in God’s eyes is not to be confused with making a human mistake. God does not respond to a human mistake in the same manner as He does when we sin against His Will. Sin affects our walk of faith, alienates us from Him spiritually, whereas a mistake is only an error in judgement. The law which Ahaz sinned against is the Great Commandment, the essence of the old Covenant which is encapsulated in the new Covenant – Matt.22:37-40KJV.
But God is merciful toward mankind in His Judgements. He is longsuffering and does not want that anyone should perish. Ahaz, and for that matter all who refuse the revealed counsel of the Will of God, knowing better and willfully choosing to go a different way, make themselves guilty of sin – sinning against the established Righteousness/Will of God, going against their better judgement in order to do what they want.
Man’s free will is the arena where he decides to live with God or without Him. The Believers who follow the Gospel of Christ Jesus are His people as Israel was His people in ancient times; our actions demonstrate our faith in God’s Word and His Will, or they show our acts of self-will.
God speaks about sin being conceived in the thoughts of man’s mind – James1:14,15KJV; Matt.15:18,19KJV. God has called us to be holy even as He is holy – 1Peter13-16KJV.
Hello Brigitte,
Thank you for your definitions and discussion on the words, "Mistake and Sin".
I find it most helpful and encouraging and your ideas drastically enlighten my view on these topics.
I hadn't taken the time to do what you have done and I should have long ago.
I agree that mistake and sin are not the same.
Jane - I appreciate you letting me know that you share my understanding of Truth regarding 'mistake vs. sin'. Unrepented sin leads to distruction of the body and soul. Mistakes made without learning from them leads to distruction of the quality of life. God destroys the body and soul of the unrepended sinner; mistakes hobble man to enjoy the quality of life.
Ultimately, God is the Judge who sorts out the difference, but we cannot take it lightly to disregard the Will of God and flaunt his Laws of Life when we choose to to whaterver is expedient for us in the moment. He judges the people of faith more harshly than those who are still ignorant of His Will and live the best they can to do the right thing.
I don't disagree with the general gist of what you are saying Brigitte but English is a very flexible language and often words have overlapping meanings and nuances outside the dictionary definitions. Let me give a little illustration:
I drove an RV when I visited Alaska. The road rules said to "keep right", but as you know I come from a country where the road rule says to "keep left". Most of the time I kept the new rule and kept right. I have to admit that on a couple of occasions, when there was no traffic around and usually at an intersection, I would make the turn and end up on the wrong side of the road for a few seconds until my brain cells kicked in and I corrected myself. During those few seconds that I was on the wrong side of the road, by mistake, I was breaking the law. And if I had an accident, colliding with another car, I would have had to suffer the full consequences of breaking the law, even though it was by mistake.
In fact, one of my friends visited the United States for a few weeks, then shortly after returning to Australia, went for a motorbike ride and made that very same error of judgement, at an intersection. He turned into the wrong lane by mistake and was hit by an oncoming vehicle and killed instantly. He suffered the full consequence of breaking the law.
So in our spiritual lives too we are quite capable of making a mistake and ending up on the wrong side of the law of God; in other words, sinning.
The takeaway is that a committed Christian will probably make mistakes, be forgiven and learn from the experience. It is part of the growing experience in the grace of God's love.
Maurice - I respectfully disagree with your understanding that sin and mistake spring from the same source and have the same effect. God judges man's heart and mind when we sin for the sake of our Salvation; God's Spirit does not do that when we make a mistake.
Yes, we are capable of making mistakes that can cost us our life, but this cannot be confused with the willful rejection of choosing to do the known Will of God.
Repentance is the only remedy offered for eliminating the effects of sin - unmitigated sin leads to eternal death; making mistakes and learning from them as we implement their lessons is to assure a semblance of quality of life in this life.
Mistakes and sin come from the same source (a sinful environment) and have the same effect (the law is broken) but as you say the difference is in the heart and that is what God judges.The difference is shown in the willingness of the sinner to repent. God's grace is freely given to all, even the deliberate sinner who is willing to repent.
Brigitte, it sounds to me that you define sin as "the willful rejection of choosing to do the known Will of God," and therefore believe that it is impossible to sin "by mistake."
That's not what I see happening in real life or, for that matter, in biblical accounts.
For instance, in the sanctuary system, offerings were specified for sinning without realizing it, which most of us would define as "mistakes." As soon as the person realized they had sinned by mistake, they were to offer the appropriate offerings.
Then in Acts 17:29-30, the Bible tells us that God did not hold people to account when they sinned in ignorance. They broke the Law of God, and that was sin, but they did it "by mistake," but as soon as they knew better, he would hold them to account.
To apply this to the lesson, it seems to me that it is very likely that the people of Israel often fell into sin "by mistake" through ignorance of God's Law. In fact, several times in Bible history, the Law was read and kings or people discovered to their dismay, that they had been breaking the Law ignorantly, and a time of repentance and reform followed.
Thus, there are two kinds of "sinning" - sinning willfully and deliberately, for which there is no excuse - and falling into sin without deliberation, or "by mistake" - and God treats these differently. And the lesson author's words are justified.
But what about us? Do we still sin? Is it in ignorance? Is it "by mistake" - when we suddenly find ourselves sinning without having consciously chosen to do so? Is it by temporarily choosing to ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit?
The sins we commit in ignorance, we don't even know about. But when we consider that God's standard is the character of Christ, I'm sure we all do it, because we are far from coming up to the Standard. But God is merciful and does not count these sins (of omission) against us.
Do we find ourselves sinning without having consciously chosen to do so? I'm guessing that many of us can identify with that. There's a solution, and that is to turn to God in repentance and ask for forgiveness and a heart renewal.
Do we sometimes consciously ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit? I think that happens too, and as long as we recognize we have sinned, the door is open for us to repent and ask for forgiveness and heart renewal. If we do not repent, we are in danger of our hearts becoming hardened to the Holy Spirit and thus committing the unpardonable sin.
Brigette- Do you know about sin by omission and sin by commission? Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it a sin. James 4:17.
e.g Many people smoke tobacco, cigarette, and all manner of other substances that destroy their bodies in many ways. One such way is cancer of the mouth and/or lung. Many people did not know that cigarette was/is harmful to their bodies. Our bodies are the temple of God, he that destroys the temple, God shall destroy. 1 Cor 6:15-20.
Whether we know or not about the danger of cigarette smoking and cancer is the result, can we say it was done in ignorance and God is unfair to make us develop cancer? Would we say we made a mistake without knowing and should not die because of cancer?
The bible tells us about sins of presumption and sin of ignorance.
Jesus gave us a beautiful illustration in Luke 12:41-48. To know but choose not to do will be beaten with many stripes. To know not therefore did not do, will still be beaten with few stripes.
Glad we get to ponder the name "Immanuel" again (Isaiah 8:8,10). Maybe it all felt really different before Jesus came. The Israelites were assured that God was with them even in long periods of judgment. What did it feel like to have God with you before Jesus came? Do we know God more fully now than they ever could?
Jesus said he would send us the Holy Spirit to help bring what we read in the Gospels and New Testament to life and to guide us into the truth about Him (John 15:26). We can sense Jesus with us in all situations that we find ourselves in because the Holy Spirit makes Him real to us (Rom. 8:10-16). As we read the stories of Jesus spitting on the eyes of a blind man and tearing apart loaves of bread to distribute, we can see the glory of God in His face (2 Cor 4:6). This past Sabbath our pastor preached about prayer and read John 17:20-26... I was moved to picture Jesus praying for me and for all of us just before the most difficult time of His earthly life.
"Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel" - Wesley.
Three words for the answer to the question at the end of Tuesday's lesson. For me, Repent, Revive, Reform!