Rachel Workman: 11 The Lord has given me a strong
warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14 He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
16 Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
God warned Isaiah not to follow the majority and support the popular pro-Assyrian party. Even though his stand was looked upon as treason, Isaiah opposed all foreign alliances and urged the people to put their faith in the Lord (7:9; 28:16; 30:15). The Jewish political leaders were asking, “Is it popular? Is it safe?” But the prophet was asking, “Is it right? Is it the will of God?” When you fear the Lord, you don’t need to fear people or circumstances. Peter referred to this passage when he wrote, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Peter 3:14–15 niv). Isaiah compared the Lord to a sanctuary, a rock that is a refuge for believers but a snare to those who rebel. The image of Messiah as a rock is found again in Isaiah 28:16 (and see 1 Peter 2:4–7; Rom. 9:33). “God is our refuge.
12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14 He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”
16 Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.
God warned Isaiah not to follow the majority and support the popular pro-Assyrian party. Even though his stand was looked upon as treason, Isaiah opposed all foreign alliances and urged the people to put their faith in the Lord (7:9; 28:16; 30:15). The Jewish political leaders were asking, “Is it popular? Is it safe?” But the prophet was asking, “Is it right? Is it the will of God?” When you fear the Lord, you don’t need to fear people or circumstances. Peter referred to this passage when he wrote, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Peter 3:14–15 niv). Isaiah compared the Lord to a sanctuary, a rock that is a refuge for believers but a snare to those who rebel. The image of Messiah as a rock is found again in Isaiah 28:16 (and see 1 Peter 2:4–7; Rom. 9:33). “God is our refuge.
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John Burnett: 11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his
strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people,
saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that
this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in
dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And
he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of
stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And
many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be
snared and taken.” The “he” in verse 14 is Jesus Christ. He will be an eternal
sanctuary to those who belong to Him and a rock of stumbling to Israel.
He is called the cornerstone but Israel rejected Him and had him
crucified. Israel was scattered and had no homeland until May of
1948. They are still ensnared but there is going to be a revival and a
turning to Jesus as the Messiah during the tribulation period. Revelation
says there will be 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each tribe, witnessing to the
nation of Israel, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching[a] among my disciples. 17 I
will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in
him. Verse
17 shows that God chooses who He reveals himself too and He is hiding His face
from Israel. We know that He will reveal His face to some of Israel and
they will come with Him into the millennial kingdom where Jesus Christ and His
Saints reign over the earth.
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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah
8:18-22
18 I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and
warnings to Israel from the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion. 19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the
mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings
and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for
guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?
20 Look to God’s
instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in
the dark. 21 They will go from one place to another, weary and
hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and
their God. They will look up to heaven 22 and down at the
earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark
despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
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