Isaiah 8: The Flood (Part 2 of 4)

The LORD compares the Assyrian invasion to a mighty river that will sweep over the land, including Judah. The armies of Syria and Israel will be shattered, bringing their dream of domination to nothing.

The people "refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently."

The Shiloah (Shelah or Siloam) ran through Jerusalem's royal garden (Nehemiah 3:15), forming pools used often for healing (John 9:7-11).

SHILOAH: shiloah "shee-LO-akh" (a rill; a small stream); from shalah (to send away)

"This people" refused the gentle stream of the LORD and sought happiness in Rezin and the son of Remaliah (the king of Syria and the king of Israel). "This people" referred to both Israel and Judah. Israel preferred an alliance with Syria, and Judah sought alliance with Assyria (2 Kings 16:7).

The LORD promised judgement of "this people", using the Assyrian army as his instrument of wrath. He compared Assyria to "the River":

THE RIVER: nahar "naw-HAWR" (a stream, including the sea; the Nile or the Euphrates; figurative for prosperity); from nahar "naw-HAR" (to sparkle; to be cheerful; to flow, from the sheen of a running stream; to assemble)

As the Euphrates River floods its banks in the spring by melting of the snow in the Armenian mountains, so the Assyrian army would sweep over all the land, reaching even to the "neck" of Judah.

NECK: tsav'var "tsav-VAWR" (the back of the neck, as that on which burdens are bound); from sur "tsoor" (to cramp or confine)

When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, was the head. The danger would be so imminent as to reach near it, but it would be spared (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary).

What do you think?

Why is drowning an apt illustration of the impending danger facing Israel and Judah?

Have you experienced being let down by someone or something in which you had greatly depended? How does that experience compare with Israel and Judah's dependence upon foreign nations?

Immanuel

The land over which Assyria will flood belong belonged to Immanuel:

Isaiah 8:8 (ESV) Its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

This reference to Isaiah's child must have seemed bewildering. How could the land belong to a son of Isaiah? The prophecy suggests eventual deliverance and restoration through the power of God, but how?

The answer would wait for centuries.

Matthew 1:20-23 (ESV) Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).

The faithful Jews clung to the promise symbolized by the name given to Isaiah's son. Centuries later they saw in Jesus glimpses of his divine power and they associated his name with the promised savior of Israel:

Acts 1:6 (ESV) So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

Because God's hand was behind the Assyrian invasion, because "God is with us", the flood that would sweep over the land would accomplish his purposes: destroy the rebellious plans of his enemies and bring his people to their knees in broken, shattered dependence upon him.

What do you think?

Would it be fair, or unfeeling, to compare God's sovereignty over current local and international events to God's sovereignty over the Assyrians? Are disasters and violent conflicts always a part of God's work to destroy his enemies and bring us to humble dependence upon him?

Has such a flood of trouble ever happened on a smaller scale to you? Have you been part of a family, a business or organization which suffered loss or injury? Were the consequences a result of someone's sin that engulfed the entire group? Did anything good result from the trouble?

photo credit: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes via photopin cc