What Frightens You?

O. T. #1579  "What Frightens You?"
Dec. 5, 2019
Isaiah 8

LET IT GLOW

Children's names-Isn't it interesting to look up the meaning of people's name? Many times when parents are looking for a name of their child, they will do this. When we named our two children, we did. Their names are derived from the same name in the Greek, which means crowned one. They were a prince and princess to us.

There are three children that are named so far in our reading.

1. The coming Messiah (Annointed One) would be name Immanuel, which means God With Us.(verse 7:14) In chapter 9, we will read of more names for Christ.
2. Then, Isaiah had two sons. The first one is named Shea-jashub, which meant A Remnant Shall Return.  (verse 7:3) His meaning referred to a remnant of Judah that would survive during the captivity. It was to be a reassurance to the king so he would not panic. God would restore a remnant of His people. God would be faithful, and we know that He was.
3. Isaiah's second son was named Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning speed the spoil, hurry the prey. The New American Standard Bible says it this way: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. His name was to symbolize the successful Assyrian conquest of Damascus and Samaria.

Aram (Syria) fell to Assyria in 732 B.C. and Israel followed in 722 B.C. Isaiah had put his message on a large scroll in a public place. God was warning His people that He was Deliverer and Judge.

Isaiah's family and the promised Immanuel provided silent symbols of God's intention to show His presence among His people by disciplining them quickly and preserving only a small remnant. (Blackaby)

There was no doubt who was going to win the battle with Israel. Assyria would reap the benefits of the conquered land quickly (5:26). (MacArthur)

Is Immanuel important to us? Do we desire God to be with us always? Are we where we should be, doing what we should do, honoring our God with our life?


LET IT GROW

What frightens you?
Fear is a powerful enemy of our faith and a strong deterrent to the believer's peace of mind. Fear of war, terrorist attacks, disease, and pollution can rob us of our trust in God. God is our shelter and refuge (4:6) Ask Him to drive inappropriate fear from your heart and to help you fear only Him.
(Life Application Study Bible)

The Lord gave Isaiah a warning to not think like everyone else in Judah and how to live (verses 11-22):

• Don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do.
• Don't live in dread of what frightens them.  
• Make the LORD of Heaven's Armies holy in your life.
• God is the one you should fear and make you tremble.
• He will keep you safe.
• Preserve the teaching of God; entrust His instructions to those who follow God.
• Don't seek guidance from the dead, asking mediums about the future, but from God.
• Look to God's instructions and teachings!

Fragments of all of the Old Testament books, except for Esther,  were discovered by a shepherd looking for a goat in 1947. He found a scroll in a jar in a cave in the side of a mountain at Quram in Israel. During the next 10 years, more scrolls were found in 11 caves across from the Dead Sea. The book of Isaiah was found complete. The manuscripts are at least 2,000 years old. It is said that some Jewish men lived there and wrote these scrolls from original pieces, hiding them from the Romans. We saw this place whenever we took a trip to Israel earlier this year.

What does this mean to us? Isaiah was faithful in preserving what God had told him to write. Our Bible is The Truth and truly preserved from God for us to be able to read today. Isn't it fascinating?

Dear friend, we cannot fear things and trust God at the same time.

LET IT GO

Trust Jesus with everything.