Isaiah 8/Rev.21:17
God’s Word is the Standard of Measurement
The key verse of Isaiah 8 is verse 20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” Rev. 21/17 calls our attention to God’s measurement. Therefore, the main lesson of Isaiah 8 and Rev. 21/17 is: God’s word is our standard of measurement.
Rev. 21/17, “He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits high, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using.” Here we see that there is a measurement of height for the wall of the Holy City. The Holy City represents the New Jerusalem which will be made of by every true Christian all over the world. How can we be part of this New Jerusalem in heaven? It is to be in the Lord. How can we be in the Lord? It is to live according to His measurement that is to keep His words and commands.
The Holy City is measured by man’s measurement, which the angel is using. Psalm 78/24-25 said, “he [God] rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.” Therefore, our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The best thing people can do in this world is to keep the laws or regulations made by the governments. But we Christians seek the righteousness of God. We believe that God will transform us to be as holy as He is, so that there is no evil or lustful thought in our mind.
But how can we meet God’s standard, which is 144 cubits high? It is by faith and grace. When we read God’s words, we realize that we are so filthy that we cannot bear with it. We repent of our sins before the Lord. God is faithful and righteous; He will forgive our sins and remove our unrighteousness. Therefore, we can keep His commands and grow in His grace.
At that time Judah was attacked by a joint force of internal and external enemies. Israel was the internal enemy and Aram was the external enemy. That was why the heart of Ahaz was shaken according to Isaiah chapter 7. However, King Ahaz did not understand the reason for this joint force attack was his disobedience to God’s word. He was so scared of the enemies that he begged Assyria for help. Though his trouble was relieved for a short time, Assyria gave King Ahaz trouble instead of help at the end. King Ahaz should have turned to God for a complete cure. Isaiah the prophet was sent by God to warn King Ahaz about the consequences of getting help from Assyria.
Isaiah 8, Verse 1 to verse 4: God wants us to warn people by simple and clear written words, reliable witnesses, and signs of the prophet.
The Lord told Isaiah to take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen. That means God wanted him to write down His warning clearly and large enough for His people to read. What should Isaiah write about? God said, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. It means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil. It is a warning that disasters would come upon Judah soon.
In verse 2 God said, “I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.” God used not only written words but also reliable witnesses to warn them about the coming disasters. The most reliable witnesses are those prophets and witnesses in the Bible. There have been many witnesses in the Bible through thousands of years to witness the truth of God so that people will repent and return to God. We also listen to the words of those reliable witnesses.
Verse 3. Then Isaiah went to his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. God told Isaiah to name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Isaiah himself became a sign of his generation. Every day when he called his son by name, he was giving a warning against the people that disasters would come upon them soon. They should stop sinning against God and take shelter in God quickly.
Verse 4. Before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria. God wanted King Ahaz to know that the enemies he feared most would be destroyed in a very short time if he took shelter in God.
Do we understand that this is the time we should stop sinning or wasting our lives in chasing after the world? Do we understand that the days of danger are coming upon us soon? In a very short time, the city of New Orleans, where we lived, was destroyed by the flood. The two huge buildings of World Trade Center in New York became nothing but ashes in few minutes. One of my relatives was a very capable woman. She was the soul of her family, everyone depended on her. She has had dementia since last year, now she has become a burden of her family. She cannot eat by herself. She cannot even recognize her own husband and her son-in-law.
Brothers and sisters, have we ever thought about that disasters may suddenly come upon us? We must live our lives in fear of the Lord. Every word spoken by our Lord will come true at the end times. Let’s us stop living as a dreamer, busying with things, duties or enjoyment on the earth. We must pay attention to God’s word so that we will not sin against God.
Verse 5 to verse 8. In this paragraph God wants His people to know that disasters will come as the mighty floodwaters because they have rejected God’s word. However, our Lord has spread out His wings as a mother hen and hopes everyone of the world will run to Him for protection.
The waters of Shiloah means the word of God. In New Testament, we read Jesus put some mud with his saliva on the eyes of a blind man. Then Jesus asked him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. The blind man went and washed, and he could see.
Today God wants to work His plan in our lives by His own word, but we think His word work too slowly for our needs. Therefore, many Christians do not like to read the Bible. But God’s word can open our eyes so that we will not be led astray by the Devil to love the world. This so called colorful world is full of power struggling, immorality of sex, drug and alcohol. And it has been used by the Devil to drag us to hell. Many God’s children desire only things or enjoyment of this world. Therefore, many God’s children have rejected His word. They think the Bible is too boring and God’s word are too slow to meet their desires.
To make things worse, there are many messages telling people that if you believe in Jesus you will be successful in dating. Some say that if you believe in Jesus you will earn lots of money. None of these is the Way of God. Our Lord Jesus himself preached on earth, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent.” John the Baptist also preached the same message. This is true voice of God. But God’s children reject His way. To reject the gently flowing waters of Shiloah means to love the enemy. That is an invitation of our enemy and opens a way for our enemy to hurt us. Rejecting God’s word is the cause of every trouble we have in our personal life and among the nations.
Rezin is the king of Aram. Remaliah is the father of Pekah, the king of Israel. When King Ahaz was attacked by these two enemies, he did not repent or return to God. Rather he went to Assyria for help, thinking that he could rely on the power of Assyria for deliverance. By doing that King Ahaz rejected God’s word. As a result of it, God permitted the enemy to invade Judah. King Ahaz thought he could solve his trouble by using his own method and wisdom. But unexpectedly, the king Assyria with his power came to oppress Judah just as the mighty waters of a river ran over its banks. The help from Assyria was temporary. Eventually, Judah was destroyed by Assyria as in verse 8. But Our God is merciful. God not only warned King Ahaz before the sudden coming of disaster. He also provided shelter for His children to pass over the disaster.
Our Lord is Immanuel, which means God with us. He has spread out His wings on the whole world. How God desires everyone on the earth to repent of his evil deeds and shelter in Him, so that no one will be hurt in disasters. God has sent his only Son to die for our sins so that we can shelter in His wings. When we confess our sins and repent, we enter His protection. Jesus said sadly when he saw Jerusalem, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”(Matthew 23/37) Jesus has foreseen how Anti-Christ will torture His children at the end time. But God’s children do not understand that they must shelter in Him NOW. Jesus has promised us that in Him we may have peace. In this world we will have trouble. But take heart! Jesus has overcome the world.
How about you and me, do we know the signs of the times? Do we understand the cause of disasters for the nations or individuals? Let us pray that God will shine upon us and lead us to repent. For wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. No disaster or enemy can hurt us if we shelter in His wings. Let us take shelter in Jesus NOW. Do not rely on our own wisdom or methods for problem-solving. Though there are many troubles on earth, God will protect us from all of them miraculously.
Verse 9 to verse 15. Though the nations and the peoples gather together and raise their voices against God, they will be destroyed. They cannot overpower us when God is with us. We only need to regard the Lord as holy, keeping His words in our faith. There is peace for those who remain in Him. But whoever does not believe the word of God and find his own solution will stumble and fall into the snares.
Verse 9-10, “Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”
This is God’s challenge to the whole world. Nowadays all nations have become very proud and the peoples are saying that there is no God, because they can even reproduce human being. But God says none of their plans will withstand. For example, when two strong power of China and Russia became friends in 1960s. They thought they could do lots of things in the world for power. They started to build a high building to show their strength of alliance. But they broke into war with each other before the building was ever finished. Men’s schemes can never be successful. There was once men on earth wanted to build a tower for their own name. But the Lord confused their language, and they stopped building that tower.
Verse 11 “The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people.” When we come to God in prayers, we are asking our Lord to stretch out His strong hand to help us. God will answer us and show His power for us. God warns His children not to follow the ways of this world. The ways of this world are evil ways, immoral ways or even ways of heresy. We God’s children must only follow God’s way. His way is in the Bible. Therefore, we must pay attention to read His word and pray to God.
Verse 12, God told us, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” However, many Christians are following the way of the world, which is the wide road. Though they attend churches, they do not live according to the word of God. They love the world, chasing after satisfaction of their flesh or sinful desire, just as the non-believers. This kind of Christian seeks only things of this world. They do not love Jesus Christ nor do they keep God’s word.
God warns us not to follow their rebellious way. Nor shall we fear what they fear. What do those Christians fear? They are afraid of the news of wars, natural disasters or pollutions, recession of economy. We fear nothing but God. Therefore, we regard God as holy (Verse 13). To regard God as holy is to keep His word without adding or subtracting. Nor shall we mix His word with philosophies or any worldly rules. We are to follow the example of Jesus, who loved the Father and did EXACTLY what his Father had commanded him to the very end.
The evil plan of the Devil is to hinder God’s children from keeping God’s word EXACTLY as God says. It is because the Devil knows if God’s children do exactly as what God has commanded us, God will show His full glory. Therefore, the Devil seduces us to add something or subtract some part from God’s word. The Devil also mixes psychology with God’s word. Let’s not fear what the people fear. If God does not permit, nothing bad will happen to us. We only need to trust and obey God’s word completely; we will have peace in Jesus Christ.
Verse 14 “and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.” What does this mean? When we fully keep His word, He becomes a sanctuary for us. God is with us in His sanctuary. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. For example, when Daniel was accused by some people, he still regarded God’s word as holy. Daniel kept God’s word till the end, and the lions did not eat him. As a result of it, everyone knows that Daniel’s God is the Lord, the Lord alone. He is the living almighty God.
To regard God as holy is to fully keep His word and to love God’s word more than everything, even more than our own lives. It is by faith and prayers that we can keep God’s word in times of trouble. Then we will see the full glory of God.
But why did God say that He would be a stumbling stone to Israel? It was because they did not believe or listen to His word. They depended on their own methods and followed the way of the nations when they had troubles. Therefore, Israel ended up stumbled.
Verse 16 to verse 18. The Lord’s servant shall pray and wait on God when His people refuse to listen to God’s word. And God will use His workers who live in Him as signs and miracles of the times.
It was because God’s people refused to listen to God’s word. When King Ahaz faced the attack of internal and external enemies, he did not seek help from God. He went to King Assyria, a mortal man, for help. Therefore, God told Isaiah to seal up His law since King Ahaz refused to listen to it.
Verse 17 to 18. “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him. 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.” These two verses tell us that when people refuse to listen to what God has asked us to preach, we must wait for the Lord. But how do we wait for the Lord? Pray and put hope in our Lord. The Bible said during the time of Samuel, the heart of Israel turned to God. Why and how could this be? It was through preaching, and praying and waiting upon the Lord. Prophet Jeremiah cried and prayed for the rebellious Israel in the middle of night when Israel refused to listen to God’s rebuke.
Since the people refused to listen to God’s word, God used Isaiah and his children as signs for Israel. For we who believe in God, our lives have become miracles of our times. For example, God has called me to forsake everything of this world to follow Him by faith. I have never done any fund-raising or tried to get support from rich people. By His grace I have always depended on Jesus only since then. He has been faithful. God has made me from having nothing to lacking of nothing! Jesus has promised us that signs will accompany those who believe. The life of living by faith has made us signs and miracles of our times.
Verse 19 to 22. Never consult mediums or spiritists. For the path of the righteousness is like the first gleam of dawn, shinning ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of those who go astray will be ever darker and full of pain and anxiety. They will end up in utter darkness.
Verse 19 “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” Very often people would tell us to consult mediums and spiritists when we have troubles in our lives. King Saul was an example. At first he could defeat the enemies because he relied on God. In the end he even consulted mediums and spiritists because God did not answer his prayers. Finally, King Saul died on the battle field. It was because he had never confessed his own sins or repented completely before the Lord.
There are times when God does not answer our prayers at once. It may due to our sins. If that is the case, we must not turn away from God. We must humble ourselves before the Lord and wait upon Him. The Bible says that calmness can lay great errors to rest. If we humble ourselves more and pray earnestly to God, He will answer us. God will never forsake those who trust in Him. Never turn away from God to find solutions by ourselves when God does not answer our prayers at once. Never shall we consult mediums or spiritsts.
Verse 20 “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” We must regard His word as the standard. When I first arrived in America, I heard many Christians talking about visions or prophecies. They told me one of the visions by a prophet. This so called prophet told them that once when he was praying, he saw a monkey climbing up a peach tree to eat its fruit. What is the value of this kind of vision to churches or Christians? Most of those so called prophets are not serious or interested in serving God. They do not concern the things of God’s kingdom or churches. This kind of visions is different from the kind of visions written in the Bible. For example, God showed Zechariah visions after visions regarding His plan for Jerusalem, and His salvation and future of Israel. When Daniel understood God’s heart and prayed earnestly for Israel to the point of death, God revealed to him mysteries of end time.
Once I went to China with a co-worker. We heard that there was a prophetess, who was young and powerful. She was highly respected and was very popular among churches. She told people that whenever she stood on the pulpit, she would see a written sermon dropping down from heaven for her. Only she could see it. She then read from the heavenly sermon to the people. Sometimes this prophetess also went to Home of Grace in China for retreat. But she had never attended our Bible study meetings. When we met her, she said some prophecies about us at once. She said she saw two of us in heaven standing before the throne and we were receiving great rewards. We did not buy it at all because she did not even know us nor has she ever interceded for us. How could she get any vision about us? This was not the spirit of God but the spirit of the evil one.
Many of so called visions do not match the word of God. Some visions go beyond what is written is the Bible. For example, once Home of Grace in America received a box of books in Chinese and English, beautifully printed. These books talked about great visions of heaven and hell. But the descriptions of heaven and hell are beyond what is written in the Bible. We threw away all of them at once because it is beyond what is written in the Bible. There is no true light in this kind of books, no mater how popular they are. It is only when we love our God by keeping His words and praying according to His heart, and then God will reveal His visions or Himself to us. (John 14/23)
Our God is almighty. If we trust in Him and do exactly as He has commanded us, we will see His full glory. When we know that God wants us to be holy from the Bible, we then seek holiness. When God wants us to love our enemies or those who mistreat us, we then bless our enemies and forgive them. When we regard God as holy, we will not fear what people fear in this world. Many times I experienced that God asked me to give my most favorite things to those who had mistreated me. I did in His grace and I experienced miracles. God miraculously opened ways for me to come out of China to America and other countries for His ministry.
To regard God’s word as holy is to keep His word exactly as God has commanded us without adding, subtracting or mixing. It is just as when we want to make a telephone call, we must dial the telephone numbers exactly as they are. Then we can be put through. We will receive blessing from our almighty God.?