20150626 Friday, June 26 2015
Isaiah 08: Who Were The Sons Of The Prophet Isaiah?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son ... I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz

The prophet Isaiah lived in the Kingdom of Judah (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Kingdom Of Judah) after the division of the united kingdom of Israel into the independent kingdoms of "Israel" and "Judah" (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel and Judah and How Many Kings Reigned In The United Kingdom?) - but before the Kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria (see Israel In History and Prophecy: The Lost Ten Tribes).

During their independent existence Israel and Judah occasionally fought wars against each other (see the Fact Finder question below). In the conflict recorded below, Israel had allied itself with Syria against Judah i.e. "Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it."

It was in the recorded history of that event that Isaiah's older son, Shearjashub, is mentioned: "Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son." "Shearjashub" is the English-language rendering of the Hebrew name, pronounced sheh-awr-yaw-shoob, that means a remnant will return.

"7:1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

7:2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; 7:4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 7:6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD,

It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 7:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." (Isaiah 7:1-9 KJV)

Isaiah was also given to prophesy of the coming fall of the Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrian Empire - that would invade and conquer Israel and Syria who were then allied against Judah. More personal information is also then provided about Isaiah - his wife was a "prophetess" and a younger son was born at that time. The LORD commanded Isaiah to name him "Mahershalalhashbaz" - an English-language rendering of the Hebrew name, pronounced mawh-hare-shaw-lawl-kawsh-bahz, which meant swift to the prey.

As was often the case throughout Bible history, and very often in prophecy, people were named from current or future events in the lives of themselves, their parent(s) or their nation. It's also for that very reason that Isaiah referred to the coming Messiah as "Immanuel" (see Why Did Isaiah Say The Messiah's Name Is Immanuel?).

"8:1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. 8:2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

8:3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. 8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

8:5 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,

8:6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; 8:7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8:8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

8:9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 8:10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

8:11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,

8:12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 8:17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 8:21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness." (Isaiah 8:1-22 KJV)

Fact Finder: The independent kingdoms of Israel and Judah were at war numerous times. How was there usually an imbalance in their leadership - and why did it contribute to war happening?
See Old Boys Versus Greenhorns