Isaiah's Words About Invasion in Spite of Alliances

“The Lord said to me, ‘Write on a large scroll: Maher-shalal-hash-baz (hurry the plunder, hurry the spoil).’ After writing this, I had Uriah the priest and Zechariah witness it, that it would be known among the people as a true prophecy. When my wife, the prophetess, bore a son, the Lord told me to name him what was written on the large scroll—Maher-shalal-hash-baz. His name was to be a reminder that before he would learn to say, ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be plundered by the Assyrians.

“The Lord said to me, ‘Because these people reject my servants and form alliances with the leaders of other nations, the Lord will bring a large, strong army to overrun their land like a river overflowing its banks. This enemy will overrun Judah even until he gets to the neck (head cities—Old and New Jerusalems), and he will occupy the rest of the land.

“ ‘Because this people associate with their conspiring enemies, listening to the leaders of far off countries, they will be broken into pieces and none will deliver them. If they go to war, they will receive the same fate. Counseling with nations will do them no good. Their resolutions will be ignored, for God will not be with them, but only with the righteous.’

“These strong judgments are what the Lord showed me. He said, ‘Do not spend your time identifying and fearing conspiracies as this people do. Do not fear any man.’

“I, Isaiah, tell you that you must be sanctified by the Lord of Hosts and fear only Him, for there is only safety in the Lord. But to both houses of Israel—Joseph and Judah—who reject Him, He will be a rock over which to trip, and a curse to those who live in Jerusalem, whose inhabitants will be either killed or captured. I prophesy this because the Lord has told me to write and bind my testimony, and to seal His law for His disciples. After doing this, I will wait for the Lord to come, who for now hides His face from the house of Jacob (Israel).

“My name, Isaiah, means: Jehovah Saves. My sons’ names, Shearjashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, mean: The Remnant Will Return (to the lands of their inheritance) and Hurry the Plunder, Hurry the Spoil (Assyrian plundering). My children and I are named as the signs and wonders given to Israel from the Lord of Hosts, who will live in the nation of Zion.

“When those in darkness advise you to communicate with your dead, tell them to communicate with the God of the living, and from Him know the desires of their righteous dead. Tell them they should look to the Lord’s law, and to the testimony of His servants. If they don’t do this, but rather speak according to their own words, they work in darkness. They will be frustrated, angry and hungry, yet they will not humble themselves and repent. They will look up toward heaven, cursing their God and king, and then look down, only to find more trouble, darkness, and anguish of spirit. Thus they will be driven into greater darkness on their chosen path.