Season 6, Podcast 54, Isaiah 8:1-13, “Waters of Shiloh.” Artwork

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Season 6, Podcast 54, Isaiah 8:1-13, “Waters of Shiloh.”

May 05, 2025 • Ronald • Season 6 • Episode 54

Season 6, Podcast 54, Isaiah 8:1-13, “Waters of Shiloh.”

Isaiah’s style is unique. Like the Book of Revelation, everything is symbolic. What happens in Verses 1-3 in Isaiah 8, which is both literal and metaphorical, perhaps exceeds our expectations. In a dramatic way the Lord commands Isaiah and his wife to have a son. Before the child is even conceived, he is given a name: Maher-shalal-hash-baz, the longest proper name in the Bible.

Isaiah 8:13

1 Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

After the child is born or perhaps even during the birth of the child two witnesses recorded the birth: Uriah and Zechariah. The name Maheer-shalal-hash-baz has a very specific meaning in Hebrew. Scholars tell us that it means “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey.” Or “Hasten to the spoil, hurry to the plunder.” It is intimately tied to the historical events that are about to happen. It literally refers to the destruction of Ephraim and Syria by the Assyrians.

The child is a warning to King Ahaz and the house of Judah not to form an alliance with Assyria.

Ahaz is under immanent threat from Ephraim, which represents the ten northern tribes, and Syria. Isaiah is sent by the Lord to assure Ahaz that it will come to nothing. However, Ahaz is not a man of faith like his father Jotham. He does not heed Isaiah.

Isaiah tries to explain that to Ahaz, but he is speaking to deaf ears. Ahaz makes the alliance with Assyria and as a result Assyria attacks both Syria and Ephraim. That too was prophesied by Isaiah.

Isaiah 8:4

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.

Damascus is ruled by King Rezin of Syria. Samaria is the Capital of the Kingdom of Israel, also called Ephraim, ruled by King Pekah, son of Remaliah. Isaiah has just prophesied that they shall be destroyed by Assyria in only a few months. Ephraim and Syria attack Judah but they fail. Assyria was not needed as an ally. Ahaz ignores the prophet Isaiah and foolishly forms an alliance with Assyria. In poetic imagery Isaiah tells Judah that they should depend upon the Lord and not upon some foreign powers.

Isaiah 8:5-6

5 The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,

6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son;

Literally the Waters of Shiloh flow from Gihon Spring, an intermittent water source outside of Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley. It flows through Jerusalem, giving life to the city. It was ancient Jerusalem’s only reliable water source. Metaphorically the Waters of Shiloah are a symbol of Christ. By refusing the Water of Shiloh, Judah is refusing Christ.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Isaiah always comes back to Christ. That is his central message. He wants Judah to once again become Christ centered as it was in the days of Moses before the tribes split. Isaiah extends his comparison. An analogy is a comparison of two things that are unlike but have similar characteristics. It may be literal or figurative. Isaiah frequently uses figurative imagery. Isaiah uses an extended analogy which carries the comparison as far as it can.