January 12, 2011
HEALTHY FEAR
Isaiah 8
Eric Tucker
Central Truth
You have nothing to fear except the Lord Almighty.
Key Verse | Isaiah 8:13
"It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread." (Isaiah 8:13)
Isaiah 8
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, 1 8:1 Hebrew with a man's stylus ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ 2 8:1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens 2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”
3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5 The LORD spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, 3 8:7 That is, the Euphrates mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
9
Be broken,
4
8:9
Or Be evil
you peoples, and be shattered;
5
8:9
Or dismayed
give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
strap on your armor and be shattered.
10
Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.
6
8:10
The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel
Fear God, Wait for the LORD
11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching 7 8:16 Or law; also verse 20 among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, 8 8:21 Hebrew it greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against 9 8:21 Or speak contemptuously by their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
Footnotes
[1] 8:1 Hebrew with a man's stylus[2] 8:1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens
[3] 8:7 That is, the Euphrates
[4] 8:9 Or Be evil
[5] 8:9 Or dismayed
[6] 8:10 The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel
[7] 8:16 Or law; also verse 20
[8] 8:21 Hebrew it
[9] 8:21 Or speak contemptuously by
Dive Deeper | Isaiah 8
What jumped out at me from Isaiah 8 was verse 13: "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, [a]nd He shall be your dread." I grew up with a lot of unhealthy fear and anxiousness instead of fear of the Lord. I brought this fear into my marriage and other relationships because I wasn't living in biblical community or trusting in God's Word. Everyone fears something. If you do not fear God, you will fear situations and/or other people.
Proverbs 1:30-33 says, "They would not accept my counsel, [t]hey spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way [a]nd be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, [a]nd the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely [a]nd will be at ease from the dread of evil."
So fearing the Lord means living in confidence. Proverbs 14:26-27 also states, "In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, [a]nd his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, [t]hat one may avoid the snares of death."
Praise God that my security is in the Lord Almighty and not in my own circumstances. My fears lead me to be trapped and paralyzed and to make poor decisions. Christ gives me a way out by trusting His ways rather than my own—now that is life-giving!
As we get to know God, we have more fear, or reverential awe, of Him and His majesty. He is all-powerful and perfect, and I am not. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; [f]ools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). The fear of the Lord has changed my life, and I can be confident in all situations. This is a healthy fear.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you fear? Is it people, situations, the future, or God?
2. In which areas of your life are you not listening to God?
3. How can you grow in your fear or reverential awe of the Lord?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ISAIAH 6-10 (JAN 10-14)
Activity Part 1: Look through your family photos or pictures on the computer that represent things that make you “stand in awe!” (Ideas: mountains, cool buildings, waterfalls, sunsets, etc.) Also, think about times when you “stood in awe,” times where your breath was taken away (Christmas morning, a cool animal at the zoo, etc.).
Read Isaiah 6:1-4.
Reread this passage and have your children call out the words they hear that describe God.
What are seraphim (angels) and what was their job? What does the word holy (perfect) mean to you? Why do you think the seraphim said “holy” three times? What does the word glory mean to you?
What is your response to the holiness of God in these four verses? Does He create a sense of “awe” in you when you think and read about Him? Why or why not?
Activity Part 2: Give your children large pieces of blank paper. Ask them to draw a picture illustrating the holiness of God. It can be anything—what the story was about today, pictures in their mind or heart that have created “awe.” After they have finished, ask them to describe it to you. Together, read and talk about the meaning of Exodus 15:11, 1 Samuel 2:2, and 1 Peter 1:15-16.