“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him. Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. Isaiah 8: 16-18, NKJV.
Dear God, may we treasure Your teachings. May we hide them in our hearts that we might not sin against You. This is our prayer in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
God had, in spoken word and in figure (the names of Isaiah and his sons contained messages from God), made His plans known to the children of Israel and Judah. They were not left to wander in the darkness of uncertainty. Yet they did not respond positively to God’s messages. In spite of this, God commanded His prophet to both “bind” and “seal” the messages to safeguard their authenticity (an ancient practice for the preservation of documents).
When the scrolls were finally opened, all of God’s people would know that they had been duly forewarned, but that they had not given heed to the warning. It is interesting to note that our response to the teachings of God will in no way, minimize their importance, or impede their fulfillment.
“[T]he LORD who hides His face from the house of Jacob,” really refers to, “the LORD who will respect our desire to reject Him.” Repeatedly, Israel had turned her back on YHWH and His teachings. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets, at many times, and in various ways” (Hebrews 1: 1, emphasis supplied). Finally, “He has spoken to us by his Son” (2). Even as late as the first century, they were still rejecting both Him and His teachings (John 1: 11).
Now the prophet is declaring his intentions. He will both, “wait on the LORD,” and “hope in Him.” He refers to himself and his sons as “signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.” Let us look for a brief moment at the prophet’s name, and the name of his sons, to better appreciate the encouragement and warnings that had been sent by the LORD to His people:
Isaiah: “The Lord is help.” “The Lord is salvation” (SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 84). Could there have been a more encouraging message than this? The promise was crystal clear, God would save His people. They had not been forsaken by the LORD, they had allowed their sins to come between them and their God (Isaiah 59: 2). The privilege was theirs to “return unto the LORD” (Isaiah 55: 7).
Shearjashub (7: 3): “[A] remnant [shall] return.” As we said a couple of devotionals earlier, God always has a remnant who has remained faithful. Here again was a promise from God, that His people would not be abandoned while in captivity. He would be with them and would bring them out when the time of their captivity was fulfilled.
Mahershalalhashbaz (8: 1-4): “The spoil speeds, the prey hastes.” Both Israel and Syria, would be despoiled by the invasion of the Assyrians. They had been forewarned. Everything that had been foretold came to pass, as it always will, because “God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23: 19).
Isaiah and his sons were living prophecies to be read by all. To the faithful they would bring hope and courage. To the rebellious and the unfaithful, they were a warning. God would help them – He would preserve a remnant even in captivity – the arm of flesh would fail, but Jehovah would prevail, because God was with them! Because of this, the prophet Isaiah could, in the fullest of confidence, wait on the LORD! And so can we!