The prophet Isaiah spoke some of the most notable and familiar prophecies concerning the coming of the promised Messiah. For example, who hasn't heard or committed to memory the following:
"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (7:14). "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. . . . For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this" (9:2, 6-7). There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord" (11:1-2).
Not as well known is the prophecy we read in 8:14: "He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." Nonetheless, this prophecy, as so many others, is quoted by both Paul and Peter: "As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame' " (Rom. 9:33). "But to those who are disobedient, [He is] ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed" (1 Pet. 2:7-8). Why, then, is this prophecy not as familiar or quoted as much by the church today?
Before answering that question and focusing on this prophecy, it is helpful to focus upon the prophet Isaiah. Much of this information is found in chapter 7 of Isaiah. His ministry was a long one, continuing from the time of his call to the prophetic office in the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, on through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and possibly into a short period of Manasseh's reign, all kings of Judah as well. Isaiah was also a statesman who read the broad meaning of events in the big political issues of the day. But first and foremost, Isaiah was the appointed and chosen prophet of the Lord, proclaiming His divine purpose.
His father's name was Amoz (cf. 1:1), who, some say, was a brother of King Amaziah, the father of King Uzziah. That would make Isaiah and King Uzziah cousins and explain how Isaiah had easy and frequent access to the royal house and political scene.
Isaiah was married. He refers to his wife as the prophetess (cf. 8:3). To him and his wife were born two sons: Shear-jashub meaning "a remnant shall return" (cf. 7:3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz meaning "the spoil speeds, the prey hastens" (cf. 8:3). These sons and their names were given to Isaiah as signs of what was to come and as a reinforcement of his prophecy: "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" (8:18).
In the eighth chapter we read how Isaiah was to make a large sign (billboard) and write upon it in Hebrew and Aramaic, that all might read it, and know that the Lord had, indeed, spoken by the mouth of His prophet through the names of his sons and especially through the name of his second son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. This name was to convey the message that before the child would be able to utter his first words, i.e., father or mother, the destruction of Damascus (Syria) and Samaria (Israel) by the Assyrians will be an accomplished fact (cf. 8:4). Every time the child's name was mentioned, it would serve as a reminder of the approaching judgment. Syria and Israel, who were now in league against Judah, would very shortly become "prey to and the spoil of" the king of Assyria and his victorious army. Hence the name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
But many in Judah were sympathetic with Israel and Syria in the desire for more worldly power. For that, God would chastise them and use the king of Assyria and his invading army to vex them as well. This was God's judgment against them for putting confidence in man, in human governments and power, and for making alliances so that they could become great on the earth. Isaiah was sent to tell them that whatever, or whoever, sets itself up against God and His cause cannot stand, but must inevitably fall. Isaiah tells us how he was himself taught by God:
"For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,' concerning all that this people call a conspiracy. Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary" (8:11-14a).
God instructed the prophet not to go along with this people and their ideas; not to say what they were saying or do as they were doing; not to make a league with them through unbelief and distrust of God.
Human nature, which is fallen and sinful, is all too apt to walk in the way of the people amongst whom they live, even though it is not a good way. The people of God must be careful about their associations, remembering that though they are in the world, they are not to be of the world (cf. Jn. 15:19; 17:14, 16). The apostle Paul is very clear about this:
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.' Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty' " (2 Cor. 6:14-18).
James writes: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4). This latter verse I've always found to be especially sobering. How many friends of the world do I, do you, have? This verse is not referring only to people, but to worldly mindedness as well. Those whom God loves and owns He will instruct and enable to stand up against the world's temptations. Fear and obey God. He will be a sanctuary, a safe retreat, a refuge, a shelter in the time of storm to that remnant He chooses, that "remnant that would return," as prophesied through the name of Isaiah's first son. But for the rest in both Israel and Judah, He would be "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense."
So it was the names of Isaiah's children that were prophetic of both the mercy and the judgment of the Lord. And when taken together with the father's name, Isaiah meaning Jehovah saves, they also have meaning for the eternal purposes of the Lord for they point to the coming Messiah, the author and captain of salvation: How do we know this? In the letter to the Hebrews we read:
"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain [Founder or Author] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.' And again: ‘I will put My trust in Him.' And again: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me'" (Heb. 2:10-13).
The Messiah would teach His people to trust in God and to live by faith. As Isaiah and his children were signs of God's faithfulness to his generation, so Jesus, who is so much greater than the prophet, now has His circle of children given Him by the Father: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given me out of the world. They were Yours. You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word" (Jn. 17:6). There are many in the church who stumble over this truth. While espousing the sovereignty of God, they deny it with regard to salvation by insisting that man has a free will and the power to receive Christ, thus getting hung up on the worthiness of their own faith (cf. Jn. 1:12, 13; Eph. 2:8, 9; H.C. #61).
Jesus, whose name means Savior, came to save His people from their sins; to give them peace with God the Father; to bring down the wall of separation, and reconcile them with their God. But Jesus also came to be "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." When He came, the vast majority of people, including many of His own people, the Jews, religious people, did not receive Him (cf. Jn. 1:11). As Isaiah prophesied, "He is despised and rejected by men" (53:3). This continues very much to be the case today.
In our day there has come into existence a "church" (call it liberal or modern), which makes no pretension to being Christian at all. It calls itself "trans-denominational," but it is really a new multi-faith religion which cuts across all lines-Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, etc. Documentaries and news stories on the beneficence of Islam are all over the news media, and schools are inviting Muslim children to tell about their religion. The enemy, we are told, is not Islam but intolerance. It is that narrow-minded, restrictive view of religion that is to blame. People who think "theirs is the only true religion" are the real enemy.
Noted columnist Thomas Friedman says that "World War II and the Cold War were fought to defeat secular totalitarianism." The new world war, he says, is against "religious totalitarianism," which he defines as "the view that one faith must reign supreme and can be affirmed and held passionately only if all others are negated." Conservative Christians and Jews hold to this view, he says, as well as Muslims. "Can Islam, Christianity and Judaism know that God speaks Arabic on Fridays, Hebrew on Saturdays and Latin on Sundays, and that He welcomes different human beings approaching Him through their own history, out of their language and cultural heritage?" This new world war, says Mr. Friedman, must be fought not just on the battlefield but in houses of worship. It is urgent that the different religions "reinterpret their traditions to embrace modernity and pluralism and to create space for secularism and alternative faiths."
To this "church" Christ has become irrelevant. He is not necessary for salvation, contrary to who He said He was: the Son of God (cf. Matt. 16:13-17; Jn. 8:56-58); contrary to what He said He came to do: to save sinners (Jn. 3:13-17; Matt. 1:21); and contrary to His words: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn. 14:6) and "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Matt. 12:30; Lk. 11:23). For such, Christ is a stone of stumbling and a scandal. Though believers see Christ as the cornerstone and foundation in building the church, the unbelieving builders (false and apostate churches), having left the stone lying around, will stumble and fall over it to their own hurt and destruction. Christ is an offense to them. Those who have rejected Christ stumble and fall into a snare like trapped animals and will be destroyed. Such is both Isaiah and Peter's use of the word, "offense." These are the people who stumble at the truth, being disobedient to the Word. Such refuse to hear and believe the Word of God, the prophecies of Isaiah, the epistle of Peter, and the Bible as a whole. To this end they were appointed: "who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not" (Jer. 5:21; cf. Matt. 13:15, 16; Isa. 6:10); "[who] will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned to fables" (2 Tim. 4:4). The Word of the Lord, though many do not believe and obey it, does not return to Him void or empty; it always accomplishes what God intended and it always succeeds in the thing for which He sent it (cf. Isa. 55:11). He sends His Word both to save and to condemn:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . . but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24). "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life" (2 Cor. 2:15-16).
As more and more people stumble over Christ; as He becomes, more and more, a rock of offense, we will see apostate "churches" grow. There will be a movement to combine all of the world's religions into one great world church where everyone will be called to embrace one overarching ideology, i.e., tolerance and acceptance of all religions. Christians will find themselves demonized as intolerant when they stand up for Jesus. In the past Christians have endured persecution and even martyrdom for the cause of Christ. This should not come as a surprise. Jesus predicted it:
"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22). "A servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (Jn. 15:20).
I was encouraged recently, although somewhat surprisingly, when news commentator Brit Hume publicly affirmed this very thing. Mr. Hume was asked what predictions or hopes he had for 2010. He focused on Tiger Woods and how he could save his golf career. He said the best thing Tiger could do was to turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and redemption, to turn from Buddhism to Christianity. Proof that such conversion was real, and not a charade, as is often the case with celebrities, would be evidenced, said Mr. Hume, in a truly changed life and reconciliation with his wife and family. As a result, and again, predictably so, Mr. Hume was castigated severely for what he said. When asked why people become so hostile when the Christian faith is espoused, Mr. Hume responded, again, surprisingly but refreshingly, "It's always been that way. It's to be expected."
Will we endure the unpopularity of indentifying with Christ, who, to many, has and will become "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"? Isaiah's prophecy and the names of his sons should and must continue to be both a warning and encouragement to us today. Should not this prophecy be as familiar to the church and committed to memory as well?
