Isaiah 8:5-8
The first 8 chapters of Isaiah have stunned us with a simple revelation: God loves Judah, but they have sinned against Him and trusted in Assyria. Before He comes to redeem them, God will give them Assyria, not as an ally, but as an invader.
Isaiah 8:5-8 illustrates this judgment using water imagery:
Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying, “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the mighty and abundant waters of the River—the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. Then it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
To understand what God means, we must first understand the two water sources to which this paragraph refers.
First, we read about the gently flowing water of Shiloah, a stream flowing out of the Gihon spring in Jerusalem. Originally, some of the waters were collected at a pool and some would flow out of the city, down to the Kidron Valley. This spring was so important that King Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, built a water channel to direct its waters completely back into the city. The channel he built ensured the Shiloah’s waters would be fully available to the people of Jerusalem, especially when the city was besieged.
Even in the time of Jesus, the same stream poured water into “the pool of Siloam” used by the man born blind (John 9). It still produces water today. In Isaiah 8:6, God points to this trustworthy and steady spring as a picture of His own reliability for Judah.
The second body of water in this passage is called “the River”, a term used throughout the Old Testament to refer to the Euphrates river (2 Samuel 8:3; 2 Chronicles 9:26; Micah 7:12). The Euphrates is called “the Great River” because it is so massive (Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4).
Even today it remains the longest river in West Asia at 1,730 miles, with an average discharge of 12,600 cubic feet per second. By contrast, the Shiloah produces an average of 0.6 cubic feet per second and is only 533 meters long, including Hezekiah’s man-made tunnel. In short, while the Shiloah is gentle and sufficient, the Euphrates is mighty and overwhelming.
Later in verse 7, the Euphrates symbolizes Assyria, the great empire of the world throughout Isaiah’s lifetime. Judah had chosen Assyria as an ally so they could rejoice in victory over Rezin, King of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, King of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). They didn’t want God to save them, so they put their faith in Assyria, paying taxes in exchange for their protection.
But the end of our passage has a dire warning. Assyria, symbolized by the Euphrates River, will one day rise up and sweep into Judah. This was fulfilled in 701 BC, as the Assyrian King Sennacherib destroyed almost all of Judah, except Jerusalem.
The core truth being missed by King Ahaz and the rest of the nation of Judah is stated in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” While He may permit troubles and enemies to surround Israel, He always promises to deliver them if they trust in Him. But when Israel turns away from Him, to trust in their own efforts at salvation, their source of protection is gone.
As Christians, we are faced with the same choice. Do we follow the world down the broad path to destruction or take the narrow path of trusting in the Lord?
If we trust Him, He fills us with the full knowledge of His will, He strengthens us with all power, and qualifies us to share Christ’s inheritance (Colossians 1:9-12). He will build us up in all ways through Christ in order to endure and overcome every trial with joy.
Don’t trade the gently flowing stream of God for the rushing river of the world. Abide in the sufficient provision of Jesus Christ—His person, work, and teaching.
Pastor David Robinson