GOD IS … REJECTED
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
Quiet my soul today, Father, as I come to study your Word. Help me to sense your presence and to rest in you.
Read ISAIAH 8:1–10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Isaiah and His Children as Signs
8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” 2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me. 3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 “Because this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoices over Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—
the king of Assyria with all his pomp.
It will overflow all its channels,
run over all its banks
8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,
passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,
Immanuel!”
9 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.
Reflect
What does a place of perfect peace look like for you? (Biblical peace is about wholeness and completeness, not necessarily silence.)It was easy for me to learn to spell my name at school—there aren’t many names easier than ‘Ben’! I feel sorry for Isaiah’s son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (vv. 1, 3).
The sign of Immanuel in chapter 7 is better known than this one, but they go together (see the end of v. 9). They point to judgment (the coming of the Assyrians: 7:17 and 8:4) and hope (God is with us: 7:14 and 8:8, 10). But why?
The ‘gently flowing waters of Shiloah’ (v. 6)—a pool in Jerusalem— are like the vineyard in chapter 5: they stand for Judah, kings of David’s line, the rule of God himself. The northern kingdom of Israel has rejected all that in favor of other kings. God’s judgment is to give the people what they have asked for: he removes his protection from them (see 5:5), which opens them up to the Assyrians.
Whereas God’s rule is gentle like Shiloah, the Assyrians are a destructive torrent like the mighty river Euphrates flooding its banks (v. 7). Israel is about to find out: rejecting God has consequences.
Apply
Why do we reject God? Why are we so tempted away from him and toward things that do us no good? Spend a few moments in quiet asking God to show you how you reject him, and then picture yourself turning back toward him.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, always am I under your watchful care; you never turn away from me. Help me to keep my eyes on you, trusting in your care and eager to do your will.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.