Isaiah 8 builds directly on the warning God gave in chapter 7. God tells Isaiah to write down the prophecy publicly and to give his newborn son a symbolic name — Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning “speed the spoil, hasten the plunder.” The meaning is the prophecy: before this child is old enough to say “my father” or “my mother,” the king of Assyria will sweep down like a flood and crush both Damascus (Syria) and Samaria (the northern kingdom of Israel).
This invasion will come fast, like rising waters overflowing a riverbank — unstoppable, overwhelming, and devastating. But then God also warns that Assyria will not stop at Israel. The floodwaters will continue south and pour into Judah, reaching even up to the neck of Jerusalem.
And yet, God speaks directly to Isaiah and sets him apart from the fear of the nation. He tells him:
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy.
Do not fear what they fear.
Do not dread what they dread.
The Lord of Hosts — Him you shall regard as holy.
Let Him be your fear,
and Him your dread.”
So Isaiah is being trained as a prophet to stand firm when the nation panics. God becomes his sanctuary — even while God Himself becomes a stumbling stone to those who reject Him.
Finally, God tells Isaiah that the people will turn to mediums, necromancers, and false sources of guidance as judgment falls. But Isaiah is told to cling to the Word of God:
“To the law and to the testimony!”
If people do not speak according to this Word, it’s because they have no dawn, meaning no spiritual light.