Old Testament: Isa 8.1–4

To read the Bible in a year, read Isaiah 7–9 on September 26, In the year of our Lord Christ 2022

By Don Ruhl 

Whatever the Lord does, he has a purpose in it. For example, he told Isaiah to beget a son and what to call his name, and that before the child could start speaking, something would happen: 

Moreover the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; for before the child shall have knowledge to cry “My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

– Isaiah 8.1–4 

The name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which some say is the longest name in the Bible, was given to Isaiah’s son, and it signified something, which the Lord indicated when he said that the riches the Assyrians had taken from Damascus and Samaria, would be taken away from the Assyrians. 

Therefore, Isaiah was to name his son with that long name because it means, “Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty,” and that is exactly what would happen. 

Questions: 

• Can you pronounce the name of Isaiah’s son? (Tip: Nail down each syllable before moving on.) 
• Why do we give names to our children today? 

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Don preaches with the Savage Street Church of Christ in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Listen to his sermons here: GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com