Isaiah 8:16-22
When revelation is rejected, darkness deepens; those who cling to God’s word endure with hope amid distress.
16 Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples.
17 I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
19 When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
21 They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
22 and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
When revelation is rejected, darkness deepens; those who cling to God’s word endure with hope amid distress.
To call the faithful remnant to bind themselves to the LORD’s revealed word, reject occult guidance, and endure coming darkness with covenant trust.
During Isaiah's ministry many in Judah sought guidance through divination and occult practices instead of trusting the prophetic word of the LORD.
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, Immanuel’s Land, and the LORD as Sanctuary or Stone
Isaiah 8 declares that when Judah rejects the LORD’s quiet instruction and fears human threats, the Assyrian flood comes; yet the faithful must fear the LORD alone, cling to his testimony, and find him either sanctuary or stumbling stone.