Isaiah 8

Our study continues in Isaiah 8. To review, the first six chapters of Isaiah deal with the southern kingdom of Judah. In the last entry, we began the prophecy regarding Israel, the northern kingdom. When we see the word “Israel” in the Bible, we always have to look at the context to see what it applies to. It sometimes can refer to only the northern tribes, but can sometimes relate to the entire nation, as God renamed Jacob by the name of Israel, and his offspring will become the 13 tribes. Even that statement of 13 tribes may throw some of you off, as Jacob had 12 sons. One of those sons was Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. God used that in many ways. Not only was Joseph able to forgive his brothers for that treacherous act, he became the second in command in all of Egypt. His power carried his brothers through a widespread famine. When giving blessings to his sons from his deathbed, Jacob (Israel) included the two sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. Often in the listing of the tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim take the place of Joseph. The sons of Levi became the priestly line. They were given parts of cities, but their inheritance was the Lord, while the rest of the sons received property from an eternal land covenant with God. The sons of Jacob, in order, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph and Benjamin. Remove Joseph and add his sons and you have 13 tribes. When Jereboam revolted against Reheboam, the 10 tribes of the northern area became known as the “House of Israel.” In many sections of the Bible, the “House of Israel” is referred to as Ephraim, the largest tribe of the north. Simeon and Judah remained in the south, and some of Benjamin’s land bordered the northern edge of Jerusalem. With Judah being the largest of these tribes, the southern area is referred to as the “House of Judah.” Additionally, as I pointed out in Isaiah 7, the Levites left the northern area and came to Jerusalem, continuing to follow the Lord. Additionally, the righteous men of the wayward tribes of the north also ventured southward to Jerusalem, to continue to worship the Lord. All of the tribes as a whole strayed from the Lord, though the “House of Judah” remained steadfast longer than the “House of Israel.” Consequently, God dealt with them differently and separately, though all of them were sent into captivity. The prophecy of that captivity continues here:

1 Moreover the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 "And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 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; 4 "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." 5 The LORD also spoke to me again, saying: 6 "Inasmuch as these people refused The waters of Shiloah that flow softly, And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of the River, strong and mighty--The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels And go over all his banks. 8 He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel. 9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us."
11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. 14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken." 16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. 18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
Isaiah 8:1-22 (NKJV)

Let’s begin by discussing the first four verses:

1 Moreover the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 "And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 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; 4 "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 sure has some strangely named children. His first son is Shear-Jashub. As we have already learned, that means “a remnant shall return.” Now, with his second son named even before conception, we know he will be called Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. That name means “hasten booty, speed prey.” It sounds to me like an Old Testament version of “haste makes waste,” yet it indicated that Damascus and Samaria were soon to be plundered by the king of Assyria. Don’t get confused and think that Syria and Assyria are the same. Syria is Israel’s neighbor on the northeast border. Assyria is farther to the east across the Euphrates River. In verse one, the Lord is speaking to Isaiah, telling him to get a large scroll and write on it with a man’s pen, concerning Isaiah’s son, who has not been conceived, much less born. If you look ahead to verse 18 of this chapter, you will see what God was doing with these oddly-named boys: “Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel.” Why a man’s pen? I don’t know. I do think it is interesting that God uses an instrument of a weak, dying man. I say dying because that is what we all are the moment we are born. If you look through the Bible, and through your own life, what you will see is God using the weak to accomplish His tasks. The scroll was for the purpose of publishing this prophecy before it occurred. And look at the men God chose to involve. The meaning of their names makes it even more interesting:

Name = Meaning
Uriah = “Jehovah is my light”
Zechariah = “Jehovah remembers”
Jeberechiah = “Jehovah will bless”

There are places in the Bible filled with the meaning of names. The Book of Ruth is one of my favorites. There is another incredible study in the Book of Genesis and the meaning of the names of the first men. I know that God takes care of every aspect of a story. Check out this verse from Matthew:

17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Matthew 5:17-18 (NKJV)

In the Hebrew, a jot and a tittle are the smallest characters, kind of like the dot of dotting an “I” or the cross of crossing a “T” in our language. God makes no mistakes and the Bible can speak to us on many levels. In Hebrew, the letters each have a meaning, as well. For example, the second letter called “Beth” means “house.” The letter looks like a house on its side. So Bethlehem means “house of Bread.” Many cities in Israel begin with “Beth.” Along the same lines, the “H” in Hebrew means “breath” or “spirit,” so when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah, He literally put the “Spirit” in the middle of their names…He filled them with the Spirit. A few years ago, this interested me enough that I checked into it on a personal level. I found that Garry means “Mighty Warrior” and in German, Glaub means “believe.” God gave me the gift of faith and I truly believe in Him and all of His promises, in every word of the Bible. I can only hope that I will be a mighty warrior for Him. If I am, it has all to do with who He is and His amazing grace and nothing to do with me!
Next, Isaiah says that he went to the prophetess. That was his wife and she was a prophetess because she was producing the prophecy through the names of her offspring. Then God gives Isaiah the instruction to call the boy’s name, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. This will remind the people of the impending punishment. The boy probably had a nickname, but as mothers usually use the entire name when angry, I am sure she called him by the whole mouthful often as a child! God reminds Isaiah that the boy won’t be able to say “Mommy” or “Daddy” before the Assyrians come in and take away the spoil of Syria and the “House of Israel.” We learned in the previous chapter that the main city of northern Israel was Samaria and the main city of Syria is Damascus. Okay, let’s move on to the next few verses:

5 The LORD also spoke to me again, saying: 6 "Inasmuch as these people refused The waters of Shiloah that flow softly, And rejoice in Rezin and in Remaliah's son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of the River, strong and mighty--The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels And go over all his banks. 8 He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.

The first thing to notice here is the discussion of the waters of Shiloah. This is the same as the waters of Siloam discussed in the New Testament. The pools of Siloam are where Jesus sends the blind man to wash the clay off of his eyes. When he does, he can see. Siloam and Shiloah mean “sent” in Hebrew, and it is interesting to see that in reference to this prophecy. The waters of Siloam are not rushing waters, but peaceful ones that flow just outside the City of David. These people refused the peaceful waters sent to them. You can understand that to mean many things. First, the Jews of this time had stopped hearing God and following God. Because of that, He removed the hedge of protection, which had been keeping them safe from their enemies. That is what allowed the Assyrians into the land. We also can see prophetic significance pointing to Jesus. He is the Living Water sent to us. Sadly, years after this when Jesus comes to live as a Man, they do not acknowledge Him and they refuse Him. Most of the world feels that way about our precious Savior!
This takes me back to the spring of 2006 when I had the gift of being able to walk in the Holy Land. After the tour had ended and most of the other people had departed, I had a few hours in the morning to myself. I chose to go through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and walked waist deep through the cold water that emerged in the pools of Siloam. When I read this, I can vividly picture what the peaceful waters of the Shiloah are and where they are. As I went through the tunnel, I sang to the Lord, and it echoed loudly. Though there were others walking through the tunnel, they were way behind me and I enjoyed the solitude with the Lord. With Him in our lives, we will never thirst.
Instead, the people rejoice in Rezin and Pekah, Remaliah’s son. Look back to the chart in the previous study if you need a reminder who these men were. Because of these infractions, the Lord is causing the strong and mighty river to flood. This is in reference to the river that borders Assyria, the Euphrates. When God gives the land to the Israelites, He actually gives them much more than we see today, the small area bordered by the Jordan River. He gives them all the way to the Euphrates. This flood will affect the king of Assyria and will pass all the way to Judah. Once again, we see a reference here to Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” This is the Lord’s land. He prepared it for His chosen people and though He made this entire world, this land is His focus. Can you imagine how it grieves Him to destroy the land He loves so much? We can draw the same correlation to people. Can you begin to understand how it grieves Him when one of us, one of His creations, chooses not to acknowledge His existence? He made us for one simple reason…to share His amazing love with us. And when we willfully choose to disregard Him, it grieves His heart! I think all of us as believers should aspire to having the heart of God. I remember a night in Jordan when our tour group met a young man named Jonas, who felt his calling was to reach out to the Moslems of the Arabic world. I could hear in every word he spoke the amount of love he had for those people. Jonas had the heart of God. He doesn’t see the differences that we like to emphasize. All that God sees is another heart that could come to know Him as Savior. As we share his love with those around us that is something we need to keep in mind. Each one of them is a sinner, as we all will continue to be. We shouldn’t rank their sins as worse than our own. Now, verses 9 and 10:

9 "Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us."

This is one of the places in the Bible where the King James differs from the New King James. The word, ra‘anan, is translated “be shattered” in the New King James and is translated “associate” in the King James. It seems to me that the King James applies better in context. I believe God is speaking to the nations that align themselves together against Israel. Here, we have just seen a mention of Pekah and Rezin, the leaders of the northern kingdom and Syria, who became allies to defeat Judah. God warns them that though they prepare for war, they will be broken in pieces. He mentions that phrase three times. The Jews of the southern kingdom, though they are struggling in their relationships with Him, though they are about to be captives of the Babylonians, get the reminder that God is still with them. As I mentioned in the study on Isaiah 7, God can use heathens just as easily as believers for His purposes, and that is exactly what He does when He allows Babylon to take over. The Assyrians, who take over the northern kingdom of Israel, are then in turn, taken over by the Babylonians. Though this verse applies specifically to the Jews of this Biblical time, the Jews of today can take it to the bank, as well. God is warning the nations who join together and plot against Israel. Read Ezekiel 38 and you will get a glimpse into what happens to the nations who oppose Israel in the end times. I have mentioned before that we can see the United States in these prophecies, as well. Just like Israel, the United States was founded on the freedom to worship God. For many years of our nation’s history, the majority of our people have done exactly that. Yet in the last 100 years, we have fallen far away. Prayer has been removed from the schools. The Ten Commandments are being removed from courtrooms. There is an ongoing discussion of removing the phrase “In God We Trust” from our money. Political correctness has attempted to equalize Allah with the Most High God. As Billy Graham said a long time ago, “If God doesn’t judge America, He is going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” But what is truly the difference between those judged nations and our own? Up until this time, we have been an ally of Israel. Don’t ever forget the following verse, spoken by God to Abraham about the nation of Israel:

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Genesis 12:3 (NKJV)

As soon as we stop helping Israel, our protection will end! Let’s continue with verses 11-15:

11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 "Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. 14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken."

Isaiah knows what all of us should…that God says what He means and means what He says. God doesn’t make a statement without understanding every possible scenario. He knows all already, including the response of the people. What is the conspiracy referred to here? Isaiah wasn’t the only prophet speaking out against the actions of the Jews and telling them of the impending punishment. Many of the Jews perceived that the prophets were siding with the enemies of Israel. It was quite the contrary, as we can see in perfect hindsight. God was giving them yet another chance to repent. Carry this forward to the Great Tribulation and see the extreme judgments that will be falling upon the people… one hundred pound hailstones falling from the sky, all vegetation burning up and much more. Even in that time, God is willing to forgive the people who have not taken the seal of the antichrist. The Lord also reminds Isaiah not to fear the threats of the people. To me, verse 13 is the most important verse in the section: The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.” As Christians, we are drawn to the love of the Lord. The Bible says, “Greater love has no man than he who lays down his life for a brother.” What Jesus did was an example of the greatest love, but it was the greatest example of the greatest love. How could He show His love for us? By coming to live as a Man and dying in place of us. It is probable that we will never know the full gamut of what He gave up for each of us. Though we may not be able to fully comprehend how great that love is, even if we can understand a part of it, that is enough to draw us to Him. Yet here, we are not discussing the love of God, but the wrath of God. Sometimes, I have a tendency of forgetting who He really is. Even when I speak to Him in prayer, I speak to Him as if He is a friend. He is a friend, but we need to esteem Him in such a way that while we love Him, we still fear Him. God is reminding Isaiah of that fact here. As humans, we all have fears. The most common fear is of public speaking, while the next most common is a fear of death. I guess people would rather die than speak in public! Yet what God is reminding all of us here is that all of the mess that goes on while on earth is nothing. He is all that we should fear. When He is on our side, there is nothing to fear. When He is against us, there is nothing we can do to stop Him. It’s easy to stay on His side. All we have to do is have Him living inside of us as there is no reason to fight against Himself! Love the Lord with all of your heart, your mind and your strength, but don’t forget to fear Him!

The verses continue as they tell us that God is our sanctuary. Remember, we dwell in Jesus Christ. What is a “stone of stumbling” and a “rock of offense?” Every time that you see the words rock or stone in the Bible, they pertain to Jesus! Look at this verse:

44 "And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Matthew 21:44 (NKJV)

We have a choice of how the Stone will affect us. It’s either on Christ the Solid Rock you stand, or that Rock will trip you and grind you to powder. It says in the Bible that “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The only choice we have to make is when we will do that! If we choose to honor Him as our Lord while we are alive on this earth, we will share eternity with Him. If we wait to confess after this life is over, we are destined for the lake of fire and brimstone. In the remainder of the verses in this section, we see that the prophecy is concerning both the “House of Israel” and the “House of Judah.” Neither of them is in the clear, and the Lord reminds them that many will stumble and fall. They will be snared and taken. Who is the one who catches them in his snare and traps them? Satan does, along with all of his demons. When God created Satan, He created a beautiful, incredibly resourceful and intelligent angel. Satan has spent the history of the world trying to corrupt God’s plan. Though God’s creation was a huge plan, His plan for redemption has been even larger. Everything God came up with, Satan has devised another way of trying to ruin it. Satan is smarter than we are, but his intelligence doesn’t begin to compare to that of the Lord. There have been times when Satan probably thought he had won. Can you imagine how he felt when Jesus came to live as a Man, then was killed by the people He came to save? I am sure Satan was dancing a jig, but then God did something even mightier. Jesus conquered death and through that, became the firstfruits of the resurrection. His death was only the beginning, and once again, foiled Satan’s plans. This is a reminder for us to put on the full armor of God, as Satan and his demons continue to lay plays to ensnare each of us. Don’t worry, for we know that “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world!” Okay, onto the next section:

16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. 18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.

We touched on this section earlier in this study, but it is a perfect time to re-emphasize. Those who follow the Lord are sealed. This is a word also used in the Book of Revelation, signifying that nothing can harm them. Don’t ever forget, whatever trial or tribulation that you have to endure on this earth, it pales in comparison to the eternity we will spend with the Lord. I can’t think of anything more painful on this earth than losing a child, and on one day, Job lost all 10 of his. Yet God gave Him 10 more children. That always threw me as I noticed that God doubled Job’s livestock that He lost at the beginning of the story. Why didn’t He double the number of children? God did, as if you think of it in His terms, Job will spend eternity with his 20 children! Whatever God has designed for your life, He will give you the power, strength and courage to endure it. Isaiah announces that he will wait on the Lord, though God is hiding His face from the House of Jacob. Later in Isaiah, we get a beautiful verse on that waiting process:

31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

Recently, I came across a beautiful poem on Waiting. This is a perfect time to include it:

The Wait Poem by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? You say, wait?" (My indignant reply).
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
"Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance and You tell me to wait?"
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

Isn’t that just awesome? The next verse is the one we discussed earlier. Isaiah says, “Here am I and the children who the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel.” The names of the boys were a prophetic sign to all of Israel, speaking of the two aspects of the impending punishment. God reminds them that there will be a remnant returning, but also that the punishment will be coming swiftly. Let’s finish the chapter:

19 And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

There are many religions out there and it really doesn’t matter what name they go by, there is one thing that all of us should know. We are not all following the same God! Every false religion got its foundation in Babylon. I have often heard that the Bible has a similarity to a work by Charles Dickens. It could be called “A Tale of Two Cities,” as throughout the Word, the focus is on two places on this earth…Jerusalem and Babylon. There are religions that are completely opposite from Christianity, like the worship of Satan, and there are religions that change small aspects. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe Jesus is God. Satan has given the earth many options, but remember what Jesus told us in Luke 11:23: "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." All religions who do not speak of Jesus are of Satan. We share the first half of God’s Word with the Jews, and in the times to come, they will share the rest with us. Yet, I want to emphasize that there are not many paths to God. There is but one and it is through the Man, Jesus Christ. Look around you today and you see many “new age” beliefs. They are not really “new age,” but instead, are another corrupt attempt by Satan…one he has used before. The verses above remind us of that fact. Mediums, wizards, necromancers, those communicating with the dead…all are condemned. Before I became a Christian, I remember watching a guy on television as he communicated with the dead. He didn’t seem like a Satan worshipper, yet if he was following God, he would not have been doing what he was. When King Saul goes to the witch of En Dor and speaks with the deceased Samuel (1 Samuel 28: 7-25), we see an Old Testament example of this behavior. God allowed this to happen, but it demonstrated the depravity of Saul’s soul, just as it speaks to the depravity of any civilization where these actions become commonplace. In these verses in Isaiah, God is reminding us that it is futile to speak to the dead on behalf of the living. We have been given the greatest gift, for when Jesus died, it enabled each of us to enter into the throne room of the Most High. Any time or place that we like, we can take all of our cares and concerns to Him. Why would anyone want to speak with the dead when you can speak to the Living God? This also was against the Law of Moses:

9 "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 "For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (NKJV)

That completes Isaiah 8!