Try saying this name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, five times fast. Or at your rambunctious toddler, who is disobeying you for the umpteenth time before lunch hits. Such was the plight of the prophet Isaiah, whose son was the lucky bearer of this prophetic name. But maybe toddlers didn’t disobey their parents in the eighth century BC. Isaiah cannot take credit for this creative name, though. God Himself instructed Isaiah to name his child Maher-shalal-hash-baz for reasons that shaped the Biblical story as we know it.
The translation of Maher-shalal-hash-baz is “speed-spoil-hasten-plunder,” or “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.” It was not Isaiah’s son who would cause the turmoil. The prophetic message in his name was directed at the people of Judah concerning the destruction of their two Northern enemies, Damascus and Israel, by their mutual enemy, Assyria. Isaiah prophesied during one of the most intensely tumultuous times in Judah’s history. It was a time of great fear.
King Ahaz sat on the throne, ruling over a people who depended on him for their security against the surrounding nations that threatened their existence. The rulers of Damascus and Israel had urged King Ahaz to join them in their fight against a common enemy, Assyria. But he refused, not out of loyalty to God, but out of fear of Assyria. So, in response, the rulers of Damascus and Israel schemed to dethrone him and install a puppet king who would obey their wishes. King Ahaz had no choice, it seemed. He needed resources and a workforce to combat these two war-hungry nations. He needed the might of the enemy, Assyria. Sure, their King, Tiglath-Pileser lll, would undoubtedly oppress his people and strip them of the land’s wealth, but for King Ahaz, this was a losing battle either way.
When it seemed there was no good option, God made a way. He offered King Ahaz His protection by sending His servant, Isaiah, to tell King Ahaz and the people of Judah that they did not need to fear Israel and Syria. Very soon, these two nations would be decimated. “Quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.” Maher-shalal-hash-baz was a living and breathing testimony to the sure destruction of two of Judah’s greatest threats. God knew that if they acted out of fear, they would be blinded to their hope in Him. If they turned to Assyria for their salvation, they would be inviting injustice, temptation, and, ultimately, complete devastation into their lives.
He gave them a third option: Trust in Him. Trust in the powers of the world would grant them devastation, but trust in Him would bring them peace.
King Ahaz opted for the protection that he could see. He walked by fear and turned to Assyria’s King, Tiglath-Pileser III, for assistance. This decision is likened to a mouse being chased by two rats and looking to a cat for help or to Cinderella turning from her evil stepsisters to her wicked mother-in-law.
Just as it had been prophesied, Syria and Israel were met with destruction. In 732 BC, Assyria, under Tiglath Pileser III’s rule, conquered Damascus and northern Israel. Damascus was eviscerated altogether. It was no longer an independent nation. But Israel was allowed to survive, though it was hanging on by a loose thread. Put under the rule of a King of Assyria’s choosing, Israel was hardly its own. A decade later, it, too, would follow in the fate of Damascus. Samaria was conquered, and its people were scattered.
Judah, though spared from the initial onslaught of oppression because of their alliance with the oppressor, would soon be consumed by the consequences of their faithlessness. Assyria was a cruel stepmother, indeed. Tiglath-Pileser III put the Judean people under a harsh financial burden. Moreover, King Ahaz and his people were not immune to falling into their wicked ways. So earnest was Ahaz in his submission to his new overlord that he ransacked the temple, offering its treasures to Tiglath-Pileser III. He even sacrificed his son to the Assyrian gods (2 Kings 16:3, 8). Ahaz’s faith would fail him. He had chosen to trust the powers of the one who offered him momentary and costly protection. Not in the sovereign God, whose ways are all lovingkindness and truth.
The prophecy of Maher-shalal-hash-baz gives us insight into what drives us and what drives God. In ourselves, we find a universal driving force: fear. In God, we see love and faithfulness.
In King Ahaz's life, we see someone who has every reason to feel afraid. He is tasked with defending his people against very real threats. He was not wrong to conclude that he needed outside help. The people of Judah equally had reason to worry. They knew their vulnerability. But despite everything, God offered them a different way: confidence. Even in the face of danger, God called them to trust Him. They all, of course, chose the way of fear, putting faith in their enemy rather than in God, and the outcome was just as God had warned them. They received the burden that they chose in seeking salvation from a worldly power. Collectively, they were driven by fear.
In God, on the other hand, through Maher-shalal-hash-baz, we see One desperate to communicate His desire to be a protector and hiding place for His people. We see His generosity and inclusivity. God intentionally instructed Isaiah to write on the tablet “in ordinary letters'' (Isaiah 8:1) so that no one would be excluded from receiving His message. King Ahaz had already decided his fate, turning from God and trusting in man, but God was not through with His people. Through Isaiah’s son, He actively invited every man, woman, and child to trust in Him and revere Him above every human power. “It is the Lord of armies who you are to regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. Then He will become a sanctuary…” (Isaiah 8:13-14). Even after all the ways God’s people forsaken Him, He wanted them to turn to Him so He could care for them. He did not want them to walk in the way of fear but in faith and love.
Through Maher-shalal-hash-baz, God tangibly communicated to the Israelites the fragility of worldly power. No matter how cunning an allegiance with an enemy force may seem, it will inevitably lead to destruction. This allegiance maybe with a real group of people or causes, or it may be with bitterness, pride, lust, or fear, all weapons of our ultimate enemy, Satan. Maher-shalal-hash-baz told the people of a coming judgment and invited them to follow the only One who could truly save. Centuries later, the man Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, would come to do the same. Unlike Isaiah’s son, God’s Son was the warning sign and the promise of salvation. Jesus made God’s judgment on sin manifest on the cross and offered us salvation through His resurrection.
Now, we, like the Israelites, have an opportunity to choose. Will we ignore God’s message and continue to hide in the false protection that the world offers fearfully, or will we put our faith in the One who has promised to love and keep us faithfully?
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/BrianAJackson
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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