Written by Paul J Bucknell on August, 17, 2024
Isaiah 8:20 Back to the Word of God!
“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Isaiah 8:20, NASB).
Confusion Among God’s People
We have no idea how much God’s Word has brought light, hope, and truth to our lives and society. Isaiah 8:20 powerfully alerts us to the fundamental moral components of societies and civilizations. However, in this context, regrettably, the people of God have turned away from His word. Only when they return to God’s word will they find hope and help.
“To the law and to the testimony!” (Is 8:20a)
Isaiah calls God’s people back “To the law and to the testimony!” (8a). The law and testimony refer to God’s Word or “this word,” verbal communication from God. Although we have become overfamiliar with the term God’s word, it, like light and air, remains foundational to our lives.
This is the reason Isaiah picks such an undeniably essential aspect of creation to highlight its importance. But before speaking about that, note how God’s word plays a vital role in our lives. We find increasing profit as God’s word shapes our lives. If we remove the influence of God’s word from our society, generally or in our families, we end up with tragic consequences.
“If they do not speak according to this word” (Is 8:20b)
Isaiah reminds us that some “do not speak according to this word.” Culture and society take precedence in shaping lives, all to their demise. “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). Education, better seen as information, whether picked up at school, homeschool, church, movies, social media, etc, plays a critical role in what we know and believe. Teachers and mentors are crucial societal building blocks who pass insights from one generation to another, but the verse questions the source of content. Content matters. Rewriting history so it matches our depraved mindset quickens the demise of any culture. Unfortunately, this happens when the university system rejects truth and propagates a distorted value system.
“If they do not speak according to this word” (Is 8:20b)
Isaiah reminds us that some “do not speak according to this word.” Culture and society take precedence in shaping lives, all to their demise. “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). Education, better seen as information, whether picked up at school, homeschool, church, movies, social media, etc, plays a critical role in what we know and believe. Teachers and mentors are crucial societal building blocks who pass insights from one generation to another, but the verse questions the source of content. Content matters. Rewriting history so it matches our depraved mindset quickens the demise of any culture. Unfortunately, this happens when the university system rejects truth and propagates a distorted value system.
Dependence on “This word” (Is 8:20b)
We speak from the knowledge we have gained from God's Word, the Bible. We learn and believe. Our values openly stem from God’s wisdom transferred through His word. When God’s word, for example, is spoken early on in families, as God instructs us in Deuteronomy 6, then children and parents benefit from it.
“6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut 6:6-9)
God’s word shapes God’s people; it provides insights to help us think accurately. We hear His words, and they instruct us on how to think, not just gain knowledge but also how to process information, including discernment, choices, priorities, etc.
“If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:18 NASB)
Let me give you an example.
God is One!
Because God is one (Deut 6:4), it helps us discern and understand other religions and gods, their claims, and what their priests say. Consider this boldly stated truth of the Creator God.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut 6:4)
“It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host.” (Isaiah 45:12 NASB)
God subordinates every other power to Himself. He created mankind, the universe, and the spirit world. Without God’s insightful word, the Bible, the world and other religions would assimilate us. (No doubt this is why they try to take the incomparable best of literature, the Bible, out of our schools.) God’s word is exclusive. It helps us comprehend truth and enables us to detect and reject anti-truth.
God’s word, now in written form, communicates knowledge from our Creator, the eternal One, to us. God wants us to know His truth! His perspective is fundamental and necessarily becomes a means by which other knowledge can be understood. From the above example, the true and living God shouts down all the other idols, gods, and goddesses, scattering all the attention, devotion, and money given to them. The Book of Revelation ends by summarizing the process of judging those who counter His purposes.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Rev 20:11-12)
Even Isaiah chapter 8 ends with the same sentencing, “Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness” (Isaiah 8:22).
The Dawn (Isaiah 8:20c)
This knowledge is such a dynamic, familiar phenomenon that Isaiah uses the “dawn” to describe how God’s word enlightens. God made the light and uses the sun’s effect on the Earth, this analogy, to help us comprehend the significance of God’s word. Without the dawn, we only have darkness. The world daily awaits God’s more excellent light to shine upon the land.
Later, in Isaiah 8:22, he describes a world without dawn—distress and darkness. Dawn’s hidden power, the source of light, the sun, is not mentioned, but all know it. Behind a fulfilled life stands God and His word. God has revealed truth, the exact relevant knowledge we need.
“If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Isaiah 8:20). Without His light, all live in darkness. There is a light, but they do not live in it. God spoke, but they live without knowledge of His Word.
More forthrightly, John tells us God’s dawn came in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. “4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5).
Summary
When we evaluate a society, we can trace its source from its outcome: its teaching of morality, tolerance for injustice, desire for bribes or power, belief in God, etc. Without God’s word, it lives in distress and darkness. God, through Isaiah, rightly calls us back into His light by turning to His Word: “To the law and to the testimony!”
The greater context (Isaiah 8:19-22)
19 When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult 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 they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness. (Isaiah 8:19-22).
Reflection Questions on Isaiah 8:20
This lesson on crucial sources constantly challenges us as we walk this earth’s soil. What you believe and practice makes an eternal difference in your lives!
- Describe what it is like before dawn.
- What changes as dawn approaches?
- Describe a society that has “no dawn.”
- How does God’s Word enlighten people?
- What does it mean that Jesus is likened to the Light?
- How long does dawn last? What implication does this have for us?
- How much do you base your life on God’s word? How do you know?
- Describe a culture or religion that has rejected the dawn of God’s truth.
- How can you further establish your mindset on God’s word (Rom 12:1-2)?
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