A Spa Or A Flood?

 

Isa 8:5 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.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! (“The Lord spoke to me again.”)

The waters of Shiloah mean nothing to you and I, but Isaiah’s audience knew full well what he was talking about. This pool was located in the southern part of Jerusalem. It is mentioned again in Jn 9:7, when Jesus made a clay substance out of dirt and His spit and applied it to the eyes of a blind man. Jesus then instructed the man to wash it off in the pool of Siloam.

“And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. (Jn 9:7)

The pool’s name means “sent.” And in this sense is meant to be a picture of the Messiah, who comes to us humbly, meekly, as the Son of God, who washes away our spiritual blindness in the waters that flow “softly.” The still small voice of the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance and subsequent forgiveness of our sins.

But Ahaz and the people of Judah would have none of this kind of help. They sought the help of an alliance with the world, and God granted it to them in spades with the ultimate result being a complete overwhelming of the nation by the armies of Assyria. A flood from the nation on the other side of the River (Euphrates.) Nothing would escape these floodwaters of judgment on the people who refused the waters of Shiloah, (who refused God’s gracious gift of salvation through His “sent” Son.

 

This truth hasn’t changed and it stands as a warning to you and I even today. What’s it gonna be for you?

An alliance with the world, or an alliance with the humble servant Son of God Jesus Christ. He comes to you, sent by God, to save your soul and take away your spiritual blindness.