God is With Us

A major theme of 2 Nephi 18/Isaiah 8 is to trust in the Lord and not in the power of man. Isaiah’s message to Judah was to not form an alliance with Syria and the northern kingdom to be protected from Assyria. For before Isaiah’s son could speak “the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.” The Lord wanted them to trust in “the waters of Shiloah”—a symbol of the Lord who provides living water—instead of “[rejoicing] in Rezin and Remaliah’s son” (Syria and Israel). The Lord’s direction to Judah was clear: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces…. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A confederacy.” In other words, if they relied on these two other kingdoms instead of on the Lord, it would turn to their detriment. Unfortunately this is what happened, and because of it “the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck” (v4, 6-9, 12). The Assyrians came and caused much destruction in Judah up to the point of threatening Jerusalem with Sennacharib’s army before the Lord intervened and showed indeed that His power is greater than that of man.

                Several of Isaiah’s declarations in this chapter are powerful reminders to us of the need to put our confidence in the Lord. He warned other nations threatening Judah: “Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us” (v10). Their threats would not come to pass for God would be with His people. And so it is for us today as well: if we become His people He will be with us. Isaiah also instructed Judah about what fear they should have: “Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (v12-13). We should not fear those things that the world fears—rather, we must not be afraid but turn to the Lord and let our standing and uprightness before Him be our biggest fear. I love this simple declaration about the Savior: “He shall be for a sanctuary” (v14). If we trust Him and fear Him instead of the world, He will be for us a sanctuary and protection. This statement of Isaiah should be written in the hearts of each disciple of Christ: “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him” (v17). Even though the face of the Lord is hidden from us in mortality, we can still wait upon Him and look for Him. That is the path to peace and protection in this life as the Lord declared elsewhere to Isaiah: “Thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” Isaiah further explained, “The people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah” (2 Nephi 6:7, 13). We must “seek unto [our] God” for all our needs and sanctify Him as we navigate the challenges of mortality today. Isaiah’s witness in this chapter and many others is that “God is with us” when we look to Him—we must put our trust in His arm instead of the arm of flesh.