When does God consider us successful? When we walk in His ways. When we walk in God’s ways, we make the right decisions. It is God’s truth that causes us to make good decisions. When we are walking in God’s ways and making the right decisions we will be in the position or location that God wants us to be in. This is success and is the only way we can find true joy and peace. The principles that God taught through Isaiah for his time are the same principles that we need in order to be prosperous (this does not necessarily mean
financially) and successful in the last days. 

We cannot have any success (Biblically speaking) until we have a personal relationship with Messiah. This means that we need to understand the prophetic truth concerning Messiah – who He is, what He has done, what He will do – and we need to submit to this truth.

Verse 1: “And the Lord said to me: ‘Take for yourself a large scroll and write upon it with a man’s engraving instrument “Quickly the spoil, hasten with urgency the plunder.’”

The Lord said to me: God is speaking directly to the prophet Isaiah.

Scroll: Rolled up parchment.

Engraving instrument: This prophecy did not only have implications for the near future (for the days of Isaiah) but God wanted it preserved for future generations.

Quickly the spoil, hasten with urgency the plunder: Most English Bibles do not translate this phrase, but they leave it in its original language as ‘Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’

Spoil …plunder: The fruits of a victorious war. This verse foreshadows a war that is coming (this war is going to come quickly) and that spoil is going to be taken. This was a prophecy applicable to Isaiah’s time, but it also has end time implications.

Verse 2: “And I will testify to Me faithful witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

And I will testify to Me faithful witnesses: This is a Hebrew expression which means that God is going to allow Himself to be brought under scrutiny.

Faithful witnesses: These were two individuals that the people would understand. They were Godly men, men of truth. These two were there to confirm (to say ‘yes’) that the words that Isaiah the prophet was saying were indeed words that he had received from the
Lord Almighty.


Verse 3: “Then I came near to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me: ‘Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’”

Note: Isaiah, by faith, acts out what God has commanded him to do. There is a response and an outcome to his actions. This outcome is going to be a source of revelation.

Came near: In an intimate way – for the purpose of conception.

The prophetess: Most scholars agree that this prophetess is the wife of Isaiah.

She conceived and bore a son: This is NEITHER a fulfilment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14, NOR is it a dual fulfilment. Although it is related to the prophecy in Isaiah 7 it is entirely different to it.

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz: Quickly the spoil, hasten with urgency the plunder. This child’s birth let the people know that in a short period of time war was coming.

Verse 4: “For before the young man shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”

Note: What we know so far: war is coming. There is going to be a defeat and a plundering. The victor of this war will take all the spoils and plunder of war and he will do it quickly.

Before the young man shall have knowledge: See Isaiah 7:15. After the child was born, but before he became a fully grown man, a war was going to take place as a fulfilment of prophecy. This would serve to initiate faith in people – allowing them to believe the even
greater prophecy concerning the virgin bearing a Son who would be Immanuel…God with us. The birth of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz was used by God to build up the people’s faith.

Damascus: The capital city of Syria (Rezin was heading up Syria)

Samaria: This was the capital city of Northern Israel (the nine tribes and some of the tribe of Levi).

The riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria: Judah did not need to fear this coming war as it was not a war directed toward them. It was a war directed toward the Syrian/Israel confederacy (Isaiah 7:1).

Taken away before the king of Assyria: See 2 Kings 17.