Verse 18: “Behold, I and the children which the Lord has given to me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, the One who dwells in Mount Zion.”

I and the children … are for signs and wonders: Isaiah and his two boys were prophetic signs confirming what was going to happen. The prophecies associated with them have Kingdom interpretations and implications.

Zion: This is a Kingdom term. Zion is the name for Jerusalem in her redemptive state.

Verse 19: “For they shall say to you, ‘Seek those who are sorcerers and diviners, who whisper and mutter.’ Should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?”

They shall say to you: Isaiah warns them that they will be asked to seek counsel from evil sources.

Sorcerers and diviners: Those who engage in pagan or demonic practices, thinking that through them they will gain illumination/revelation. Should not a people seek their God: Isaiah was encouraging them to trust the Word of God for illumination and revelation. He was encouraging them to seek and hope in the Lord.

Verse 20: “To the law and to the certification! They do not speak according to this Word because there is no light in them.”

To the law and to the certification: Those who applied the Torah to their lives found (had a testimony of) that they were blessed by God.

There is no light in them: Those who do not trust the full Word of God (The law, the prophets and all the writings) are in darkness. They have not received any revelation.

Verse 21: “And it shall pass in it difficulty and famine. It shall be that they shall hunger, and they shall be angry, and they shall curse the king and his God, and look upward.”

Shall curse the king and his God: When things in their lives are going badly (difficulty and famine) they perhaps curse the Messianic promise of a King Messiah. They reject God’s plan for salvation.

Look upward: The implication is that they look up in dismay.


Verse 22: “To the land he shall look. Behold trouble and darkness, gloom and pain; and then they will be driven into a deeper darkness.”

To the land he shall look: They trusted in their physical land. 

Trouble and darkness, gloom and pain; and then they will be driven into a deeper darkness: This is what is coming for those who do not trust in God.