““Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered;
And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered;
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered.
Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
State a proposal, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.””
Isaiah 8:9-10 NASB1995
Hope is given to the people of Judah and Jerusalem in this next passage. People groups will be broken and shattered and give ear to all remote places of the earth. They can gird themselves, yet be shattered (a repeated phrase). They can devise a plan but it will be thwarted. A proposal can be stated but it will not stand. God is with them (and us)! This prophecy is addressing the near-term invaders, the Assyrians, but also apparently has eschatological implications for the final gathering of nations against Jerusalem.
There are two related passages to this one, from Zechariah and Joel, according to Precept Austin:
“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
Zechariah 14:2-9 NASB1995
“Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!
Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!
Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.
Let the nations be aroused
And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge
All the surrounding nations.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
The Lord roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.”
Joel 3:9-17 NASB1995
Well, I’ll be darned… When you really dig into this stuff, all of those passages in some of the minor prophets that you barely read with glazed-over eyes as part of a Bible in One Year plan start to merge together in an amazing and glorious tapestry of hope for the future of a remnant of God’s people. It starts with the first covenant promises, fulfills itself in the coming of the Savior Jesus (the Messiah), and then culminates in the future with God dwelling in Zion, in His holy mountain, as a refuge for His people. The Day of the Lord is near!
Precept Austin has this lovely commentary about Immanuel (source was not identified):
Since that first Christmas day 2,000 years ago, the assurance that God is with His people has taken on new meaning. Before Jesus was born, the Israelites were assured that even in judgment they could have hope because God was with them (Isaiah 8:8,10). Yet they didn’t know God as fully as we can today.
We have a great advantage because through reading the New Testament we can see the glory of God “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Corinthians 4:6). And we can sense His presence in all situations of life because He is made real to us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:10-16).
When I need to be reassured that God is with me, I think about Jesus as He is revealed in the New Testament. I recall how He took little children in His arms and blessed them (Matthew 19:13-15). Then I think of His crucifixion, which reminds me of all He endured to be my Savior (Matthew 27:27-54). Finally, I reflect on His promise, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The birth of Jesus gave new significance to the name Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Because He lived among us, died for us, and sent His Spirit to indwell us, we can rejoice!
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.
—WesleyGod came to live with us so we could live with Him.
I couldn’t say it any better. Hallelujah!
My next devotional examines Isaiah 8:11-15 - Do not fear what they fear.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - You have sent Steve and I on this epic journey to really understand Your scripture! I am so grateful for the opportunity to tie all of the threads together. Amen.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 01/01/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 8:9-10.
Biblehub.org was accessed on 01/01/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 8:9-10.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.