Isaiah 8:3
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Isaiah 8:3 falls within the group of prophecies in chapters 2 through 12, which belong to the first major division of the book, chapters 1 through 39. It belongs to the first part of Isaiah, which contains prophecies and historical accounts from the active ministry of the prophet, given on different occasions and later gathered together while remaining separate and distinct. It was spoken during the reign of King Ahaz and reveals the sinful and morally and physically dark condition of God's people at that time, yet even in that darkness there were rays of light and hope for the future. It belongs to the account of a conspiracy against Judah and of the rebuke of the king for lack of faith in God, and the conspiracies of that time also serve as types of conspiracies in the last days. Together with chapters 7 and 9, the chapter deals with the stubbornness of Ahaz and provides the setting for the prophecy of the coming Deliverer, the child called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
The verse records that Isaiah went unto the prophetess, that she conceived and bore a son, and that the Lord commanded him to call the son Maher-shalal-hash-baz, a God-given name meaning that spoil hurries and prey speeds. The birth and the name mark the prediction that Assyria would soon ruin Damascus and Samaria before the child was old enough to speak the words for father and mother, an interval of probably about three years. It is an example of God giving warning before bringing judgment.
In its chapter the verse stands as a most emphatic warning against religious confederacies, for just as military alliances prepared the nations for the great European conflict, so the forming of religious confederacies prepares the religious world for Armageddon. It stands in a prophecy that the trusts and combines and unions of earth, secular and religious, will yet be combined in one great combination confederating to uphold human laws and purposes against the law of God, brought into such a relationship to the beast power that all the world shall worship it. Careful study of the chapter locates the expressions also used about the day of visitation and the desolation coming from far, showing that worldly help and glory fail as a refuge and indicating where to deposit riches for safekeeping.