The Names of Isaiah’s Sons

Many Americans researching their ancestry run into ancestors with religion-inspired names like Constance, Faith, Salvation, Perseverance. Piety, Redemption, Prudence, and many others. These are technically called theophoric names, names derived from or related to a god.

Some of the personal theophoric names were quite unwieldy. In one family in my genealogical research, there is a man named Indignation, as in God’s righteous indignation at sin. Not surprisingly, Indignation went by the personal name Ignatious.

Imagine being a Puritan woman with the personal name of Fight-the -Good-Fight-of-Faith or a man named Flee-Fornication.

The Hebrew prophet Isaiah had two sons whose names he said God gave to him for “signs and wonders in Israel.” (Isaiah 8:18) The sons were Shear-Jashub (Isaiah 7:3) and Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:3).

The name Shear-Jashub ((Isaiah 7:3) translates from the Hebrew as “the remnant shall return.” Isaiah carried this son with him when he went to confront King Ahaz of Judah. He told King Ahaz that if he would just trust in God, then God would bless him. Instead, Ahaz asked Tiglath -pileser III, the king of Assyria, for help. The help arrived, but at a great price. Judah was eventually destroyed with only a remnant remaining to return to the land.

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13513-shear-jashub

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/464021/jewish/King-Ahaz.htm

The name Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:3) translates loosely from the Hebrew as “hasten to seize the prey and to take away the spoil.” A more literal translation is “spoil speeds prey hastes.” The name is a reference to the impending conquest of Samaria and Damascus by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (734 - 732 BC) and is a warning to Judah, which wwould be conquered later.

http://jaymack.net/isaiah-commentary/Cf-The-Sign-of-Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.asp

Jesus Spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek

The New Testament is written in Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire at the time.  It was the Greek language which helped spread the gospel across the then known world. Some, myself included, believe that God arranged events so that at the arrival of Jesus there was one essentially global empire with one universally understood language. Communications across the Empire were much faster across great distances than we today would imagine.

The languages of the subjugated peoples were still in use and the Jews spoke Aramaic among themselves. The sacred language in use in their synagogues was Hebrew and they considered it to be a great honor to speak and read before the congregation.  Jesus would have been conversant in both languages and he also read before the congregation. The Samaritan Woman at the Well would have been speaking Hebrew. (Luke 2: 39-52; John 4:4-26: Luke 4:16-21)  Some of Jesus' sayings  in the New Testament are presented in untranslated Aramaic. ("Talitha cumi" and "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!")

Many Jews probably spoke only Aramaic and Hebrew, but to function in the Roman environment it was very helpful to also speak and understand Greek. Jesus was able to talk to Pilate (John 18: 28-38) and the Roman soldiers  (Matthew 8: 5-13 ), answering them in Greek It is unlikely that Pilate or the centurions understood a single word of Aramaic.

Film Comment: Mom’s Night Out

The Erwin Brothers of Birmingham, Alabama (USA) have set a new standard for Christian films which too often in the past have been obviously low budget, preachy, and sadly, painfully amateurish in execution. The movement began with the Kendrick brothers of Georgia who recruited their church members to produce and act in surprisingly high quality films such as Fireproof, Courageous, Flywheel, and Facing the Giants. 

I have said before that truly quality films are rarely about what they appear to be about on the surface. The Erwin Brother’s films are examples of this. October Baby can be seen as an anti-abortion film but the deeper meaning is about the redemptive power of forgiveness. Woodlawn is a football film which is not in any way about football. Football is merely the setting of this film which recounts events which seem impossible but which actually happened. The film depicts the personal, social, and racial reconciliation which can occur when the power of the Lord is unleashed.

Mom’s Night Out (2015) is another Erwin Brothers film but it is a departure from the others in that it is a comedy. A real comedy, A fall on the floor and laugh out loud comedy. And a totally Christian film. Just remember to forget subtlety.

The film is about a woman who is living her dream, She has a loving, loyal, and successful husband, a nice home, beautiful children, and attends an actively growing and supportive evangelical church. She is miserable.

She feels stressed from every direction and feels inadequate to handle her life. She often fells as if she is a failure, especially when she explodes like a volcano during her frequent emotional “moments.”

The plot of Mom;s Night Out involves a stress-free night she plans with her friends (other also stressed mothers). The fathers will keep the children! The women invite the pastor’s wife whom they all admire because she always seems so able to remain calm in any situation.(An aside: the pastor’s wife is touched that the other women chose to include her in the event since no one has invited her to anything in five years.) Surprise! The simple event rapidly devolves into a worst night of your life scenario.

Without ruining anything for you if you choose to view this film, here are the take-aways:

1. Everyone is stressed. Stress is normal.
2. Pastors and their families are just like everyone else. They are stressed too.
3. You cannot fix everything.
4. God does not take away all of our problems.  He helps us find meaning in the problems and chaos.
5. Take the focus off of yourself and return it to God where it belongs. He is in control.

Psalms 46:10