And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
14. And he shall be for a sanctuary. He promises that the true worshippers of God will enjoy tranquillity of mind, because the Lord, covering them, as it were, under his wings, will quickly dispel all their fears. There is an allusion to the word sanctify which he had lately used; for the word מקדש, (mikdash,) which means sometimes a sanctuary, and sometimes a place...
The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in these verses, I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at defiance, and bids them do their worst (Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10): "O you people...
Commenting on Isaiah 8:9-15
And he shall be for a sanctuary,.... Not the king of Assyria, as Aben Ezra, but the Lord of hosts: the Targum rightly interprets it of the word of the Lord, the essential Word; of the Messiah, who is for a sanctuary, or asylum, a place of refuge for his people in all times of distress, and who is their dwelling place in all generations...