• Introductory Matters
• • Historical situation
  • • Long and prosperous reign of Uzziah (783-842 B.C.E.) had given false sense of security
    • Syro-Ephraimitic War (c. 735 B.C.E.) caused faith to be placed in Assyria rather than in God
    • Israel (northern tribes) fell to Assyria in 722/721 B.C.E. - Judah became a vassal of Assyria although Jerusalem itself was spared
  • With his possible ties to the royal family, Isaiah would have found it difficult to critique the policies of the king and the priests
• Message of the Book
• • Failure and Doom of Judah and Jerusalem (1:1-5:30)
  • • Judah had forsaken God and become totally corrupt (1:2-6)
    • Judah's worship was totally unacceptable and needed drastic reformation (1:11-17)
    • Repentance was the only available option (1:18-20) - a reasonable person would return to God
    • God would not give up on Judah but would restore it someday (2:1-4)
    • Judah trusted in everything but God and would be judged for their behavior (2:6-22)
    • Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7)
    • • God had prepared a vineyard and planted choice vines
      • At harvest time the crop was stink-berries, fit for nothing
      • God would destroy the vineyard
      • The vineyard was obviously Judah - Judah's destruction would come
    • A series of woes emphasizes Judah's sins and the coming judgment (5:8-25)
  • Isaiah's Call Experience (6:1-13)
  • • Time - in the year of Uzziah's death
    • • The death of a king who had reigned so long would have hit everyone hard - who would be the next king and how would he rule? - for many including Isaiah, Uzziah was the only king they had ever known
      • If Isaiah was related to the royal family, the death also would have struck him personally
    • Location - Temple (earthly and heavenly)
    • Vision
    • • Isaiah saw God, or a small part of God, filling the Temple
      • Seraphim surrounded God serving Him
      • Isaiah was aware of his own sinfulness and unworthiness
      • A seraph touched Isaiah's mouth with a coal from the altar and cleansed Isaiah - there is no painless cure for sin

• • • The call
    • • When God asked who would go and speak for Him, Isaiah answered with "Here am I. Send me"
      • God told Isaiah the people would not respond - his job would be a thankless task with few, if any, visible results
      • Isaiah was told to prophesy until there was no one left in the audience
    • Some points
    • • This may be Isaiah's call or a reaffirmation of his call since he had already preached in chapters 1-5 - following the death of Uzziah, he may have sought and needed another call from God
      • Some did listen to Isaiah because he had disciples (8:16) - while most of Judah did not respond, God's sending of Isaiah helped some to respond and see the truth - God was willing to send a prophet for the few who would repent
  • Some popular passages
  • • "Immanuel passage" (7:14)
    • • King Ahaz was supposed to ask for a sign from God - he refused believing that to ask for a sign would be to test God - Isaiah reprimanded him telling him that a sign would be given anyway - testing God is a complex issue - sometimes it is to be done and sometimes it is not to be done - faith is difficult because our understanding is limited
      • The sign was that a virgin or young woman would conceive and bear a son - when the son was born, he would be named Immanuel, "God with us"
      • Things to bear in mind
      • • The word used here is a general one for a woman of marriageable age, who might or might not be married or a virgin - the word specifically referring to a virgin does not occur here
        • Who is the woman?
        • • Isaiah's wife?
          • A wife of King Ahaz?
          • A woman who was standing nearby?
          • Jesus? - if so, the sign is meaningless to Ahaz - Ahaz will not live long enough to witness the birth of Jesus and determine if Isaiah's sign is true
        • Jesus was not called Immanuel although he was seen as God among us in the flesh
      • Perhaps the prophecy came true in Isaiah's day and then in an even greater way centuries later - Isaiah and other prophets may have seen and spoken what they could not totally understand
    • Special child to come (9:6-7)
    • • Many titles
      • • Wonderful Counselor - is wise and does not need to be led by the hand of his advisors
        • Mighty God - is filled with power of God
        • Everlasting Father - beneficent rule
        • Prince of Peace - is whole within himself and brings wholeness to all
      • Will create an enduring kingdom
      • God would accomplish this rather than human power
      • Imagery and titles fit a coronation service
    • One from Jesse (11:1-9)
    • • Rather than from David, this one goes back to Jesse - is this a continuation of David's line or a parallel line?
      • He will be wise and act in righteousness
      • Earth will return to its Edenic state (11:6-9)
  • Prophecies against foreign nations (13:1-23:18)
  • • Against Babylon (13:1-14:27)
    • • "Day Star, Son of Dawn" (14:12)
      • • Some see this as referring to the Satan and his origin as an angel who fell from grace
        • Isaiah spoke this concerning the king of Babylon who apparently saw himself as divine
      • Interesting that the oracles begin with one against Babylon which was not the major power of Isaiah's day but would be in the next century
    • Against Philistia (14:28-32)
    • Against Moab (15:1-16:14)
    • Against Damascus (17:1-18:7)
    • Against Egypt (19:1-20:6)
    • • Isaiah's symbolic action (20:1-6)
      • • God instructed Isaiah to walk around nude to symbolize a person being taken into captivity
        • Isaiah did so for 3 years - some argue he may have worn a loincloth but his attire, or lack thereof, would have been scandalous
        • Prophecy was that Egypt would be taken into slavery
        • Prophecy was directed at Judah who constantly sought to have Egypt as an ally in difficult times - Judah was to trust in God, not in Egypt who would be conquered
      • Judah and Israel were not to find help from Egypt - God had freed them from Egypt - they should never turn back there again - God would care for them
    • Against the wilderness of the sea (21:1-10)
    • Against Dumah (21:11-12)
    • Against Arabia (21:13-17)
    • Against the valley of vision (22:1-25)
    • Against Tyre (23:18)
  • Coming salvation (35:1-10) - despite God's need to punish His people, destruction is not their end - Judah and Jerusalem will enjoy a blessed future
  • Parallel to 2 Kings 18:13-20:19 (36:1-39:8)
  • • Recounts the miraculous salvation of Jerusalem when God sent a plague to destroy the Assyrian forces - rather than seeing this event as God's care for His faithful people, Judah later saw this as God's commitment to His holy city - the belief developed that God would never allow Jerusalem to be destroyed which created a false sense of security and little desire to be faithful and obedient
    • Hezekiah and the Babylonian delegation (39:1-8)
    • • Hezekiah received a Babylonian delegation showing them all of his treasure
      • Isaiah reprimanded Hezekiah stating that someday the Babylonians would return and take all the treasure Hezekiah foolishly had shown them
      • Assured that the Babylonian conquest would not occur in his lifetime, Hezekiah was satisfied - he was content to let another generation worry about that - that attitude is not the mark of a good leader
  • While much of Isaiah's message was the proclamation of sin and inevitable judgment, he maintained hope through repentance and the promise of a renewed Judah and Jerusalem - ultimately his hope resided in the fact that God would not give up on His people

Artwork by Tiepolo from the Bible Picture Library of Photo Art (c) Christian Computer Art, 1994-97