September 15, 2010
Overview of Isaiah
I.) Prophets in General
II.) The Prophet Isaiah
III.) Historical and Political Setting
IV.) Brief Summary of Book of Isaiah
In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackelton set out with his crew of 22 men, in a ship named “The Endurance”. Their goal was to sail around Antarctica, from one side to the other, successfully. It had never been done before and was an unbelievably dangerous and ambitious undertaking. What they didn’t know was that before their expedition would end; they would face gale-force winds of over 150 miles per hour, bone-chilling temperatures of 100 degrees below zero, 80 foot waves, hunger, shipwreck and the oppressively dark days of an Antarctic winter. ( one author, Alfred Lansing, describes this darkness as a place where there is no desolation more complete than the Polar night….no warmth, no light, no life, no movement. He says that only those who have experienced it can appreciate what it means to be to be without the sun, day after day, week after week, month after month--------and that even those who are accustomed to its affects are often driven mad.” (It sounds like what hell is going to be like for unbelievers-forever without the Son)
Shackleton and his crew became trapped by ice, in the Weddell Sea and were forced to survive through extreme conditions for an entire Antarctic winter. And then, unfortunately, once the spring thaw began, instead of releasing them to sail on their way, the big blocks of broken ice damaged the hull of their ship so badly that it was beyond repair and they were forced to continue their journey, in the three remaining lifeboats. They rowed to Elephant Island which was 100 miles away. When they landed those lifeboats, it was the 1st time in 497 days, that they were able to stand on solid ground. But, bless their hearts, their ordeal was far from over. Elephant Island was outside of the main shipping channels and nobody knew where they were, so the chance of rescue was virtually impossible. Their only chance of survival was to add a makeshift sail to one of the lifeboats and attempt to sail from Elephant Island to the South Georgia Island Whaling Station. There was one small problem with that plan though; South Georgia was 800 miles away!
But Captain Shackleton was determined to save his men, so he chose 4 men to go with him, left the other 18 to set up camps on the ice. He promised the ones that were left behind that he would come back to get them----------- and he set sail for South Georgia on April 24, 1916----------miraculously, on May 9-------- 15 days later, they had sailed within sight of the South Georgia shores, but the winds made the landing impossible, so they decided to wait it out until the next morning. Sometime during the night a full-blown hurricane hit and they thought they were going to die. But again, they experienced a miracle when they survived the night and drifted to land on the unoccupied side of South Georgia Island. Captain Shackleton was afraid to try and sail back around to the other side, where the whaling station was, so he and two of the men walked to the other side of the island which took them 36 hours to do.
Immediately, he put together 2 rescue parties to go and bring back his crew. His 1st 3 attempts failed because of rough seas and bad weather. But finally, he secured a small tugboat, from the Chilean Navy and rescued every single man that he had left behind. He had kept his promise--------not one of them had perished.
This story is one of incredible devotion and courage. Shackleton loved his men so much that he risked his own life numerous times, to save theirs. And he was just a man. How much greater is the main truth, the bigger picture, which is threaded through every single word in the book of Isaiah------------- and that is, that God is our salvation. How wonderful is it to know that He won’t let us down; that He won’t forget us; that He won’t give up on us; and that He put Himself in our place, on the cross.
In this life, troubles do come, some are of our own making and some come because bad things do happen to good people. But the absolute truth is---- that the Lord will never give up and He will never give in and He will never compromise-----the scripture promises us that He will move heaven and earth to comfort and protect and provide whatever it takes to bring us to Himself and to keep His promise of our salvation. According to Isaiah, Jesus is the Savior who would one day come and He is the Savior who came and He is the Savior who will come again.
There is a lot to learn in Isaiah; there are many little nuggets of wisdom that we can hide deep in our hearts and there is a lot of truth about God and about ourselves as human beings, in this book-------------but I think the most important wisdom nugget that we can hold onto, is how it bears witness to the truth about who Jesus is. In the synagogue in Nazareth, at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry----------the book of Isaiah was placed into His own hands and He read Isaiah 61:1-2 and then He handed the scroll back to the attendant and told everyone who could hear Him, that the passage had been fulfilled in Him. It was as though He had received the scroll, not just from human hands but from the hands of God. By reading from it like He did, His role, as a willing servant to the Father, and the 1st step of His journey, to the cross, was put into place.
I don’t know about you, but if the first passage of scripture that Jesus read publically, was found in Isaiah; that tells me that this is a book that we need to read and that we are going to be blessed beyond measure as we study it together this year. We are going to be refreshed, we are going to be refined, and we are going to be rewarded.
• Prophets in general:
After Solomon died, the kingdom, of Israel was torn in two and 2 new kingdoms were formed. The Northern Kingdom was known as Israel and its capitol was Samaria. The Southern Kingdom was known as Judah and Jerusalem was its capitol. Judah was made up of 2 tribes of the children of Israel and their territories and Israel was made up of the other 10.
Judah had a temple in Jerusalem, which observed the traditional worship system that God had handed down through Moses, at Mt. Sinai----that the people were to worship and sacrifice only specified animals, to the one true God and to Him alone. The Levites and the priests, who were descended from Aaron, served there, in Jerusalem.
In the Northern Kingdom, Israel, developed a new priesthood and a new worship system which involved worshipping 2 golden calves--------one in Bethel and one in Dan. This was one of the main reasons that the 2 kingdoms were almost always at war with each other. Israel declined under a succession of 17 idolatrous kings until the last of the kingdom was taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC. The Northern Kingdom ceased to exist.
Unfortunately, the Southern Kingdom wasn’t a whole lot better------------there were bright spots among the kings, a few revivals and returns to the right worship, but idolatry was never completely eradicated and God sent messenger after messenger and prophet after prophet to warn and exhort and comfort His people---------and Isaiah was the greatest of these prophets.
Many professing Christians pay little or no attention to the OT prophecies----------- but in neglecting that huge portion of scripture, we are doing ourselves a disservice and we are dishonoring our holy God, because He gave us His Word, on purpose, so that we could be informed, encouraged and comforted.
The real value of prophecy is that it makes us focus on a person, not just an event. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ, who came once to suffer and is coming again to reign. Isaiah treats both of these advents of the Lord, with more clarity than any other OT prophet. Prophecy is not just the foretelling of future events; it is the forth telling of the mind of God.
When both the priesthood and the monarchy had failed completely in Israel and Judah--------- God continued to minister to His people through the prophets. Prophets were men who were given special insight into holy things and who were sent by God to call sinful sinning people to repentance. It was their responsibility to preach to the nations----------not just about the coming glories that the Messiah would bring with Him, but also to impress upon the them, the necessity of preparing for the arrival of the Lord, by turning from their sin and turning to righteousness. A prophet’s message included warning, exhortation, encouragement and comfort as well as prediction. A prophet of the Israelites, male or female, was highly honored because they had a sacred call from God-------it wasn’t a job that they could apply for or just decide that they wanted to do------ and they couldn’t get the position just because friends and family thought that it would be a perfect one for them.
Being called, to be a prophet was God’s decision, and no prophet could tell God that they were going to refuse His call, because God wouldn’t take no for an answer. Because it was appointed by God Almighty, it was a highly respected position, but in view of the fact, that prophets dealt with the current moral and religious issues of the day, they were often the most unpopular people in their towns.
We can marvel at the omniscience and power of God in His disregard of time and space. He is the Alpha and the Omega------He is the beginning and He is the end------Time means nothing to Him---------but to us, time is important and there is no surer way for us to trust and believe the truth of the Scripture, than when we can see that an ancient prophecy has been fulfilled. God didn’t raise up prophets, to foretell the future, in order to satisfy the curiosity of men----------God did it to impress upon future generations, like ours, His total control over all human affairs. There is nothing that has happened, can happen or will happen that God is not in control of. If God doesn’t prevent it He is allowing it, for some reason. There is a purpose for it. He is Almighty Sovereign God, over everything and He can and He will, use all things, for the good of His kingdom.
• The Prophet Isaiah
The name Isaiah means, “the Lord is our Salvation.” Isaiah served for 60 years under 4 kings------from 740- 680BC. He was probably about 20 years old when he started his ministry, and was an old man when he died. The ancient historians believe that he was killed by the 5th king that he lived under--a wicked, wicked man named Manessah------they believe that he was placed between 2 boards and sawed in two; that he was martyred for his faith. (Hebrews 11:37 mentions this but doesn’t name Isaiah by name, but most theologians believe that it is referring to him)
It is assumed that Isaiah was born in Jerusalem, into a wealthy family that was very close to the royal family. Ancient Jewish scholars believe that his Father and King Uzziah might even have been brothers. This would have made him related also to each of the successive kings that he served under. He was very well-educated and was a poet, and statesman, and a reformer and an orator. He moved in the highest priestly and kingly circles in the land. There were 3 other prophets who were preaching at the same time as Isaiah------it is interesting to me that his 3 contemporaries have books that are a part of our Holy Scripture too---------1.) Amos either had just brought his ministry to a close or he did it, shortly after Isaiah began his. Amos was a native of Judah, but God had sent him to the Northern Kingdom to prophesy to and against Israel, and their ungodly behavior; 2.) Hosea began his ministry in Israel sometime just before Isaiah began his, in Judah;3.) Micah was a younger contemporary and he prophesied, like Isaiah did, in Judah.
It is believed that Isaiah spent most of his time in Jerusalem and that he wasn’t the only prophet in his family; he was married to a prophetess. He had at least 2 sons, both of whom had symbolic names: Shear –Jashub (a remnant will return) and Maher-Shelal-Hash-Baz (quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil)-------their names speak to the judgment of God against Israel and to the remnant that He would preserve and restore. Isaiah is considered to be one of the greatest theologians of all time. He was a man of great courage and deep faith. He confronted kings with the message of God, even when public opinion was against him. He is considered to be the Paul of the OT. Isaiah was a man of integrity who despised sin and hypocrisy. His favorite name for the Lord was, “the Holy One of Israel”. Isaiah had a consistent life that was combined with an uncompromising conviction and he profoundly influenced the culture of his generation and every generation since. Isaiah was very patriotic and dearly loved his countrymen------he referred to them, many times, as “my people”. Sometimes he went to extreme measures to get them to listen and to heed God’s warnings.
But Isaiah’s extreme measures and love for God and for his people, can’t even begin to compare to God’s indescribable love, for all sinners. 2nd Peter 3:9 says that God isn’t willing for anyone to perish. Our heavenly Father loves us too much, to leave us in our sin---that is why He gives us chance after chance after chance. The Lord never disciplines or punishes us without making sure that He has given us a warning--------He wants us to heed the warning and turn around and go back in the direction that He has called us to. He will use whatever measure He has to, to get our attention, sometimes, even a tragic one It is just like a parent who sees their child headed for trouble ------------they will do anything, take any drastic measure, if it will bring their child back from destruction. It’s called “tough love” and it is the hardest kind of love that a parent ever has to show. Sometimes God uses a feather and sometimes He has to use a 2x4 to get our attention, but whichever one, He will tailor His method to be just what we need for us to be rebuked, without being broken. Sometimes, there is no other way, but to let us walk through the fire. Isaiah 28:21 says that “God’s wrath is His alien task.” He doesn’t like it, but He will use it if He has to, to protect us from ourselves.
• Historical and Political Setting:
We need to know and understand a little bit about the historical and political climate of the world at the time, in order to understand the political references that Isaiah makes in his book. The historical background of Isaiah is found in II Kings and II Chronicles. At the time of Isaiah, the 2 kingdoms had been divided for about 2 centuries. Israel was ruled by a succession of evil kings from a number of different ruling families or dynasties, all of whom followed in the footsteps of the 1st King--------- Jereboam, the son of Nebat, who the scripture says, “made Israel to sin”. Not one of the kings denounced the idol worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel. Not one of the kings remembered the power of the God who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt and had parted the red Sea and had given them victory in their Promised Land.
At the time that Isaiah began his ministry the Kingdom of Israel was ruled by the powerful and brilliant Jereboam II of the house of Jehu. This was the time of the greatest outward prosperity and enlargement of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But, unfortunately, spiritually, it was rotten to the core and it was rushing unrestrainedly toward God’s ultimate judgment-----the total destruction of its nation.
The dominant world power in Isaiah’s day was Assyria. Before Isaiah’s time in history, the nation to be reckoned with had always been Egypt-------but its power was ebbing and it was locked in a struggle to the death with the aggressively- rising Assyria. During Isaiah’s long lifetime, the mighty Assyrian kingdom swallowed Israel up and invaded the kingdom of Judah, almost capturing it too.
Now, the southern kingdom of Judah was ruled by the descendants of King David. Some of them were wicked and some of them were very good. But even with the periods of revival and reformation that they had under godly kings, the overall spiritual tendency of Judah was on a downward path, too. Isaiah was the prophet of God to 4 of Judah’s kings.
1.)Uzziah and his son 2.)Jotham, on the whole were good kings. The many years of prosperity under them though, unfortunately blinded them to God’s sovereignty; they forgot that it was His grace that was sustaining them Jothan’s son, 3.)Ahaz was a very evil man, who introduced abominable pagan practices into the kingdom----------he even sacrificed his own sons. At various times during Isaiah’s long service--------Judah sought alliances with either Assyria or Egypt. Isaiah denounced these alliances and called upon the nation to turn back to God and to depend just on Him and Him alone. But they had thick ears and short memories. They did what they wanted to do.
In spite of the underlying spiritual decline---------there was revival in Judah for a time under, 4.) King Hezekiah, who was a very good king. He and Isaiah were great friends and compatriots during a difficult time in the world.
During Isaiah’s long lifetime, the mighty Assyrian kingdom, eventually swallowed Israel up and invaded the kingdom of Judah and almost captured it too.
And in the distance loomed Isaiah’s prophecy of the Babylonian captivity and the eventual servitude that the remnant of Judah would have to endure under Cyrus and the Persians.
• Brief Summary of Isaiah
I just want to mention really quickly that there are some schools of thought that the book of Isaiah was not written by just one man but was written by 3 men, at different times in history----------I don’t believe that for 2 reasons, 1.) When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Isaiah was the book that was found almost completely in its entirety and 2.) to say that 3 men wrote it during their lifetimes, negates it being a book of prophecy, and it is saying that God wasn’t great enough to give the one man Isaiah, a vision, and that limits God. The message of God is reliable and it is eternal and it has a message of hope for all eternity. So, for our purposes, God gave a vision to one man Isaiah, and that one man, Isaiah wrote it down so that it could be shared with his generation and every generation after him.
There are 66 chapters in Isaiah just like there are 66 books in the whole Bible. It is interesting that both in the whole Bible and in Isaiah they each have 2 major divisions that deal with the same things. 39 of them deal with earthly matters and warnings about God’s judgment and 27 of them deal with God’s comfort and His hope---- and Jesus is the thread that ties them all together.
There are many things in Isaiah that are beyond our present comprehension, just like they were beyond Isaiah’s comprehension too. Like all the other prophets, Isaiah wrote at the counsel of God and then he searched the scriptures that he had at the time---- and trusted the Holy Spirit, to make their meaning clear to him.
The portions of Isaiah that deal with the sufferings of Christ, which took place the first time He came, almost 700 years after Isaiah first prophesied them, have become amazingly clear for those of us who live on this side of the cross. We are so blessed to have the New Testament and to have the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts. Those portions of Isaiah that deal with the 2nd coming of Christ will never be fully understood, until the day actually comes. We can trust that it will come to pass, though, just like Isaiah said that it will, because, so much of what he prophesied has already come true. That is how you know that a prophet is from God, when every single thing that they prophesy, comes true.
There are 3 subdivisions in Isaiah:
• Chap. 1-35-----is chiefly speaking to the conscience of Israel and to Judah, who are suffering under a brutal government that God has allowed because of their disobedience. The coming Messiah is the blessing that Isaiah sets out in front of them, in an orderly, connected series of messages.
• Chap. 36-39-----is historical and prophetical------showing how, that for Judah, all blessing is bound up with the Son of David, who will die but will be raised again by God’s power. He will be the Savior of the world. It is almost identical to 2nd Kings 18:13 and 20:19 and the main points of 2nd Chronicles 32.
• Chap. 40-66-----this concludes Isaiah’s prophecy and it talks about the utter failure of the 1st man and about how God, in His time, will bring the 2nd man-----the Lord from heaven, to reign over all the earth, forever.
We can be sure of one thing—regardless of the degree, to which Isaiah understood or didn’t understand what he prophesied, he was deeply burdened for his people and he desperately sought to turn them back to the Lord, before disaster came to them. He could hear the distant thunder. He knew that time was running short.
Sadly, our generation can identify with the time that Isaiah lived in------we live in a society that is materially strong, but is spiritually sick; in a society that has a church on every corner but has people in it who are just going through the motions of worship; (there is a story told about a little boy who was at the supper table and kept standing up in his chair; his mama had to finally force him to sit down and he got a scowl on his face that was as ugly as could as could be-----when his mama realized it, she asked him what in the world was wrong with him and he said, “I might be sitting down on the outside but on the inside, I’m standing up.) It’s a heart attitude--it’s always about a heart attitude. We live in a society, that just like Israel and Judah before their fall, concentrates on money and goods and pleasure, as a means of fulfillment and happiness. We live in a society, where a lot of us, have forgotten that God is sovereign over the affairs of men, and that the Bible alone, is our standard for behavior.
Isaiah had a lot to say to the people of his own time; he had a lot to say to the people who lived during the Babylonian captivity, a century after his death; he had a lot to say to the people in Jesus’ day; he has a lot to say to us today; He has a lot to say to future generations; and he has a lot to say about eternity.
We just need to listen carefully and to hear God’s voice through Isaiah’s words and we need to obey them. We need to recognize Jesus in every page of this book and we need to draw closer to Him and to get to know Him in a way like we never have before.
J. Vernon McGee said that the reason that God gave so many prophecies in the scripture concerning Jesus’ 1st coming to earth was because He didn’t want the children of Israel to miss them. God marked Him out so clearly that Israel had no excuse for not recognizing Him when He was here---that is why they are so accountable. Dr. McGee’s example for illustrating this was, “Suppose I am invited to your hometown. You ask me, “When you arrive at the airport, how will I know you.” I would write back to say, “I am arriving at 10:00 am on Delta Flight 4231. I will be wearing a pair of green-checked trousers and a bright blue and white striped jacket. I will have on a big, yellow polka-dot neck tie and a pink shirt with a large purple flower on it. I will be wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe and white socks. On my head you will see a derby hat and I will be holding a parrot in a cage in one hand and leading a jaguar by a chain leash in the other one. When you get to the airport, do you think you will recognize me?”
Isaiah has been called the 5th evangelist and his book the 5th Gospel. The Lord’s virgin birth, His character, His life, His death, His resurrection and His second coming are all there.
When Jesus came, those people who had the OT and knew what it said, should have been waiting at the Inn, in Bethlehem, for Him to get there. They had all the information that they needed to recognize Him----they were without excuse, and so are we.
This study of Isaiah is going to change our lives---------it’s going to change our hearts---------we are going to come away from it refreshed, refined and rewarded.
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