Isaiah is a hard book to persevere through.
It’s long.
We read it over the course of 22 days. 66 chapters. It’s interesting to observe there are 66 books in the Bible and 66 chapters of Isaiah.
Isaiah saw his visions during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. We know the reigns of these kings were: 52 years (Uzziah), 16 years (Jotham), 16 years (Ahaz), and 29 years (Hezekiah)…113 years in total. 22 days is short in comparison. Its length demonstrates God’s faithfulness to warn and to repeat His lessons over and over.
It’s not written in chronological order.
And the events about which Isaiah prophesies are not written in chronological order. Themes and prophecies repeat, and some prophecies can have multiple fulfillments over the course of history. An example is the “day of the Lord,” which refers to God’s reckoning with His enemies which can, has, and will happen numerous times over the course of history. For example, Isaiah 13 talks about a “day of the Lord” that occurs when Babylon is punished and falls to the Medes. Imagery for that day is very similar to imagery referring to a “day of the Lord” at the end of time as well (Isaiah 24).
Historical narrative of actual events is interspersed with prophetic vision.
The narrative of King Hezekiah which seems to suddenly and incongruously appear in chapters 36 through 39 serves to illustrate the principles God is teaching through His words and visions to Isaiah. The kingdom of Israel has been exiled to Assyria, demonstrating fulfillment of God’s prophecy. Hezekiah had demonstrated great faithfulness and dedication to God by calling His people back to worship of Him after his father King Ahaz had led them into idol worship. When the King of Assyria started to threaten the Hezekiah’s kingdom of Judah, Hezekiah continued to demonstrate great faith in God, reassuring the people, praying to God, and requesting Isaiah pray to God on their behalf as well. God miraculously and mightily saved the kingdom of Judah by killing 185,000 Assyrians in a single night, demonstrating His faithfulness to those who rely on and glorify Him, and His punishment of the arrogant who fail to acknowledge Him. Hezekiah became proud after this though, so God promised his kingdom’s exile to Babylon, demonstrating His just punishment. He delayed this exile, however, given Hezekiah’s legacy of faithfulness, demonstrating His mercy.
The visions can be difficult to understand.
I kept an outline as I read. But when we finished the whole book, I went back and re-read both the book in its entirety and my outline. I concluded that perseverance through the book might be helped by noticing themes and prophesied events that repeat (by my reading, the following is the order in which they’re introduced):
Call to repentance: God does not care about religious ritual if His people are sinful: “I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly” (Isaiah 1:13b).
Actions God desires: “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).
Promise of mercy and compassion for the repentant: “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. If you consent and obey” (Isaiah 1:18,19a). “Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10).
Gracious warning of impending punishment as a consequence for sin: “Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness. But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end” (Isaiah 1:27-38). “Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him” (Isaiah 3:11). “Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course. For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isaiah 26:20-21a).
God’s absolute hatred of idol worship, and religious practices not established by Him: “they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines….Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made” (Isaiah 2:6,8). “You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away….Therefore through this Jacob’s iniquity will be forgiven; And this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones; When Asherim and incense altars will not stand” (Isaiah 27:8a,9).
Day of reckoning: Remember there can be numerous fulfillments of such a day throughout history. “For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased” (Isaiah 2:12). “For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land” (Isaiah 10:23). “So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth….Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders (Isaiah 24:21-23).
Establishment of Jerusalem, and the righteous, forever: “In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established” (Isaiah 2:2b). “It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst” (Isaiah 4:3-4; see also Isaiah 24:23, above.) “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain….He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth” (Isaiah 25:6a,8a).
God holds false and corrupt leaders responsible: “The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people” (Isaiah 3:14a). “The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those those who are guided by them are brought to confusion” (Isaiah 9:15;16). “Woe to those who enact evil statutes AndAnd to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of And rob the poor of My people of their rights….Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among the slain” (Isaiah 10:1-4a).
Reminders of who God is and what He has done, and the faithfulness He deserves: “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress” (Isaiah 5:7). “Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, ‘He did not make me’; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” (Isaiah 29:16b). “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’” (Isaiah 45:9a).
Promises of exile and return from exile: The kingdom of Israel [also referred to as Ephraim or Samaria] was told it would be exiled to Assyria and the kingdom of Judah to Babylon, both of which occurred. “My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13). God’s prophecy was very specific in the time of King Ahaz when He said, “now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered” (Isaiah 7:8b), and “the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 8:4b). “‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 39:6). We now know that God used Cyrus, king of Persia, to help return His people from exile: “Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed….’For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me” (Isaiah 45:1a,4; see also Isaiah 44:28). It is prophesies fulfilled like these that give us confidence for prophesies yet to be fulfilled.
The use of Israel’s enemies to punish them: “He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed swiftly” (Isaiah 5:26). “Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries from Rezin And spurs their enemies on, The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 9:11-13).
The persistence of those who refuse to hear, despite God’s repeated warnings: Isaiah saw the Lord seated on His throne and then He sent him to deliver a message that most would not heed: “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand’'“ (Isaiah 6:9).
The persistence of a faithful remnant: In every era God talks about, He also talks about a remnant of the faithful: left in the land when most are exiled, among the exiled, returning from exile, and in the last days. “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it…Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump” (Isaiah 6:13). “Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant with them will return” (Isaiah 10:20-22a). “Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people…And thee will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people who will be left, Just as there was for Israel In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt” (Isaiah 11:1a,16).
The promised Messiah: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. “ (Isaiah 9:7). Isaiah is full of prophecies regarding the Messaiah, including all of Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 42:1-4, Isaiah 50:4-9, 52:13-15, 53, Isaiah 61:1-3.
The folly of seeking anything other than God, and the importance of the word of God: “When they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the spiritists…should not a people consult their God? To the law and to the testimony!” (Isaiah 8:19a, 20a). “‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ declares the LORD, ‘Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin; Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me” (Isaiah 30:1-2a). “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
The punishment of Israel’s enemies after He uses them in His punishment of Israel: “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation….when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness’” (Isaiah 10:5,12). “I am going to stir up the Medes against [Babylon]”(Isaiah 13:17). All of Isaiah chapters 13 through 23 fit this theme.
The appropriateness of thanksgiving and gratitude to God: “Then you will say on that day, ‘I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:1-2; see also all of Isaiah chapers 25 and 26.)
Imagery regarding Satan: Descriptions of the king of Babylon are also appropriate for Satan: “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!” (Isaiah 14:12a, see also 12b-16).
The sovereignty and responsibility of God over all things, both good and evil: This one is very hard for us who love God, but must listen to the words of God Himself, who does not shirk from responsibility but also explains His ways. “This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:26-27). He talks of sending enemies against Israel and their depending on everything but Him: “you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11b).
Despite punishment and wrath, God’s ultimate protection over His people Israel: “In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout, And they will fill the whole world with fruit….In that day the LORD will start His start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 27:612-13).
Promised period of quiet where no prophets speak: “For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers” (Isaiah 29:10). This happened in the 400 years between the prophet Malachi and Jesus’ messenger John the Baptist.
The importance of God’s fulfilled prophecies demonstrating He alone is God: “Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods….Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, ‘He is right!’?…Behold, all of them are false;
Their works are worthless, Their molten images are wind and emptiness” (Isaiah 41:23a,26a,29). “I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isaiah 46:9b-10a). “Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them’” (Isaiah 48:5).Hope for the future: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). “Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word: ‘Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake…they will be put to shame” (Isaiah 66:5). “‘For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘So your offspring and your name will endure…. All mankind will come to bow down before Me,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22,23b).
Thank you for this. I will spend more time with it tomorrow. I am looking forward to your views on Jeremiah and learning alongside you. In particular Jeremiah 30.