Isaiah

1.       First Impressions

The book of Isaiah is broken into 3 main parts, first is chapter 1-39. This is around 740 B.C to 700 B.C during Isaiah’s life. In this time we see the Syro-Ephramite crisis, the Ashdod affair and Sennacherib’s Invasion as Assyria grows stronger. The second part is from chapter 40-55 it speaks of the period of exile and is dated from 605-539 B.C. This would have been a really hard time for the people as their ideas and hopes in a lot of God’s promises are shattered. The third part from chapter 56 -66 goes from 539 B.C. all the way through to the second coming of Jesus. Here the text is about everything after the exile and gives hope of restoration.

God raised up Isaiah in this time period for several purposes. We see him used to speak God’s messages to people in power; he speaks words of judgment and destruction, of comfort and restoration and he speaks prophetically about many things including several messianic prophecies.

 Theme Tracing

·         What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

One of the main things I noticed is that God is who he says he is. Constantly we read the repeated phrase of” I am… the Lord, the Holy one of Israel, the Lord of Heavens Armies, the Sovereign Lord and others. It is because of this certainty that we are called to trust him. He because is trust worthy and faithful (30:18).  There is no one like him (42:8), He is Sovereign God cares for everyone. One can see this in the way he uses Assyria and Babylon to judge other nations; this also shows his greatness as they are merely tools in his hands.  God is the judge and the comforter. This book seems to contrast God’s character with seemingly opposing ideas like discipline and grace, exile and salvation or judgment and mercy but when looking deeper you just begin to see these things collide into perfection and balance which can only be the ‘Lord of Heavens Armies.” We see in Isaiah 28:29 that God is “a wonderful teacher”. In Chapter 29:23 one can see the holiness of God.  Still there is so much more about God’s character and love and blessing and everything! I feel as though it would take my whole life to fully process all I can learn about who God is just from Isaiah!

·         What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

So far Isaiah is the book with the most messianic prophecies! Most of the understanding I have gotten around this is from pg 207 in Nelson’s maps and charts. In Isaiah 7:14 we see a typology of Jesus and find out that he will be born of a virgin, this is fulfilled in Luke 1:26-31. Isaiah 9:1, 2&7 tells of an heir of the throne of David having a Galilean ministry, Jesus fulfills this in Matthew 4:13 – 16 and Luke 1:32-33. I will not go on to describe each prophecy but rather list them as follows:

His way will be prepared (Is 40:3-5 fulfilled in John 1:19-28)

He will have people strike and spit on him (Is 50:6 fulfilled in Matt 26:67)

He will be exalted (Is 52:13 fulfilled in Phil 2:9, 10)

He will be disfigured by suffering (Is 52:14; 53:2 fulfilled in Mark 15:15-19)

His blood will atone for our sins (Is 53:5 fulfilled in 1 Peter1:2)

He will be rejected yet bearing our sins (Is 53:1-5 fulfilled in John12:37, 38; Rom 4:25 & 1 Peter 2:24, 25)

He will be our voluntary substitute (Is 53:6-8 fulfilled in Rom 5:6, 8; 2 Cor 5:21; Mark 15:4, 5; John 10:11; 19:30)

He will die with transgressors, be buried in a rich man’s tomb and save everyone who believes in Him (Is 53:9-12 fulfilled in Matt 27:57-60; John 19:38-42; John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Mark 15:27, 28 and Luke 22:37)

He will heal the broken hearted (Is 61:1, 2 fulfilled in Luke 4:18, 19)

God’s plan of redemption through Jesus is made clear within all these scriptures and the fulfillment there of. Isaiah 11:1-12 paints the picture of the coming Messiah and what His kingdom will look like. Then there is also this idea of the suffering servant in Isaiah.

The suffering servant can be either the people of Israel as a whole or the individual person of Jesus Christ. There are four servant songs found in Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9 and 52:13-53:12.

2.       Application questions

·         Personal application:  Isaiah is a long book which means there is a whole lot to take from it! Some things that have stood out to me is the amount of God’s character that we find in Isaiah, there is so much to learn from Him and who he is, and becoming like Him in our daily lives. Of course Isaiah 6:8 and 52:7 were both just such reminders of the type of person I want to be. “Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, Here I am. Send me.” & “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings goodness, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns.”

 I want to be the one who says “Here I am. Send me.” like Isaiah did and not be like Moses who said he couldn’t do it. I loved to see hoe despite their responses God used both men but it is my desire to respond the way Isaiah did rather than the way Moses did at the burning bush. I also want to be that person who goes as God’s voice to take the good news to wherever he ends up sending me.

Another thing that struck me was rereading Isaiah 55 in class. I almost have no words… God’s love and generosity and invitation to life. The revelation that I can stop worrying and just know He is God and that there are somethings I will never understand is a relief. His ways are higher than mine, I can trust him even when I don’t get it and things don’t make sense.

 God will make good sprout from what was bad and seemed hopeless, He is so big. God is really big and there is nothing I can do to change him and he loves me and wants what is best for me. It’s all things we know and say but really understanding it is just so awesome. He is really big and my problems aren’t even problems for Him, he’s busy sorting stuff out.

There is a lot more in Isaiah and I will continue to process it because there is so much in here that I will never be able to grasp it all. That is just amazing.

·         Point of Passion: I don’t want to go too much into all the examples of teaching found in Isaiah but I want to focus on something else I picked up. So far this is the first time that I saw the God being described as a teacher. In one sense I feel as though these verses speak for themselves both in whom God is as our amazing teacher but also all that we can learn about teaching from the way He teaches us.

In Isaiah 28:29 it says,” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.”  As teachers we have the incredible opportunity to not only impart knowledge but to share wisdom and this is exactly what God does. He gives His wisdom to those who seek it! In Isaiah 30:20 we read, “Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.”  From this scripture I realized again the opportunity to teach through experience. One learns in the hard times, in difficult situations and by doing the things that you don’t necessarily understand. Then also in Isaiah 48:17 it says,” This is what the Lord says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.’”  To sum up what I’ve seen about God’s teaching I find that He teaches and He leads, they go together and they are united in the teacher having the best in mind for the person they’re teaching.