Isaiah 1-39 eBook

By John A Braun

What is the book of Isaiah about? Who was Isaiah in the Bible?God sent the prophet Isaiah to his people at a time of great prosperity. But it was also a time of moral and spiritual decay among God' s people. In the first 39 chapters of his prophecy, Isaiah warns of the coming judgment of God upon his people and all nations. Yet these chapters also contain rich and comforting promises of God' s grace and the future arrival of the Messiah.Want to learn more? If you' re wondering what the book of Isaiah is all about, this helpful resource is for you!Isaiah 1-39 is a reliable Bible commentary. It' s down to earth, clearly written, easy to read and understand, and filled with practical and modern applications to Scripture.It also includes the complete text of the first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah from the NIV Bible. The Christ-centered commentaries following the Scripture sections contain explanations of the text, historical background, illustrations, and archaeological information. Isaiah 1-39 is a great resource for personal or group study!This book is a part of The People' s Bible series from Northwestern Publishing House.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Northwestern Publishing House
• Release date: Jul 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9780810025240

Book preview

cover-image

The People’s Bible

Isaiah

1–39

John A. Braun

NORTHWESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSE

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Cover art by Frank Ordaz.

Interior illustrations by Glenn Myers.

Covers of first edition volumes and certain second edition volumes feature illustrations by James Tissot (1836–1902).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations in reviews, without prior permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 91–66835

Northwestern Publishing House

1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226–3284

© 2000 by Northwestern Publishing House.

ISBN 0–8100–1177–8

CONTENTS

blackline

Editor’s Preface

Introduction to Isaiah 1–39

  I.Woes and judgments (1:1–39:8)

A.Prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem (1:1–12:6)

B.Oracles announcing judgment on various nations (13:1–23:18)

C.Prophecies of God’s judgment upon the earth (24:1–35:10)

D.Isaiah closes the book on Assyria and introduces Babylon (36:1–39:8)

 II.Comfort and consolation (40:1–66:24)*

ILLUSTRATIONS

The prophet Isaiah

For to us a child is born

The angel of the Lord

MAP

The Middle East at the time of Isaiah

---

*  Part Two is Treated in Isaiah 40–66.

LORD, you establish peace for us;

all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

Isaiah 26:12

EDITOR’S PREFACE

blackline

The People’s Bible is just what the name implies—a Bible for the people. It includes the complete text of the Holy Scriptures in the popular New International Version. The commentary following the Scripture sections contains personal applications as well as historical background and explanations of the text.

The authors of The People’s Bible are men of scholarship and practical insight, gained from years of experience in the teaching and preaching ministries. They have tried to avoid the technical jargon that limits so many commentary series to professional Bible scholars.

The most important feature of these books is that they are Christ-centered. Speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus himself declared, These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). Each volume of The People’s Bible directs our attention to Jesus Christ. He is the center of the entire Bible. He is our only Savior.

The commentaries also have maps, illustrations, and archaeological information when appropriate. All the books include running heads to direct the reader to the passage he is looking for.

This commentary series was initiated by the Commission on Christian Literature of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

It is our prayer that this endeavor may continue as it began. We dedicate these volumes to the glory of God and to the good of his people.

pvi

The prophet Isaiah

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 1–39

blackline

Christians often choose not to read the Old Testament. For many reasons, they open the New Testament and read about Jesus but leave the Old Testament closed. But the Bible that Jesus used was the Old Testament. When he spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth, he read from the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, he read a portion of Isaiah (see Luke 4:14–21). That should be reason enough for us to study the Old Testament and especially Isaiah.

But allow the author of this commentary to offer two more reasons. First, the message of the Old Testament also centers on Jesus. Of course, the Old Testament announced his coming before he arrived in a stable in Bethlehem. But the Lord wanted his people to know the Messiah was coming, and he did not hide the announcement. In particular, Isaiah contains some of the most vivid and beautiful announcements of the Savior’s birth. In this first portion of his prophecy, the Lord tells us about this child, who would come from a virgin (7:14) and be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9:6). But Isaiah gives us so much more. Here are a few examples: He spoke of the Messiah as a Branch from the stump of Jesse (11:1), he promised a new Jerusalem where God would wipe away the tears from the faces of his faithful (25:8), and he pictured the Messiah as a king who would reign in righteousness (32:1). Those promises urge us to read not only Isaiah but other Old Testament books as well.

There also is another reason for reading the Old Testament. Moses and the prophets are often difficult to read, but the effort will be richly rewarded. At times Isaiah can be difficult for the Christian too, but as we read Isaiah and the rest of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit deepens our appreciation for God’s grace. When we read the New Testament, we hear the beautiful message of God’s grace in Jesus. For believers, it is like a clear solo melody—beautiful and rich—that soothes our troubled hearts. When you add the beauty of the Old Testament, the melody becomes even richer, fuller, and deeper. The beautiful message of the New Testament becomes a grand chorus or symphony of magnificent harmony. Yes, it does take time and effort to read the Old Testament, but the effort will be worth it.

Certainly, Isaiah has found a special place in the hearts of New Testament Christians. Matthew quotes Isaiah in his first chapter as he discusses Christ’s virgin birth. Other quotations from the prophet and allusions to his words are sprinkled throughout the New Testament. In fact, the writers of the New Testament quote this prophet more often any other single Old Testament book. (See the tables of quotations following this introduction.) It is not surprising then that many have considered Isaiah the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. The task of writing a commentary on so great a servant of God requires the blessing of the Lord whom the prophet served. So this author has asked for guidance from the same God of grace whom he serves now over 2,700 years later.

Isaiah announced the Messiah’s origins, the redemption he would accomplish, and the comforting hope every believer finds only in the grace of God. In the process, the prophet gives us one of the most detailed descriptions of the Messiah’s vicarious suffering and death. But he does not fail to announce the stern judgment of God on unbelief as well. Again and again we notice the prophet’s announcement, This is what the LORD says …, or some variation of it. He is God’s messenger speaking law and gospel.

For all these reasons Isaiah deserves our careful study, but this book of the Old Testament is also superb literature. Isaiah is a poet of the first order. His prophecy is rich and dignified and has been studied by believers and unbelievers because of its art.

What Do We Know About This Great Prophet?

The first verse announces the author of the prophecy, the place of his ministry, and the general time of his ministry: The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The prophet’s name means The Lord is salvation. He identifies himself as the son of Amoz. His father should not be confused with the prophet Amos, a contemporary of Isaiah whose ministry was conducted in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of Jeroboam II. While we know very little for sure about Isaiah’s father, Amoz, one tradition is worth mentioning. According to Jewish tradition, Amoz was the brother of King Amaziah, making Isaiah a cousin to King Uzziah. This would explain why Isaiah seems to have access to the royal court, since we find him in the presence of Ahaz and Hezekiah and named as court historian of both King Uzziah and King Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles. Of course, the tradition may be false, and another completely different reason may explain his presence at the royal court.

Isaiah indicates that he was married and had two sons. His wife is called only the prophetess (8:3). The first son was named Shear-Jashub (7:3), which means a remnant will return. The second son was Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1–4), which means quick to plunder, swift to spoil. Both sons figured into the prophecy concerning the attack of Rezin and Pekah against Jerusalem. The rest of the prophet’s biography is tied to his official duties in the royal court. We know no more than these brief details. Isaiah the man fades into the background in order to give the message the Lord revealed to him center stage.

Did Isaiah Write the Entire Prophecy?

At first the question seems strange because most Christians have never considered the possibility that Isaiah did not write the entire book. But in the last century scholars have speculated about the apparent differences between the first part of Isaiah (chapters 1–39) and the second part (chapters 40–66). Some contend that the first part of Isaiah was written by someone different than the writer of the last part of the prophecy. Others contend that there may actually have been three writers and that someone collected the works of all three together into one book. The third writer was supposed to have written chapters 56 to 66. A careful reading of the book does reveal these natural divisions. Even the outline adopted for this study uses those divisions.

But differences in thought and style do not necessarily mean that different authors wrote the individual sections. The works of Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain demonstrate a change in approach from their first works to their later works. Walt Whitman revised Leaves of Grass constantly throughout his life. The words of other contemporary and classic authors can illustrate the same principle. The prophecy of Isaiah was written over the course of his active ministry, which stretched over the reigns of four Jewish kings—a period of perhaps as much as 60 years. Like any other human being, Isaiah would have grown through the experiences of such a long and active life. He would simply have said things differently later in life than he might have said earlier. Perhaps even more important, the subject matter of the first part of the prophecy is different from that of the second portion. That alone explains the differences between the two portions.

Clearly, some stylistic and thematic differences exist between the first portion of Isaiah and the later portion. But some significant similarities also appear. One phrase, the Holy One of Israel, appears 12 times in the first 39 chapters and 14 times in the remaining 27. It only appears five times elsewhere in the Old Testament. Many of the thoughts of the first portion have a natural development in the second portion. Other scholars have found Isaiah to be a closely knit unit.

While scholars still debate whether William Shakespeare wrote all the plays that bear his name, we have a significant advantage in answering the question of authorship for Isaiah’s prophecy. Because we believe that the Scriptures are God’s inspired Word and true in every detail, the evidence from the rest of Scripture will settle the matter. Two significant passages identify Isaiah as the author of both the early chapters of this prophecy and the later chapters. The apostle John in his gospel quotes Isaiah 53:1 and introduces his quotation with the words, This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet … (12:38). In the next verse of the same chapter, John introduces a quotation from Isaiah 6:10 with the words, For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere.… In these passages John attributes passages from the so-called first writer and the later writer both to one author, Isaiah. John clearly thought there was only one writer of the prophecy, and the Holy Spirit caused him to write it that way. A review of the quotations the apostle Paul used from the early and later portions of Isaiah (see table, pages 19, 20) indicates that Paul considered Isaiah the writer of the entire prophecy too. For believers this is enough proof for Isaiah’s authorship of the entire book.

Not only has the authorship of Isaiah been questioned by some scholars, but the date of the writing has also been called into question. Perhaps this is the more significant question because it centers on whether or not any prophet could foretell the future. Isaiah mentions the Persian king Cyrus by name (44:28; 45:1). Cyrus issued the edict allowing the Jews to return to Judah in 538 B.C. But Isaiah lived at the time of the Assyrian invasion of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah in about 701 B.C. (see chapters 36–39). If one believes that Isaiah could not have foretold the future with such accuracy, then one must find another explanation for the inclusion of the name of Cyrus in Isaiah’s prophecy. Some therefore suggest two authors and that the book must have been written after the Jews returned to Judah, not before their exile. If, on the other hand, one believes that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah could foretell the future, then the simple words of Isaiah concerning the time of his ministry are enough.

What Do We Know of His Ministry and His Time in History?

The prophecy of Isaiah came during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The prophet Micah indicates that he also served as God’s messenger during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. (Micah 1:1). Some similarity exists between the works of Isaiah and Micah, since they were contemporaries facing the same political and religious realities in Judah. And while they are not strictly contemporaries of Isaiah and Micah, God also sent Amos and Hosea as his messengers to the Northern Kingdom. During the same time, Jonah was sent to Nineveh. These five prophets spoke for God during approximately the same time.

Our attention is on the ministry of Isaiah, which was limited to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah was God’s messenger to Judah, and he focuses on the affairs in Judah. Isaiah does not mention the Northern kings, but that should cast no doubt on the prophet’s ministry or message. Luther comments that Isaiah does not mention the Northern kings because when he had begun to prophesy, the kingdom of Israel had just about been done away with (Luther’s Works, American Edition [LW], Volume 16, page 5). The northern kingdom of Israel fell during the reign of King Hezekiah. After a three-year siege, the Assyrians destroyed Samaria, the proud capital of the Northern Kingdom, and carried most of the remaining population of Israel off into captivity in 722 B.C. By that time Isaiah’s ministry had already spanned the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz.

During the early part of Isaiah’s ministry, both Judah, the southern kingdom, and Israel to the north enjoyed peace and prosperity. The borders of both kingdoms had been extended nearly to the borders under the golden age of David and Solomon. Uzziah reorganized the army and extended the border of Judah. Jeroboam II had accomplished similar expansion for Israel. Military success brought optimism, confidence in the status quo, economic prosperity, and luxury. But it also had its negative side. The nation God had chosen was not interested in spiritual matters. Oppression, injustice, and a reliance on foreign alliances found places along with religious hypocrisy and formalistic worship among the sins denounced by Isaiah, Micah, Amos, and Hosea.

When Jeroboam II died, the Northern Kingdom was shaken by political chaos. Two kings were assassinated in one year. Then after the ten-year reign of Menahem, Pekahiah was also assassinated. War broke out between Judah and Israel during the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz. During its last days, the Northern Kingdom experienced the death rattle without being aware of it. Peace and prosperity had evaporated to reveal spiritual decay. The political and military weakness became clear in the face of more powerful enemies. Money was now used to pay for political and military protection.

The writer of Kings described King Ahaz of Judah this way: He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire (2 Kings 16:2, 3). A major political crisis occurred during Ahaz’ reign. Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Aram (later Syria), attacked Judah. They slaughtered 120,000 Jewish soldiers and carried off 200,000 captives. Their goal was to divide Judah between them and install a king of their own choosing. Ahaz, king of Judah, was a wicked king who worshiped idols and sacrificed his own son. Nevertheless, God protected Judah. The Lord sent Isaiah to the king with the promise that his two enemies would not succeed. Ahaz refused to trust the Lord’s gracious offer and instead turned to Assyria for protection. A brief synopsis of the entire period of Isaiah’s service is provided below. (For a more detailed history, consult Kings in The People’s Bible series.) For our purposes here, the entrance of Assyria on the scene of history at this time signaled the end of the northern kingdom of Israel, as well as future difficulty for Judah.

About 35 years later, another significant event occurred when the Assyrian army invaded Judah and threatened Jerusalem. Both King Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed for God’s protection and deliverance. The Lord granted it and sent an angel who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. The reign of King Hezekiah was one of religious revival and reform. But after Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh, who shed much innocent blood (2 Kings 21:16), became king and led Judah astray during the early period of his reign. Jewish tradition says that Isaiah died during the persecution of Manasseh. Commentators like to point to Hebrews 11:37, They [believers] were sawed in two, as a reference to Isaiah because Jewish tradition says that Manasseh ordered the tree in which Isaiah was hiding to be sawed in two. Yet neither the writer to the Hebrews nor the Old Testament Scriptures gives any indication that the tradition is true. We just don’t know for sure how Isaiah died.

What is Isaiah’s Message?

New Testament Christians through the centuries have found the message of Isaiah filled with hope and comfort. They have found Jesus Christ in Isaiah’s words. Luther writes, The chief and leading theme of all the prophets is their aim to keep the people in eager anticipation of the coming Christ.… [Isaiah] condemns sins in one place and praises righteousness in another, and it seems that almost the entire prophecy is directed toward the people. Meanwhile, however, he also prepares the hearts of the people and causes them to look forward to the coming reign of Christ (LW, Volume 16, pages 3, 4). When we study the prophet, we ought to find Christ. Scripture has that central message. Isaiah wrote to point his people toward the coming of the Messiah. As New Testament Christians, we have seen his coming, and we return to the prophet’s words for comfort, instruction, and strength, as they speak to us the message of God’s love for sinners in Christ.

But we can find some special messages from this prophet. Isaiah wrote during a chaotic time when the northern kingdom of Israel disappeared from history. In addition, during his ministry the Southern Kingdom passed from the peace and prosperity of Uzziah’s reign to the threat of annihilation at the hands of the Assyrians during the reign of Hezekiah. The times challenged the thinking of God’s people. If they thought that God would protect them and insure a national or political future, the disappearance of Israel, part of God’s chosen people, robbed them of that illusion. They longed for a savior or deliverer who would rescue them. But instead of turning to the Lord, they turned to strong political and military allies only to pay tribute to them and eventually suffer their attacks and invasions. All would end when the Babylonian Empire became the superpower in the Middle East. Finally, Isaiah’s message to King Hezekiah was simply, Everything in your palace … will be carried off to Babylon (39:6).

Isaiah’s message during these troubled times was that God’s salvation was not the preservation of any physical, earthly kingdom or nation. Israel and Judah disappeared from the world’s list of nations. Through Isaiah, God pointed his people to a different kind of deliverer and a different kind of salvation. The salvation God promised was spiritual. Deliverance would come through the Servant of the Lord who would be bruised and wounded for the sins of the people. Politically, both Israel and Judah were swallowed up by their powerful, aggressive neighbors, but the spiritual Israel and Judah, the assembly of believers in the Messiah, not only would endure but would eventually triumph even over the destruction of all nations and the universe itself.

In the first portion of Isaiah’s prophecy, the prophet announced the collapse of so many of the nations surrounding Jerusalem. Each judgment was a reminder that salvation came only from God—the Holy One of Israel—and could not possibly come from the efforts of any nation or earthly leader. No, as Isaiah prophesied, the nations would all eventually be overcome by stronger and more powerful nations and armies. God’s prophet told his people that they must look for rescue from sin, death, and hell—not from political oppression, military occupation, or even threats to their national identity. The message of Isaiah asked God’s people to raise their sights above the social and political chaos and look to him for a much better and more enduring deliverance.

The tension between a political deliverance and a spiritual one comes into play with the appearance of Jesus, the Messiah. From one point of view, it is not surprising that the gospels, which record the life of the spiritual Messiah, quote Isaiah so much. On the other hand, many Jews still looked for a political deliverance. So it is no wonder that those at the time of Christ had so much difficulty accepting him. They were still looking for a deliverer who would remove the Roman yoke and restore national power and prestige. The Jews expressed their misunderstanding at a meeting of the Sanhedrin after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead: If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation (John 11:48). They failed to see the Holy One of Israel because he came with deliverance from sin, death, and Satan, not with deliverance from the Romans.

For us the message of Isaiah is Christ. The saints who have preceded us have seen the rise and fall of their own nations. Rome, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Russia have had their turn among the powerful; some may return to power again. But their rise and fall has not changed the salvation the Lord has provided in Christ. Whether our own country stands or falls will not change the deliverance Christ has achieved. God’s deliverance is not the preservation or establishment of any earthly kingdom, government, or organization of any kind. We ought not to look for deliverance in what our eyes can see here in this physical world. Here we see sin, disobedience, violence, abuse of power, hypocrisy—all of which Isaiah condemns. We see change, chaos, and conflict, and we see each nation repeat the cycle of the rise to power followed by decline. Over and over the cycle is repeated. When we confront life’s uncertainties, both the small and large personal uncertainties as well as large and small national crises, we cling to the message of Scripture that salvation comes from God by grace in Christ. We cannot achieve it through our effort, our power, our intelligence, or our skill. Isaiah found comfort in the greater deliverance. God used him to share that message with countless believers who have preceded us. Now Isaiah still comforts us and challenges us to raise our sights to the Lord of grace and trust in him rather than in ourselves or in the power and help of others.

In his own time, the ministry of Isaiah confirmed the Jewish people in their unbelief and rejection of the Holy One of Israel. When God appeared to Isaiah and commissioned him (chapter 6), God told his prophet, Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes (verse 10). Isaiah’s work was to harden the hearts of God’s impenitent people. They had rejected the grace of God, and God sent Isaiah to confirm their rejection. They had descended to the level of Pharaoh in Egypt. The beautiful promise of Immanuel, born of a virgin, did nothing at all to Ahaz, who heard it first. We treasure the promise, but it succeeded in making the stony heart of an unbelieving king even harder. That was part of Isaiah’s mission. When we read in chapter 28 that the priests and prophets, who were drunk, mocked the message of Isaiah, we again encounter the results of Isaiah’s ministry. God had sealed the eyes of his people so that they could not see. It was a confirmation of God’s judgment upon their unbelief.

Fortunately for generations of believers after the prophet, Isaiah wrote his message down. We have it and can read, mark, and digest the rich banquet of grace Isaiah places before us. That too is the plan of God.

Outline

The outline seems to imply that the first part of the prophet’s message is only law and little gospel while the second part is gospel and little law. Yet even a casual reading of either section reveals that God announces both law and gospel in both parts of Isaiah. The division is only one of emphasis. When Isaiah writes in the first chapter, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (verse 18), that is pure sweet gospel. The prophecy of the virgin birth and other prophecies of the Savior’s coming are also pure gospel. Isaiah begins the second portion of the book with the words, Comfort, comfort my people, says your God (40:1). But again and again the last portion of the book announces the Lord’s terrible judgment on the wicked—a message of harsh and terrifying law.

The sovereign Lord stands behind both messages. Again and again, by inspiration of God, Isaiah says, This is what the LORD says. The prophecies are sure and certain because the Lord says them. All Scripture is given by inspiration and therefore is reliable. Our response is to take the words from God seriously and study them diligently.

Theme: This is what the LORD says

   I.Woes and judgments (1:1–39:8)

A.Prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem (1:1–12:6)

1.Introduction (1:1–31)

2.Judah and Jerusalem in the last days (2:1–4:1)

3.The Branch of the Lord (4:2–6)

4.Woe and judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah (5:1–30)

5.The vision of the Lord (6:1–13)

6.Promises of deliverance from Pekah and Rezin and future judgments (7:1–25)

7.Assyria and a child (8:1–10:19)

8.The remnant and the Branch of Jesse (10:20–12:6)

B.Oracles (burdens) announcing judgment on various nations (13:1–23:18)

1.Babylon and Assyria (13:1–14:27)

2.Philistia (14:28–32)

3.Moab (15:1–16:14)

4.Damascus and Cush (Ethiopia) (17:1–18:7)

5.Egypt (19:1–20:6)

6.The Desert by the Sea (Babylon) (21:1–10)

7.Dumah (Edom) (21:11, 12)

8.Arabia (21:13–17)

9.The Valley of Vision (Jerusalem) (22:1–25)

10.Tyre (23:1–18)

C.Prophecies of God’s judgment upon the earth (24:1–35:10)

1.The Lord will lay waste the earth (24:1–23)

2.Songs of praise for the Lord’s deliverance and judgment (25:1–27:13)

3.Woe to Ephraim (Israel) (28:1–29)

4.Woe to Ariel (Jerusalem); the promise of the Holy One of Israel (29:1–30:33)

5.Woe and judgment on sinners; consolation and joy for the redeemed (31:1–35:10)

D.Transition: Isaiah closes the book on Assyria and introduces Babylon (36:1–39:8)

1.Sennacherib invades Judah and threatens Jerusalem (36:1–22)

2.The Lord’s answers Hezekiah’s prayer (37:1–38)

3.Hezekiah’s illness and deliverance (38:1–22)

4.Hezekiah’s lapse and the future conquest by Babylon (39:1–8)

   II.Comfort and consolation (40:1–66:24)*

*  Part Two is Treated in Isaiah 40–66.

Synopsis of the Political World of Isaiah

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (Isaiah 1:1).

*   The dates must be understood as identical, but there must have been a time when both Jotham and Ahaz reigned as kings of Judah at the same time; coregency complicates the dating.

References to Isaiah in the New Testament

The Gospels

Acts and the Epistles

PART ONE

blackline

Woes and Judgments

(1:1–39:8)

Prophecies Concerning Judah and Jerusalem

Introduction

Isaiah 1:1

1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The vision, Isaiah begins. God appeared to Isaiah, like other prophets before him, with a message for his people. None of the prophets imagined these visions; they came from God. Isaiah records the details of one of his visions in chapter 6. God gave him others. In this opening verse, Isaiah introduces the entire collection of those visions. They all came from God, who wished to communicate to his people what was on his mind and heart. As we begin our study of Isaiah some 2,700 years later, we trust it is a message from God, just as Peter said, Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). We believe it is God’s inspired Word.

God called Isaiah at an important time in the history of his people, midway between Moses and Christ. In any review of the history of God’s people, a number of phases appear. The first phase of their history was complete. God had created Israel as his people and given them a land of their own. The second phase had already begun when Isaiah began his ministry. God’s people had begun to turn away from him. So God commissioned Isaiah. Among other things, God sent Isaiah to announce his judgment upon his people and to call them to repentance. But in spite of the prophet’s work, they would remain in their rebellion and sin. Isaiah had the difficult task of preaching the brutal, harsh message of judgment and seeing it fall on deaf ears. He had an even more difficult task of announcing the love and mercy of God and watching as God’s people refused to listen. The beautiful gospel promises Isaiah proclaimed confirmed the people in their unbelief and rebellion.

The third phase would come. Their sin made it inevitable: God would bring judgment and surrender his people to the heathen. But that was not the end! Already in the Garden of Eden, God had promised a deliverer. He had not yet come. The fourth phase would also come in the more distant future. A remnant would endure. That smaller group of God’s people would be restored to greet the promised Messiah. It has all been fulfilled.

Since the time of Isaiah, one more phase has occurred. God has gathered people from the other nations as guests for his banquet of mercy and grace in the Messiah. Praise God we are among them! Together with believers of all nations, including those of Judah and Jerusalem, we wait for the glory of our eternal home. Isaiah saw it all! God revealed it through the visions he sent. Because of all God shared with Isaiah, his words are a source of great comfort and strength. How often God’s people have turned to the prophecy of Isaiah! The New Testament writers refer to his vision more than any other single Old Testament prophet. God’s people in every age look to Isaiah for instruction, admonition, warning, and comfort.

When Isaiah wrote that this vision was for Judah and Jerusalem, he demonstrated a concern for the history of God’s people and the coming of the Messiah from those people. His visions touched the future of other nations too—Samaria, Syria, Egypt, and Persia among others. While Isaiah didn’t seem to venture outside of Jerusalem, God’s visions opened up the world and the future to him. The record of Isaiah is extraordinary. Isaiah began his work at the end of Uzziah’s reign and continued it through the reign of Hezekiah. Uzziah died in 739 B.C. and Hezekiah in 698 B.C., a period of about 40 years.

Those years were years of great change. The reigns of Uzziah and Jotham, his son, were times of outward prosperity. Both were God-fearing kings, but they did not remove the high places of cult worship in Judah. Ahaz was among the worst kings of Judah. He sacrificed his own son, shut down the temple, commissioned idols for worshiping Baal, and offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus. He began the entanglement with the Assyrians. When he saw an altar in Damascus, he built a copy of it in Jerusalem and offered sacrifices on it. Ahaz opened the door for the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. His son, Hezekiah, rejected his father’s efforts. Hezekiah destroyed the high places, purified and reopened the temple, and then celebrated the Passover. His reign was a time of spiritual reformation, but the Assyrians invaded Judah, ravaged the countryside, and threatened Jerusalem. God delivered the city, and Isaiah was in the middle of all this change.

No doubt Isaiah gathered, edited, and arranged the revelation God gave him. Even in that process, God the Holy Spirit worked within him so that the words Isaiah penned on the scroll were words taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Over the centuries, thousands of scribes were very careful in preserving the vision of Isaiah, as well as the words of other holy writers. The Dead Sea Scrolls testify to the message of Isaiah. Several copies of Isaiah’s prophecy were included among the ancient scrolls discovered in the Judean desert. These Hebrew copies are centuries older than the copies previously used by scholars. Yet those copies are remarkably the same as the text of Isaiah that generations of believers had read before their discovery. Isaiah’s vision is from God. We will honor it as God’s message and listen carefully.

Isaiah 1:2–4

²Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!

For the LORD has spoken:

"I reared children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me.

³The ox knows his master,

the donkey his owner’s manger,

but Israel does not know,

my people do not understand."

⁴Ah, sinful nation,

a people loaded with guilt,

a brood of evildoers,

children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the LORD;

they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

Isaiah called the heavens and earth to bear witness to God’s complaint. By God’s powerful word, the heavens and earth came into existence. The host of heaven—the stars, sun, and moon—serve as witnesses to all human history, and together with the hills, valleys, and seas, they have quietly endured human history. If the heavens and earth could talk, they would share the story of God’s promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation. Over the course of history God had made Abraham’s descendants a great nation in Egypt and brought them to the land he promised. The hills had silently watched God give Israel victory over her enemies; the stars had been there when Solomon erected the temple. God had reared his children and made them great. With this solemn and eloquent invocation, the prophet reminded his people of all God has done for them.

Why call on the heavens and earth? Human vision is limited by a lifetime. Psalm 90 reminds us that men and women are swept away in the sleep of death. The psalmist reminds us that like grass, we sprout in the morning only to become dry and withered by evening. The heavens and earth outlive generation upon generation. Although they too will end, they stand as eye witnesses to God’s grace and mercy to his children. The heavens and earth verify the truth God announced. The Scriptures invoke the heavens and earth as witnesses on other occasions. Moses called to them in Deuteronomy chapter 32, and Micah chapter 6 recorded God’s appeal to them. The truth of what God was about to say was not lost in the rise and disappearance of generations. No! It stretches beyond the generations.

But the truth hurts! First, it hurts Israel’s Father and Lord. He speaks as the heavenly Father concerned about his dear children! He complains that animals know their owners and masters but Judah and Jerusalem do not know him. The contrast between oxen and Israel and between donkeys and my people heightens the painful truth. Animals without intelligence know more than God’s own people. God here appears as a deeply grieved father. In spite of all he has done, his children don’t know, understand, or appreciate his love and mercy.

The Lord is the speaker here, For the LORD has spoken. Note that the name is spelled with capital letters. This is the God of the covenant, Jehovah, the Savior-God who had entered into a solemn covenant with the human race by promising a Savior to Adam and Eve. The Lord confirmed and expanded upon his covenant promise of salvation to Noah, Abraham, and Israel. As part of this covenant, the Lord had chosen the nation of Israel to be his own, had brought them out of Egypt, and had given them a land of their own. He had revealed himself to Moses as the great I AM (Exodus 3:14), who is the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin (Exodus 34:6, 7). But this Lord is so deeply troubled by human behavior that he concludes that his children are filled with guilt, evil, and corruption. This Lord also revealed, Yet [the LORD] does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:7).

Judah and Jerusalem, God’s Old Testament people, have disappointed their Father. They have forsaken him. But it is even worse. They have rejected him. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel. They are not just forgetful of all he has done; they have actively turned away from him. Ah, sinful nation, he sighed. They just don’t know him or understand his efforts to use them in his plan of saving all the world.

Isaiah uses the term Holy One of Israel—a name that has special significance in his prophecy. The name occurs a total of 26 times in Isaiah. The idea of holiness implies something that is separate and unique. God is holy. He is without sin, powerful, and far above everything human. Humans approach him with reverence and awe: consider Isaiah’s reaction to this Holy One in chapter 6. But this Holy One has an unfathomable love for his creatures. This God is all goodness, love, kindness, blessing, and salvation—everything that is different from fallen humanity. He reaches out to bridge the difference between himself and his fallen creatures—a wide gap that separated a holy God from his sinful creatures. Fallen humanity cannot bridge the difference by any thought or action. But God, the Holy One of Israel, acts to bring all those blessings to unholy humanity through the plan of salvation. There is no holiness for any human outside of God’s action in Christ. Isaiah will spend a great deal of time explaining the coming of the Messiah. It is no surprise that he uses the term Holy One of Israel so often.

The Holy One was absolutely holy himself, and he would make his people holy. When his people reject the gracious efforts of the God of free and faithful grace, the Lord who is holy must oppose and punish those who remain unholy by their unbelief. Sadly, Judah spurned the Holy One, whom Luther identifies as Christ. To what depths Isaiah’s audience had sunk! Even the demons recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24). God’s chosen people, however, had turned their backs on the holy God, who alone could make them holy.

Rejecting God and rebelling against him are always serious matters. So is the judgment announced here. Make no mistake, the Lord has spoken. But who listens when the Lord speaks? Certainly not those who reject him. Although God points out the sins of his people in an effort to turn them back to his grace, most fail to listen. Even if Isaiah were to speak this painful truth a thousand times, those who had rejected God would dismiss it. When the consequences of their rebellion and sin crash upon them, they may say, God, why didn’t you warn us? Well, God did! They wouldn’t listen. They chose to remain in their sin and rebellion rather than change.

But those who know God by grace listen. Some in Isaiah’s day listened. Some in every age listen. In Jesus’ day some listened; some did not. Jesus said, He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God (John 8:47). The harsh words recorded in Isaiah were to call the people of Judah and Jerusalem to their senses, but most would not listen. Isaiah played the sad notes of the Savior’s song. As Jesus concluded his teaching in the temple during Holy Week, he said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).

We do well to perk up our ears every time God speaks. It is all too easy to take God’s message for granted. God must call us to repentance regularly, lest our perverse sinful nature lead us to forsake and reject all he has done for us. His goal is always to keep us as his own. Even when his words are harsh, he still loves us. As our heavenly Father, he has made us, has redeemed us, and calls us together to spread the message of his love. As we listen to his Word, he will sustain us as his people at this time in history and will give us strength to carry out his will.

Isaiah 1:5–7

⁵Why should you be beaten anymore?

Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart afflicted.

⁶From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

or soothed with oil.

⁷Your country is desolate,

your cities burned with fire;

your fields are being stripped by foreigners

right before you,

laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

The Father of Israel—that is, the Lord Jehovah—was exasperated by his people. He disciplined his rebellious people as a father disciplines a wayward child. But the discipline has only confirmed their behavior instead of correcting it. God’s children hardened themselves even more in their rebellion. What a difference between this discipline and the discipline God administered to his people during the time of the judges. Back then when the people turned away from God, he sent an enemy to chastise them. When they realized their sin, they prayed to the Lord for deliverance, and he sent them deliverance. Such was the pattern of the judges. But Judah was past that stage. Now they did not turn to the Lord when he sent them affliction.

The heavenly Father questions the effectiveness of sending difficulty. He asks, Why should you be beaten anymore? The spiritual condition of his children was repulsive. Wounds had not been cleansed and bandaged. They festered. The discipline God sent had not driven them to their knees or turned them away from sin. This was not what the Lord wanted. When he sent healing and comfort to his people through the prophets, they rejected it. Instead, they remained pitiful and stubborn—wounded and bruised from the bottom of their feet to the top of their heads.

How do we respond to the Lord’s discipline? God still corrects his children by discipline; he does it for our good. But discipline in the form of trouble and affliction is not a means of grace. It does not strengthen faith. Instead, it causes us to pause and think. Believers learn to despair of help except in God. They turn to him in prayer and rejoice in the message of his Word. Then the Holy Spirit through the Word strengthens, comforts, and sustains. He speaks to us in his Word and gives us healing and comfort there. Such is God’s plan. But the same discipline may bring a different result in someone else who refuses to turn to the Lord’s promises. The pain will only keep such people away from God. They will refuse to listen to his words of comfort. Instead, they will blame God, curse him, and continue in their unbelief. When the pain of discipline intrudes into our lives, remember God’s plan. God corrects you as a father corrects his children (Hebrews 12:7 God’s Word). We can find strength in God’s words of love and forgiveness, but if we turn away from his promises, we will find no strength or comfort.

Isaiah 1:8–9

⁸The Daughter of Zion is left

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut in a field of melons,

like a city under siege.

⁹Unless the LORD Almighty

had left us some survivors,

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah.

The discipline of God often came in the form of foreign armies that invaded Israel’s homeland. God asked his Old Testament children to look at the results of his discipline. The conditions in Jerusalem around 700 B.C. were a long way from the glory days of David and Solomon. In Isaiah’s day, those glory days returned during the reign of Uzziah and Jotham, but they quickly disappeared. Twice Jerusalem witnessed the discipline Isaiah announced here. First, the armies of Israel and Syria ravaged the countryside and left Jerusalem like a hut in a field of melons. Then, years later, the Assyrian army left Judah just as it is described here. Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem but was unable to subdue it. God intervened to preserve the city. But the countryside felt the power of the Assyrian armies. The citizens of Jerusalem watched it all from the top of the city wall that protected them. It happened before their very eyes. They could do nothing to change the course of events. But this prophecy stood to remind them that it all came from God because of their sin and rebellion.

So why did the Lord continue to send such discipline? He still loved his children. He still wanted them to receive the gracious blessings he had for them. While the Lord Almighty could have abandoned these people because of their stubborn rebellion, he had promised a Savior for all the world through them. The stench of their sins rose to heaven and was no different than the stench of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18, 19). Remember, God rained fire from heaven upon those citizens because of their sins and destroyed them forever. Their place remains desolate and dead even today. He would bring a similar judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Some would survive, but only a few. Isaiah inserts this observation. The Lord had the power to destroy all his people just like he destroyed those two godless cities, but the Lord had a promise to keep. He would leave survivors among the Jews in order to fulfill the promise he made to Adam, Abraham, David, and others. The Savior would come; God would see to it. He would preserve a remnant because of his gracious promise, not because these people were any better than the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. In some ways they were worse. The Lord had made them his people, but they rejected him. Sodom and Gomorrah had no such advantage to squander.

Isaiah 1:10–17

¹⁰Hear the word of the LORD,

you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the law of our God,

you