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Isaiah
The vision
of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning David Rice Isaiah is
one of the longer books of the Bible, exceeding all but Genesis, Psalms,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Isaiah contains 66 chapters, as many chapters as there
are books in the Bible. There are five distinct parts to the book, three
prophetic segments separated by two historical interludes. 1. Chapters
1-6—recitation of sins In this
article we will briefly consider each of these segments in turn, preceded by an
overview of Isaiah’s life and times. Isaiah Isaiah was a
prophet of the southern kingdom, Judah, and he had a lengthy ministry during
the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1). Tradition says it
was he who Paul referred to as “sawn asunder” (Hebrews 11:37), during the reign
of Manasseh, which means Isaiah’s ministry would have spanned more than five
decades. Isaiah was a
contemporary of the northern prophets Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, probably
a little younger than they, and contemporary with but senior to Micah and
perhaps Joel in the southern kingdom (note the parallel prophecy in Isaiah
2:2-4, Micah 4:1-3). His wife was
a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3), and his children were given names meaningful to the
burden of his prophecies—Shear-jashub, “the remnant shall return,” and
Maher-shalal-hash-baz, “speeding to the spoil, he hasteth to the prey” (Isaiah
7:3; 8:1). These were “for signs and wonders” in Israel. Even Isaiah’s clothing
of sackcloth probably symbolized the penitence he urged upon Israel, and his loosing from
it a sign of coming bondage (Isaiah 20:2). Everything about Isaiah seems
devoted to his ministry, and this kind of consecrated faith, applied earnestly
in distressing circumstances, is an example of godly devotion even for the New
Creation.
Recitation
of Sins—Chapters 1-6 Chapter one
opens with stinging rebukes. “Israel … [is a] sinful nation, a people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have
forsaken the LORD … From the sole
of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores [from repeated chastenings]: … Your country is desolate,
your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your
presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers … Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very
small remnant, we should have been as Sodom” (Isaiah 1:3-9). Though this
introduces the book, the circumstances described apply better to the days of
Ahaz than of Uzziah and Jotham when Judah was strong. Perhaps chapter one was
not the first pronouncement from Isaiah, but composed later as an introduction
to the book, with the tragedies of the reign of Ahaz in view. Thus chapter two
begins “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem,” as though introducing the prophecy following the foreword. In this
case the record begins with one of the most famous of Isaiah’s prophecies: “In
the last days the mountain of the LORD’s
house shall be established in the top of the mountains … out of Zion shall go
forth the law … nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:2-4). That would
be the future. But Isaiah’s present was very different. “Thou hast forsaken thy
people … because” they are rich, laden with treasures, and the land “is full of
idols” (verses 6-8). Chapter
three warns: “The LORD of hosts
doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah … the whole stay of bread, and the
whole stay of water” (verse 1). The mighty men, warriors, judges, prophets,
elders, and captains would all suffer this fate (verses 2-4). Figuratively,
women and children would rule them because of their weakness (verse 12). For
the immoralities of the maidens (verse 16) God would smite them “with a scab,” reminiscent
of Uzziah’s leprosy for his arrogance. When these judgments would fall, such
women would seek dignity, seven willing to take the name of one man, even
though general poverty required them to provide for themselves (Isaiah 4:1).
The “filth of the daughters of Zion” would be purged, through “judgment and by
the spirit of burning” (verse 4). Chapter 5
introduces the story of the vineyard, symbolizing Israel, which Jesus referred
to in Matthew 21:33. The vineyard was unproductive after much care. At last the
owner determined to lay it waste, unpruned, untilled, with briers and without
water (verses 1-6). Judea was laid waste by stages, depleted by Assyria and
Babylon, and in our Lord’s day even more thoroughly by Rome. After recounting
various sins Isaiah said “For all this [God’s] anger is not turned away, but
his hand is stretched out [in punishments] still” (verse 25), a phrase oft
repeated in this book. Chapter 6
introduces a remarkable vision given to Isaiah about these approaching
judgments. “In the year that king Uzziah died”—perhaps his leprosy symbolized
Israel’s sin, and his death the judgments to come—Isaiah saw a vision of
Jehovah “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (verse 1). The posts of the
door moved and the house was filled with smoke, all portents of awesome
judgments at hand. Isaiah’s lips were purged with a coal from the altar and he
was commanded to preach to the Israelites “until the cities be wasted without
inhabitant” (verses 4-11). Later a promised holy seed would return and sprout
again (verse 13). Certainly
this scene applied in Isaiah’s day. John 12:41 indicates it applies also in the
Jewish Harvest, and the same symbols are used in revelation of the Gospel
Harvest judgments. Conspiracy
against Ahaz—Chapters 7-9 Ahaz was one
of the most wicked kings of Judah, and God punished him severely (2 Chronicles
28:1-8). But he was the seed of David and God would deliver him from a
conspiracy by Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria to replace Ahaz with a puppet
of their choice. Their motive was to form an alliance of all three kingdoms to
oppose Assyria, whose king Tiglath-Pileser (the third) was pushing westward. Israel and
Syria were right to be concerned. In a short time Tiglath-Pileser conquered
both nations, Rezin and Pekah died, and “Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria …
carried away the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh”
(1 Chronicles 5:26), in addition to much of the heartland of Samaria, namely Hazor, Galilee, and
Naphtali (2 Kings 15:29). Pekah, who initially
ruled in Gilead, east of the Jordan, was a rival of Menahem of Samaria who
had paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings 15:20). When Pekah gained
power at Samaria, his opposition to Assyria, his former rival’s ally, had
already been established. He should have appealed to God and heeded Hosea and
Amos, but instead plotted the overthrow of Ahaz to force Judah’s cooperation. Ahaz was
troubled: “His heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of
the wood are moved with the wind” (Isaiah 7:2). As he was inspecting his water
supply, the prophet Isaiah came to Ahaz with an assurance from God: “Fear not,
neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the
fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of [Pekah] the son of Remaliah … [their conspiracy] shall
not stand” (Isaiah 7:1-7). As a sign of
the coming deliverance Ahaz was told “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel [“God with us”] … before the child shall know
to refuse the evil, and choose the good [before about two years of age], the
land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings [Pekah and Rezin]”
(Isaiah 7:14-16). The sign to
Ahaz was fulfilled by a young maiden producing a child in presumably a natural
way. But all Christians know that this prophecy also predicted the birth of
Jesus by a young virgin in a miraculous way (Matthew 1:23). The episodes were
similar in that both involved a regal conspiracy to break the Davidic
line—Pekah in antiquity, and Herod (“the Great”) in Jesus’ day. By either means
God’s promise to David would be broken, and probably Satan was the master of
both plots. The balance
of chapter seven details the judgment to come shortly upon the conspirators,
executed through “the king of Assyria” (verse 17). This would be the first of a
series of punishments. Nine years after the fall of Pekah his successor Hoshea
would lose his kingdom to Shalmaneser (the fifth) of Assyria in 723 B.C. (2 Kings 17:3-6). The three year
siege of Samaria can be identified in the Assyrian records as years 2, 3, and 4
of Shalmaneser. Isaiah 7:8
adds an obscure time prophecy, predicting that within 65 years “Ephraim,”
representing the ten tribes of Israel, would “be broken, that it be not a
people.” This extends well beyond the collapse of their kingdom in Hoshea’s
ninth year, and includes the successive Assyrian deportations of northern
residents well into the reign of Judah’s king Manasseh. There may be a
fulfillment in our Lord’s day also. From the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., ending the national polity of
Israel, until the thorough vanquishing of Israel as a people in the Bar Kochba
Rebellion in 135 A.D., was a
period of 65 years. The reverse of this occurred in modern times. From the
beginning of hostilities in Palestine in 1915, during World War I, until the
re-adoption of Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel in 1980, was 65
years as well. Chapter
eight warns that Assyria would sweep through Judah also, “he shall reach even
to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings [armies] shall fill the
breadth of thy land [Judah]” (Isaiah 8:8). This was fulfilled a few years later
in Sennacherib’s attack upon Hezekiah (Isaiah chapters 36-39). Most of
Israel and Judah would not respond to Jehovah’s chastisements; He would be “a
sanctuary” to the few, but “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to
[the majority of] both the houses of Israel” (Isaiah 8:13, 14), just as Jesus
would be later at the first advent. Isaiah and his children were for signs to
the wayward Israelites: “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for
wonders in Israel” (verse 18). These represent Christ and his followers at the
first advent (Hebrews 2:13). In Chapter 9
the early afflictions of Israel by Tiglath-Pileser upon Zebulun and Naphtali,
and the more grievous afflictions of Galilee and Gilead would yield to a
blessing during the later years of Hezekiah, and “the people that walked in
darkness” would see “a great light” —prophecies which applied also to Israel’s
later afflictions under the Romans, and the light of Jesus which would appear
in the aftermath (Isaiah 9:1,2; Luke 1:79). Ultimately
“the rod of his oppressor” would be broken despite the tumult of battle of the
warrior (Isaiah 9:4,5). This introduces the famous prophecy of verses 6 and 7
about Christ: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and
with justice from henceforth even for ever.” Possibly this lovely prophecy had
a token fulfillment in the next king, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz. But it can only
really be fulfilled in Christ. “Burdens” and “Woes”—Chapters
10-35 Chapter 10
begins “Woe” to the unrighteous leaders of Israel, but this denouncement is
part of the context from 9:8 to 10:4. Beginning with verse five Isaiah
prophesies the fall of Assyria, “the rod of mine anger,” after God uses it to
punish his people, and chapters 11 and 12 advance the prophetic vision to the
first advent when Christ would grow as “a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
Branch … out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1). In his administration there would be
righteousness, “the rod of his mouth … shall slay the wicked,” peace will
become universal, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea,” and
the scattered Israelites would be gathered “the second time” (through verse
11). Israel will be victorious over “the Philistines toward the west … [and]
Edom and Moab and … Ammon” to the east, suggesting more victories for Israel east
of the Jordan still to come (verse 14). Chapters 13
to 23 contain a series of “burdens” against various countries: Babylon,
Philistia, Moab, Syria and Israel, Cush, Egypt and Cush, Babylon, Dumah and
Arabia, Jerusalem, and Tyre. From these we note three specifics: 1. Though
Isaiah lived during the Assyrian period, a century before it was apparent
Babylon would supersede them, the prophet not only speaks of the later fall of
Babylon but specifies that Medes would conquer them (Isaiah 13:17), and likens
Babylon to Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 19), a symbolism used also by Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 50:40) and Revelation (Revelation 11:8). This helps us to recognize
the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah
as a picture of the fall of Christendom, and Lot’s escape as a picture of
the flight of the Great Company at the close of the harvest. The
prophetic language of Isaiah 13:10,13 is the predicate for similar language in
Matthew 24:29, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 6:12-14. 2. Isaiah
20:1 was given in “the year that Tartan [military commander] came unto Ashdod
(when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him), and fought against Ashdod [of the
Philistines] and took it.” Once this text was derided by skeptics who
challenged the existence of such a Sargon. Now we have copious Assyrian annals
of his 17-year reign (more than 100 pages), which intervened between
Shalmaneser (who took Samaria) and Sennacherib (who besieged Hezekiah). These
annals include 12 specific references to Ashdod. Here is the first one: “Azuru,
king of Ashdod, plotted in his heart to withhold (his) tribute … I put an
end to his rule … and setup Ahimitu, his full brother, as king over them …
against Ashdod, his royal city, I advanced in haste” (Ancient Records of
Assyria, Luckenbill, 1968, vol. 2, pp. 13,14). 3. Isaiah
21:1-10 applies to the present harvest. A watchman announced to the persecuted
ones the fall of Babylon and their consequent release, just as the Seventh
Messenger of Revelation 3:14 announced the fall of mystic Babylon and the
release of the saints. Now is a time to “eat, drink, arise, ye princes,
and anoint the shield” of faith (verse 5)—pictures of our feasting on spiritual
truths. The next
four chapters describe God’s judgments (24), his deliverance (25), praise to
God for it (26), and the restoration of Israel after the demise of their
enemies (27). Isaiah 26:19 contains the first explicit mention of the
resurrection: “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise, You who dwell in
the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the
earth will give birth to her dead” (NIV).
This may in part be the predicate for Ephesians 5:14, “awake … arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light,” but presumably applies to the kingdom
even more fully. Isaiah 27:1 mentions slaying the “dragon that is in the sea”
by the “sword” of truth, referring not to the death of Satan after the little
season, but his vanquishing as a dragon, ruler of nations, at the close of the
Harvest. Chapters 28
to 35 are “woes” to Ephraim (28), Jerusalem (29), evil doers (29:15-24), those
who rely on Egypt (30, 31), the Assyrian spoiler (33), and Edom (34),
punctuated with prophecies of Christ and his kingdom (32, 35), fulfilled at the
two advents of Christ. Assault
on Hezekiah—Chapters 36-39 These
chapters are a second historical interlude about 30 years after that in
chapters 7-9. The subject is Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C., the 14th year of Hezekiah and
4th year of Sennacherib. It is widely considered to picture Israel’s
deliverance by God from the invasion of Gog in Israel’s last hour of peril. There were
actually two perils at this time, the Assyrians outside the gates and the
mortal sickness of Hezekiah within. We know these troubles were synchronous
because God told him, through Isaiah, that he would heal his sickness and “add
unto thy days fifteen years, And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of
Assyria” (Isaiah 38:5, 6). Likewise Israel faces two perils in the last
times, Gog from the north, but also the systemic sickness of sin within. Deliverance
from the illness of Hezekiah came through a plaister of figs laid upon his
boil, apparently extracting the infection from Hezekiah. Similarly, at the
crescendo of Israel’s peril, the Ancient Worthies (good figs) will be raised to
lead Israel out of sin and heal them. Hezekiah’s 15 years of extended life
probably represent God’s everlasting deliverance of Israel through the seven
kings (the Church) and eight princes (Ancient Worthies) who come to their aid
(Micah 5:5). The same assistance is pictured in Ezekiel’s Temple by the flight
of seven steps and eight steps leading to God (Ezekiel 40:26,31). This
deliverance was presaged by turning back a shadow by ten “degrees” or
steps, contrary to nature (Isaiah 38:8). Probably this represents the
turning back of God’s judgment against Israel by their regathering from the
“ten horns” or “ten toes,” the fragments of the Roman Empire. The
turning back of their diaspora, already occurring, presages the coming full
deliverance of Israel. Return
from Captivity—Chapters 40-66 This last
segment of Isaiah is the longest, which curiously divides the 66 chapters of
Isaiah into 39 and 27, just as the 66 books of the Bible are divided by the Old
and New Testaments. This segment is sometimes supposed to be the work of a
later author, because of the particularity of the prophecies—Cyrus is mentioned
by name in Isaiah 45:1—and mention of the fall of the temple, “our adversaries
have trodden down thy sanctuary,” is made in Isaiah 63:18. But on
behalf of the unity of the composition are the following considerations from
the NIV’s introduction to Isaiah:
1) Isaiah is the only name attached to it (see 1:1; 2:1; 13:1); 2) The
expression “the Holy One of Israel” occurs 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 14
times in 40-66, but rarely (six times) outside of Isaiah; 3) There are at least
25 Hebrew words or forms found in both parts of Isaiah that occur in no other
prophetic writing. Of special
note in this section are chapter 42 about “My servant” Christ, anointed with
the spirit (see My Father’s Business, p. 21), chapter 54, the source for
Paul’s thoughts on the Covenants (see The Sarah Covenant Bears Fruit, p.
15), chapter 61, Christ’s anointing and ministry (see Waves of Blessing,
p. 25), and chapter 65, the peaceful administration of Christ (see They
Shall Not Hurt, p. 29). Chapter 40
predicts the ministry of John the Baptist (verse 3), the advent of Christ
(verse 9), and the gathering of his flock (verses 11 and 31). All of these have
parallels in our day. Chapters 40-44 all have something to do with the
introduction of Christ’s ministry and the blessing of those in Jacob who would
turn to their Messiah. Chapters
45-48 speak of the fall of Babylon and consequent release of the Jews: “Go ye
forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing … The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob”
(Isaiah 48:20). Israel, “my servant” (Isaiah 49:3), would be honored, and the one chosen “to bring Jacob
again” to God would become “a light [also] to the Gentiles” (verses 5, 6) when
the gospel call was introduced. As a woman cannot “forget her sucking child”
(verse 15), so God would not abandon the Israelites but restore them from
Babylon to prepare them for Christ. But most
would not respond: “Wherefore, when I came, was there no man?” Thus Israel would
be “sold … for your iniquities” and their mother (the Law Covenant) “put away …
for your transgressions” (Isaiah 50:1,2). Christ would be rejected, shamed, and
spit upon (verse 6), but would “set [his] face like a flint” to endure the
scorn (verse 7) knowing “God will help me” (verse 9). In chapter
51 Israel was urged to “Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare
you” (verse 2), and receive the “comfort” of the gospel (verse 3), when the
redemption price was paid and “my salvation is gone forth” (verse 5). As for
the old Law age, “the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall
wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die” (verse 6), as
many did in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The pattern
of chapters 45-51 is repeated in chapters 52 to 66. Israel is freed from
Babylon to prepare for Messiah (52), the one smitten and afflicted for us (53),
the Abrahamic blessings spring forth to the church as a result (54), the waters
of life issue freely to all who wish them (55), the Judgments of God consume
the unfaithful residue of Israel (56), even as “sons of the stranger,”
Gentiles, embrace the Gospel call (56:6). The transgressions of Israel are itemized (57,
58, 59), but nevertheless “the Redeemer shall come to Zion … to them
that turn from transgression in Jacob” in fulfillment of God’s covenant to his
people (59:20,21). Thus will Israel become a light to the nations through the Gospel (later again
in the kingdom) (60). When the
Lord’s ministry begins (61:1), the distressed but faithful among Israel
will receive the “oil of joy for mourning” (verse 3), become “trees of
righteousness, the planting of the LORD”
(verse 3), and “rejoice in their portion” (verse 7). God will appoint watchmen
to announce the blessed news (62:6), the rebellious will be trodden in the
winepress (63:3), and the heavens will be rent with judgment (64:1). The gospel
will open to the Gentiles and Christ will “be found of them that sought me not”
(65:1). Christ will appear “to your joy” he assures the faithful, but “they
shall be ashamed” who are otherwise (66:5), leading to recompense upon the
city, temple, and the ungodly (66:6), but the birth of a new creation for the
godly (66:7, 8). All of these
blessings have a parallel fulfillment at the second advent. Then the captivity
broken is the Roman diaspora, the blessings are for the kingdom, the Gentiles
who seek God through Israel are the entire world, the judgments will be upon
Christendom (such as the treading of the winepress), and the transgressors cut
off are the disobedient of the world who perish in the little season (66:24).
With this the visions of the blessed prophet are complete. |