Isaiah: A Prophet for All Seasons

Introduction – Part 2   by Samuel E. Ward   Sir Winston Churchill was once asked to give the qualifications a person needed in order to succeed in politics, and he replied: "It is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen." Because God's prophets were correct all of the time, they didn't have to explain away their mistakes. "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true," wrote Moses, "that is a message the Lord has not spoken" (Deu 18:22, NIV). "To the law and to the testimony," wrote Isaiah; "if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa 8:20). Isaiah was a man who had God's light, and he was not afraid to let it shine. Before we examine the text of Isaiah's prophecy, let's get acquainted with the background of the book so that we can better understand the man and his times. --Warren Wiersbe, Be Comforted:  Commentary on Isaiah   I. Isaiah, a Prophet of the True God   A. The name "Isaiah" means "salvation of the Lord," and salvation (deliverance) is the key theme of his book.   Wiersbe notes that Isaiah wrote concerning  five different acts of deliverent acts of deliverance that God would perform:   1. The deliverance of Judah from Assyrian invasion, Isa 10:12   Isaiah 10:12 (NIV) 12When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.    2. The deliverance of the nation from the Babylonian captivity, Isa 43:14 Isaiah 43:14 (NIV) 14This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  "For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride.   3. The future deliverance of the Jews from worldwide dispersion among the Gentiles, Isa 11:11-12 Isaiah 11:11-12 (NIV) 11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.  12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.   4. The deliverance of lost sinners from judgment, Isa 53:4-6 Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV) 4Surely he took up our infirmities     and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.   5. The final deliverance of creation from the bondage of sin when the kingdom is established, Isa 60:1-3 Isaiah 60:1-3 (NIV) 1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.  2See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.  3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.   B. Isaiah was married, and his wife was called "the prophetess" (8:3), either because she was married to a prophet or because she shared the prophetic gift. C. He fathered two sons whose names have prophetic significance: Shear-jashub ("a remnant shall return"; 7:3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz ("quick to plunder, swift to the spoil"; 8:1-4, 18).   The two names speak of the nation's judgment and restoration, two important themes in Isaiah's prophecy. D. Isaiah was called to his ministry "in the year that King Uzziah died" (6:1), 739 B.C.   E. Isaiah ministered through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who died in 686. Tradition says that Manasseh, King Hezekiah's successor, killed Isaiah by having him sawn in half (Heb. 11:37); but there is no record of this in Scripture.    F. Isaiah was a man of godly character-sw.    1. He was obedient in his service, Isa 6:8-9. Isaiah 6:8-9 (NIV) 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9He said, "Go and tell this people:     "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;     be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'   2. He was an enemy of sin and false religion, Isa 1:4 Isaiah 1:4 (NIV) 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 Israeland turned their backs on him.   3. He was undaunted by kings and public opinion, Isa 39:5-7 Isaiah 1:4 (NIV) 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.   4. He was adept in his role as a communicator of God's Word.  His use of words, spoken and written, rival anything in all of human literature in its beauty and ability to stir its recipients.   Wiersbe highlights these examples of imagery from Isaiah's description of the nation as . . .   . . . a diseased body, a harlot, a useless vineyard, a bulging wall about to fall down, and a woman in travail. Assyria, the enemy, would come like a swollen stream, a swarm of bees, a lion, and an axe. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah knew how to stir the imagination of his listeners so that he might arouse their interest and teach them God's truth. --Warren Wiersbe, Be Comforted:  Commentary on Isaiah   II. The Kings During Isaiah's Ministry   A. Isaiah prophesied during the days of "Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah", Isa 1:1.   B. The nation had divided after the death of Solomon, 1 Kings 12.   1. The priesthood and the Davidic throne belonged to Judah. 2. The ten northern tribes formed the kingdom of Israel (Ephraim), with Samaria as its capital city 3. Benjamin and Judah united to form the kingdom of Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital city.   C. Though Isaiah predicted the fall of Israel to Assyria, which occurred in 722 B.C., his major focus was on Judah and Jerusalem, Isa 1:1. Isaiah 1:1 (NIV) 1The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.   1. Uzziah is also called Azariah. a. He was acknowledged as a good king, 2 Chron 26:4.   2 Chronicles 26:4 (NIV) 4He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.    b. He became prideful and was stricken with leprosy until his death, 2 Chron 26:16, 21.   2 Chronicles 26:16 (NIV) 16But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. . . .   2 Chronicles 26:21 (NIV)21King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.   2. Jotham was also considered a good king, 2 Kings 15:34-35a. 2 Kings 15:34-35 (NIV) 34He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done.  35The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.   During Jotham's reign Assyria began to be a threat to Judah   3. Ahaz was an evil king, 2 Kings 16:2-3.   2 Kings 16:2-3 (NIV) 2Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.  3He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.    4. Hezekiah reigned forty-two years and was one of Judah's greatest kings, 2 Kings 18:5-8.   2 Kings 18:5-8 (NIV) 5Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.  6He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.  7And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.  8From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.   5. The ministry of Isaiah spans a period of over fifty years, from 739 B.C. (the death of Uzziah) to 686 b.c. (the death of Hezekiah); and it probably extended into the early years of King Manasseh.   It was a difficult time of international upheaval, when first one power and then another threatened Judah. But the greatest dangers were not outside the nation; they were within. In spite of the godly leadership of King Hezekiah, Judah had no more godly kings. One by one, Hezekiah's successors led the nation into political and spiritual decay, ending in captivity in Babylon. The British expositor G. Campbell Morgan said: "The whole story of the prophet Isaiah . . . is that of a man who spoke to an inattentive age or to an age which, if attentive, mocked him and refused to obey his message, until, as the prophetic period drew to a close, he inquired in anguish, 'Who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?' " (Westminster Pulpit, vol. 10, p. 10)   III. The Messages of Isaiah's Ministry   The following suggested outline will help you get an overview of this magnificent book.    Theme: the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord   A. Condemnation— chaps. 1-39   1. Sermons against Judah and Israel—1-12   a. The sins of the people (chaps. 1-6) b. The sins of the leaders (chaps. 7-12)   2. Burdens of judgment against the Gentiles—chaps. 13-23 Isaiah denounced them for their sins and warned of God's judgment. 3. Songs about future glory—chaps. 24-27   Isaiah 24-27 is devoted to "songs of hope" that describe the glory of the future kingdom. Isaiah sees a day when the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah will return to the land, be reunited and redeemed, and enter into the blessings of the promised kingdom.   4. Woes of coming judgment from Assyria—chaps. 28-35   Chapters 28-35 focus on the impending Assyrian invasion of Israel and Judah. Israel will be destroyed and the ten tribes assimilated into the Assyrian Empire. (This is the origin of the Samaritans, who were part Jewish and part Gentile.) Judah would be invaded and devastated, but Jerusalem would be delivered by the Lord.   5.  Historical Interlude—chaps. 36-39 :  Two key events that occurred during the reign of King Hezekiah:   a. Hezekiah was delivered from Assyria—chaps. 36-37 b. Hezekiah was deceived by Babylon to foolishly cooperate with them—chaps. 38-39   B. Consolation—chaps. 40-66   1. God's greatness—chaps. 40-48 (The Father vs. idols) Isaiah 40:17-19 (NIV) 17Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.  18To whom, then, will you compare God?   What image will you compare him to?  19As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.   2. God's grace—chaps. 49-57 (The Son, God's Servant) Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV) 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.   3. God's glory—chaps. 58-66 (The Spirit and the kingdom)   Isaiah 40:4-5 (NIV) 4Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.  For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."   Relevancy   As you study Isaiah and discover God's prophetic plan for the nations of the world, don't miss his emphasis on the personal message of God's forgiveness. --Warren Wiersbe, Be Comforted:  Commentary on Isaiah   Isaiah 1:18 (NIV) 18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 44:22 (NIV) 22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.  Return to me, for I have redeemed you."   Isaiah 43:25 (NIV) 25 "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) 5    But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 45:22 (NIV) 22 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.  (See Acts 4:12)   ==========================================================