Lesson #02

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RETURN TO SYLLABUS

ISAIAH
Lesson #02
INTRODUCTION–continued

 

• WRITTEN BY:

 

:
• SCHOLARS HAVE ARGUED OVER THE AUTHORSHIP OF ISAIAH. SOME THINK THERE WERE 2 OR 3 AUTHORS DIVIDING THE BOOK INTO 2 OR 3 PARTS DEPENDING ON THE STYLE OF EACH PART.
  • HOWEVER, BECAUSE THE BOOK OF ISAIAH IS QUOTED SO MANY TIMES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND ATTRIBUTED TO ONE MAN, ISAIAH,
  • AND BECAUSE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS CONTAIN A COPY OF THE BOOK INTACT AS WE HAVE IT TODAY, THERE WAS PROBABLY ONLY ONE AUTHOR, THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
  • WE DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE MAN. IT IS BELIEVED THAT HIS FATHER, AMOZ, WAS A BROTHER OF KING AMAZIAH.
    • IF THAT IS TRUE, ISAIAH WOULD BE A COUSIN TO KING UZZIAH.
      • ONE BASIS FOR THIS BELIEF IS THAT THE USAGE OF “IAH” IN A PERSON’S NAME WAS USUALLY RESERVED FOR ROYALTY. (“IAH” MEANS YAWEH OR JEHOVAH)
      • ANOTHER BASIS IS HIS EASY ACCESS TO KING UZZIAH AND TO THE COURT.. (7:1-9)
• ISAIAH, THE MAN:
  • ISAIAH MEANS = SALVATION OF YAHWEH (THE LORD).
  • ISAIAH WAS MARRIED AND HAD AT LEAST 2 SONS WHO HAD PROPHETIC NAMES
    • . (SHEAR-JASHUB = A REMNANT SHALL RETURN
    • -MAHER-SHALAL-HASHBAZ = QUICK TO PLUNDER, SWIFT TO THE SPOIL)
  • ISAIAH WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD WHEN HE WAS CALLED TO BE A PROPHET IN THE YEAR THAT KING UZZIAH DIED (739 OR 740 BC). ISAIAH WAS BORN ABOUT 750-760 BC.
    • HE WAS CONTEMPORARY WITH THE PROPHETS HOSEA AND MICAH. HE LIVED A LONG LIFE, MINISTERING ABOUT 58 YEARS ( 739 – 681 BC) UNDER 3 OF JUDAH’S KINGS.
    • HE DIED ABOUT 75 OR 80 YEARS OF AGE. (ABOUT 686 BC) KING MANASSEH HAD HIM SAWN IN TWO. (HEB 11:37)

 

• DATE:

 

• THERE IS NO SPECIFIC DATE GIVEN TO THE WRITING OF THE BOOK, BUT OBVIOUSLY SOMETIME DURING ISAIAH’S LIFETIME (765-680 BC) AND PROBABLY LATE IN HIS LIFE

 

• WRITTEN TO:

 

• THIS PROPHETIC BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO TWO GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH.
  • THOSE IN THE PRESENT GENERATION WHO HAD FALLEN AWAY FROM THEIR COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. TO THEM THERE IS A CALL TO REPENTANCE.
  • THOSE IN THE FUTURE GENERATION WHO WOULD FIND THEMSELVES IN EXILE AND CAPTIVITY. TO THEM THERE IS A MESSAGE OF COMFORT AND HOPE.

 

• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

 

• THIS WAS AN AFFLUENT TIME IN JUDAH’S HISTORY. AGRICULTURE WAS BOOMING. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TRADE. JUDAH WAS ECONOMICALLY APPROACHING THE “GOLDEN AGE” UNDER KING DAVID AND KING SOLOMON. BECAUSE OF THIS PROSPERITY, KING UZZIAH WAS ATTEMPTING TO EXPAND THE KINGDOM MILITARILY. THE KING SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ORGANIZING AND EQUIPPING THE ARMY, STORING WEAPONS OF WAR, AND BUILDING DEFENSIVE SITES.
  • THE SOCIAL, MORAL, AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN JUDAH WERE DECLINING. MATERIALISM WAS RAMPANT. INJUSTICE AND PERVERSION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS WERE COMMON. TAXATION WAS A HEAVY BURDEN. DRUNKENNESS AND REVELRY WERE WIDESPREAD. PAGANISM AND IDOLATRY CONTINUED FROM THE TIME OF SOLOMON.
  • ISAIAH LIVED DURING THE REIGNS OF THREE OF JUDAH’S BEST KINGS, KING UZZIAH, KING JOTHAM, AND KING HEZEKIAH.
  • DESPITE THE PROSPERITY IN JUDAH, THE STORM CLOUDS WERE GATHERING. IT WAS A TIME WHEN GREAT EMPIRES WERE RISING AND FALLING. THE THREAT WAS FROM A GREAT ENEMY TO THE NORTHEAST, ASSYRIA.
  • THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL HAD ALREADY BEEN DEFEATED BY THE ASSYRIANS AND TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY IN 722 BC.
  • ISAIAH COMPARED HIS NATION TO A DISEASED BODY (1:5-6), A HARLOT (1:21), A USELESS VINEYARD (CHAP 5) A BULGING WALL ABOUT TO FALL (30:13), A WOMAN IN TRAVAIL (66:8). HE CHARACTERIZED ISRAEL’S ENEMY, ASSYRIA, LIKE A SWOLLEN STREAM (8:7-8), A SWARM OF BEES (7:18), A LION (5:17), AND AN AXE (10:15).

 

• GLOSSARY OF MONARCHS:

 

• KINGS OF JUDAH:

 

• UZZIAH (AZARIAH) [790-739]

 

• HE BEGAN HIS REIGN AS A CO-REGENT WITH HIS FATHER, AMAZIAH, AT THE AGE OF 16. HE REIGNED 52 YEARS. ISAIAH WAS PROBABLY HIS COUSIN. GENERALLY SPEAKING, UZZIAH WAS A GOOD KING. HOWEVER, LATER IN HIS REIGN HE BECAME PROUD AND INTRUDED INTO THE MINISTRY OF THE PRIESTHOOD IN THE TEMPLE AND GOD STRUCK HIM WITH LEPROSY. ISAIAH BEGAN HIS MINISTRY AS A PROPHET IN 739 OR 740, THE YEAR UZZIAH DIED.

 

• JOTHAM [750-735]

 

• HE CO-REIGNED WITH HIS FATHER, UZZIAH, AFTER UZZIAH BECAME A LEPER. JOTHAM WAS ONE OF THE GOOD KINGS IN JUDAH AND REIGNED 20 YEARS. DURING HIS REIGN, THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE BECAME STRONG AND RESTLESS FOR TERRITORY.

 

• AHAZ [732-715]

 

• HE REIGNED WITH HIS FATHER JOTHAM AS CO-REGENT BEFORE REIGNING ALONE. AHAZ’S KINGDOM WAS SURROUNDED BY ENEMIES: EGYPT TO THE SOUTH, ISRAEL, SYRIA, AND ASSYRIA TO THE NORTH. AHAZ WAS NOT A GOOD KING BECAUSE HE MADE BAD POLITICAL ALLIANCES THAT BROUGHT JUDAH INTO BONDAGE TO ASSYRIA.

 

• HEZEKIAH [715-686]

 

• HEZEKIAH REIGNED 42 YEARS. HE WAS ONE OF JUDAH’S BEST KINGS. DURING HIS REIGN, THE KINGDOM BECAME STRONGER AND MORE SPIRITUAL. HE LED THE PEOPLE BACK TO THE LORD.

 

• MANASSEH [697-642]

 

• MANASSEH WAS ONE OF THE WORSE KINGS IN JUDAH’S HISTORY. ISAIAH’S MINISTRY ENDED SHORTLY AFTER MANASSEH BEGAN TO REIGN.
• MANASSEH WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE AND DEPORTED TO BABYLON BECAUSE OF HIS INVOLVEMENT IN A REBELLION AGAINST THE OVERTHROW OF THE ASSYRIAN KING. LATER HE WAS RELEASED.

 

• PURPOSE FOR THE BOOK:

 

• ISAIAH WROTE THE BOOK BOTH AS A WARNING OF COMING JUDGMENTS ON THE NATION OF JUDAH, AND AS A COMFORT TO THOSE INNOCENT, FAITHFUL BELIEVERS WHO WOULD HAVE TO SUFFER ALONG WITH THE REBELLIOUS PEOPLE. IN THIS BOOK, WE WILL SEE THE DEPTHS OF ISRAEL’S SIN AND THE HEIGHTS OF GOD’S GLORY IN HIS COMING KINGDOM.

• BASIC THEMES OF THE BOOK:
• THE BOOK CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAJOR SECTIONS EACH WITH A DIFFERENT THEME.

• 1. CHAPTERS 1-39 JUDGMENT, THEN DELIVERANCE (SALVATION)
  • THE SCRIPTURAL PHILOSOPHY AT THE TIME SAID THAT JUDGMENT WOULD COME UPON A PEOPLE WHO FAILED TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE MOSAIC COVENANT BEFORE A TIME OF BLESSING COULD COME. SEE DEU 28. THEY BELIEVED THAT JUDGMENT IS A PURIFYING FORCE THAT LEADS TO REPENTANCE AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
  • ISAIAH SPEAKS OF FIVE ACTS OF DELIVERANCE THAT GOD WOULD PERFORM:
    • =1= THE DELIVERANCE OF JUDAH FROM SYRIAN INVASION (CHAPTERS 36-37)
    • =2= THE DELIVERANCE OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL FROM THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY (CHAPTER 40)
    • =3= THE FUTURE DELIVERANCE OF JEWS FROM A WORLD-WIDE DISPERSION AMONG THE GENTILES (CHAPTERS 11-12)
    • =4= THE DELIVERANCE OF LOST SINNERS FROM JUDGMENT (CHAPTER 53)
    • =5= THE FINAL DELIVERANCE OF CREATION FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN DURING THE MILLENNIUM (CHAPTERS 60, 66)
• CHAPTERS 40-66 COMFORT, CONSOLATION AND RESTORATION

 

• KEY PHRASES:

 

• “MY PEOPLE” = USED 26 TIMES IN THE BOOK. IT INDICATES ISAIAH’S LOVE FOR HIS NATION AND ITS PEOPLE.
• “THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL” = A NAME ISAIAH USED FOR GOD 25 TIMES IN THE BOOK INDICATING ISAIAH’S HATRED OF SIN AND SHAM RELIGION. THIS NAME IS SELDOM USED IN THE REST OF THE BIBLE.
• “SERVANT” IS USED 17 TIMES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK.
• “COMFORT” IS USED FREQUENTLY IN THE LAST HALF OF THE BOOK AND SELDOM USED IN THE FIRST HALF.

 

• KEY VERSE:

 

• ISA 40:1 “COMFORT YE, COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE, SAITH YOUR GOD”.
  • THE ENGLISH WORD “COMFORT” COMES FROM TWO LATIN WORDS MEANING “WITH STRENGTH”. THE IDEA IS THAT GOD IS EMPOWERING HIS PEOPLE WITH A QUIET CONFIDENCE THAT IS THEIR STRENGTH DURING HARD TIMES.

 

• NEW TESTAMENT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BOOK:

 

• THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THIS BOOK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT IS VERY IMPORTANT. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE 66 DIRECT QUOTATIONS AND UP TO 85 INDIRECT QUOTATIONS OR ILLUSIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. TWENTY OF THE TWENTY SEVEN NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS HAVE DIRECT QUOTATIONS FROM ISAIAH. BECAUSE OF THIS NEW TESTAMENT SIGNIFICANCE, WE WILL OFTEN GO TO THE NEW TESTAMENT DURING OUR STUDY OF ISAIAH.

 

• OUTLINE OF THE BOOK:

 

• I CONDEMNATION AND JUDGMENT (THE RETRIBUTION OF GOD) 1-35 (POETRY)
  • SERMONS AGAINST JUDAH AND ISRAEL 1-12
  • BURDENS OF JUDGMENT AGAINST THE GENTILES 13-23
  • SONGS ABOUT FUTURE GLORY 24-27
  • WOES OF COMING JUDGMENT FROM ASSYRIA 28-35
• II HISTORICAL INTERLUDE 36-39 (PROSE)
  • HEZEKIAH DELIVERED FROM ASSYRIA 36-37
  • HEZEKIAH DECEIVED BY BABYLON 37-38
• III CONSOLATION AND COMFORT 40-66 (POETRY)
  • GOD’S GREATNESS 40-48 (THE FATHER VS. IDOLS)
  • GOD’S GRACE 49-57 (THE SON, GOD’S SERVANT)
  • GOD’S GLORY 58-66 (THE SPIRIT AND THE KINGDOM)

 

• SOURCES FOR OUR STUDY:

 

• BE COMFORTED

BY WARREN W. WIERSBE

• THROUGH THE BIBLE COMMENTARY SERIES: ISAIAH

BY J. VERNON MC GEE

• ISAIAH, A STUDY GUIDE

BY D. DAVID GARLAND

• THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY

BY DALLAS SEMINARY FACULTY; JOHN F. WALVOORD AND ROY B. ZUCK, EDS.

HOMEWORK
ISAIAH 1
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• PREPARATION FOR ISA 1:
  • READ ISA 1:1-31 GOD’S COURTROOM
    • WHAT LEGAL CHARGES DID GOD HAVE AGAINST ISRAEL? (LIST ISRAEL’S OFFENSES)

• HOW WAS ISRAEL LIKE A PATIENT WHO GOES TO THE DOCTOR?

• HOW WAS JERUSALEM LIKE SODOM AND GOMORRAH? (GEN 18-19)

• READ GEN 13:15 AND GEN 16:5
  • IN LIGHT OF THIS PROMISE, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE FACT THAT THE PROPHET, ISAIAH, TALKS ABOUT A “REMNANT”?

• DO YOU SEE ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR ISRAEL TO REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN? IF SO, WHERE?

• WHAT KIND OF RELIGION WERE THE PEOPLE PRACTICING?

• WHAT WAS GOD’S REACTION TO THEIR RELIGIOUS PRACTICE?

• DISCUSSION: ACCORDING TO THIS PASSAGE, WHAT TO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IN SOCIETY?

• MEMORY VERSE: ISA 1:18