Old Testament Core Seminar

Class 16“Isaiah”

Old Testament Overview

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Think of a couple who’s been married for years, but whose relationship is now on the brink. Things are complicated, confusing, and difficult; there’s been years of hurt, insults, and broken promises. • What once seemed to be the problem turns out to be a symptom

of a deeper problem.• That deeper problem turns out to be one of many problems.• There’s been lots of sin; lots of pride; lots of damage.• Apologies are not believed because trust has been broken.And the path forward is to look in two directions simultaneously: backwards and forwards. The couple must look back to their marriage vows, and what they originally promised to one another. And they must look forward with hope to what reconciliation might be like.

Introduction to Isaiah

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Reading the Old Testament prophets is a bit like jumping into such a counseling scenario mid-stream. Like counseling:• there are many overlapping stories which seem to get tangled

together. • you can jump from one situation to the next quickly, as one idea

calls another idea to mind. • moods change quickly, from hot cold, tenderness to scorn, and

back again.God uses this analogy of a broken marriage throughout the prophets to describe his relationship with Israel (Jer 2:32, Is 50:1)

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• The prophetic books start in the middle of the 8th BC and end some 300 years later.

• They begin by looking backward. • They compare God’s covenant with Israel’s real history. • Saying “You’ve broken the covenant! You’ve been unfaithful—to

God!”• We think of “prophecy” as concerned with foretelling the future.• Prophesy begins with forth-telling—speaking about the present

in light of what was promised/warned in the past. • When they turn to foretelling. They look forward, and promise

one of two things: salvation or judgment. • Keep in mind calls to repentance are associated with God’s

judgment.

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• The complexity of time horizons make them hard to read. • Often predictions about the future can have multiple fulfillments.• Such as Isaiah 7 – that a the virgin would be with child. • That was a short term fulfillment, with Isaiah’s then-virgin fiancée

eventually giving birth (not as a virgin, of course).• As well as a long-term fulfillment in Mary.• Some few tips for interpreting Old Testament prophecy:

• Discern the immediate context – the structure and flow of the book.• Discern the kind of oracle employed (judgment, salvation,

or something else).• Study the balance between the historical (forth-telling) and

the predictive (foretelling). • Determine what kind of language is being used (Poetic?

Disputation? Narrative?)

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• Place these texts in their overall place in redemptive-history. Be careful not to make wrong associations. between Israel and your nation or church.• Be alert for certain recurring and sweeping themes,

especially those which bear on the relationships between the testaments.• Consider how the New Testament authors employ the

passage, or at least the book.• The prophets use a number of literary forms:

– allegories (Isa. 5:1-7); – proverbs (Ezek 18:2), – lamentations (Amos 5:1-2), – prayers (Hab 3), – narrative (Isa. 36-39). – Divers writing styles: Jeremiah’s laments (8:18-9:1), Ezekiel’s shocking

statements (20:21-26), Habakkuk’s questioning (1:12-17), Amos’ sarcasm and irony (3:12).

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Isaiah 1: 1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; 3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” 4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.• In verse 2, begins an oracle for all the earth to hear.• What’s the context?

– Verse 1 sets it up as a vision of Isaiah concerning Judah (the southern kingdom) and Jerusalem (its capital city).

• What kind of oracle beings in verse 2? – Judgment.

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• What literary form is being used? – Poetry.

• Is Isaiah looking backward or forward?– Backward. Recalling the Pentateuch, he refers to the Lord rearing Israel as

children, but says they’ve forsaken him. As in marriage counseling, God’s pain is profound.

• Do we view our rejection/rebellion against God as something that would cause God pain?

• Interestingly, chapter 2 feels like a different introduction.

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2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, " Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. • What’s the context?

– A vision about Judah and Jerusalem. • What kind of oracle beings in verse 2?

– Salvation and promise.• What literary form is being used?

– Poetry.• Is Isaiah looking backward or forward?

– Forward, to hope

Principle 1: Know the Structure

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• Chapters 1 and 2 are a springboard into the structure of Isaiah. • The structure of a book is like a road map. It helps you know

where you are at any time, very helpful in the prophets. • These two passages represent the two halves of Isaiah. • Chapters 1 to 39, are oracles of woe and judgment concerning

the historical Jerusalem. • Spoken by an 8th century prophet and directly aimed at his 8th

century audience. • He points to their particular sins and the soon invasion of Assyria. • Chapters 1 to 39 sound like the first verses of chapter 1.

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

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• Chapter 40-66 it changes through the end of Isaiah.• Isaiah’s addressing some future version of it. • It sounds more like the first verses of chapter 2.

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be …

• At face value, he’s addressing the Jerusalem which, in a century’s time, would be in exile in Babylon.

• Remember multiple horizons of fulfillment? • Isaiah seems to describe an eschatological Jerusalem. • The language used, especially in the final ten, is much too

dramatic (“swords-into-plowshares” for the small band of Israelites who return from exile)

• There’s God’s glory being revealed, and God creating a new heavens and earth. Life on a whole different plane.

• This Jerusalem is comprised of a remnant of the original, but not just ethnic Jews but to everyone who is united to God.

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I. Historical Jerusalem and the failure of the Davidic kings (chs. 1-39)a) Chapters 1-5: Prologue. Darkness gathering around the people of Israel.b) Chapter 6: Isaiah’s call to the prophetic ministry.c) Chapter 7: Historical narrative concerning trust # 1—Ahazd) Chapter 8-11: Two prophecies of woe to Israel and Judah foretelling

destruction but ending with a prophecy of the coming Messiah e) Chapter 12: Song of praise to God.f) Chapters 13-27: Three cycles of prophecy against the nations surrounding the two

kingdoms of Israel. g) Chapters 28-35: A series of six poems, each starting with the word “Woe.”

The Lord upbraids his people for looking for security in Egypt. Israel’s main problem is not political, but spiritual.

h) Chapters 36-39: Historical narrative concerning trust # 2—HezekiahII. Eschatological Jerusalem and the triumph of the Servant and Conqueror

a) Chapters 40-42:17: Consolation to Israel and the nationsb) Chapters 42:18-44:23: Israel’s Two Problems; God’s Two Promisesc) Chapters 44:24-48: A great deliverance (Cyrus)d) Chapters 49-55: A greater deliverance (Suffering Servant)e) Chapters 56-59:13: Ethical sermons: the needs and sins of the Lord’s

peoplef) Chapters 59:14-63:6: The coming conquerorg) Chapter 63:7-66: Paradise regained—the new heavens and earth

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• Jerusalem changes across the 66 chapters.• In chapter 1, Isaiah says of Jerusalem, “How the faithful city has

become a whore!” (1:21). • By the end of the book he anticipates her presentation as a

“bride” in whom the Lord “will take delight” (62:4-5). She moves from harlotry to holiness, from whore to bride.

• This is the beginning and the end of the plot, and it shows up in the structure of the whole book.

Principle 2: Be Alert for Recurring and Sweeping Themes

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• The prophets can be difficult to read because they jump around. • But as you read over broad sections of Isaiah, certain themes

appear again and again. • Jerusalem is one as well as the move from harlotry to holiness.1) Pride• The theme of Israel’s (and humanity’s) pride comes up often:

– Isaiah 2:11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low

– Isaiah 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight

• Behind the rebellion of Israel, of the nations, of all of us our pride.

• Israel, in many ways, is nothing more than an example of humanity.

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2) Trust - Especially chapters 7-39.• Chapter 7, the northern kingdom of Israel, together with the

Aram, make war on the Southern kingdom of Judah. • Isaiah tells King Ahaz not to make any foreign alliances.• Ahaz refuses and proceeds to move toward foreign alliances,

which angers God.• This trust theme is further developed through chapter 31: “Woe

to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.” (v.1)

• Trust reaches its climax when the city of Jerusalem, under king Hezekiah, is surrounded by the armies of Assyria who taunts them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem about their trust in Hezekiah and Israel’s God

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• Read Isaiah 36:14-20• The people have a choice: trust God, or trust someone else? • Gratefully, Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem in this episode,

unlike Ahaz, do trust God, and God delivers them miraculously from the Assyrian army.

• Read Isaiah 37:36.• As you read these chapters of Isaiah, and reflect on where you

place your trust.• 185,000 Assyrians killed by God’s angel

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3) God as the Holy One• Theme 1 & 2 focus on the people – Isaiah is really about God.• Isaiah calls God the Holy One thirty times in this book, while he’s

called this only six times in the rest of the Bible.• Why? Look at his calling.• Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord

sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: " Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!“

• Holy means to be set apart—on a whole different plane. • And what is the culmination of God’s holiness? For all to know

that “The whole earth is full of his glory.”

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• God’s driving purpose is that his greatness might be known and enjoyed by his creatures.

• That’s why he does everything—even saving sinners. • Chapter 48:9,11 “For My name's sake I will defer My anger, And

for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off… For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.”

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4) God as the Sole and Incomparable Ruler of Creation and History• This theme becomes particularly prominent beginning in chapter

40 and is highlighted in the following eight chapters. – 40:25 To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says

the Holy One.– 45:5-6a I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there

is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me.

– 45:21b-22 Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

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5) God as the Sole Redeemer • In the last passage God is “the only ruler of creation” meaning

that he alone can save. – Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his

name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer– Isaiah 54:8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but

with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.

• How someone talks about himself reveals a lot about him. Again and again, we here God refer to himself as the Holy One and the Redeemer of his people.

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6) The Remnant• But who does God save? He doesn’t save everyone. • In Isaiah, it becomes clear he means to save a remnant. • 10:20-21 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant

of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God.

• However, chapters 56 to 59 shows that even the remnant still sin. • In Isaiah’s call, God tells him He will bring destruction until

everything is laid waste … except a “holy seed” (6:13). • Who is that holy seed? 11:1-2 There shall come forth a Rod from

the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

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7) The Servant• We see this in four songs in Isaiah:

– Song 1: Isaiah 42:1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

– Song 2: See Isaiah 49:1-6– Song 3: See Isaiah 50:4-9 – Song 4: See Isaiah 52:13-53:12

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8) The Conqueror• Isaiah 53 tells us God’s Spirit will rest on a suffering servant.• Isaiah 59 tells us He will rest on a conqueror. • Are they same one? There are four conqueror songs:• 59:15-21: “Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That

there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak...

• 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor”

• 61:10 - 62:7. The conqueror comes as a bridegroom to take his bride away, to rescue her.

• 63:1-6 Contains a horrible image of judgment when the Conqueror comes.

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9) New Jerusalem—the Bride• The final chapters of Isaiah focus especially on the new Jerusalem

as the new bride, which is also representative of the new heavens and earth.

• 62:3-5 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.

• The Holy God says “I take delight in you. I rejoice over you.”• Not because of our good looks, intelligence, career success,

keeping our nose clean … it’s through Jesus.

Principle 3: Consider the NT’s Authoritative Interpretation

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• The third principle -read it all in light of the New Testament’s authoritative interpretation.

• Recall prophesy often yields several horizons of fulfillment. • The New Testament literally reverberates with the sounds of

Isaiah, where the promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 1) Jesus is the Promised Messiah • Paul says, “And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring

up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him” (Rom. 15:12)

2) Jesus is the Holy One• John says, “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke

about him.”

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3) Jesus is the Promised Redeemer • All four Gospels quote from the opening words of Isaiah 40 to say

that Jesus is God who has come to give comfort to his people. • In Luke 3, John the Baptist explains his role in the words of Isaiah.

“A voice of one calling in the dessert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him…And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”

4) Jesus as Suffering Servant• The NT authors knew that Jesus was the suffering servant. • Matthew writes, “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the

prophet Isaiah: ‘Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight’” (Matthew 12:17-18) .

5) Jesus as Conqueror• Is 59:18 God says He’ll repay “according to what they have done”• Rev 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me,

and I will give to everyone according to what he has done”? It’s Jesus!

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• The book of Isaiah does read like the recorded transcript of the marriage counseling between an embattled couple.

• But unlike most human marriages where there’s fault on both sides, Christ is the perfect faithful spouse, and we have been the unfaithful and hard-hearted one.

• We need the New Testament’s interpretation of Isaiah. • But to understand the New Testament, and who Jesus is, you

need to read the Old Testament, and the prophecies of Isaiah in particular.

• Isaiah helps us understand that Jesus is holy, and a redeemer, and a conqueror. What sin is. Who God is and what’s he like. That He is really in control.

Conclusion