Category: Isaiah

There are a lot of difficult-to-understand passages here that might tempt us to give up on understanding prophecy. I hope to be able to give a better understanding without making this post too long. The message in Isaiah is too good to miss!

In chapter 28, the crown is a reference to the leaders of Israel, whom God is preparing to punish using a “strong and mighty agent” that He’s going to “cast down to earth with His hand.” (That agent would be Assyria, and that treading underfoot came in 722 B.C., as we read in II Kings 17.) Even the religious leaders were mocking the words of God sent through His prophets, believing they were too sophisticated to heed their messages. My Bible has the following footnote for verse 28:10: “These Hebrew monosyllables, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preaching.” Then in verse 13, “The Lord responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror.” The covenant with death they think they have made is the same lie people believe today, that death is not the awful thing it truly is, that it shouldn’t drive them to God for rescue. God’s glorious answer to that deception is Messiah. The man who continues to seek repose in such lies will find them inadequate to stretch out on, and too short to cover himself; he will be left exposed on the day he is confronted with the truth. Think about what a terrifying prospect that will be.

The cultivation object lesson in chapter 28 is teaching about the appropriateness of the infinitely wise God’s methods for bringing His rebellious people to the point where they bear worthwhile fruit. Plowing, sowing (which was done by scattering seed in those days), threshing, crushing the seed coating – cultivation is rough. It requires breaking up hard ground (are we hard ground?), scattering, beating and crushing. His methods at time seem harsh, but they aren’t unnecessarily so, and they don’t last any longer than necessary to bring the desired result.

Chapter 29 pronounces woe on the city of Jerusalem. In other places in prophecy God points out that there was still hope for Judah at this point in their history, for they were more faithful to Him than Israel was. However, they were only going through the motions, more devoted to their traditions and practices than they were to God Himself. They were too blind and stupidly drunk on their sin to be able to perceive the truth of their condition. Is that anything like God’s people today? In His addressing Jerusalem, the place where He dwelt, we can’t see a reference to the U.S. in this object lesson, but a reference to the Church – to us. Let’s not miss it by failing to perceive the truth as they did.

God had a remedy in mind for this inability to perceive the truth. He called it a “wondrously marvelous” remedy; we generally don’t see the necessary remedy as a wondrous work. For the remedy He describes is a tearing down, a leveling. For it seems that only in the “gloom and darkness” of his lowest point can man (or woman) look to God in a way that enables him to truly see. It is when we come to God needy that we are prepared to hear from Him. He’s not talking about hearing the babble and nodding our heads in response, but hearing in a way that changes us and compels us to obey.

Chapter 30 describes how His people were sinning: they were making plans without consulting Him, and they were seeking their security in Egypt instead of in God. Do we consider that awful sin? Those aren’t the biggies that generally come to mind when we think of sin; those are way down the list, so far down on the list that they may actually fall off the list in our estimation of sin. However, God judged His Old Testament people for such sin. He doesn’t consider it minor sin. Sin produces sin, and the sin piles up until it can no longer be confined, breaking out of whatever walls we think we’ve constructed to keep it curbed. Sin – any sin – is a problem.

God has a remedy for that sin and the destructive, useless mess it results in: repentance and rest, quietness and trust. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Resting in Him. Trusting in Him. He doesn’t want to plow us up, beat us, crush us forever; no, He “longs to be gracious” to us and waits to show us compassion. Why would we ever resist Him?

Hopefully we will give these prophecies careful thought, and give our own hearts, minds and lives careful thought in light of them. I pray that we long for God, rather than scratching the surface and settling for self-satisfaction, and that we will see ourselves as needy, so needy that we are driven to Him for rescue.

Phoenicia was the commercial power of the Mediterranean world in ancient times, and Tyre and Sidon were its chief cities. With a monopoly on shipping throughout the Mediterranean, Phoenicia was very wealthy, cultured and esteemed by all with whom she conducted business.  Her wealth bought her security. Tyre was considered particularly safe because it occupied an island off the coast and built security measures virtually impossible to breach from the water. No enemy dared to bother with that fortress. However, the fulfillment of the prophecy about the destruction of Tyre’s stronghold was fulfilled in 573 BC under Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and again in 332 B.C. by Alexander the Great. As Isaiah 23 predicted, there was great anguish in the Mediterranean world at the fall of Tyre; anyone was vulnerable if Tyre could be breached.

Chapters 24 – 27 are pretty straightforward. I encourage you to read these chapters prayerfully, asking God to direct your thoughts to where He wants to teach you, and making a little time to contemplate what He shows you and what more He wants to show you.

Cush was south of Egypt, a powerful enough kingdom to take control of Egypt more than once in Egypt’s history. At the time of this prophecy they were in control of Egypt.

Egypt’s downfall was unimaginable because it had always been a world power. Apart from the Chinese, Egypt was the longest-lasting civilization in the world, stretching from around 3100 B.C. to just before Jesus’ life on earth when the Romans conquered it and drained its wealth and glory. That’s a history measured not centuries but in millennia! Remember that in Abraham’s day Egypt offered a refuge of abundance and stability when Canaan suffered famine; it had been a place to which God’s people looked whenever they were in trouble. History reveals that an Assyrian king did defeat Egypt and take the throne in 671 B.C. Notice that God didn’t foretell Egypt’s destruction, but a downfall, a plague, and their turning to Him so that He can heal them. Of course we know that Egypt has waxed and waned, but has always existed. Isn’t it amazing that after all the history with Egypt, God wanted to heal them instead of destroy them?

The prophecy of the downfall of Egypt probably made the prophecy about the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls believable to some of Isaiah’s readers, but Judah was still counting on God’s presence in their midst inside the Most Holy Place of the Temple, to protect them. They failed to comprehend that their Temple worship based on the Law given through Moses, was not going to shield them from destruction.

To the first readers of this book, if God truly accomplished what He said He would do in these prophesies, He would be doing astounding acts. History shows that He did them. Let’s not forget that God is capable of astounding acts even at the international level.

Babylon wasn’t a threat to the remaining kingdom of Judah at the time this was written. They inhabited modern Iraq, and were growing into a power worthy of confronting the Assyrians (with God’s help, raised up to be His instrument of judgment on the Assyrians), but we haven’t heard anything about them in the history we’ve read in Kings and Chronicles as of yet. They would rise to overthrow the Assyrians and take over and even enlarge the vast empire Assyria had built. When they did, their overthrow would be inconceivable. So the prophecy here is remarkable. Coming at a time before Babylon had even risen to power, in a way this prophecy foretells not only the end of Babylon, but what a great power it would become, as well.

The Day of the Lord is a day of unimaginable destruction. We know that we expect some of the catastrophes described here to happen in the end times in preparation for a new earth. So this prophecy is telling about that time still to come. An army coming from the ends of the heavens, all the heavenly lights darkened, world-wide punishment, earthquakes shaking the earth from its place – this speaks of the final destruction spoken of in Revelation. Yet this prophecy is about Babylon. The fall of that empire was not accompanied by heavenly wonders or earthquakes, but it was earth-shaking to the people who experienced it. The end of the Babylonian empire was so devastating it was like the end of the world. So the destruction foretold here applies to two distinct times:  metaphorically describing the end of the Babylonian empire, and literally describing the end times yet to come. Relating the two gives us a greater understanding about the fall of Babylon.

Verses 14:12-15 describe Satan’s experience. I don’t know how scholars know that, but it is accepted by Bible scholars that this passage refers in part to Satan. The whole counsel of Scripture corroborates this account.

The peoples whose destruction was foretold in these chapters were people like us: they loved their children; they desired the good things life had to offer and worked to build a good life for themselves; they wanted security. Many of them doubtless felt secure in their walled cities, worshiping the gods that were supposed to protect them as they supposedly had protected their ancestors for centuries. As God revealed to His prophet Isaiah, they would be gone – not having faded away over time, but destroyed suddenly. These passages make dull reading for us because the people they talk about are so far gone that they have been long forgotten and are unknown to us. They were not dull reading to Isaiah’s first readers, because they knew these peoples well, had suffered destruction at their hands at times in their history, and ongoing threats from them. Our lack of knowledge of them is proof of God’s power over mankind, and His willingness and ability to judge.

One thing I especially like about prophecy is that it gives us insight into God’s thoughts that other genre of Scripture don’t give. And since God doesn’t lie, but is the source of truth, what prophecy reveals is truth.

So when God asks in verse 5:4, “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?” (the vineyard being a metaphor for Israel and Judah), implying that He couldn’t have done any more for them, His assessment is true. Do you suppose His people appreciated the great care He had given them? Do we perceive and appreciate the great care God has given us? Or do we ignore His graces, or like King Ahaz later in today’s reading, treat them lightly?

Chapter 5 gives further details of the offenses of His Old Testament people. They enjoyed great entertainment, were all about their entertainments, but had “no regard for the deeds of the Lord.” They harnessed themselves to sin and wickedness, while professing an interest in what God was doing in their midst. Note further descriptions of these people who have aroused God’s anger to the point that He is planning their destruction by a mighty, efficient army. Do you see any similarities to God’s people today? Do you suppose God’s desire for His people today are any different than what they were for these people?

Chapter 6 is an important chapter. My Bible entitles it, “Isaiah’s Commission.” Its importance in part is its presentation of one of the few descriptions we have of what God looks like. So what did Isaiah say about what He looked like? He was “seated on a throne, high and exalted.” That’s it. The rest of the description talks about the train of His robe (which obviously is vast), the impressive creatures around Him, and smoke filling the temple. That’s it?! It’s not satisfying at all, is it? And yet, Isaiah’s description tells us a lot more than what he says. When we describe something, we relate it to something we know, and something our hearers know – that is the only way we have to comprehend something new to our experience, to compare and contrast it with something we know. Apparently there was nothing in Isaiah’s experience to compare with what he saw. Appreciate from that description that God is far beyond our comprehension.

Isaiah’s response to being in God’s presence was a dismaying understanding of his unworthiness. That is a likely description of what our response would be, what anyone’s response would be. The seraph offered a unique remedy for Isaiah’s sin that was obviously effective, and Isaiah’s response was then to act on God’s call to go. All of these are significant for us to consider.

Why would God send Isaiah to share His message with people with calloused hearts, dull ears and closed eyes, people incapable of perceiving or responding to the message? Truly, that is all of us, except for the grace of God. He sent Isaiah as a messenger to such people; He sent His beloved Son as a sacrifice to redeem such people for relationship with Him. That is a huge effort to reach those of mankind willing to seek God. Do you have a calloused heart and dull ears? God’s message is for seeking hearts.

Refer to II Kings 15:27-31 for a reminder of who the “son of Remaliah” referenced in chapter 7 was. Ephraim and Samaria are references to Israel: Ephraim because he was designated the functional first-born of Israel after Reuben’s disgraceful behavior, and Samaria because it was the capital city of Israel. Aram was a northern neighbor of Israel, a long-time powerful enemy of Israel and Judah. II Kings said that God sent them against Judah. Why would God do such a thing, and then send reassurances to Ahaz? Can you think of a reason? What does that interaction with man teach you about God’s interactions with men in general? With you in particular?

Prophecy includes both an element of revealing deep insight and an element of foretelling the future. Our own times are difficult for us to understand because we are too close to them, as funny as that sounds. Most of us are unable to assess our times accurately without the perspective offered by distance. The prophets revealed deep insight about the reality of their times that most of their contemporaries didn’t understand. For instance, the history we have been reading reveals what times were like when the book of Isaiah was written. Kings of Judah would seek God for a time, likely attempting to lead their people to do the same, but no one we have read about was wholeheartedly devoted to God. We saw in Uzziah’s life a form of devotion that offended God. In today’s reading, God called their faithfulness to Temple worship as prescribed by the Law “trampling My courts,” and He expressed a desire for them to stop going to the Temple, stop observing their holy days, and stop bringing their sacrifices. I believe those people were as surprised by that assessment as we would be today to hear God describe our church worship in the same way and express His desire that we stop attending. That is the kind of deep insight the prophets revealed about their day. And since God’s Old Testament people are object lessons for His New Testament people to understand the truth about man, about sin, about God’s interaction with men, these deep insights about their day often reveal deep insights about our day as well.

The times about which the prophets foretold could be any of the following:

• A time that was in the future relative to them, but has come to pass long ago relative to us;
• Jesus’ first coming
• Jesus’ second coming
• Time following Jesus’ second coming.

Often prophecy can refer to more than one time. The key to understanding what is being said is always to understand first what was being said to the original hearers, then to apply the truth revealed in that passage to ourselves.

Prophecy is challenging for a number of reasons:

• The time about which the prophet speaks can change abruptly, without warning. Prophecy often seems written in a stream-of-consciousness manner that is difficult for the reader to follow. Sometimes the time to which the prophecy refers is not clear. To help me with this, I have color-coded in my Bible every time transition.
• Prophecy is often written as poetry, which is generally not the format that offers the clearest understanding of what is being said. Its time and place of origin are so distant to us that we may not understand the imagery. And yet its imagery, once understood, can reveal a lot to us.
• Prophecy can be obscure. God is unclear for a reason, given in Isaiah 6:9-10. A calloused heart is not a seeking heart, and won’t try to see past the obvious. God wants to speak to seeking hearts. Are you willing to invest effort into seeking to understand prophecy?

Isaiah is, in my opinion, the best book of prophecy to search to understand, because it teaches more about Messiah than any other prophet. Jesus fulfilled God’s every purpose and plan for Messiah. Thus, God’s plan for Messiah revealed in Isaiah teaches us as much about Jesus’ accomplishments on our behalf as the historical accounts in the Gospel teach us. Isaiah gives us God’s perspective of what Messiah means to us, which is not fully evident from New Testament teachings about Jesus Christ.

With the background covered, are you ready for insights from Isaiah? There is no way this post can cover everything in this book, but I hope to address the obvious questions at least briefly, and focus our attention broadly on what was said to the original hearers and how that applies to us.

As I’ve mentioned, what God said about His Old Testament people may be true of His New Testament people as well. Today’s reading challenges us to examine our worship of God. Is it possible that God despises our worship observances as He despised theirs? Have you ever asked God what He thinks of your worship? Perhaps the greatest worship we can offer Him is to offer up in sacrifice our ideas, our traditions, our preferences, and seek what He wants. He reveals it to us in part in these chapters. Are you willing to listen? If we insist on worshiping according to our own preferences, whom are we worshiping? If in fact it’s not God, then we are in danger of forsaking,  or have forsaken, God.

Notice that chapter two speaks of a time to come: the Day of the Lord. Any time the phrase, “in that day” or a reference to “that day” is used, it may be a signal that the prophet is speaking about the Day of the Lord. From the descriptions of that day, we can understand that it takes place upon Jesus’ second coming. Sometimes it also refers to His first coming, and the prophet treats them as a single appearance without distinguishing between the two.

Based on what is prophesied for that coming day, do you fear it or welcome it? If you are indifferent about it, you might need to ask God to soften your calloused heart. If you fear it, humble yourself now and ask for ongoing help to keep humble so that you don’t have to be humbled in that day. If you welcome it, you might want to ask God to search your heart, and you might want to thank Him for His mighty work in you.

The reference to the “Branch of the Lord” in chapter four is an example of the ambiguity of prophecy. Isaiah refers to the Branch of the Lord without introducing Him to tell us who He is! Study reveals that the Branch of the Lord is Jesus.