Overview: Isaiah 1-39

The book of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem in the second half of the Kingdom of Israel period and spoke to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah in the name of God. He first of all gave a message of God's judgment; He warned the corrupt leaders of Israel that his rebellion against God's covenant would cost them, that God would use the great empires of Assyria and after them Babylon to judge Jerusalem if they persisted in idolatry and oppression of the poor. But that announcement was combined with a message of hope. Isaiah believed deep in his heart that God would one day fulfill all of his covenant promises: that he would send a king from the line of David to establish the kingdom of God (remember 2 Samuel 7), that he would lead Israel to obey all the laws. of the Pact. , given on Mount Sinai (remember Exodus chapter 19), and all this, so that the blessings and salvation of God would flow to all nations, as The God of Abraham promised them in Genesis chapter 12.

And it is this hope that prompted Isaiah to speak out against the corruption and idolatry of Israel in his day. The book has a fairly complex literary layout, but it's a simple way to see how it all comes together: Chapters 1 through 39 contain three main parts, developing Isaiah's warning about the judgment of Israel. And it all culminates in a prominent event at the end of chapter 39, which is the fall of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people in Babylon - but in chapters 1-39 there is also a message of hope, that after the exile, the promise of God All of the covenant promises were fulfilled, and chapters 40 through 66 continue that promise of hope, developing it further.

In this video, we will simply focus on chapters 1 through 39. The first main part focuses on Isaiah's vision of judgment and hope for Jerusalem and begins with Isaiah accusing the city leaders of rebellion against the Covenant, idolatry and injustice. And God says that he will judge the city by sending nations to conquer Israel. Isaiah says that this will be like a purifying fire, which will completely burn up everything worthless in Israel, to create a new Jerusalem, populated by a remnant, who have repented and returned to God. And Isaiah says that then the kingdom of God will come and all nations will come to the temple in Jerusalem and learn of God's justice, bringing an era of universal peace and harmony.

This basic story of old Jerusalem and the cleansing judgment in the new Jerusalem will be repeated several times throughout the book, filled with increasing detail. So, at the center of this part is the great vision that Isaiah had, of God sitting on his throne in the temple. And he's surrounded by these heavenly creatures, crying out to God, holy, holy, holy. And Isaiah suddenly realizes how corrupt he and his people are, and is convinced that God's holiness will destroy him, but he is not destroyed. The holiness of God in the form of this coal of fire comes and burns him, not to destroy him, but to cleanse him from his sin.

And while Isaiah thought about this strange experience, God assigns him a very difficult task: he must continue to announce this coming judgment, but as Israel has reached a point of no return, his warnings will have the paradoxical effect of hardening the people. But Isaiah must trust in God's plan. Israel will be cut down like a tree, and only the stump will remain in the field. And that log itself will be carried away and burned, but after all that burning, God says that this log, burning itself, is holy seed, which will survive into the future. It's a small sign of hope.

But who or what is this Holy Seed? The rest of this section provides an answer. Isaiah confronts Ahaz, a descendant of David, and announces his destruction. God says it will be the great Assyrian Empire that will first isolate Israel and devastate the land, but there is hope. Because of God's promises to David, he will send after this destruction, a new king named Emmanuel, which means "God with us." And the Kingdom of Emmanuel will deliver the people from violent oppressive empires, and Isaiah describes this king, who comes as a small branch of the new shoot, which will come from the old trunk of the family of David.

This king is the holy seed of chapter six and the king will be empowered by the Spirit of God to rule over a new Jerusalem and bring justice to the poor and all nations will look to this messianic king for guidance. His reign will transform all creation, bringing peace. As you finish chapters 1 through 12 with a fairly good understanding of Isaiah's message of judgment and hope, ask: But when will all this happen? Isaiah also saw another empire arising after Assyria and that is Babylon, which will also attack Jerusalem and actually succeed in destroying it. And that brings us to the rest of the book.

Here, first, we have a collection of poems that explore God's judgment and hope for the nations. First we learn of the fall of Babylon and Israel's neighbors. Isaiah can see that a great world power would one day be replaced by the Babylonian empire, an even more destructive and arrogant nation. The kings of Babylon claimed that they were superior to all other gods. Then God promises to destroy Babylon. And not just Babylon, but Isaiah goes on to point out Israel's neighbors, accusing them of the same kind of pride and injustice. And he predicts their final destruction. But remember that for Isaiah God's judgment is never the final word on Israel as a nation.

This leads us to the next part with a series of poems that talk about the history of the two cities. It is the proud city that has exalted itself above God and has become corrupt and unjust. This city has become the prototype of rebellious humanity and is described in language borrowed from Isaiah's earlier descriptions of Jerusalem, Assyria, and Babylon together. The city is destined to be destroyed and will one day be replaced by the New Jerusalem, where God reigns as king over redeemed humanity from all nations and there is no more death or suffering. These chapters are the climax of this section, for all who hope that God will bring his justice over violent and oppressive kingdoms and bring about his kingdom of justice, peace and healing love.

The next part focuses attention on the rise and fall of Jerusalem. First we find a series of poems where Isaiah accuses the leaders of Jerusalem of returning to Egypt to seek military protection against Assyria. He knows it will cost them, and Isaiah says that only faith in their God and repentance can save Israel now. This is illustrated by the following story about the rise of Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem. Just as Isaiah predicted, the Assyrian armies come and attempt to attack the city. Hezekiah then humbles himself before God and prays for divine deliverance. And the city, miraculously, is saved overnight.

But Hezekiah's rise was immediately followed by his fall. He receives a delegation from Babylon and tries to impress them by showing them everything in Jerusalem's treasury in the temple and palaces. This is clearly an attempt to make another political alliance for protection. Isaiah finds out about this and confronts Hezekiah about his foolishness. He predicts that this ally will one day betray him and return as an enemy to conquer Jerusalem. And we know from 2 Kings chapters 24 and 25 that Isaiah was right. More than a hundred years later, Babylon returns to Jerusalem, destroys the city, the temple, and takes the Israelites captive to Babylon.

So all the warnings of divine judgment in chapters 1 through 39 point you to this moment. He has proven that he is a true prophet, because everything happened just as he said. But remember that the purpose of God's judgment was to cleanse Jerusalem and bring the holy seed and Messianic Kingdom upon the nations. This hope is explored in the rest of the book, but for now this is what the Book of Isaiah, chapters 1 through 39, is about. Contact us: [email protected]