Isaiah

Can God rescue us from our problems? Can he save us from world powers that harm us? Can he break the power of our sin and help us deal with its consequences? The book of Isaiah answers these questions with a strong yes!

Sometimes Isaiah’s words amaze us with their beauty. At other times, his direct words show us our sin and lead us to repent. Isaiah’s ministry began when he saw a vision of God’s love, greatness, and holiness. This vision, and the whole book of Isaiah, shows us our sin. It calls us to trust only in our Creator. God alone gives forgiveness, restoration, and purpose in life.

Setting

By the time King Uzziah died in 740 BC, the southern kingdom of Judah faced a serious crisis. Assyria had been quiet for nearly 50 years, but now it was growing powerful again. The Assyrian army moved southwest from its homeland, in what is now northern Iraq, toward Egypt. The small nations along the Mediterranean coast, including Israel and Judah, stood in Assyria’s way. Assyria had already taken Galilee and much of Israel’s land east of the Jordan River. But Assyria wanted full control over Israel, Judah, and the other small nations in the area.

While King Uzziah was still alive, Judah could ignore the crisis. Uzziah was mostly a good and effective king. He had a strong army, and his people hoped he could save the nation from Assyria (2 Chronicles 26:11–15). But after Uzziah died, rulers who did not obey God came after him. During this leadership crisis, God gave Isaiah the vision that began his ministry. This vision also guided Isaiah for the next 40 years (Isaiah 6).

Meanwhile, Assyria kept moving south along the Mediterranean coast. It conquered one small nation after another. During this time, Judah’s leaders kept changing their policy toward Assyria. Sometimes they tried to make peace with Assyria. At other times, they opposed Assyria. Isaiah gave Judah an important message: God is completely worthy of trust. It is foolish to trust anyone or anything more than God.

Sadly, people did not always listen to Isaiah’s main message. Around 734 BC, Israel joined with Syria to fight against Assyria. King Ahaz of Judah refused to join them, so Israel and Syria attacked Judah. They wanted to force Ahaz to join their side. During this crisis, Ahaz foolishly asked Assyria to rescue him instead of trusting God (2 Chronicles 28:16–21; Isaiah 7:1–12).

The king of Assyria defeated Syria and Israel. But he also brought Judah under Assyrian control and forced Judah to pay heavy taxes. Just a few years later, in 722 BC, Assyria defeated the kingdom of Israel again and sent most of its people into exile (2 Kings 17:5–18).

In 701 BC, during King Hezekiah’s rule, Assyria invaded Judah again. This time, Judah trusted God’s faithfulness. As God had promised, he rescued the nation from the Assyrian army (37:21–36).

Sadly, God’s people did not stay faithful to him. Because of this, God later allowed Babylon, the empire that came after Assyria, to defeat Judah. This happened over several attacks from 605 to 586 BC. Isaiah had said that God was completely worthy of trust. So what did Judah’s destruction and exile in Babylon mean?

Isaiah answered this question, too. God would punish Judah’s wickedness. But he would also preserve a remnant, a small group of his people. One day, they would return to the holy land. This return would not happen because they were faithful. It would happen because of God’s grace.

When the people returned from exile in 538 BC, they were again tempted to do evil (see Ezra 1:1–4). This time, the danger came from the worship of false gods that had grown in their land while they were away. Isaiah showed that the gracious God who rescued them is also the holy God who required their obedience, right living, and worship of him alone.

Summary

Isaiah 1–39 tells about the time from King Uzziah's death in 740 BC to 701 BC. The introduction (chapters 1–5). shows a strong contrast. Judah was full of sin and injustice. But God had called Judah to live with him in blessing. This contrast raises an important question: How can Judah’s sin become glory, purity, and fruitfulness?

Isaiah answers this question in chapter 6. He tells how God renewed him and called him to serve. Isaiah’s own experience shows how God could change the whole nation. But if Judah wanted this renewal, the people needed to turn away from their sin and learn to trust God.

In chapters 13–35, the prophet uses many kinds of writing and many real-life situations to show one truth: only God is fully worthy of trust. It is deeply foolish to trust the surrounding nations instead of God. Isaiah places this message between two historical accounts about Assyria:

• King Ahaz's experience in chapters 7–12, and

• King Hezekiah's experience in chapters 36–39.

Ahaz did not trust God, and disaster followed. In contrast, his son Hezekiah trusted God, and God rescued Judah. But Hezekiah also had times of weakness (chapter 39). This weakness pointed ahead to Judah’s later defeat and exile by Babylon.

Isaiah 40–55 answers the questions that would come up during Judah’s exile in Babylon in 586 BC. Did the exile mean that God had been defeated by the Babylonians or by Judah’s sin? Had God’s purpose for Judah failed? Was God unable to act?

In chapters 40–48, Isaiah shows that God is far greater than any idol, or false god. God’s people would prove this when he rescued them from Babylon’s weak power.

In chapters 49–55, the prophet answers the deeper question about Judah’s sin. God would rescue Judah from Babylon. He would also rescue a remnant, a small group of his people, from the power of sin that held them like slaves. God would do this through the death of his servant.

Isaiah 56–66 speaks about Judah’s life after the exile ended in 539 BC. God had rescued a small group of his people from exile as he had promised. Now they needed to be pure, righteous, and holy. They needed to live in a way that pleased God.

God’s servants must not keep living in darkness and corruption. Their wrong beliefs and evil actions had led to exile in the first place. As Isaiah speaks about rescue from sin, God’s own holy and righteous character begins to shine in his people. As a result, all the nations that Israel once trusted instead of God will come to Jerusalem. There they will learn God’s ways from Israel.

Author

The book of Isaiah speaks to three different times in Judah’s history. Two of these times came after Isaiah’s own lifetime. Because of this, many scholars have said that Isaiah could not have written the whole book. This view has been common since the mid-1800s.

However, Christians believe that God inspired Scripture. If God truly inspired Scripture, then he could also give prophets messages about the future. So it is not a problem that parts of Isaiah speak about events that happened after Isaiah’s lifetime. Also, the book has a strong literary unity. This means its parts fit together in a careful and meaningful way.

Jesus and the New Testament authors often quote from Isaiah. When they do, they say these words came from the prophet Isaiah (see, for example, Matthew 8:17; 12:17–21; Luke 3:4–6; Acts 8:28–35; Romans 10:16).

Date of Writing

The historical references in chapters 6–39 suggest that these parts were written at different times. This likely happened during the 38 years between King Uzziah’s death in 740 BC and Sennacherib’s retreat from Jerusalem in 701 BC.

Chapters 40–66 has a simpler and more reflective poetic style. Because of this, these chapters may have been written some time after 701 BC. We do not know when Isaiah died. But tradition says he died during the time when Manasseh ruled alone, from 686 to 642 BC. So more than 15 years may have passed between the writing of chapters 1–39 and chapters 40–66.

Literary Genres

The book of Isaiah includes many kinds of writing:

• judgment speeches that warn Israel that God will punish their sins (9:8–21);

• prophecies of woe, or warnings of coming sorrow and death for the nation (5:8–30; 29:1–12; 31:1–9);

• parables, or short stories and comparisons that teach a lesson (5:1–8; 27:2–6);

• trial speeches, which present evidence to prove a case (41:21–29);

• salvation prophecies, which give hope for the future (2:1–5; 32:1–20; 60:1–22);

• hymns, or songs of praise to God for his faithfulness (12:1–6; 26:1–6);

• prophecies against foreign nations (15:1–16:14; 23:1–18);

• prophecies about a coming king, the Messiah (9:1–7; 11:1–9);

• servant songs about one who would suffer for the sins of others (42:1–9; 52:13–53:12); and

• narratives, or stories about events in Isaiah’s time (36:1–22; 39:1–8).

Meaning and Message

The book of Isaiah could be called a small picture of the whole Bible. More than any other Old Testament book, Isaiah points ahead to many themes in the New Testament. Isaiah shows that God is unique and transcendent, which means God is greater than everything we know or experience. Yet this holy and exalted God reveals himself. He also wants to be Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (7:14).

So the transcendent God is also immanent, which means God is near to his people. God’s nearness prepares us to understand Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate (in human flesh). Jesus is truly the Immanuel (see Matthew 1:21–23).

Isaiah directly shows that idolatry is foolish. Idolatry means worshiping something or someone other than the true God. Isaiah shows that it is foolish to think we can put God inside anything he has made. It is also foolish to try to use God for our own purposes.

God wants to bless us. But we receive his blessings only when we surrender to him and trust him. The human spirit fights against this. We would rather trust anything or anyone other than God, because we cannot control him. Those who keep refusing to obey the true God become separated from him. They turn to false gods and face God’s judgment.

Isaiah tells the story of God’s judgment on his sinful people through exile. But God graciously returns to his people. He says he will not completely reject them. Instead, he will make a remnant pure and keep them safe. This remnant, a small group of his people, will bring him glory among the nations. They will show that he alone is the true and living God.

God’s kingdom will be centered in a new Zion, or new Jerusalem. A new community of faithful people will live there. God’s righteous servant, the Messiah, will rule over them. This kingdom will be built on love, not on oppression or injustice.

Only righteous people can belong to this new community. God’s grace rescues his people from the consequences of their sin. That same grace also helps them obey his will. As a result, they will glorify God and help transform the world.