Introduction to the Book of Isaiah

Isaiah Introduction:

Isaiah’s name = “the Lord saves” or “Salvation of the Lord”

Isaiah is the fullest revelation of Christ in the Old Testament
so much so, that it is often called "the gospel according to Isaiah."

The prophetic nature of the book of Isaiah
is one of the great proofs that the Bible is the word of God,
for Isaiah lived some 724 years before Christ.
The many passages looking forward to the Messiah
point so clearly to Christ and are fulfilled in him,
and thereby constitute an unanswerable argument
for the divine inspiration of the book.

The book of Isaiah has long been recognized as a miniature Bible.
The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books. Isaiah has sixty-six chapters.
There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament,
and twenty-seven in the New Testament.

The book of Isaiah divides exactly in that way.
The first half of the book comprises thirty-nine chapters.
There is a distinct division at chapter 40,
so that the remaining twenty-seven chapters
constitute the second half of this book.

The New Testament begins with the history of John the Baptist,
the forerunner of Christ,
as he came to announce the coming of the Messiah,
and it ends in the book of Revelation
with the new heaven and the new earth.

Chapter 40 of Isaiah, which begins the second half,
contains the prophetic passage that predicts the coming of John the Baptist:
A voice cries:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah. 40:3)

As we read on to the end of the book
you will find that chapter 66 speaks of
the new heavens and the new earth that God is creating.
So you find here in the book of Isaiah
a remarkably close analogy that parallels the entire Bible.

Throughout the book of Isaiah we sense
the greatness and the power of God
juxtaposed to the insignificance of man.

The prophet Isaiah lived and prophesied in Jerusalem and Judah

His ministry began some 740 years before Christ
when the ten tribes that formed the northern kingdom of Israel
were being carried away into captivity by Sennacherib, the Assyrian invader.

The tribes of Judah and Benjamin,
the southern kingdom, were plunged into idolatry
toward the end of Isaiah's ministry in 687 B.C.
and were therefore to be carried into captivity in Babylon.

Background for The Tribes of Israel
To understand the times of Isaiah
it is helpful to know some of the ancient history
concerning the tribes of Israel.
Abraham's grandson, Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons,
born in the years around 1750 BC.
Listed in order of age, they are
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad,
Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Genesis 29:32 - 30:24 and Genesis 35:18).
But their father, Israel, gave Joseph a double portion,
so that each of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh,
became a tribe rather than just one tribe of Joseph (Genesis 48:5).
So that made the total thirteen tribes,
but the tribe of Levi (the Levitical Priests)
received no contiguous region of land like the other tribes.
Instead, the Levites were given certain cities,
including the cities' suburbs,
scattered about the lands of the other tribes (Numbers 35:1-8).

Levi was the tribe of the priesthood that received tithes
of the other twelve tribes who each had land.
So the other twelve sons of Jacob, became the twelve tribes

that had contiguous regions of land,

if you are counting Ephraim and Manasseh separately.

After the reign of King Solomon, around 980 BC,
the kingdom of Israel split.

The ten northern tribes rebelled against King Rehoboam,

the son of Solomon, the son of David, of the tribe of Judah.
It should be noted that one of the ten tribes that rebelled,

Simeon, was actually south of Judah and Benjamin,
but more distant from Jerusalem.

Judah, along with Benjamin, were the two southern tribes

that remained loyal to Rehoboam,
who reigned from the capital city of Jerusalem.
Like Judah, the lands of Benjamin were near Jerusalem.

The ten northern tribes (including Simeon) made Jeroboam,

a son of one of Solomon's servants, their king instead of Rehoboam.

The split of the kingdom of Israel occurred when

the new King Rehoboam told Israel that he would make their burdens heavier,
rather that lighter, than his father Solomon had done.

Rehoboam (after receiving counsel from his ungodly friends)
told Israel in 1 Kings 12:14,

"... My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

These words provoked rebellion by the northern tribes,
but 1 Kings 12:15 tells us that

"... the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying,

which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam ...."
This was as prophesied near the end of Solomon's reign, in 1 Kings 11:31,

when the prophet Ahijah said to Jeroboam,

"... thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee (Jeroboam) ...."

In 1 Kings 11:33 the prophet gives God's reason,

"Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his (Solomon's) father."

Then in 1 Kings 11:34-35 we see that the split would actually occur

during Rehoboam's reign, not during Solomon's lifetime.

"Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand:

but I will make him (Solomon) prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake,

whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:
But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand (Rehoboam's hand),

and will give it unto thee (Jeroboam), even ten tribes."

So the ten tribes were not removed from the royal line of David

and Solomon until after Solomon had died.

Once the split occurred, it was maintained and deepened

by the wicked actions of Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:26-31,

who set up false gods to be worshipped by the northern tribes.

"... Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:

If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem,

then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord,

even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me,

and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold,

and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem:

behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

And this thing became a sin:

for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

And he made an house of high places,

and made priests of the lowest of the people,

which were not of the sons of Levi."

The term "Israel" usually refers to the entire nation,

all of the tribes, but sometimes in the old testament,

it refers just to the northern kingdom of ten tribes,

as is the case in the passage above.

The ten are Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad,

Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, and Manasseh.

Span of Isaiah’s Ministry:
So the ministry of this prophet spans the time between the captivity of the northern kingdom and the captivity of the southern kingdom---about 50 years.

Began when King Uzziah died (740 B.C.)
To King Manasseh (696 – 642 B.C.)

Contemporary of
Micah in the south
Hosea in the north

He was a great help and godly support to King Hezekiah

In his second letter, Peter says of the Old Testament prophets,
"First of all you must understand this,

that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation because,

no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man,

but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20,21)
This explains how Isaiah could speak and write with such power and eloquence.

The Times of Isaiah:
Isaiah lived in a time of national stress,

when man's true nature was visible and was exposing itself for what it was, just as in our day.
Isaiah’s heart reflected the heart of God toward mankind,

he was distraught by the overt rebelliousness he saw,

as he cries out in the opening chapter.

The nation has deliberately forsaken the ways of God

and their stupid obstinacy is simply beyond his understanding.
"Why," he cries, "even the ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib..." (Isaiah 1:3)

Outline of Isaiah:

1- Prophecies of Punishments Chapters 1:1-35:10
a. Contains statements of judgment
b. Important truths of coming Messiah and His kingdom
One of Isaiah’s great contributions lies in his revealing the truth as it relates to the coming Messiah and His kingdom. The great days of the establishment of His kingdom upon the earth.
c. 1:1- 12:6 Focuses on Southern kingdom of Judah
sins of the people
breaking of His covenant
rebellion, thanklessness
religious formalism, and hypocrisy
external conformity without heart for God
d. Invitation to repent
e. The warning of coming judgment if they don’t repent
2- Parenthesis for History Chapters 36-39
3- Prophecies of Peace Chapters 40-66

Key Word: Servant of the Lord

Key Theme Verses:
1:2
2Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the LORD [yehôvâh – intimate and personal God] speaks,
"Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
1:4-6
They have abandoned the LORD, [yehôvâh – intimate and personal God]
They have despised the Holy One of Israel, [who prevails with God]
They have turned away from Him.
5Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint.
6From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it,
1:16,17
16"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight
Cease to do evil,
17Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.

Main Characters:
Isaiah and Hezekiah

Isaiah is quoted 58 times in the New Testament
by both Christ and the Apostles.

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