Judah and Egypt formed another alliance with the purpose of overthrowing the … Zion will become a witness to Godâs glory. Isaiah imagined nature itself in mourning over these conditions (v. 9); verse 9 is the opposite of 35:2, describing the period that follows this one of mourning. His infidelity to God increased (2 Chron 28:24-25), stirring the divine anger mentioned in Isaiah 5:25. The words for pride correspond to some for pride or majesty in 2:9-22. Sin makes it teeter and sway until collapse. Harold accepted the Lord through his motherâs influence. It is guilty of bloodshed (Isa 1:15; cf. 57:15; 66:2). Giving oneself to God in it would result in delight (Isa 5814). Tyre in Christian times became seat of a bishopric. 1-2). The phrase âday of vengeanceâ can refer to any day (Prov 6:34) but in Isaiah refers elsewhere to the end time (Isa 61:2; 63:4), and 63:4 mentions Edom. Xenophon and Herodotus say that the Euphrates River running through Babylon was drained into a lake by Cyrusâ army until one of the riverâs channels was low enough for enemy soldiers to ford to enter Babylon. The individual servant Israel is like God in bringing justice (51:4) and like man in needing the protection of Godâs hand (v. 16). It was sinful for Judah to make an alliance with Egypt, something that was not Godâs plan and could not end well (vv. The effect of Godâs judgment is compared to drunkenness, as often in Scripture. 8:14-15) and suffer injury, entrapment, and captivity. Israel disobeyed Godâs glorious law (Isa 42:21, 24), with the result that God allowed the people to be plundered, hidden, and imprisoned (v. 22). The same king initially attacked Israel later (2 Kgs 17:3-4; 18:9). He could rightly threaten death for disobedience because of his supreme authority as Lord of all. The peopleâs continued sinning thwarted Godâs desire to save them (vv. Idolatry is adultery towards the Lord (Isa 57:7-8). The children born during bereavement are probably born outside Israel (v. 20). Perhaps Isaiah used a popular song about a prostitute (v. 16) to describe Tyreâs return. These enemy soldiers seem empowered by God. It does not seem perfectly to match the historical events but to point beyond them to something more ultimate, the day of the Lord. 1 Nephi 20-21, 2 Nephi 7-8, and 3 Nephi 16:18-20 all quote from 2nd Isaiah, which is a problem if those chapters were not written by 2nd Isaiah until after Nephi had obtained the brass plates. Hezekiah, he said, was deceptive, was incapable of rescuing, and gave false promises of the Lordâs deliverance (vv. The picture of Jerusalemâs destruction signals divine wrath (51:20), but God promises drunken Israel that he will defend them so that they will never drink wrath again, another sign of end-time events (vv. The logic was that negotiations should be among state officials (v. 11). Paul cites the first words of the chapter as indicating lack of belief in Jesus (Rom 10:16). Isaiah may mention God dwelling in Zion because so many in the nation seemed to forget that reality. He had at first provided such leadership, miracles, and power, filling their leaders with his Spirit as he unforgettably brought them from Egypt through Moses (vv. Date of Writing: The book of Isaiah was written between 739 and 681 B.C. 5-8). The wicked do not acknowledge the Lord. The passage shifts back to the end time, showing a reversal from judgment to blessing. Tyre had a mainland part, but its strength was a fortress built on two islands. God announces new things in this prophecy of the servant (Isa 42:1-7). The time of ultimate fulfillment is eschatological, even though Isaiah speaks of a child being born, since the defeat of the enemy (Isa 9:4-5) comes at the return of Messiah to defeat the nations (Revelation 19), which leads to the messianic kingdom (Isa 9:7; Rev 20:4-6). 16-17). 11-13). Jerusalemâs righteousness does not yet shine out, so it is still the time of Israelâs darkness. Isaiah shows the natural world reflecting the joy of the occasion as Godâs glory is revealed in manifold ways. 15-16). The Israelites were witnesses to God because he had worked with them as a people chosen to know and trust him as sole God and Savior (vv. Awareness can come when circumstances get dark (v. 9). There is stress on the bloodiness and on no one else being there (Isa 63:3, 5). Judah would be left like a banner without an army, a pitiful few in replication of a Mosaic covenant prophecy about one enemy soldier chasing a thousand Israelites (Deut 32:30). The peace they have comes from him (v. 12). The Book of Daniel shows how reliant the nation was on magicians, enchanters, and astrologers (Dan 1:20; 2:2; 3:8; 4:7). For death will be the alternative for kingdoms unwilling to serve (v. 12). Scripture uses the number 7 to symbolize completeness, so that may be why 7 qualities of the Spirit are mentioned in 11:2 (cf. Since this is an oracle about Damascus (17: 1) that includes Ephraim, Ephraim is included among those who âloot usâ (v. 14), âusâ being Godâs people. Godâs wrath will bring Israel low before this victory (e.g., 30:25-26; 49:25-26; 51:17-23). The survivors of the final battle, Armageddon (Rev 16:16), go all over the world reporting the Lordâs glory to the uninformed (Isa 66:19). Any attack will fail because God will not be behind it (v. 15). God will establish for the entire world a cycle of worship like that of Israel. The vengeance to uphold Zionâs cause (34:8) is the same vengeance with which God comes in 35:4. The word âtwoâ (v. 19) can mean âdoubleâ but may mean âpairsâ here because Isaiah lists two pairs of calamities. Then he leads the blind, who can represent his blind servants (v. 18), along unfamiliar paths, which recall the highway God will prepare in the end times for the return of his people to Israel. They want God to come in a conflagration that burns up their enemies, causing fear among the nations as did the rescue from Egypt (v. 2; Ex 15:14-16; Josh 2:10). 1-5). The idea that there were different writers is a hoax without any factual basis, fabricated to disprove his prophecy, for he foretold the destruction of the Temple and its rebuilding. ; 2 Kgs 18:1, 9-10). When God says he will besiege (29:3), he means that he will do so through Assyria and allied nations (see v. 7). For the One reassuring Israel of help was the Lord, its God (v. 13). Isaiah shows the time when Israel, turning to the Lord, enters its blessings (Rom 11:26). 10-11). His administration in Israel (Isa 2:2) is glorious (11:10; cf. In this sad time the Lord will arise (33:10; cf. There were many so-called gods, but Yahweh challenged whether they were like him (Isa 44:7). There will be an overwhelming slaughter (v. 3). 10-11). 57:14), who after the victory return on the roadway prepared for them (11:16; 19:23-24). Sennacherib defeated the Arabian tribes helping the rebellion of Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon. 8-10) against those who accumulated great estates came because the Lord intended for families to preserve the land inheritance assigned to each. Isaiah gives another list of sins (v. 13; see vv. His coming like this is to Zion to redeem his repentant ones (cf. God will answer the prayers from that kind of fast (v. 9a). The cityâs walls beautified with precious stones (vv. They ask him not to be too severe since they are his people (64:9). Isaiah shows the representative nature of his suffering by describing all as sheep gone wrong, and then this one like a lamb led to slaughter, bearing that iniquity (vv. and lived in Jerusalem. The lowering of hills and mountains echoes 2:14, which also concerned that day of the Lordâs exaltation. God finds it right in his purposes to forgive Israelitesâ sins, but they were neither calling for forgiveness (v. 22) nor were they innocent (v. 26). The doors and gates belong to cities Cyrus takes. Unsatisfied desires pitted families and tribes against one another, and they would drive the north down against Judah. The omniscient God saw Sennacheribâs raging against him and would send him home like a conquered slave (vv. But Sennacherib was still taking Israelite cities. He was crushed, crying, and weak as he prayed for help (vv. Search from When Was Isaiah Written stock photos, pictures and royalty-free images from iStock. Verse 5 shows a vicarious atonement for sins made by the servant. In 703 B.C. Isaiah expressed his gratitude for his cleansing from sin by answering the Lordâs call for someone to send. The form of the word for âoaksâ or âterebinthsâ is similar in form to the word for âgods.â Another text-critical matter in the chapter pertains to a word in verse 17 translated either âoppressorâ or âoppressed.â The medieval Masoretes, who added symbols for vowels to the Hebrew consonants, took the word as âoppressorâ (modern translations with this idea include GWN, NASB, NJB, NKJV), but the ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac), which were much earlier, understood a different vowel at one point. This sort of behavior continued in Canaan. Isaiah is the Old Testament (OT) book alluded to most in the New Testament (NT), and the second most quoted book after Psalms. 9, 17) that are separated by God saying, âI, I am heâ (v. 12). They would respond by rejecting idols, even precious ones (v. 22). The king could be Israelâs (NET) but more probably was a foreign power like Assyria, Babylon, or Egypt, the âlovers.â God considered seeking help from other nations to be infidelity to him. by Sennacherib might be in view. The Hebrew word refers to what springs up from the ground but sometimes serves as a name for the Messiah (Jer 23:5; 33:15: Zech 3:8; 6:12; see the related verb in Ps 132:17). in the region of Dumah, and who surrendered to Esarhaddon, was the king of Kedar. Isaiah asked how long he would need to go on preaching, and the Lord clarified that the conclusion of the matter would be national destruction and exile. God would get his peopleâs attention by speaking through foreigners. Eight-century Hosea makes Godâs covenant with Israel prominent (Hos 4:1-19; 6:7; 8:1). The land stretching far is an expanded nation. God agreed that the Assyrians had blasphemed him. 33-34). Egyptian idols and people are afraid just as a nation would fear enemy chariots. Profound changes in the worldâs estimation of Israel will occur through the Tribulation and Second Advent (49:22-23). The restored marriage will last forever (v. 8). All the high-placed people would be removed from Jerusalem along with the material support, either by war, exile, or flight. This command will spread with joy as will an announcement of redemption to the earthâs ends (v. 20). 6-7). It is conceivable that the child in Isaiah 7 is only the Messiah, for he would not have been old enough to know good and evil before he was born. People would blind themselves (cf. Rev 2:17; 3:12). The servant is implicit is this plan of salvation. Verses 5-6 are important to identifying the servant in Isaiah. Sharon was a coastal plain from about Caesarea down to Joppa in NT times. 22c-23a). Since the Mosaic covenant represented the operating rules (laws) of Godâs relationship with Israel, it is natural that the prophets, instruments of the covenant (Deut 18:14-22), should articulate Godâs position towards Israel at any time in view of the covenant. God cannot bless the wicked with peace (v. 20). In that case the Lord is not giving him a special message but telling him what the thrust of his ministry will be. He has written several books on Isaiah, including Variations on a Theme: King, Messiah and Servant in the Book of Isaiah (Paternoster, 1998), The Book Called Isaiah: Deutero-Isaiah’s Role in Composition and Redaction (Clarendon, 1994), and A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 1-27, 1: Isaiah 1-5 (T & T Clark, 2006). Jesus taught what he learned from his Father (Jn 14:10). This is an instance of God foretelling the future as the idols cannot. Periodically, Isaiah delivered messages to various kings. The sign (Isa 66:19) is the visible return of the Lord (Matt 24:30; Rev 1:7; Rev 19:11-16). But while Isaiah 5 focused on Judah and Jerusalem, 9:7-21 focuses on the northern kingdom of Israel. 62:8-9). The âwriting prophetsâ differed from their predecessors, except possibly Moses, because they had an eschatological element in their writing. Godâs Spirit will ensure their gathering (v. 16). Syriaâs capital would suffer ruin, and Ephraimâs cities (v. 3) would vanish. Sennacherib reinforced the Rabshakehâs message with one like it. The âdarkness and distressâ (v. 30) seem a preview of the âdistress and darknessâ of 8:22 related to Assyrian invasion and the time preceding Jesusâ birth (Isa 9:1-2). Jeremiah 21:13 puts Jerusalem in a valley. Isaiah would have been an exception if he had not evaluated Israelâs stance before God in terms of the Mosaic covenant. Israel had lacked leadership (Isa 51:18). 3-4). That God saves the Egyptians when they call shows that they pray to Yahweh and are in right relations with him (v. 20). Paul uses words like verse 9 to discuss Godâs plan for Israel (Rom 9:20-21). In ancient times passing along news could take a lot of effort. It gives a less positive slant on Immanuel eating curds and honey in Isaiah 7:15. So the conflict was between his people and those who worshiped idols. Use it for your reference. Merodach Baladan was also a rebel against Sennacherib. Babylon itself will have no surviving progeny, nor will the city have any future. The prophet calls them to express grief over a land overgrown with thorns and briers (vv. They condemned the sins leading to this judgment. Assyriaâs cruelty resembled that of Egypt during Egyptian slavery, but it would not last long, for Godâs anger would turn from Judah towards Assyria. Since Israelites are clay, they plead for the Potter to mold them into what he wants (v. 8; cf. They are greedy (56:11). Sinai (Ex 24:17). God replaces Israelâs longtime shame with a double portion of inheritance, like that of the firstborn son (v. 7; see Deut 21:17). The return from a worldwide exile (Isa 43:5-6) suggests that Isaiah looked beyond 536 B.C. They would exceed their authority when they tried to annihilate Jerusalem. The wail of mourning suits this destructive time (Isa 13:6). The MT has the support of the Vulgate and Syriac. Topheth was a place for sacrifice of children to the god Molech in the Valley of Hinnom (Jer 7:31); God had long planned to sacrifice the Assyrians there (Isa 30:33). Israel could not be âcomfortedâ at this time. The following dates are not exact because we cannot be exactly sure of the very year of every book. could merit another vision because of its biblical importance. Opposition to the servant is doomed to fail because it is opposition to God (v. 9). Rev 17:15-18). The names listed with the Hamitic Dedan are later found in the southern Arabian peninsula. Both chapters show ruin for rebels abandoning God (Isa 1:28; Deut 32:5, 15, 18-20, 23-26). John Oswalt (Isaiah, NICOT, 1:423-24) suggests that people not looking to the Lord put too much on the shoulders of the few godly men, so they ultimately failed. The battle cry (v. 13) was preceded by a long silence (v. 14) but now comes out like the cry of a woman in childbirth (v. 15). But God intends to preserve a remnant to possess the land he gave the patriarchs (v. 9). 1-39), second Isaiah (chs. The palm engraving (v. 16) makes one think of Christâs nail prints (the Law forbade tattoos: Lev 19:28). Prolific shifts in time frame have caused many liberal scholars to assume that Isaiah was written by more than one author; they imagine a school of Isaiah that carried on his work over the centuries. The hail leveling forest and city may point to Tribulation events, whose outcome will be the idyllic conditions of the kingdom age (vv. Verse 20 repeats the terms âlawâ and âtestimonyâ from verse 16. All these practices anger God, who will punish them according to the covenant curses (v. 7). There is a good basis for thinking that he belonged to a distinguished priestly and perhaps noble family, judging from his education and culture and from his contacts with the court and nobility of the … Isaiahâs fear and trembling may be like Godâs sorrow over Moabâs fall despite Moab regularly being Israelâs enemy (see 25:10-11). Speed of conquest is not the idea since the siege took three years (2 Kings 17:5). Hezekiah realized his duty to praise God for his life and pass along his faith to the next generation (vv. Israel came to God without strength as in the anguish of childbirth (vv. The message may refer to the speed with which the wealth of Damascus and plunder of Samaria would be carried off. Since Isaiah already had a son Shear Jashub, whose name means âA Remnant Will Return,â the prophetess either was a second wife or the Hebrew word translated âvirginâ did not have that implication in this case. Some think the word here is an attention-getting shout (Isa 55:1; Zech 2:10), but historical context suggests woe because Isaiah was prophesying against Cush for three years (20:3-5). 12-14) may go beyond those of Belshazzar. The report comes that Babylonâs idol gods were destroyed as the city fell. The ambassadors made great efforts in this regard; âSheolâ (v. 9) could suggest a place meaning death, such as Assyria, whose help Ahaz sought (2 Kgs 16:7). A sharp contrast exists between the servant in 1-7 and the one in 18-25, leading readers to ask why. This oracle against the island fortress aligns best with the cityâs destruction by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., when the city was finally leveled. Hezekiah found a silver lining of peace in the cloud of judgment. God will fulfill the promise of the song. He chooses the people again, so the times of the Gentiles seem to be over, along with the scattering of Israel among the nations, according to Luke 21:24. 11-12, 16). God will redeem Israel (43:1), though it will be through trials of flood and fire (v. 2). The gathering of nations and tongues is to Jerusalem (see 29:6-8; Zech 12:1; 14:1). Verses 6-7 show a ruined society where civic pride is gone. The writing prophets magnified Godâs faithfulness to bless as well as to judge by pointing to the future rebirth of the nation as a result of its fall. The Song of Moses was to be a witness against Israel at the time that God destroyed the nation for its idolatry, and idolatry constituted one of Isaiahâs major criticisms of Israel as he prophesied its destruction. The permanence in human society comes from what God injects into it: his word. Since Carmel and Sharon are in Israel, it should be assumed that parched land and wilderness are there, too. Coming âmorningâ (v. 12) could be the end of Assyria, with following ânightâ being Neo-Babylonian oppression (Nebuchaddnezzar destroyed Edom).