ISAIAH
Author:
Isaiah the prophet. His name means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah saves”. Isaiah was a member of an influential family in Judah. It seems that he was a well-educated man. Apparently he lived in or near Jerusalem (Isa 6:1-4; 37:2; 38:4). He was married to a woman called a “prophetess”, by whom he had at least two sons (Isa 7:3; 8:3). According to tradition, during the reign of King Manasseh he was killed by being sawn in two. Some modern critics teach that this book was not written by one man named Isaiah, but by two or more men writing at different times. The author of these notes has seen no satisfactory evidence for this theory. The Bible itself speaks of one and only one Isaiah.
Date:
Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isa 1:1), that is, 740 - 700 BC. He lived on until at least 681 BC, for the event he wrote about in Isa 37:38 happened then.
Themes:
God’s judgments on human wickedness; God’s grace toward those who turn to him in faith; God’s salvation given freely through the Lord Jesus Christ. More than any other prophet, Isaiah gives us a detailed picture of the then future coming and deeds of the Lord Jesus – His birth, His sufferings and death, and His still future glorious reign over the earth. Isaiah begins with the corrupt nation of Israel (Isa 1:2-17) and moves steadily on to the new heavens and earth where there will be no more corruption ever (Isa 65:17; 66:22-24). Some very wonderful verses and chapters in this book are Isa 1:18; 2:1-5; 6:1-8; 7:14; 9:6-7; 11:1-9; 25:4-9; 32:1-5; 35:1-10; 40:1-31; 41:17-20; 43:1-2, 25; 45:22-25; 49:6; 52:13-15; 53:1-12; 55:1-13; 57:15; 61:1-3; 64:1-12; 65:17; 66:2. Of course, this is far from being an exhaustive list. The whole book of Isaiah (indeed, the whole Bible) is very wonderful, being inspired by God Himself.
Contents:
The corrupt and ruined condition of the Jews 1:2-10
God’s rejection of their kind of religion 1:11-17
God’s invitation, promise and warning 1:18-20
God’s judgment on Jerusalem,
His promise of a new day 1:21-31
God’s coming kingdom on earth 2:1-5
The Day of the LORD 2:6-22
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem 3:1—4:1
The Branch 4:2-6
A bad vineyard 5:1-7
Woe! Woe! Woe! 5:8-30
God calls Isaiah, cleanses him, commissions him 6:1-13
King Ahaz 7:1-12
The virgin’s Son 7:14-17
God will use Assyria to punish the Jewish nation 7:18—8:10
Prophecy of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ 9:1-7
The anger of God Almighty 9:8—10:4
God’s punishment of Assyria 10:5-34
The Branch from the root of Jesse,
Christ’s future kingdom 11:1-16
A song of praise 12:1-6
Prophecies concerning other nations 13:1—24:22
Against Babylon 13:1—14:23
Fall of Lucifer from heaven 14:12-15
Against Assyria 14:24-27
Against the Philistines 14:28-32
Against Moab 15:1—16:14
Against Damascus 17:1-14
Against the “land beyond the rivers of Cush” 18:1-7
Against Egypt 19:1-25
Against Egypt and Cush 20:1-6
Against Babylon 21:1-10
Against Edom 21:11-12
Against Arabia 21:13-17
About Jerusalem 22:1-18
Against Tyre 23:1-18
Against all the peoples of the earth 24:1-22
The LORD God will reign in Jerusalem 24:23
Words of praise to the LORD 25:1-12
A song to be sung in Judah 26:1-21
God will deliver Israel 27:1-13
Drunkards and scoffers in Israel 28:1-29
A precious cornerstone 28:16
Woe to Jerusalem 29:1-16
Promises among the warnings 29:17-24
Woe to the stubborn nation of Israel 30:1-17
More promises of blessing 30:18-26
God will come in anger 30:27-33
Woe to those who depend on men, not God 31:1-3
God will protect Jerusalem 31:4-9
Christ’s righteous kingdom 32:1-20
Trouble from men, help from above 33:1-24
God will destroy ungodly world powers 34:1-17
The future happy condition of God’s redeemed ones 35:1-10
God saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian attack 36:1—37:38
King Hezekiah’s prayer 37:14-20
Isaiah’s prophecy regarding Sennacherib 37:21-35
The destruction of the Assyrian army 37:36-37
Hezekiah’s illness and recovery 38:1-22
A writing of Hezekiah 38:9-20
Arrival of envoys from Babylon, Hezekiah’s pride 39:1-2
Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah, declares God’s judgment 39:3-8
The LORD the comforter of His people 40:1-31
Message of comfort – promise of a Saviour 40:1-11
Basis of comfort – God’s greatness 40:12-31
God the helper of Israel 41:1—46:13
God’s quarrel with the nations of earth 41:1-29
The nations make idols and rely on them 41:5-7
The nation Israel is God’s servant 41:8-20
The idols and gods of the nations cannot
foretell the future 41:21-29
Christ the LORD’s Servant 42:1-9
Praise to the LORD 42:10-17
Israel’s spiritual blindness 42:18-25
The only Helper and Saviour in existence 43:1-13
Unfaithful Israel, God’s mercy 43:14-28
God’s future blessing on Israel 44:1-5
The only true God reveals the foolishness
of idolatry 44:6-20
Israel to be redeemed, Jerusalem rebuilt 44:21-28
The LORD will raise up Cyrus 45:1-14
The only true God gives an invitation to all 45:18-25
The idols of Babylon cannot do anything 46:1-13
The fall of Babylon 47:1-15
A message to faithless, stubborn Israel 48:1-22
Jesus the Servant of Jehovah 49:1—55:13
God’s purposes 49:5-7
God will restore Israel 49:8-26
His obedience, Israel’s disobedience 50:1-11
He faces mocking and spitting 50:6-7
His redemption 51:1-16
The cup of God’s wrath 51:17-23
He will return to Jerusalem 52:1-12
The suffering and victory of the LORD’s Servant 52:13—53:12
His sufferings will result in Israel’s
great blessing 54:1-17
An invitation based on His sufferings 55:1-7
God’s ways higher than man’s ways 55:8-13
Inclusion of other peoples in Israel’s blessing 56:1-8
Condemnation of Israel’s wicked rulers 56:9—57:13
Comfort for the humble 57:14-21
Contrast between true and false worship 58:1-14
Israel’s repentance and confession of sin
will bring God’s deliverance 59:1-21
Glorious peace and prosperity for Israel 60:1-22
Jesus the Spirit-filled Servant of the LORD,
God’s glorious kingdom comes by Him 61:1-11
Jerusalem to be restored and glorified 62:1-12
The day of vengeance and redemption 63:1-6
The praise and prayer of God’s people 63:7—64:12
God answers His people 65:1—66:24
He speaks of the Gentiles 65:1
He condemns stubborn, wicked Israel
and their way of religion 65:2-5
He will take vengeance but will keep a
remnant of Israel for Himself 65:6-16
He will create new heavens and earth 65:17-25
He will honor the humble 66:1-2
He will save Israel but punish all
unrepentant sinners 66:3-24