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Book 23 of 39 · Major Prophets

Isaiah

The Complete Story29:56

Overview

Isaiah is the first and longest of the Major Prophets, 66 chapters of poetry and narrative. Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied in Jerusalem in the second half of the eighth century BC, "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (1:1). His world was dominated by Assyria, whose armies destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and besieged Jerusalem in 701 BC. Isaiah's constant question to Judah's kings was whether they would trust the Holy One of Israel or lean on alliances with Egypt and Assyria.

From chapter 40 the book's horizon shifts. It addresses Judah in exile in Babylon (after 586 BC) and then a community back in the land, naming the Persian king Cyrus (44:28; 45:1). Many scholars therefore speak of a "First", "Second" and "Third" Isaiah (chs 1–39, 40–55, 56–66), written over a long period; others read the whole as the work of the eighth-century prophet looking ahead. Either way the book holds together around shared themes: God as "the Holy One of Israel", judgment on pride, a faithful remnant, and the future glory of Zion.

The structure: Part 1 (chs 1–12) oracles to Judah and Jerusalem, Isaiah's call and the Immanuel prophecies; Part 2 (chs 13–27) oracles against the nations and the "Isaiah Apocalypse"; Part 3 (chs 28–35) woes and promises; Part 4 (chs 36–39) the narrative of Hezekiah and Sennacherib; Part 5 (chs 40–55) comfort for the exiles and the Servant Songs; Part 6 (chs 56–66) Zion restored and the new creation.

Part 1 — Judah on trial (chapters 1–12)

The lawsuit (1). God calls heaven and earth to witness against "a sinful nation". Jerusalem is like a hut in a cucumber field. Its sacrifices and new moons are a burden to God while justice is ignored: "Cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed" (1:16–17). Yet there is an offer: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (1:18). The mountain of the LORD (2–4). In the last days the nations will stream to Zion to learn God's ways; "they shall beat their swords into plowshares" (2:4). Before that, the day of the LORD will humble human pride. The proud women of Jerusalem will lose their finery; a cleansed remnant will remain under a canopy of cloud and fire. The Song of the Vineyard (5). The beloved plants a choice vineyard that yields only wild grapes. "He looked for judgment, but behold oppression" (5:7). Six woes follow on land-grabbers, drunkards and those "that call evil good, and good evil" (5:20). The call of Isaiah (6). "In the year that king Uzziah died" (c. 740 BC) Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned, with seraphim crying "Holy, holy, holy". Overwhelmed — "I am a man of unclean lips" — he is cleansed by a coal from the altar and answers, "Here am I; send me" (6:8). He is warned that the people will not listen until the land is desolate, but a "holy seed" will remain like a stump. Ahaz and Immanuel (7–8). Around 734 BC Syria (Rezin) and Israel (Pekah) attack Jerusalem to force Judah into an anti-Assyrian coalition. Isaiah meets Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of the upper pool" with his son Shear-jashub ("a remnant shall return"): "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (7:9). Ahaz refuses a sign; God gives one anyway — "a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (7:14), "God with us". Another son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, signals the swift fall of Damascus and Samaria. Ahaz appeals to Assyria, which will flood Judah "even to the neck". The child and the shoot (9–12). Beyond the gloom a great light dawns in Galilee: "For unto us a child is born… The Prince of Peace" (9:6), who will reign on David's throne for ever. Assyria is God's rod but will itself be judged for its arrogance (ch 10). A shoot from the stump of Jesse will rule with righteousness, and "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb… and a little child shall lead them" (11:6). Part 1 closes with a song of salvation (ch 12): "with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation".

Part 2 — The nations and the whole earth (chapters 13–27)

Oracles against the nations (13–23). Babylon heads the list; its king is mocked as the fallen "day star, son of the morning" (14:12, KJV "Lucifer"). Then come Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Edom, Arabia, Jerusalem itself (the "valley of vision", ch 22) and Tyre (ch 23, "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish"). Isaiah walks barefoot for three years as a sign that Egypt and Cush will be led captive (ch 20). Remarkably, the oracle on Egypt ends with Egypt and Assyria worshipping alongside Israel: "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands" (19:25). The Isaiah Apocalypse (24–27). The vision widens to the whole world. The earth is "utterly broken down" because people "have broken the everlasting covenant" (24:5, 19). Then on Mount Zion God spreads a feast for all peoples: "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces" (25:8). "Thy dead men shall live" (26:19). God will slay Leviathan and Israel, his vineyard, will again blossom.

Part 3 — Woes and the way of trust (chapters 28–35)

Woes on false security (28–31). Samaria's drunken leaders, and Jerusalem's scoffers who have made "a covenant with death", will be swept away; but God lays in Zion "a tried stone, a precious corner stone" (28:16). The people honour God with their lips while their hearts are far away (29:13). Envoys hurry to Egypt for help: "Woe to them that go down to Egypt… and trust in chariots" (31:1). God's call is otherwise: "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not" (30:15). The coming king and the blossoming desert (32–35). A king will reign in righteousness. Edom, representing hostile nations, faces judgment (ch 34). Then the desert rejoices "and blossom[s] as the rose" (35:1); the blind see, the lame leap, and the ransomed return to Zion on "the way of holiness" with everlasting joy.

Part 4 — Hezekiah's crisis (chapters 36–39)

Sennacherib's siege (36–37). "In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah" (701 BC) Sennacherib takes Judah's fortified cities, including Lachish, and sends his field commander (the Rabshakeh) to Jerusalem. Standing at the same conduit where Isaiah met Ahaz, he taunts the people in Hebrew: no god has saved any nation from Assyria. Hezekiah, unlike his father, turns to God, spreading Sennacherib's letter before the LORD in the temple. Isaiah answers that the Assyrian will not shoot an arrow into the city. The angel of the LORD strikes 185,000 in the Assyrian camp; Sennacherib returns to Nineveh, where his sons later kill him in his god's temple. Hezekiah's illness (38). Told he will die, Hezekiah weeps and prays; God adds fifteen years and, as a sign, makes the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. Hezekiah writes a psalm of thanks. The envoys from Babylon (39). Merodach-baladan's envoys visit and Hezekiah shows them all his treasures. Isaiah foretells that everything will one day be carried to Babylon. This short chapter is the hinge into the second half.

Part 5 — Comfort for the exiles (chapters 40–55)

Comfort ye my people (40). "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem… her warfare is accomplished" (40:1–2). A voice cries, "Prepare ye the way of the LORD", for the glory of the LORD will be revealed. People wither like grass, "but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (40:8). The Creator who names every star gives strength to the weary: "they shall mount up with wings as eagles" (40:31). The LORD and the idols (41–48). In a series of courtroom scenes God challenges the gods of the nations to predict the future. The idol-maker burns half a log for warmth and bows to the other half (44:9–20). "I am the first, and I am the last" (44:6). God names Cyrus as his "shepherd" and "anointed" who will free the exiles and decree that Jerusalem be rebuilt (44:28–45:1). Babylon's gods Bel and Nebo are carried off on beasts of burden (46:1), and "the virgin daughter of Babylon" is brought down (ch 47). The Servant Songs (42; 49; 50; 52–53). A mysterious Servant is chosen to bring justice gently — "a bruised reed shall he not break" — and to be "a light to the Gentiles" so that salvation reaches "unto the end of the earth" (42:3; 49:6). He suffers abuse without turning back (ch 50). The fourth song (52:13–53:12) is the most famous: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows… he was wounded for our transgressions… and with his stripes we are healed" (53:3–5). Jewish interpreters have often identified the Servant with Israel or a righteous remnant; Christians have read these songs as fulfilled in Jesus. Invitation (54–55). Barren Zion is told to enlarge her tent. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters" (55:1). God's thoughts are higher than ours, and his word "shall not return unto me void" (55:11). The exiles will go out with joy, while "the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (55:12).

Part 6 — Zion restored (chapters 56–66)

True worship (56–59). Foreigners and eunuchs who keep the covenant will be welcome, for God's house is "an house of prayer for all people" (56:7). Fasting while quarrelling and oppressing workers is rejected: the true fast is "to loose the bands of wickedness… to deal thy bread to the hungry" (58:6–7). The people's sins have separated them from God, so he himself puts on righteousness as a breastplate to act. Arise, shine (60–62). "Arise, shine; for thy light is come" (60:1). Nations and kings come to Zion's light bringing gold and frankincense on camels from Sheba; its gates stand open continually. An anointed messenger proclaims, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me… to proclaim liberty to the captives" and to give "beauty for ashes" (61:1–3). Zion will be called Hephzibah, "my delight is in her". Lament and the new creation (63–66). God comes from Edom in garments stained from judgment. The people pray, "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, and come down" (64:1). God answers with a promise: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (65:17) — long life, houses lived in by those who built them, and wolf and lamb feeding together. The book ends with all flesh coming to worship before the LORD, alongside a stark image of the fate of those who rebel (66:23–24).

Key themes, and the bridge to Jeremiah

  • The Holy One of Israel. Isaiah's signature title for God (about 25 times), from the throne vision of chapter 6 to the end of the book.
  • Trust, not alliances. Ahaz trusts Assyria; Hezekiah turns to God. Quiet faith, not chariots or Egypt, is Judah's strength.
  • Judgment and remnant. Pride is brought low, yet a stump remains, a holy seed from which a righteous king will grow.
  • Comfort and return. The God who judged also comforts, promising a new exodus through the desert back to Zion.
  • The Servant. A suffering figure whose obedience brings healing and light to the nations.
  • The nations and the new creation. Isaiah's hope reaches beyond Israel to all peoples, and finally to new heavens and a new earth.

Isaiah closes with a vision of worldwide worship but a sober warning, and Judah's actual history has not yet reached its crisis. Assyria passed, but Babylon was coming. The next prophet, Jeremiah, would live through that storm — calling a later generation to repent, and watching Jerusalem fall.