Transcript The Biblical Covenants:

OT Survey II
Isaiah – Part I
Isaiah as Author
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“Prince of the Prophets”
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At the head of the [latter] prophets
Master of language, poetry
Long career (spanned 5 kings!)
Much to say about the coming Messiah
Quoted by NT more than any other prophet (at least 65
times, mentioned by name at least 20)
A prophet to Judah and Jerusalem (1:1)
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Hosea 1:1 – “…during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of
Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”
Isaiah 1:1 – “during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
Isaiah as Author (cont…)
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Briefly, many (most?) believe the book of Isaiah was
the result of multiple authors.
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1-39: Isaiah of Jerusalem
40-66: “Deutero-Isaiah”
[sometimes, 55-66: “Trito-Isaiah”]
Various reasons are given for this, but the primary
one is that Isa 40-66 is a Babylonian context (i.e., in
or after exile) whereas Isa 1-39 is preexilic and
Assyrian in context (see also esp. Isa 45:1).
Various arguments against this, but three are very
strong in my opinion:
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Structure of the book (more later)
Passages like Isa 41:21-24; 44:6-8; 45:20-22; 46:8-13…
Passages like Matthew 3:3; 8:17; 12:17…
Time Period
Israel enters
Egypt
1876 BC
(Ex 12:40-41)
Abraham’s birth
2166 BC
(Gen 12:4; 21:5;
25:26; 47:9)
Torah
(Gen-Deut)
Solomon begins
Judah exiled
building the temple
by Babylon
966 BC
586 BC (also 605, 597)
(1 Kgs 6:1)
(2 Kgs 25)
The Exodus
from Egypt
1446 BC
(1 Kgs 6:1)
Former Prophets
(Joshua-Kings)
Israel exiled
by Assryia
722 BC
(2 Kgs 17)
Cyrus allows
exiles to return
539 BC
(Ezra 1:1-4)
Latter Prophets
(Isaiah-Malachi)
Time Period (cont…)
Jeroboam II (Israel)
Uzziah (Judah)
770 BC
Jonah,
Hosea,
Amos
Isaiah,
Micah
Assyrian
exile
722 BC
Assyrian
Defeat
701 BC
Nahum,
Zephaniah,
Jeremiah,
Habakkuk
Babylonian
exile
586 BC
Cyrus’s
decree
539 BC
Nehemiah in
Jerusalem
~ 420 BC
Ezekiel, Haggai, Malachi
Daniel Zechariah
Joel?
Obadiah?
Time Period (cont…)
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Isaiah’s call: In the year of King Uzziah’s death (~ 740 BC)
Before his death, Uzziah was struck with leprosy; thus,
Jotham his son had become his coregent (2 Kgs 15:5).
After his death, Jotham reigned alone briefly. The book of
Kings reports very little about him but notes that Israel and
Syria began coming against Judah during his reign.
Ahaz reigns with Jotham and after Jotham’s death
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Hezekiah follows
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Commits horrid apostasy
In response to the Israel/Syria threat, turns to Assyria for help
Commits great reforms
God saves Jerusalem from Assyria during his reign
Isaiah writes his book during the reign of Manasseh (Isa
30:9; 37:38)
Ahaz and Hezekiah
Ahaz
• Made his son pass
through the fire
• Sacrificed on high
places
• Made molten images
for the Baals
• Imported pagan altar
to the temple; modified
existing temple elements
• Defeated by enemies
• Ignoble burial
Hezekiah
• 2 Kings 18:5-6
• Destroyed high places
• Destroyed bronze
serpent and other
images
• Consecrated and
restored temple;
celebrated Passover as
commanded
• Defeating enemies
• Buried with great honor
Isaiah 36 - 39
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Centerpiece of the book of Isaiah
The story of the deliverance of Judah in 701 BC
An extremely important event in Israel’s history
Prophesied in Hosea 1:6-7
“Then she conceived again and gave birth to a
daughter. And the LORD said to him, ‘Name her
Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have
compassion on the house of Israel, that I would
ever forgive them. But I will have compassion on
the house of Judah and deliver them by the
LORD their God, and will not deliver them by
bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen.’”
Preparing for Isaiah 36 - 39
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Chapters 1 – 6: Introduction
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Chapter 7: The “foil,” Ahaz
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1:1-20 – The state of Judah
6:1-13 – The reason and right response
7:1-12 – His response to a military crisis
Cf. 8:5-8:8a – The result of his bad decision
Chapters 8 – 12: A coming, righteous king!
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Cf. 7:14 – A child to be born, Immanuel
8:8b-10 – Deliverance of Judah through Immanuel
9:6ff – A child who has been born
10 (esp. vv. 24-26) – Assyria will be destroyed …
… and a king will reign gloriously; (11-12)
Preparing for Isaiah 36 - 39
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Chapters 1-6: Introduction
Chapter 7: The “foil,” Ahaz
Chapters 8 – 12: A coming, righteous king!
Chapters 13 – 27: The nations are doomed!
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13-14 – The first to be mentioned….Babylon!
19 – Also mentioned is Egypt
Chapters 28 – 35: Don’t trust in the nations!
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30:1-5, 31:1-3 – Alliances are worthless and
unnecessary
31:6-9 – Assyria will be defeated by God!
32 – A righteous king will do what is right
Isaiah 36 - 37
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36: Sennacherib sends a messenger to Hezekiah
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Note the location (v. 2)!
37:1-7: Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah
37:8-13: Sennacherib again sends a messenger to
Hezekiah
37:14-20: Hezekiah prays
37:21-35: God sends His messenger to Hezekiah
37:36-38: God sends His “messenger” to
Sennacherib
“In those days…”
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2 Kings 18:2 – “He reigned 29 years in
Jerusalem”
2 Kings 18:13 – “In the 14th year of King
Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria
came up against all the fortified cities of
Judah and seized them”
Isaiah 38:5 – “I will add 15 years to your
life”
Isaiah 38:6 – “I will deliver you and this
city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
and I will defend this city”
Isaiah 40-66
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Isaiah 40-48 – Israel will be restored from captivity
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Isaiah 49-57 – Israel will be delivered from sin
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God announcing it in advance
Cyrus as God’s servant, judgment on Babylon
48:20-21 Leave Babylon! 22 No peace for the wicked
Faithless servant Israel (49) replaced by new, faithful servant (50)
New servant brings deliverance through sacrifice (52-53)
54-56:8 – Invitation to partake of what the servant has made possible
56:9-57 – Israel fails to participate in their purchased deliverance
57:21 No peace for the wicked
Isaiah 58-66 – Israel will be restored to glory
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Evil and idolatry still exists
59:16-20 – God Himself will act as an avenger (not a servant)
Glory to Jerusalem (60-62), judgment on enemies (63)
65-66 – The final state
Next Week
More Isaiah!