Are you behind? Running out of motivation? Can’t jump back in?
Sit down for 8 Minutes and watch this. 8 minutes is nothing compared to other things we look at on our screens right???
Isaiah is so hard for me. I keep looking at the schedule to see when we will be done with it (I know, I am a horrible person) Sit and watch this so that when we get to Chapter 40 we are READY!
Isaiah is divided into 2 parts. The first section is 1-39. The theme of the first 39 chapters is condemnation. We have seen Isaiah bring multiple messages and warnings without any lasting repentance. Overall, the next 8 chapters are to Judah but uses Israel as an example. When he references Ephraim (since that is the largest tribe in the North, he is referring to Israel)
Isaiah gives a graphic description of how God is viewing His people. They are “drunk” on themselves. The materiality, their life, their politics…it is all gross to the Lord. And the view from the people who hear Isaiah’s message is that they mock him-
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there.”
That is a harsh way to view God’s laws: “rule for this, rule for that”. (And he is including the Priests in this conversation! How sad). However, if you know any people that are not Christian that is EXACLTY how they view the Bible.
A warning of judgment that He will allow them to “fall backward” at the hands of a foreign nation.
I am enjoying the details in today’s read so hang with me. Read this and break this down:
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood our hiding place.”
I am not trying to upset anyone but just because someone is baptized, went to camp, goes to church or said: “I decided”…can be a “lie of refuge”. The Israelites believe that they can do whatever they want because of their ancestors.
Judah saw the Northern Tribe be taken by Assyria. “That will not happen to us”…Oh it will.
However, there are many that will believe in the Covenant too. Scripture quoted by both Peter and Paul in the New Testament:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
17 I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding place.
He continues with a warning and says : LISTEN TO ME!!
Chapter 29: He is directly talking to the nation of Judah referred to them as “Ariel”- (Ariel meaning Altar). He is speaking to Jerusalem. Jerusalem will become a blood-soaked altar by it’s surrounding nations. BUT it will be from God’s hand-His judgment. This will occur during the reign of Hezekiah.
NOW, let’s split this newscast screen: We can also see the Tribulation in this read too! This message is sealed in the scroll that only Jesus can open:
11 For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.”
A scripture I want you to sit on a little is:
13 The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Chapter 30: The message continues to the Souther Tribe, Judah. As Assyria becomes stronger and stronger Judah continues to make alliances with foreign nations like Egypt RATHER than line up with God’s Ways. As they turn to people or ‘the world” for their protection. The Lord says:
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
They are rejecting the Lord.
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’
Therefore you will flee!
BUT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE THEM!!!’ BECAUSE HE LOVES US!!
18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.❤️❤️❤️❤️
Tyre (and Sidon)-You can find Tyre on the coast just above Israel. Tyre was a trading city that was very wealthy and very evil. They controlled much of the trading through the port of the Mediterranean Sea. It was wealthy, corrupt, and filled with prostitutes.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre,
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
These cities will fall and the event will devastate the other world powers who depend on their ports for profit. Their evil ways will be disciplined and Isaiah warns them to flee! Get on your boat and go to Tarshish!
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned it, (Yes He did!!)
to bring down her pride in all her splendor
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
Tyre will be restored as an image of how wealth should properly be managed by God’s people.
18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded.
The Next 4 chapters might be titled “The Apocolypse of Isaiah” or “God’s Purpose in Judgement”.
Think of it like a movie camera focused in and slowly pulled back. It is focused on Judah, then Israel, then surrounding nations, and finally the whole world. There is NO DOUBT you will see End Time Prophecies as you read this. God’s universal judgment on sin and his victory over evil in the end.
I am going to pull out a few verses BUT the whole read (worth hitting “listen” at the top too) is worth hanging on every word.. God will not show favoritism.
5 The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.
True story BUT…
The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
that it falls—never to rise again.
When God conquers he will open the New Heaven and the defiled earth will be gone! (I can’t wait for Revelation!)
25:2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
BUT… WHERE WILL YOU BE???
6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
I basically underlined the rest of the read, but here are a few: (maybe one, is the one you need today)
19
Chapter 26 reminds us that there will be a resurrection of the dead. Jesus conquers death and we will rise up and be in the presence of the Lord!
But your dead will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.
Chapter 27 ends with a Double Reference both “near’ and “far” prophecy. The judgment of the lost and the restoration of his people from the Babylonian Captivity, and the gathering of HIs people after the apocalypse:
12 In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. (do you remember us talking about the significance of the trumpet…The Lord will fight for you) Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Chapter 18. OK, so I read it and it was like reading Japanese. Let’s look at it:
Woe to the land of whirring wings
along the rivers of Cush,
2 which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.
OK, Cush is modern-day Ethiopia….referred to as the smooth-skinned people (what product are they using, I want it)
Land is divided by rivers?
Ohhh it is the Egyptians!!! That makes sense…In my head, Cleopatra had great skin too!
Cush had actually conquered Egypt so we know this is another world power. The Promised Land is surrounded by them (just like today). Cush is now seeking an alliance with Judah to overcome Assyria. But it is in God’s timing that any nation is destroyed…
THIS CHAPTER IS HARD. The lesson is…God doesn’t need Cush to ally with Judah to take Assyria…this is not HIS first Rodeo.
Chapter 19- Egypt- very interesting chapter:
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. ❤️❤️❤️21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
Chapter 20- Look at the Map. Ashdod is on the coast near Israel (and Judah). It is in the Philistine nation. You will see the world powers in a triangle around it. Egypt (and Cush), Babylon, Assyria, Phoenicians. Well as they fight each other, they use Israel as the travel route. We know this is going to scare the bejeebees out of them so they try to make alliances. (That was SPECIFICALLY told by in the law, that they should NOT do that).
So if I honed in on the map you can now see the city that Assyria is coming to attack. Ashdod. (LOL, are you ready to kill me with all these maps…at least they are not genealogies)
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So what should God’s people do? TRUST HIM! Nope…they make the alliances as usual. God asks Isaiah to walk naked for 3 years as a symbol of what he is going to do in Egypt and Cush. He will strip them of their world power.
Isaiah 21-
In all this, I forget how hard a task Isaiah has been called to. (I was LITERALLY just thinking in my head…how hard it is to read Isaiah when we are on a tight schedule, as I have my feet on a coffee table with my coffee….so suck it up buttercup)
3 At this my body is racked with pain,
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered by what I see.
4 My heart falters,
fear makes me tremble;
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror to me.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen!
All the images of its gods
lie shattered on the ground!’”
In the Double reference, who/what is Babylon?? Revelation 18:
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Chapter 21- Look at the map again. It makes sense that Edom and Arabia are in distress since they also fall into the category of fighting for land and trade routes. (or robbing and looting on those trade routes). BUT they too get their answer:
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
(Mic Drop!)
Chapter 22– read or re-read this chapter and stop at verse 11. Jerusalem is under attack. They have their horses, chariots, water, bows and arrows but what is the ONE thing they are not relying on?
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.
The end of the chapter- I read a ton of stuff and I am going to leave it blank. Is it a Messianic passage or is it not a Messianic passage? Much debate. I am going to say it is not. It is just that Eliakim (the finance manager for king Hezekiah) will be put in a place of royalty…but he too will eventually fall with Jerusalem.
I could be totally wrong..a lot of info out there that supports me being wrong, but I really am ok with not figuring it all out.
Chapters 13-23 are oracles against the nations. The message was given to Israel ABOUT the fall of the surrounding nations. Today we will read 13-17.
Then
Babylon- These prophecies are both a short-term fulfillment and a long-term fullfillment. Basically, we are looking at a news show with a split-screen (Like Fox News or CNN)
Babylon is the up and coming “superpower” as a nation (one view-current in OT) However, Babylon is also symbolic of all evil, pride, oppression, or power that exalts itself against the Lord. ( second view-Revelation 18). This is a prophecy that we will see mixed both near and far prophecies.
Isaiah 13
(far prophecy)
9 See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
____
(Near prophecy)
Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the pride and glory of the Babylonians,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Chapter 14
Always look for Hope. God is compassionate for “His People” (us) There is a return of His people
The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel
and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
(Foreigners will join….that is referring to Gentiles…you and I are included in His Mercy!)
So if Jesus is the King of Kings. Who is the King of Babylon??
HUGE double reference. As we see the historical context of the fall of the Babylonian King “near reference”. The King of Evil is Satan himself when we look at the “far” prophecy.
ARE YOU READY FOR IT!!!! THIS IS THE HISTORY OF SATAN- “Morning Star” translation is Lucifer!
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
Only Scripture interprets scripture: so where can we cross-reference this? Glad you asked:
Ezekiel 28:14. The “near” reference is the King of Tyre. The “far” reference is the destruction of Satan.
‘You were the seal of perfection, (Lucifer as an angel)
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’”
(His end will be at the last battle in Revelation)
Ch 15-16 Moab. Who are the Moabites?
The Moabites were a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot, born of an incestuous relationship with his oldest daughter (Genesis 19). From Zoar, on the southeastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on the east of Jordan. They have been a thorn in the Hebrews side ever since.
In short, an enemy will come from the North and free the refugees and push them towards Edom and around towards Judah. To take the refugees or not to take the refugees…that is the question???
Yes- why you ask? Think of Ruth…she was a Moab (and I like her). She gave birth to the line of David (and I like him half the time)….So they bring lambs as a tribute (how symbolic)…and a VERY cool double prophecy…
The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
Well, the answer is NO-Their tribute was with empty hearts. They were prideful and continued to worship false gods…So God’s verdict for Moab is:
But now the Lord says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”
I TOLD YOU I STRUGGLE WITH ISAIAH! THIS IS HARD. BUT, my goal is to understand 1% more than I did last time. So let’s keep moving forward!
Try reading this one. When you see “In that Day” look for the double prophecy. Historical and Future. You can do it. BUT the one thing I want to point out is the beauty of Repentance. Regardless if you view it as the falling of Damascas or the final battle in Revelation…People are Saved!
7 In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
OK, I just read 2 Chronicles and I thought “what could I say that you already don’t know”. If I had randomly opened 2 Chron 27 on January 1 and read this short chapter most of us would say “Ummm, what”. You got this! But I will give you this (again) just because I love you. Jotham.
Isaiah 9-12- Now Isaiah, maybe you read and said “Yup, got it”. If you did-you are taking over this blog! I needed help. Let’s do this! Let me start off by saying if we stick with the TV/Remote analogy- today is definitely split screen and they are all talking at once! We have:
all talking at once. I am going to try to keep this simple.
Chapter 9 (if you have not noticed I have a pattern of starting with verse 1)
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
Ummm what? Wait for it…we are about to have a “Drop Mic” moment. When Jesus BEGINS his ministry this prophecy is fulfilled:
Matthew 4:12
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Naphtali and Zebulun are 2 of the 10 tribes that formed the North. He begins his preaching in Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee (starts with G) that is how you are going to remember that when we say Gallilee: Jesus is with the Gentiles.
Jesus came to bring Light to the Darkness!
Isaiah continues with….
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Ok Ok…I won’t’ break down EVERY scripture…but I want to. The rest of the chapter is a description of the Lord’s anger against the Northern Kingdom Israel. Note the “attitude” of Israel (or should I say the complacency)…
“The bricks have fallen down,
but WE will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but WE will replace them with cedars.”
Are they crazy…they said the same thing at the tower of Babel and we all know how that turned out!
Chapter 10- God uses Assyria as the instrument to discipline Israel (after 300 years of warning). But Assyria became prideful in the power God gave them. When God is done with them, they too will witness God’s judgment on themselves. Verse 12:
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
14 As one reaches into a nest,
so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.’”
The next section can be summed up v21:
A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.
If you don’t know what the who, what, where, when, and why of the Remnant…let me know in the comments. I will break it down.
Chapter 11: In Chapter 4 we talked about a Messianic Passage. We can look at this with a split-screen of the Messiah Coming…or as the 2nd Coming (Millennial period). Both are correct. Remember, prophecy is both Near and Far messages. You will read these scriptures and know it is Jesus in the prophecy BUT there are scriptures about Peace and Safety that will only occur during the Millennial period. (we will read about that in December)
If I start commenting on Chapter 11 we will be here all day. Can you see the Messianic Prophecy? For those who can, help those who cannot (in comments). C’mon. Be confident!
The End. You may Stop here. I don’t want to make an assumption that everyone understands the Millenium (the time period following Christ’s return). If you need a refresher course on that I posted it below.
Spoiler Alert: I am going to tell you how this Book Ends. Chapter 11 will concentrate on the Millenial period. For those who say “Revelation is confusing” it is not. It actually might be one of the easiest books we read. So here it is:
Read Left to Right.
This is post #2. Under this post is a post about The Captivity. Even though it is coming up in our reading, it will make the prophecy books more “readable” if you understand what WILL happen eventualy.
Chapter 5- We begin with a parable. It may actually sound familiar if you have read the New Testament.
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
The vineyard is His chosen people. God provided all the means for them to prosper (fertile hillside). But when the crops Israelites grew, they grew bad fruit.
What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
So what is the consequence?
He takes his hand off of them. He will not tend to them and he will allow the border to be open. After the parable is given Isaiah shocks the audience by letting them know He is talking about them!
Verse 8 we add some more “Woes”- Beware.
v8-10-He is calling out those who accumulate- but lets them know that when the captivity happens…their mansions will be empty.
v11-17-He is talking to the “party crowd”, those that ignore God. He specifically says in verse 13-
Therefore my people will go into exile
for lack of understanding;
v18-19-Those that are hitched to sin. Not only do they disregard God but they defy Him, they don’t believe His warning and challenge Him to show up! Verse 19-
“Let God hurry;
let him hasten his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”
v20-those who think they are wiser than God
v21-to the corrupt. He is detailed to tell them exactly what the captivity will look like. V26-30 He tells them he will rise up nations around them, the enemies will not grow weary. They will not break a sweat when they capture them.
Chapter 6 Isaiah’s Commission- We change the channel and it is dated for us so we know exactly when this happens.
This vision occurs during the reign of Uzziah. He sees God!
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Isaiah immediately confesses he is unworthy to be in His presence. Because of this God forgives him of his unclean lips and purifies Isaiah with the coal. He then proceeds to tell him that the message you bring will fall on deaf ears. They will ignore him. When Isaiah asks “How long will they ignore me”? God tells him until they are put in captivity. BUT…and don’t miss is…
And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
He preserves a remnant of people to survive!
Chapter 7- This is 700 years BEFOE the birth of Christ…Now when you read this you have to use context clues.
8:Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”
The captivity will begin shortly for the northern tribe. It will happen in waves, but within 65 years it will be complete destruction.
God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign, and Ahaz declines. God gives him one anyway! (Look at your prophecy list of the Messiah)
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (700 years before Christ this is said)
18-25 Isaiah prophesied that Assyria will be the nation God will use for this first invasion.
In Chapter 8 Isaiah gives a description of the captivity but reminds Isaiah not to follow in Israel’s footsteps either. It is NOT the enemy nations that will bring destruction on America Israel, it will be at the arm of the Lord to discipline their sins. We They must not fear other nations, they must fear the Lord and obey his commands.
“Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
Before we go any further I want to take a moment to explain what is going to happen. As we read through Isaiah and other prophet books, they just won’t make sense unless you understand the big picture. Tomorrow we are going to read some detailed prophecies about “a Captivity” or “an Exile”. The way I explain this when I do a study with teenagers is: God says to his children…I put you in this land, shape up and start obeying me or I will take you out of this land”.
My adult answer would be-The captivity or exile refers to the time period in Israel’s history when Jews were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. It is an important period of biblical history because both the captivity/exile and the return and restoration of the Jewish nation were fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies.
God used foreign nations to bring judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him. There were actually several different times during this period when the Jews were taken captivity. During the captivity, the enemy nations would kill many people, destroy the Jewish temple, take captive many thousands of Jews, and left Jerusalem in ruins.
If you look at this map you will see that Israel (purple) will fall (captivity)to Assyria in 722. But remember when Jeroboam and Rehenboam split the kingdom I told you to remember the “J” and the “R”. Rehoboam comes from the line of David-the line with the Covenant to bring the Messiah. Jereboam does not. So when the Assyrians take Israel they do not come back. However…Judah (who the scepter will not depart from) has to survive it. They are taken into Babylonian captivity in 586 B.C. The few that survive it are called the “Remnant”. As prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. That prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C., and the Jews were allowed by King Cyrus of Persia to return to Israel and begin rebuilding the city and temple. The return under the direction of Ezra led to a revival among the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple. This might help:
In the overview, I talked about Isaiah being the most quoted prophecies in the New Testament. Example: Matthew 1 says: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”). The prophecy of this will be in today’s read. Here is a list of the fulfilled prophecies from Isaiah. At the bottom of this post, I will attach all 3 visuals in a printable format just in case you like them as much as I do.
Fulfilled Prophecies From Isaiah
| The Prophecy | The Fulfillment |
| The Messiah… | Jesus Christ… |
| will be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14) | was born a virgin named Mary (Luke 1:26-31) |
| will have a Galilean ministry (Is. 9:1,2) | ministered in the Galilee of the Gentiles (Matt. 4:13-16) |
| will be an heir to the throne of David (Is. 9:7) | was given the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32,33) |
| will have His way prepared (Is. 40:3-5) | was announced by John the Baptist (John 1:19-28) |
| will be spat on and struck (Is. 50:6) | was spat on and beaten (Matt. 26:67) |
| will be exalted (Is. 52:13) | was highly exalted by God and the people (Phil. 2:9,10) |
| will be disfigured by suffering (Is. 52:14; 53:2) | was scourged by the soldiers who gave Him a crown of thorns (Mark 15:15-19) |
| will make a blood atonement (Is. 53:5) | shed His blood to atone for our sins (1 Peter 1:2) |
| will be widely rejected (Is. 53:1,3) | was accepted by many (John 12:37,38) |
| will bear our sins in sorry (Is. 53:4,5) | died because of our sins (Rom. 4:25; 1 Peter 2:24 |
| will be our substitute (Is. 53:6,8) | died in our place (Rom. 5:6, 8; 2 Cor. 5:21) |
| will voluntarily accept our guilt and punishment (Is. 53:7,8) | was silent about our sin (Mark 15:4; John 10:11; 19:30) |
| will be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Is. 53:9) | was buried in the tomb of Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea (Matt. 27:57-60; John 19:38-42) |
| will save us who believe in Him (Is. 53:10,11) | provided salvation for all who believed (John 3:16; Acts 16:31) |
| will die with transgressors (Is. 53:12) | was numbered with the transgressors (Mark 15:27; Luke 22:37) |
| will heal the brokenhearted (Is. 61:1,2) | healed the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18) |
First, I want you to take a moment to look at the visual. I have never posted it before. If a stranger asked you to explain it could you? I am not talking about pronouncing names or memorizing which kings were good or bad-just overall would you be able to talk about how the kingdom divided? Who is Judah and Israel? Which one has the Covenant that will bring a Messiah? Is this a dark period in Bible History? If you cannot let me know…I want you to be able to.
Now the new information on this visual is the time span Isaiah was a prophet. He was a prophet that brought a message spanning 4 Kings in Judah. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Chapter 1- Verse 1 says: The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
I want you to think of this book like a TV (vision)- and Isaiah has a remote control in his hand and we are going to channel surf a lot. We are going to see a vision of what will happen in the present time of the kings, what will happen when Jesus comes, the 2nd coming (Revelation), and often times it will look like a split screen-pertaining to more than one. (I hope that helps)
ok, back to Chapter 1-Clearly I could talk about each and every verse but you would kill me. So overall we know that the kingdoms have been oppressing the poor, idol-worshipping, making alliances with enemies, and perverting justice. That’s our view. Chapter 1 is how the nation looks from God’s view.
I want to point out verses 10-15. God instituted the proper way to approach and worship Him. He is not deleting the system He created-he is disgusted with the hearts/attitude when they do it:
Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me…
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
However, God is Love. Even at our worst, He craves to have us close. He begs to forgive us!
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
Chapter 2 “in the last days”-We changed the channel- We can read this and know God is talking about Revelation 21, the New Heaven and New Earth.
by verse 6 we are definitely on a split-screen (think of a newscast, 2 pictures showing at once). We can see “the day the Lord: God will allow the Babylonians to capture them and take them out of the land as well as the Tribulation for the Church age.
Chapter 3- This was taken off of the Evening news last night! Just kidding.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They have brought disaster upon themselves.
We begin to see the word “Woe”. It is a serious word. In my head when I read it I say “Beware”. It means ruinous trouble: calamity,
Chapter 4- The Branch of the Lord- THIS is a “Messianic Passage” (pertaining to Jesus the Messiah)
As you read this paragraph about the Branch of the Lord hang on every word “Beautiful” “Glorious” but my favorite sentence was “ It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”
If you want more to read of the Branch look up Jeremiah 23:5, Zechariah 3:8-9, and Isaiah 11-1.
The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. (I am not sure where Lamentations fits in yet).
Prophecy has a “Near/Far” view. The message may be talking about something that will happen in the near future BUT the same message might also happen in the future on a grander scale. Make sense? So with each chapter, you might say is this talking about Israel, the Messiah, or Revelation. The answer might be: All.
Prophets were NOT liked because they brought words of consequence due to sin and lifestyle. But their words were from God; the Prophet was just a messenger. So feel free to read this book in the present day as well.
Isaiah means “Jehovah Saves”, the key to the book of Isaiah is Salvation
The book of Isaiah is a masterpiece in itself. A Bible inside the Bible. What do I mean by that??
The Messianic prophecies are so accurate that skeptics have said “this must have been written after Jesus came.
Jewish people memorized the scriptures in order to preserve God’s word. When the Temple is destroyed in 70 AD many of the original writings were destroyed. Traditionalists had memorized every scripture (side note: ever see the movie Book of Eli with Denzel Washington…must see). Anyway, they wrote with accuracy the Jewish teachings. “We” call it the Old Testament. This is called the Masoretic Text, which was completed in the 9th Century. So, someone COULD argue “How do we know THIS TEXT is accurate?” I mean c’mon who could memorize the Bible, I struggle to memorize single scripture??
In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd discovered seven scrolls housed in jars in a cave near what is now known as the Qumran site. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on planet earth. It is 1,388 feet below sea level (to give you perspective Death Valley California is only 282 feet below sea level). Besides the topography used as preservation (from God), the salinity of the area is so salty that nothing lives there. Not one fish. The salt in the area/cave kept these hidden scrolls preserved!
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the twentieth century is the defense. In a cave in Qumran, archaeologists discovered thousands of fragments of biblical manuscripts that predated the Masoretic Text. They were pieced together and it included every book from the Hebrew Bible (except Esther). These are the oldest surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, dating 1100 years before the Masoretic text, and what do they tell us? The Masoretic Text is remarkably reliable. What was different: 9 spelling words!! So I say to the skeptics…put that in your pipe and smoke it.
So we will read the accurate words of Isaiah. I am not going to lie: this won’t be easy. This is a difficult book to chew on.
If you have a hot minute click here and read just the first chapter. I read the first verse and it said a “vision”. I immediately was excited to read it. Here is what my warped brain said when I finished it: “If God was a news anchor today, this is what he would say to our nation”. OH MY STARS!!
Reading the Bible - 2021 