First, the answer to yesterday’s “who am I” was, of course, Isaiah. Here are some accompanying references for some of the things Isaiah said: #2: 11:1; #3: Ch. 13-23; #4: 28:16; #5: 42:1; #6: 43:2; #7: 48:18; #8: 48:22; #9: 1:18; #10: 8:3; #11: 40:18,25; #12: 55:1; #14: 44:28-45:1; #17:6:8; #18: 9:6; #19: 26:3; #20: 40:31; #21:53:3.
Now I would like to share some thoughts on Isaiah,
the prophet and man of God. Here is a
quote that I have seen attributed to J. Sidlow Baxter in Exploring the Bible:
“What Beethoven is in the realm of music, what Shakespeare is in the realm of
literature, what Spurgeon was among the Victorian preachers, that is Isaiah
among the prophets.”
Isaiah is the chief prophet. Some call him the “fifth evangelist” (after
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) because he has so much to say about Christ. I agree with what many have said, that you
can be saved, in the NT sense of believing the gospel, by reading Isaiah. His name means, “YAHWEH saves.” There are 66
direct quotes of Isaiah in 20 of the 27 books of the NT.
Isaiah may have had royal blood, if he is the
son of Amoz who was the son of Joash (this is according to Jewish
tradition). He was married. His wife was a prophetess (Isa. 8:3). They had two sons whose names had prophetic
meaning. Isaiah’s ministry was primarily
to Judah, but he spoke of other nations.
He was essentially a “court prophet” during the reigns of 5 kings (1:1).
Talmudic tradition also says he was sawn in two in the time of Manasseh (Heb.
11:37).
Isaiah spoke with great earnestness, telling
King Ahaz he was wearing God out (7:13) and telling Hezekiah to do the work he
wanted God to do (38:1). But he was also
tender and compassionate (e.g., 40:1-2).
Isaiah had a larger vision than most
prophets. He spoke of God’s program for
Judah and Jerusalem but he also spoke of the Gentiles as being part of God’s
program.
He uses every form of literary art (e.g., narrative,
poetic, allegorical and so forth. His
contemporaries, besides the kings during whose reigns he prophesied, included
Hosea who prophesied to the northern tribes and Micah who prophesied to Judah.
The arrangement of the book is
interesting. There are 66 chapters, even
as there are 66 books in the Bible. Isa.
1-39 emphasize judgment on Israel, Judah, and other nations, especially Assyria;
even as the 39 books of the OT conclude with God’s people living under the rule
of the Gentiles. Isa. 40-66 emphasize
God’s comfort and grace, similar to the NT which ends with the glorious reign
of Christ.
Here is an outline
from a professor (whose name escapes me) that is "typical.”
·
Prophecies of condemnation, Ch. 1-35
·
Historic interlude, Ch. 36-39
·
Prophecies of Consolation, Ch. 40-66
My view is that the “historic
interlude” is significant to the layout of the entire book. Ch. 36-37 describe the destruction of the
army of the Assyrians when they came to attack Jerusalem. Ch. 38-39 introduce us to the Babylonians who
come to visit Hezekiah after his illness.
Assyria was Israel’s enemy in the days of Isaiah. The Babylonians would replace the Assyrians around
a hundred years after Isaiah’s death.
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