The book of Isaiah is dealing with a disobedient people on the verge of exile, and many of Isaiah's rebukes arise from warnings found in the Pentateuch. Throughout church history, an overwhelming number of volumes have been written on the book of Isaiah. The first reason for choosing the book of Isaiah arose from the local congregation's need for faithful expository preaching.
HOPE IN THE FACE OF JUDGMENT
Isaiah urges his hearers to find hope in the branch of the Lord, because through him is found the reversing curse, hope guaranteed. For all the glory there will be a canopy.” The extent of the presence of canopy should not be underestimated. The benefits of certain hope encourage us to put our trust in the Lord's church.
THRESHOLD TREMORS
As they speak to introduce the king of all kings, "the foundations of the thresholds shook" (6:4). Before we come to the effect the thundering voices of the seraphim had on the temple and Isaiah himself, we should notice their behavior. In Jeremiah 7:4, the phrase, "this is the temple of the Lord," is repeated three times to demonstrate the absolute trust the people had in the temple.
The symbolic nature of God's burning wrath is depicted in the source of the coal - it was taken from the altar. The symbolism of this moment should not be lost, for it is a reflection of the work of Christ on the cross. The people with whom Isaiah finds himself surrounded have a desperate need for a vision of the holy God that touched the prophet Isaiah so much.
In Isaiah 2:5, the people of the “house of Jacob” are exhorted to “walk in the light of the Lord.” Then, in this same chapter, the nations flock to it. This is not the first time that people's eyes have been blinded to the work of God. The writers of the New Testament fully realize that Jesus is the one who will give sight and hearing.
It is not a matter of people needing to look more - God needs to reveal himself.
GLORY OF A JUST GOD
There is a cry in the street for the lack of wine; all joy has become dark; the joy of the earth is banished. They raise their voices, they sing for joy; of the majesty of the LORD they cry out from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the coastlands of the sea.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Just. On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on earth. Of course, we have spoken of the transgression described in verse 5, which is the people's complete disregard for the eternal covenant.
We may be part of the remnant, but at the same time we struggle to accept the idea of God destroying most of the people on earth. For "the result of the judgment will be the universal praise of the true God."23 The God-praising remnant seems to have looked forward to the day when God will destroy sin and rejoiced when it did. The fate of the city of man and its inhabitants is the wrath of God.
From this extended position, Isaiah is able to show that the remnant has covered the world to "the ends of the earth" (24:16).
COMFORT IN THE FACE OF DISASTER
Isaiah's deliberate structure allows his readers to deal with the harsh realities of God's judgment. Yet we must focus on one specific phrase: "Comfort my people, says your God." This phrase is striking and, to some extent, shocking in light of the bleak message that has just been passed on. Hosea views the language of “my people” and “your God” as specific to the renewal of the covenant between God and Israel.
In other words, Isaiah 39 describes the dismissal of the Davidic line from the throne and an apparent forfeiture of God's promise to Israel. By seeing the covenant overtones in Isaiah 40:1, we can comfort ourselves, because despite the shortcomings of God's people, he does not abandon his promises to us. The comfort offered is more than just an offer, it is an appeal for God's people to accept.
The phrase "says your God" is in the imperfect tense, implying that you must act.25 In other words, God continues to speak to His children a message of comfort. Therefore, the ongoing message of God's personal concern for his people, spoken to Jerusalem and the people of Zion, extends to us today. Goldingay and Payne paraphrase this verse more succinctly: "The highway that paves the way for the coming of God is a purified heart."27.
Hezekiah's failure to trust the Lord after clearly seeing God's power manifested in his life is not his failure alone.
GOD’S SELF OBLIGATION
Oswalt writes, "The people had certainly drenched God's altars with the fat, the most desirable part of their offerings."4 The people worked hard to provide worthy offerings. Motyer explains, "They believed that through the technique of sacrifice God could be made to do their bidding."5 The people's frustration is even more understandable when we recognize the thinking of those influencing the nation of Israel. Oswalt continues, "The very purpose of ritual throughout the history of religion has been to appease the gods and satisfy any demands they may have on us, so that we may use the power of the gods to pursue our own ends."6 While these surrounding nations continued their .
The passage beginning in Isaiah 44:1 begins with a distinct contrast of "but now." The contrast first states that you cannot force God, and in fact, the exact opposite will happen. The "complete destruction of Jacob and Israel in blasphemy" is promised (43:28), "but now" the tables are turned for Jacob and Israel. Without the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit "the same spiritual deficiency that hastened the destruction of the nation once, will do so again".34 Multiplication does not ensure salvation; it would simply push a greater number of people into the destruction and blasphemy that Israel is already experiencing.
The argument, advanced by Staalduine-Sulman and others, that Israelites are included in Isaiah's prophecy is based on "the direct context does not speak of Gentiles, is the main argument. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 347, explains: "God's people becoming through the Spirit of God all that they ought to be." The reason the Israelites needed this confirmation was because of their secularized and disaffected experience of exile. But the position of Oswalt, Book of Isaiah, chapters is also accepted in the parameters of this sermon: "The promise is probably not confined to either Jew or Gentile, but includes both."
In the middle of verse 5, one of the new converts writes "Lord's" on his hand.
BUY WITHOUT PRICE
There is hope for future salvation, because the wrath of God has been fully absorbed by the Servant of the Lord. The thrust of Isaiah 55 is for the people of Israel to benefit from the salvation made possible by the Servant. Isaiah is not suggesting or asking the people to take advantage of the Servant's work, he is more powerful than that.
In the case of the servant's offering, there is a cost associated with the blessing offered. Isaiah pleads with the people of Israel to make use of the opportunity to hear, which has now been made available through the work of the Servant. Brevard Childs writes that Psalm 89 talks about the nature of the covenant with David: "The psalmist speaks of 'a covenant with my chosen ones.'
These two verses speak of the Servant giving the Bible or "the word that proceeds from my mouth" that goes among the nations. This idea of God's Word going to the nations is not new in the book of Isaiah. According to 2 Samuel 7:19, it was the law of the Lord that was manifested in the kings of Israel.
Much has been said about the Servant's global work, Isaiah's need for appeal is an indication that the Servant's redemptive work is not universally applied.
VINEYARD WARNING
The turning point of the passage is found in verse 8, when a cluster of good grapes is found and one of the husbandmen shouts, "Thou shalt not destroy it!"5 This means that up until that point in the passage, Isaiah had described a vineyard that did not is. Notice first the character of God, the God of the Bible, the God of the Old Testament, when He personally reaches out to the people of Israel. Alec Motyer suggests that this personal approach demonstrates that "the Lord has taken the initiative in relation to people who neither asked for him nor sought him."6 God is not distant or just looking for the moment to strike us down, which some may characterize as "the God of the Old Testament". He is.
John Calvin explains: “The Lord has no need of writing as an aid to memory;. At the end of the previous chapter (Isaiah 64:12), the people ask God: "Will you abide in these things, O Lord?" The people hoped that God would not hold back any longer, but would take vengeance on Israel's enemies by condemning them. First, the bosom refers to a fold on the dress commonly worn at the time - bi dresses.
In the South, people around us can look at the more secular parts of the country and conclude that they are more holy and therefore okay. One of the goals of this project was to demonstrate that the theme of "hope of salvation that comes with judgment" is a central theme in the book of Isaiah. The central role is also conveyed by the prevalence of the theme of salvation through judgment throughout the book of Isaiah.
It would be useful for further study to develop the theme of redemption through judgment in light of the role these two kings play in the book of Isaiah.
