Isaiah An Introduction to Part Two of Isaiah Various Passages

Transcription

1 Isaiah An Introduction to Part Two of Isaiah Various Passages Introduction: We have completed the first part of Isaiah with Chapter 39. Chapter 40 begins the second part of the work. Since it has taken over a year to get to this point, it seems appropriate to take a step back and reexamine some of the introductory materials, especially as they apply to the second portion of Isaiah. Isaiah is a book that is so problematical that it is attacked by liberals in Christendom and is a stumbling block for the Jew. This is so much the case that chapter 53 is often ignored in the synagogue. (Keep in mind, even when holding the correct view of the book, that it is a unified work and written by one author, there are clearly two sections. And next week we will start the second.) In his introduction to Mills work on Isaiah 53, David Fuller records a conversation between Mills and : One Orthodox Rabbi (who) told him recently, If I accept the Old Testament as I should, I must confess the you are right. It does portray many facets in the life of Jesus Christ. But since I do not believe in Jesus, I do not accept this portion of Isaiah. Did you ever run across reasoning more illogical and circuitous that this? 1 We will find the liberals take a different approach. Instead of ignoring what they don t like, they try to undermine the scripture itself. This is the approach attacking the unity of the book. So, while it has, and will continue to, require an effort to fully plumb Isaiah s riches, it is a journey well worth taking. Oswalt, in his introduction, comments: Of all the books in the OT, Isaiah is perhaps the richest. Its literary grandeur is unequaled. Its scope is unparalleled. The breadth of its view of God is unmatched. In so many ways it is a book of superlatives. This it is no wonder that Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the NT, and along with Psalms and Deuteronomy, one of the most frequently cited of all OT books. Study of it is an opportunity for unending inspiration and challenge. Were the book of Isaiah merely a monument to Hebrew religion, it would be a most impressive monument indeed. In fact, it comes to us as a word from God, a revelation of the inevitable conflict between divine glory and human pride, of the self-destruction which that pride must bring, and of the grace of God in restoring that destroyed humanity to himself. To read this book with the open eyes of the spirit is to see oneself, at times all too clearly, but also to see a God whose holiness is made irresistible by his love. 2 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 (Isaiah 9:6). 1 Mills, Sanford C., A Hebrew Christian Looks at Isaiah Fifty-Three, American Board of Missions to the Jews, New York, NY, p. vii. 2 Oswalt, John N., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, The Book of Isaiah, In Two Volumes, William B. Eerdman s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1986, p. 3.

2 I Introduction II Meet The Author III The Straw Man IV Isaiah ~ Part 2 V Conclusion II Meet The Author: First, let s take a moment or two just to remind ourselves what we know, or don t know about Isaiah himself. First of all, Isaiah s name means: Yahweh is Salvation. And just as this is Isaiah s name, it is also the primary message of the work as a whole. So, other than what we read in Chapter 1, verse 1 and a few verses elsewhere, most of what is know is speculative and based on assumptions drawn from the text. Here are a few of these assumptions. Some believe Isaiah came from the upper strata of society because of his apparent familiarity with the Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah. (see chapters 7 and 37). But another way of explaining this might be his being an historiographer at the Judean court during Jotham s reign and he penned accounts of the reigns of Uzziah and Hezekiah. This text also demonstrates the high level of his education in order to serve in this function. The other events of Uzziah s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz The other events of Hezekiah s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. (2 Chronicles 26:22, 32:32). In Isaiah 7:3 and 8:3, we learn Isaiah was married and had two sons, Shear-Jashub, meaning A remnant shall return, and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, probably means quick to plunder, swift to the spoil 3 These are prophetic names, which we shall explore when we get to chapters 7 and 8. 8:3 also tells us that his wife was called a prophetess. This could mean either she was being identified as a wife of a prophet, or she had a prophetic gift herself. This is a case where the context provides no clarity. Beyond this we know Isaiah was bold, patriotic, and demonstrated tenderness and sympathy not only towards his own people, but the peoples of other nations as well. While he expresses indignation on a number of occasions, it is balanced by a spirit of reverence and spirituality. III The Straw Man : The argument for multiple authors of the book is a straw man. It is presented by those who reject the validity of scripture and want to undermine the authority of scripture. I won t take the time to focus on it here. Most conservative commentaries will give both sides of the debate. You can also go back to Lesson 2 and see what was said there. (It is available at Follow the Bible study link there.) But I do want to touch on the arguments for the unity of the work. 3 Grogan, Geoffrey W., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Isaiah, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 ) 278(

3 A. External Evidence B. Internal Evidence Let s quickly consider these two areas. A. External Evidence: There is a significant amount of evidence supporting the unity of the work, beyond the arguments we have already examined. The Septuagint is actually a translation. It was the Greek translation of the Old Testament, written by Hebrew scholars around the 3 rd century B.C. The work presents the book as written by a single author. The apochryphal book, Ecclesiasticus, also written in approximately the 3 rd century B.C., takes the same position, the unity of the work. Keep in mind: Ecclesiasticus is presented as external evidence, not theological. Apochryphal works were rightly rejected by the Jewish and conservative Christian scholars as being part of scripture because of major theological problems, among other concerns. But they do have historical importance. Remember, Jesus celebrated the Festival of Lights, which was the only Jewish celebration coming out of the apochryphal books, specifically out of the Maccabbees. The great Jewish historian Josephus who wrote in the 1 st century A.D. reported on the decree of Cyrus: Thus saith Cyrus the king: Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that He is that God whom the nation of the Israelites worship; for, indeed, He foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build Him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea. Josephus adds: This was well known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his Prophecies. It may be said that we should not give too much credence to Josephus here; but his word certainly fits with the decree of Cyrus which is give both at the end of 2 Chronicles and in the first verses of Ezra wherein Cyrus says: Jehovah, God of heaven hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. But how did Cyrus know that Jehovah had charged him? Say that Isaiah wrote the prophecies which bear his name, and the answer is clear. 4 B. Internal Evidence: When referring to internal evidence here, there are two aspects. One is the evidence within the book itself and second evidence from the New Testament. 1. We find similar quality and genius throughout, 2. We find similar language and construction, 3. We find similar ideas, i.e. Divine holiness, 4. We find similar images, i.e., reed, stem, or sprout applied to the Messiah, and 5. We find repetitions such as the lion shall eat straw like an ox (11:7, 65:25). Interestingly, we find quotes from the second party of Isaiah made by other Old Testament prophets who wrote prior to the Exile, again demonstrating the earlier writing and unity of the book. Consider the following passages. 4 Ibid., p ) 279(

4 Zephaniah 2:15: This is the carefree city that lived in safety. She said to herself, I am, and there is none besides me. What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists. conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. Nahum 1:15: Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed. Isaiah 47:8-11: Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children. Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent spells. You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, I am, and there is none besides me. Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. Isaiah 52:7: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns! Now what about the internal evidence from the New Testament? I will keep this short. The Apostle John, in his gospel quotes, attribution his quotation to Isaiah, prophecies from both parts of the book. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn and I would heal them. (John 12:38-40). Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. (Isaiah 53:1, 6:9). If John is wrong in his understanding that both these passages where written by Isaiah, then can we trust him for his writings in general? But since we know we can, because he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can also have confidence in the unity of Isaiah. There are many more references, as we will see throughout this study in the other Gospels as well as Acts and Romans. If you want to discover them now, your concordance will give you the needed references and cross references. IV Isaiah ~ Part 2: Now let s review the focus of this last section of Isaiah. I like the way Wiersbie introduces part 2. ) 280(

5 The Book of Isaiah can be called a Bible in miniature. There are sixty-six chapters in Isaiah and sixtysix books in the Bible. The thirty-nine chapters of the Old Testament with its thirty-nine books, and both focus primarily on God s judgment of sin. The twenty-seven chapters of the second part may be seen to parallel the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and both emphasize the grace of God. The New Testament section of Isaiah opens with the ministry of John the Baptist (40:3-5; Mark 1:1-4) and closes with the new heavens and the new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22), and in between there are many references to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and King. Of course, the chapter divisions in Isaiah are not a part of the original inspired text, but the comparison is still interesting. 5 Vine states: The latter half of Isaiah consists of three division, (a) chapters 40 to 48, (b) chapters 49 57, (c) chapters The subject of the whole is twofold, the call to repentance and the promise of eventual deliverance. In connection with the former, each division closes with a solemn warning as to the state of the wicked: (a) There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked, 48:22; (b) There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked, 57:21; (c) their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh, 66:24. In division (a) the contrast is between Jehovah and idols, and between Israel and the Gentiles, in (b) between the sufferings of the Servant of Jehovah and His future glory, in (c) between the hypocrites and the rebellious and the faithful and persecuted. 6 Buksbazen breaks the themes of the section this way: The major there of the first section is the comforting prediction of the approaching deliverance from the Babylonian exile, through God s chosen instrument, Cyrus, the king of Persia. In the second section an even more glorious spiritual redemption is envisioned. Here the central figure is the servant of the Lord, who by his suffering and vicarious death, described in chapter 53, the center of the second part of Isaiah, brings redemption to His people and to mankind. In the third section the universal message of redemption reaches a majestic climax. The repentant and the regenerated world, and Jerusalem will be the spiritual center of all nations. The vision of a new Jerusalem where there shall be no sound of weeping, or cry of distress blends with the vision of a new heaven and a new earth (Isa. 65:17-19 and 66:18-23). At this point Old Testament prophecy reaches its glorious climax. It was later beautifully amplified by John in Revelation 21: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. V Conclusion: When Isaiah wrote these prophecies of restoration Judah still had over 100 years of difficulty ahead of her before she fell to Babylon, and then she faced 70 years of captivity. Anticipating the future Captivity and God s restoration, Isaiah wrote to encourage the Judahites to live righteously in the present, despite forth-coming difficult circumstances. 8 5 Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, Old Testament The Prophets, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Vine, W. E., Isaiah, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971, p Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p Martin, John A, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Volume 1, Isaiah, Victor Books, Colorado Springs, CO, 1986, p ) 281(

6 Isaiah is a book of hope. It foretold of the coming of the suffering Messiah, mankind s hope. But all the prophecies in the book have not yet been fulfilled. Here is a short list of unfulfilled prophecies we will consider as we continue through this study. The Day of the Lord Blessings upon a restored Israel Restoration of Israel to Palestine The most one can say about the current Israeli population in the Land is that it may be a foreshadowing of the true return yet to come. Or, it might be the beginning of that return, since the people are back in unbelief. Restoration of Palestine itself Jerusalem as capital of the earth Blessings upon the remnant Blessings upon the nations Blessings to the entire creation Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me, declares the LORD, so will your name and descendants endure (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). Even so, come Lord Jesus! ) 282(

7 Isaiah An Introduction to Part Two of Isaiah Various Passages I Introduction II Meet the Author III The Straw Man IV Isaiah ~ Part 2 V Conclusion I Introduction: (Isaiah 9:6) II Meet the Author: (2 Chronicles 26:22, 32:32) III The Straw Man : (Zephaniah 2:15 & Isaiah 47; Nahum 1:15 & Isaiah 52:7; John 12:38-40; Isaiah 53:1, 6:9) A. External Evidence:

8 B. Internal Evidence: 1. We find similar quality and genius throughout, 2. We find similar language and construction, 3. We find similar ideas, i.e. Divine holiness, 4. We find similar images, i.e., reed, stem, or sprout applied to the Messiah, and 5. We find repetitions such as the lion shall eat straw like an ox (11:7, 65:25). IV Isaiah ~ Part 2: (Isaiah 65:17-19, 66:18-23; Revelation 21:1-4) V Conclusion: (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22)