TOM · The Owner's Manual · Old Testament

Isaiah 1

Before you read Isaiah: who, when, why

BOOK 23 OF 66 · OLD TESTAMENT · MAJOR PROPHETS

Yahweh saves

AUTHOR
Isaiah son of Amoz, a prophet in Jerusalem (1:1). His name means Yahweh saves. Jesus and the apostles quote both halves of the book as Isaiah's words, for example John 12:38 to 41. Many modern scholars think chapters 40 to 66 were added later by his followers, often called Second Isaiah.
EVENTS TOOK PLACE
Isaiah preached from about 740 BC, the year King Uzziah died, until after 700 BC, under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Chapters 40 to 66 look ahead to the exile in Babylon and the trip home, about 586 to 538 BC, and beyond to the end of time.
DATE WRITTEN
Traditionally about 740 to 680 BC. Scholars who hold the Second Isaiah view date most of chapters 40 to 66 to about 540 BC or later.
WRITTEN TO
Judah and Jerusalem first, and through them the whole world.
ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS
About 21 copies of Isaiah were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, more than almost any other book. It was also translated into Greek, in the Septuagint, before Jesus was born.
KEY VERSE
Isaiah 53:5. He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

The Setting

Assyria is the superpower of the day, and it is swallowing up small nations one by one. In 735 BC Israel and Aram try to force King Ahaz of Judah to join them against Assyria, and Ahaz calls Assyria for help instead. In 722 BC Assyria wipes out Samaria and the northern kingdom. In 701 BC King Sennacherib takes every walled town in Judah and surrounds Jerusalem, but God saves the city. Isaiah lives through all of it, preaching in Jerusalem at the same time as Micah. Then he looks further ahead, to Babylon taking Judah into exile and a Persian king named Cyrus sending them home.

What Was Going Wrong

  • Empty Religion. They brought sacrifices and kept the holidays, but their hands were full of blood (1:11 to 15). They honored God with their lips while their hearts were far away (29:13).
  • Injustice. Leaders took bribes, and nobody stood up for orphans and widows (1:23, 10:1 to 2).
  • Drunk Leaders. Priests and prophets reeled from strong drink, even while giving advice (5:11, 28:7 to 8).
  • Trusting Egypt. Instead of trusting God, Judah paid Egypt for horses and protection (30:1 to 2, 31:1).
  • Pride. Proud men and haughty women strutted around Jerusalem (2:11 to 12, 3:16).
  • Idols And Mediums. People bowed to things they made with their own hands and asked the dead for advice (2:8, 8:19).
  • Child Sacrifice. King Ahaz burned his own son as a sacrifice while Isaiah was preaching (2 Kings 16:3), and later King Manasseh did the same (2 Kings 21:6). Isaiah says the people slaughtered their children in the valleys and went to Molech (57:5, 57:9). God says this never even entered His mind (Jeremiah 7:31).

Where to Find Jesus

  • Isaiah 7:14. The virgin will give birth to a son called Immanuel, God with us. Quoted in Matthew 1:23.
  • Isaiah 9:6 to 7. A child born, a Son given, Mighty God, on David's throne forever. Compare Luke 1:32 to 33.
  • Isaiah 40:3. A voice in the wilderness prepares the way. All four Gospels say this was John the Baptist getting ready for Jesus.
  • Isaiah 42:1 to 4. The gentle Servant who will not break a bruised reed. Quoted in Matthew 12:18 to 21.
  • Isaiah 53. Pierced for our sins, silent like a lamb, buried with the rich. Philip used it to tell an Ethiopian official about Jesus in Acts 8:32 to 35.
  • Isaiah 61:1 to 2. Jesus read this in His hometown and said, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, Luke 4:16 to 21.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

  • The Fifth Gospel. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin around AD 400, said Isaiah tells the story of Jesus so clearly that he is more an evangelist than a prophet, so people call it the fifth Gospel.
  • A Bible Inside the Bible. Isaiah has 66 chapters and the Bible has 66 books. Chapters 1 to 39 are heavy on judgment, like the 39 books of the Old Testament. Chapters 40 to 66 start with a voice in the wilderness and end with new heavens and a new earth, like the 27 books of the New Testament. Chapter numbers came in the 1200s, so it is a fun match, not a prophecy.
  • Quoted All Over the New Testament. The New Testament quotes Isaiah more than any other prophet. Only the Psalms beat him.
  • A Naked Prophet. For three years Isaiah walked around stripped and barefoot as a living warning sign (20:2 to 3). Most scholars think he still wore a loincloth. Still a hard assignment.
  • Kids With Sermon Names. Isaiah's sons were Shear Jashub, a remnant will return, and Maher Shalal Hash Baz, quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil, the longest name in the Bible. Imagine yelling it at dinner.
  • The Holy One of Israel. Isaiah calls God the Holy One of Israel about 25 times, the rest of the Old Testament only about 6. It goes back to the seraphim shouting Holy, holy, holy (6:3), and they are still singing it in Revelation 4:8.
  • Handel'S Messiah. Handel's famous Christmas and Easter music, written in 1741, opens with Comfort ye my people from Isaiah 40. Then come For unto us a child is born, 9:6, and He was despised, 53:3.
  • The Isaiah Wall. Across from the United Nations in New York, Isaiah 2:4 is carved into a stone wall, the Isaiah Wall: They shall beat their swords into plowshares. Micah 4:3 has the same promise.
  • Every Valley. In his I Have a Dream speech in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Isaiah 40:4 to 5: every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain made low.

Did Anybody Listen?

Some did. King Ahaz would not even ask God for a sign (7:12). His son Hezekiah tore his clothes and prayed, and Jerusalem was saved from Assyria in one night. But the next king, Manasseh, filled the land with idols. Everything Isaiah warned about came true. Babylon carried Judah away, and then, just as Isaiah said, Cyrus let them go home.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

God takes His people to court and calls heaven and earth as witnesses. Even an ox knows who feeds it, but Israel does not know God. They keep showing up for church with bloody hands, and God says their worship gives Him a headache. Then comes the offer of a lifetime: Come now, let us reason together. Scarlet sins can be washed white as snow.

Tap a color to hide it

Judah’s Rebellion// 2 Chronicles 28:5–15

1This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

  • IS 1:1[ARCHAEOLOGY]Seal impression that may belong to the prophet Isaiah, found near King Hezekiah's seal in 2018

2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,

for Yahweh has spoken:

“I have raised children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against Me.

3The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s manger,

but Israel does not know;

My people do not understand.”

4Alas, O sinful nation,

a people laden with iniquity,

a brood of evildoers,

children who act corruptly!

They have forsaken Yahweh;

they have despised the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on Him.

5Why do you want more beatings?

Why do you keep rebelling?

Your head has a massive wound,

and your whole heart is afflicted.

6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,

there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts and festering sores

neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

7Your land is desolate;

your cities are burned with fire.

Foreigners devour your fields before you—

a desolation demolished by strangers.

8And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a shack in a cucumber field,

like a city besieged.

9Unless Yahweh of Hosts

had left us a few survivors,

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have resembled Gomorrah.

  • IS 1:9[QUOTED]Quoted in the New Testament → ROM 9:29

Meaningless Offerings

10Hear the word of Yahweh,

you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah!

11“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?”

says Yahweh.

“I am full from the burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I take no delight in the blood of bulls

and lambs and goats.

12When you come to appear before Me,

who has required this of you—

this trampling of My courts?

13Bring your worthless offerings no more;

your incense is detestable to Me.

New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—

I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

14I hate your New Moons

and your appointed feasts.

They have become a burden to Me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will hide My eyes from you;

even though you multiply your prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.

16Wash and cleanse yourselves.

Remove your evil deeds from My sight.

Stop doing evil!

17Learn to do right;

seek justice and correct the oppressor.

Defend the fatherless

and plead the case of the widow.”

18“Come now, let us reason together,”

says Yahweh.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they will be as white as snow;

though they are as red as crimson,

they will become like wool.

19If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the best of the land.

20But if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

The Corruption of Zion

21See how the faithful city has become a harlot!

She once was full of justice;

righteousness resided within her,

but now only murderers!

22Your silver has become dross;

your fine wine is diluted with water.

23Your rulers are rebels,

friends of thieves.

They all love bribes

and chasing after rewards.

They do not defend the fatherless,

and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

24Therefore the Lord Yahweh of Hosts,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah, I will be relieved of My foes

and avenge Myself on My enemies.

25I will turn My hand against you;

I will thoroughly purge your dross;

I will remove all your impurities.

26I will restore your judges as at first,

and your counselors as at the beginning.

After that you will be called the City of Righteousness,

the Faithful City.”

27Zion will be redeemed with justice,

her repentant ones with righteousness.

28But rebels and sinners will together be shattered,

and those who forsake Yahweh will perish.

29Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks

in which you have delighted;

you will be embarrassed by the gardens

that you have chosen.

  • IS 1:29[DEMONIC]Israel will be ashamed of its sacred oaks and gardens

30For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered,

like a garden without water.

31The strong man will become tinder

and his work will be a spark;

both will burn together,

with no one to quench the flames.

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