A Commentary on Isaiah Lewis P. Hussell AuthorHouse™ 1663 Liberty Drive Bloomington, IN 47403 www.authorhouse.com Phone: 1-800-839-8640 © 2013 Lewis P. Hussell. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. Published by AuthorHouse 12/14/2012 ISBN: 978-1-4772-9427-7 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4772-9426-0 (hc) ISBN: 978-1-4772-9428-4 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923581 Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Isaiah wrote during the stormy period marking the expansion of the Assyrian empire and the decline of Israel. Under King Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.) the Assyrians swept westward into Aram (Syria) and Canaan. About 733 the kings of Aram and Israel tried to pressure Ahaz king of Judah into joining a coalition against Assyria. Ahaz chose instead to ask Tiglath-Pileser for help, a decision condemned by Isaiah (see note on 7:1). Assyria did assist Judah and conquered the northern kingdom in 722-721. This made Judah even more vulnerable, and in 701 King Sennacherib of Assyria threatened Jerusalem itself. The godly King Hezekiah prayed earnestly, and Isaiah predicted that God would force the Assyrians to withdraw from the city (37:6-7). Nevertheless Isaiah warned Judah that her sin would bring captivity at the hands of Babylon. The visit of the Babylonian king’s envoys to Hezekiah set the stage for this prediction. Although the fall of Jerusalem would not take place until 586 B.C., Isaiah assumes the demise of Judah and proceeds to predict the restoration of the people from captivity. God would redeem his people from Babylon just as he rescued them from Egypt Isaiah predicts the rise of Cyrus the Persian, who would unite the Medes and Persians and conquer Babylon in 539. The decree of Cyrus would allow the Jews to return home in 538. HIGHLIGHTS OF ISAIAH Isaiah is a book that unveils the full dimensions of God’s judgment and salvation. God is “the Holy One of Israel” who must punish his rebellious people (1:2) but will afterward redeem them (41:14,16). Israel is a nation blind and deaf (6:9-10; 42:7), a vineyard that will be trampled (5:1-7), a people devoid of justice or righteousness (5:7; 10:1-2). The awful judgment that will be unleashed upon Israel and all the nations that defy God is called “the day of the LORD.” Although Israel has a foretaste of that day (5:30; 42:25), the nations bear its full power. It is a day associated in the NT with Christ’s second coming and the accompanying judgment (see 24:1,21; 34:1-2 and notes). Throughout the book, God’s judgment is referred to as “fire. He is the “Sovereign LORD”, far above all nations and rulers (40:15-24). Yet God will have compassion on his people (14:1-2) and will rescue them from v both political and spiritual oppression. Their restoration is like a new exodus (43:2,16-19; 52:10-12) as God redeems them and saves them ( 43:3; 49:8). Israel’s mighty Creator (40:21-22; 48:13) will make streams spring up in the desert (32:2) as he graciously leads them home. The theme of a highway for the return of exiles is a prominent one (11:16; 40:3 and notes) in both major parts of the book. The Lord raises a banner to summon the nations to bring Israel home. Peace and safety mark this new Messianic age (11:6-9). A king descended from David will reign in righteousness (9:7; 32:1), and all nations will stream to the holy mountain of Jerusalem (2:2-4). God’s people will no longer be oppressed by wicked rulers (11:14; 45:14), and Jerusalem will truly be the “City of the LORD” (60:14). The Lord calls the Messianic King “my servant” inchs. 42-53, a term also applied to Israel as a nation (see 41:8-9; 42:1). It is through the suffering of the servant that salvation in its fullest sense is achieved. Cyrus was God’s instrument to deliver Israel from Babylon (41:2), but Christ delivered mankind from the prison of sin (52:13-53:12). He became a “light for the Gentiles” (42:6), so that those nations that faced judgment (chs. 13-23) could find salvation (55:4-5). These Gentiles also became “servants of the LORD” (see 54:17 ). The Lord’s kingdom on earth, with its righteous Ruler and his righteous subjects, is the goal toward which the book of Isaiah steadily moves. The restored earth and the restored people will then conform to the divine ideal, and all will result in the praise and glory of the Holy One of Israel for what he has accomplished. KEYS TO OPEN ISAIAH Isaiah son of Amoz is often thought of as the greatest of the writing prophets. He was a contemporary of Amos, Hosea and Micah, beginning his ministry in 740 B.C., the year King Uzziah died (see note on 6:1). According to an Jewish tradition , he was sawed in half during the reign of Manasseh (cf. Heb 11:37). Isaiah was married and had at least two sons, Shear-Jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3). He probably spent most of his life in Jerusalem, enjoying his greatest influence under King Hezekiah (see 37:1-2). Isaiah is also credited with writing a history of the reign of King Uzziah (2Ch 26:22). vi SURVEY OF THE BOOK Isaiah contains both prose and poetry; the beauty of its poetry is unsurpassed in the OT. The poetry is indeed rich and varied, as is the prophet’s vocabulary (e.g., he uses nearly 2,200 different Hebrew words—more than any other OT writer). One of Isaiah’s favorite techniques is personification. The sun and moon are ashamed (24:23), while the desert and parched land rejoice (see 35:1) and the mountains and forests burst into song (44:23). The trees “clap their hands” (55:12). A favorite figure is the vineyard, which represents Israel (5:7). Treading the winepress is a picture of judgment (see 63:3), and to drink God’s “cup of wrath” is to stagger under his punishment (see 51:17). Isaiah uses the name “Rock” to describe God (17:10), and animals such as Leviathan and Rahab represent nations (see 27:1; 30:7; 51:9). INSPIRATIONAL INTRODUCTION Isaiah is a book that unveils the full dimensions of God’s judgment and salvation. God is “the Holy One of Israel” who must punish his rebellious people (1:2) but will afterward redeem them (41:14,16). Israel is a nation blind and deaf (6:9-10; 42:7), a vineyard that will be trampled (5:1-7), a people devoid of justice or righteousness (5:7; 10:1-2). The awful judgment that will be unleashed upon Israel and all the nations that defy God is called “the day of the LORD.” Although Israel has a foretaste of that day (5:30; 42:25), the nations bear its full power. It is a day associated in the NT with Christ’s second coming and the accompanying judgment (see 24:1,21; 34:1-2 and notes). Throughout the book, God’s judgment is referred to as “fire. He is the “Sovereign LORD”, far above all nations and rulers (40:15-24). Yet God will have compassion on his people (14:1-2) and will rescue them from both political and spiritual oppression. Their restoration is like a new exodus (43:2,16-19; 52:10-12) as God redeems them and saves them ( 43:3; 49:8). Israel’s mighty Creator (40:21-22; 48:13) will make streams spring up in the desert (32:2) as he graciously leads them home. The theme of a highway for the return of exiles is a prominent one (11:16; 40:3 and notes) in both major parts of the book. The Lord raises a banner to summon the nations to bring Israel home. Peace and safety mark this new Messianic age (11:6-9). A king descended from vii David will reign in righteousness (9:7; 32:1), and all nations will stream to the holy mountain of Jerusalem (2:2-4). God’s people will no longer be oppressed by wicked rulers (11:14; 45:14), and Jerusalem will truly be the “City of the LORD” (60:14). The Lord calls the Messianic King “my servant” in chs. 42-53, a term also applied to Israel as a nation (see 41:8-9; 42:1). It is through the suffering of the servant that salvation in its fullest sense is achieved. Cyrus was God’s instrument to deliver Israel from Babylon (41:2), but Christ delivered mankind from the prison of sin (52:13-53:12).