Week 11 - Isaiah 38-42 & John 10 (March 12-18)
Notes
Structure of Isaiah
Structure: the book of Isaiah is an "anthology" of Isaiah's oracles and historical accounts that does not necessarily follow a chronological order. the passages appear to be arranged thematically, sometimes according to genre, sometimes according to message. C. Hassell Bullock (An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books) outlines the major sections of our remaining Isaiah reading in the following manner:
36-39 Historical Bridge
40-66 Oracles of Consolation
40-48 Release from Captivity
49-57 The Servant of the Lord
58-66 Zion Restored
Isaiah 2?
The issue of who wrote Isaiah 40-66 is contested for good reason. This portion of Isaiah deals primarily with the promise of restoration of Judah from exile in Babylon. "Why is that a problem?" you may wonder. Well, Isaiah died more than a century before Babylon invaded Judah and took them into exile. See the adjacent picture for a depiction of the long span in-between Isaiah's life and the Babylonian invasion which preceded their 70-year exile from which restoration is being promised in chapters 40-66.
It is not just that Isaiah is discussing future events (he is a prophet after all (though, i must interject, that our expectation for prophets to always be predicting the future is an incorrect modern imposition on the role of the Biblical prophets, who are typically more concerned with confronting current sins and dilemmas, but I digress), he is doing it with a great deal of specificity. If Isaiah is genuinely the author of these chapters, he is able to accurately predict that it is Babylon who will overtake and succeed the Assyrian Empire - which would seem really unlikely in 690 BC. He is also able to predict the unthinkable, that Jerusalem and the temple will be demolished (44:28). Furthermore, and even more astounding, he is able to predict the precise name of the Persian ruler (the empire which would overtake the Babylonians), Cyrus, who will allow and provide for Jerusalem to be rebuilt - a name that he mentions three times (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1, 45:13)!
There are as many different explanations for who wrote these chapters and when as there are books that have been written on the subject. Subjectively, I support the theory of genuine Isaiac authorship, with the idea that Isaiah's disciples preserved various prophecies of his (Isaiah 8:16) and amended them in the period of the return from exile (late 6th century BC) coming in a close second. Here are some reasons to believe that Isaiah really wrote chapters 40-66
The practice of Idolatry in Israel is a big, big theme in 40-66, just as it was in chapters 1-35. This is something that you would expect to read in a passage dating from early in the 7th Century BC (during Isaiah's Ministry), but decidedly not something that you would expect from an author in the late 6th Century. There is little evidence of the practice of Idolatry in the restored nation of Israel that returned from Babylonian captivity (the exile worked in that regard). The presence of this theme in these chapters is very out-of-place if this text is post-exilic. see - for instance - the Isiah 41 passage excerpted below:
Similarly, Isaiah's concern for the disadvantaged, the calls for national repentance, and references to the operation of the Jerusalem temple and sacrificial system in these chapters seem to belong to the Judah of the Assyrian period, not post-exilic Judah.
Finally, God's ability to predict the future through his prophets is an explicit apologetic employed by this text, and elsewhere by Isaiah. Frequently, in this text, God claims to be the only real deity, based on His ability to tell / predict what will happen in the future. see Isaiah 41:21-29: (left) Similar to Isaiah 48: 12-22. We know that, according to God's word, he knows all things, and he is able* to tell the people of Judah exactly what would happen to them. Through Isaiah, he tells them precisely what will happen in the future with a very specific and verifiable prophecy - "A ruler named Cyrus will restore you from the exile and destruction that will soon befall Jerusalem."
In chapters 7 and 8, Isaiah juxtaposed an immediate and concrete prophecy(Mahe-Shalal-Hash-Baz) to a longer-looking prophecy with an ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Immanuel). Here, I think that he is doing the same thing. Isaiah is pairing an immediate and concretely verifiable prophecy (Cyrus and the restoration of Jerusalem) to a longer-looking prophecy with an ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ (the servant of the Lord in chapters 49-57).
The fulfillment of God's promise to provide Cyrus to deliver Judah from exile would show or prove that God would also fulfill this greater promise - the forgiveness of sins and fulfillment of Israel's destiny - which was realized in Jesus. Instead of seeing this incredible clarity by which Isaiah is able to predict the future as evidence of a later author, i believe that it is evidence of God's own knowledge and awareness of his plan for history to redeem and save mankind, and the graciousness he shows in revealing it to his people through His Word. Understanding this prophetic technique, answers an important question about Isaiac authorship of chapters 40-66: "Why would Isaiah spend so much time discussing events that are largely irrelevant to his present audience (who would all die before the exile occurs)?" The answer is that God wants to promise the arrival of the savior, and he uses a specific and incredibly accurate future-prophecy (Cyrus) to verify that what He is saying is true. This Long-term faithfulness is in stark contrast to Hezekiah's short-sightedness in chapter 39:8 who, when told about the coming demise of Judah, seems perfectly satisfied to know that there will be peace in his own lifetime.
Isaiah 41:21-29
“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
Isaiah 36-39: The Story of Hezekiah
Hezekiah was a good king of Judah. Read the account of him in 2nd Chronicles 29-31 for an account of his love and worship of the Lord that is not included in Isaiah. Isaiah's account of Hezekiah has some positive portrayals and some negative portrayals. It appears that Hezekiah failed to heed Isaiah's advice to not ally with Egypt against Assyria, and Isaiah was right, Egypt wasn't any help when the Assyrian King Sennacherib came knocking. However, Hezekiah does the right thing when the Assyrians arrive. In a lesson straight from the 2017 Madison Church VBS, Hezekiah humbled himself before God requesting forgiveness and deliverance. God graciously provides this deliverance by miraculously making Sennacherib head home and subsequently destroying the 185,000-man Assyrian army.
This week, that account in Isaiah is followed by a story of Hezekiah being delivered from illness and granted 15 more years of life. Finally, the story of Hezekiah according to Isaiah ends with a story of Hezekiah's pride. Upon being visited by Babylonian emissaries (Babylon was still at this time a vassal state of Assyria - nothing to be feared), Hezekiah boastfully showed them all the wealth and treasures of Jerusalem. For this transgression, God tells Hezekiah that Babylon, in the future, will come to carry away everything he has shown them. Hezekiah, incredibly and in a display of evil, seems unconcerned about this because it will happen after he dies. This short-sightedness is in stark contrast to the far-reaching prophecies of chapters 40-66 that follow.
check out this interesting note about the account of Hezekiah in Isaiah:
Chronologically, these events are recorded in reverse order, for Sennacherib's invasion occurred in 701 and Hezekiah's illness about 704 (that is 3 years earlier in BC counting :-), with the Babylonian diplomatic core arriving in 703 when Merodach-Baladan was king of Babylon again for nine months... the order is inverted in order to prefix chapters 40-66 which concern the Babylonian period and exile. Thus the prophet appropriately bridged the Assyrian period (chapters 1-35) and the Babylonian period (chapters 40-66)An
Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, Bullock. (p 179-181)
John 10: a Zechariah reading companion
There are many passages that speak of God’s pastoral care for his people which is similar to Jesus’ words in John 10, but I always recommend reading this chapter together with Zechariah chapters 9-11 which seem to directly translate into Jesus’ words here.
The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock (Zechariah 9:16)
If you have time this week, Jump back and read those chapters together with John 10, because our Bible reading plan won’t take us there until after Christmas!
John 10: Festival of Dedication: Hanukkah
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,
Jesus attends an extrabiblical festival in Jerusalem (Hanukkah), commemorating Israel’s deliverance in the time of the Maccabees. Ironically, Israel’s truest deliverer faces rejection from some of his people at this festival of national deliverance. Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, was not a required pilgrimage festival, but the eight-day celebration of lights in the temple was beautiful, and many pious Jews from nearby Galilee would come to Jerusalem. It was the next festival after those immediately connected to the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-10:21).
Keener, Craig S.. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (p. 280). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
You see the Jewish leaders ready to stone Jesus in verse 31. The impulse to do so could very well have been shaped by the celebration of Hanukkuh which celebrated the Jewish resistance against Antiochus Ephipinies who made himself to be God and desecrated the temple. It may be that Jesus’ bold claims in verses 25-30 have them thinking that they now have the responsibility that Judas Maccabeus had in the Hanukkah story to rid the temple of heretical/idolatrous elements.
Of Course, they were unable to see that they were threatening to stone the Son of the very God that they were purporting to defend. After this incident, Jesus leaves Judea by crossing the Jordan river into Perea. This is significant because it is a separate roman province and not under the control or influence of the leaders in Jerusalem who seemed so intent on killing him promptly.