Week 20 Study Page - Isaiah 36-57
Week #20 Study Page
Isaiah 36-57
Suggested Daily Reading Breakdown
Sunday – Isaiah 36-39
Monday – Isaiah 40-42
Tuesday – Isaiah 43-45
Wednesday – Isaiah 46-48
Thursday - Isaiah 49-51
Friday - Isaiah 52-54
Saturday – Isaiah 55-57
Degree of difficulty: 3 out of 10 (explanation:). this week's reading is short. The genre is mostly prophecy like we are used to so far in this book, but there are four chapters of history right at the beginning. This historical account is a key centerpiece to the book of Isaiah. the first portion of the historical narrative, contained in chapters 36-39, fulfill much of the prophecy that has preceded it thus far in Isaiah, and the second portion of the historical narrative will set-up the context of the prophecy that follows in chapters 40-66. A key to grasping this week's reading will be understanding the history of Judah as it relates to the 3 major empires of the Ancient Near-East, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia (we'll talk about that below). As we have discussed earlier in this book. There are prophecies in Isaiah which seem to reach beyond the immediate historical context of the 8th-7th Century BC life of Isaiah. We'll discuss how to read those, and how Isaiah himself presents them below. Use the historical account of Hezekiah to learn what pleases and angers God and how his deliverance is provided in a time of crisis. Furthermore, consider how the condemnations of, and promises to, God's people continue to apply to the people of God today as we read through chapters 40-57.
About the Book(s)
Isaiah
Date of Authorship: 740-690 BC. Isaiah is writing during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah as mentioned in 1:1 (see picture below).
Author: Isaiah is the author of this book. There are some reasons to consider Isaiah to be the author of only chapters 1-39, while chapters 40-66 may belong to to the Babylonian period two centuries later. we will discuss that below under "Isaiah II?".
Purpose: Isaiah is a prophetic message of judgment, coming punishment, deliverance, and restoration. This book defies summary because of its extremely wide variation of oracles directed to a number of different objects (recipients) and for a number of different purposes. Isaiah's prophetic field of vision was broad, widening out to the Messianic age when Israel's hopes and destiny found fulfillment in Christ. With his eyes fixed on the troubled societies of Israel and Judah, and his heart fixed on the faithful covenant God, Isaiah exemplified the spiritual trauma of God. Isaiah's message is as multifaceted as is God's own regard for all the peoples of the world and their faithfulness and unfaithfulness. His message keeps pointing forward, promising a reconciliation, restoration, and justice that will certainly not be realized in his lifetime. these words would have chastened the Israelites for living unfaithfully and given them hope that - despite their behavior - God has a plan and he will make all things right.
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 this week's 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 II?
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 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.
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.
“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.
As you Read Notes
Historical Setting: The Succession of Empires
As discussed the last couple of weeks, Isaiah is ministering during the period of the Assyrian Empire. Judah remained independent during the Assyrian period, though they often paid tribute to Assyrian rulers. Our reading begins with the story of Hezekiah, who had entertained the possibility of making an alliance with Egypt to resist The Assyrians. In 701 BC, the Assyrian empire arrived in force to quash this potential rebellion and chapters 36-37 describe what happen next; you can also look to 2nd Kings 18-19, and 2nd Chronicles 32 for parallel accounts. Judah was the only nation able to resist and defeat the Assyrian army at the height of their empire.
Babylon will overtake Assyria as the dominant regional empire in 612 BC at the battle of Nineveh. This upheaval would toss the former states of the Assyrian empire into rebellion. Judah allied with Egypt (because they defeated and killed Josiah) until 601 BC, when king Jehoiakim switched allegiances to Babylon to avoid being invaded (in doing so he paid tributes of money and hostages to Babylon - These hostages included Daniel, shadrach meshach and abednego). Under the reign of the second king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, Johoakim king of Judah decided to stop paying tribute (bad idea), Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in 598, Jehoiakim died during the siege, the city was defeated (but not destroyed) in 597, and 10,000 Israelites were taken into exile including king Jehoiachin. 9 years later, Zedekiah, the king of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar installed, rebelled against Babylon (still not a good idea). This time Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Jerusalem angry, and in 586 he completely destroyed the city, its walls, the palace, and the temple, and he took even more Israelites into exile.
Babylon was overtaken by the Persian empire, under the command of Cyrus the Great who came to power with the conquest of the city of Babylon in 539 BC. The Persian empire had a policy of returning and preserving peoples in their native lands. He allowed many exile Israelites to return to Judah with Ezra and Zerubbabel, and later allowed Nehemiah to return and provided troops, material, and money to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.
Isaiah is writing during the time of the Assyrian empire, but he is able to describe the conditions of the future Babylonian and Persian kingdoms with remarkable clarity; even supplying the name of the Persian ruler who would let the exiles return to Jerusalem. Isaiah offers his audience the promise of return and restoration, in our reading this week, before the tragedy occurs which takes them away into exile.
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 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 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 shortsightedness is in stark contrast to the far-reaching prophecies of chapters 40-66 which 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)
Isaiah 49-57: The Identity of the Servant of the Lord
There seem to be two main characters being discussed in chapters 40-57 of our reading this week. the first is a deliverer of Israel's exiles named Cyrus. We've already said much about him, but it is worth noting that God clarifies that even though he (Cyrus) does not know or believe in God (Isaiah 45:5-6), God will use him to deliver His people.
The other character named is this "Servant of the Lord" who is the focus of chapters 49-57 and fewer passages in 40-49. Don't feel alone if you're wondering who this "Servant of the Lord" is. that is precisely what the Ethiopian Eunuch asks Phillip the Evangelist in Acts 8:
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.” (quote from Isaiah 53:7-8)34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
This New Testament Passage clarifies for us who Isaiah is telling the Israelites about. Jesus - the one who could take away their sins and fulfill what Israel was supposed to be all along - God's light to all nations. Isaiah had given Israel hope of restoration after Exile and then continues to give them hope on a completely different plane - forgiveness of sins purchased by the death of One who would suffer in their behalf. Such hope was a sharp contrast to the political redemption that Cyrus gained by military conquest. These words that we are reading in Isaiah are God's promise to send his savior through Israel, and His description of what Jesus came here to accomplish - they are some of my favorite chapters in the Bible.
Isaiah 50:7: "I set my face like a flint"
Don't miss the really cool connection between the words of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 50:6-7
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
and the word of the gospel of Luke when Jesus begins his final approach to Jerusalem:
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, (NKJV)
Each gospel records this incredible moment where - against all prudence and advice. Jesus decides to go to Judea for the Passover and sets his face towards Jerusalem. Here Luke beautifully portrays him as Isaiah's Servant of the Lord here to fulfill this long-awaited mission.
Isaiah 51:9: Rahab
What is Rahab doing in Isaiah 51:9?
Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart,
And wounded the serpent?
Surely we missed the part in Joshua or Ruth where Rahab was cut apart! No. this is not "Rahab of Jericho." Rahab is also the name of an ancient mythological creature comparable to the chaos monster Leviathan, which also takes the form of a twisting serpent. The name Rahab is also used synonymously for Egypt in Psalm 87:4. Not to worry, the Biblical heroine, ancestor of Joseph, father of Jesus, was not cut apart by God.
Study Questions:
in Isaiah 39:2, Hezekiah commits a sin that will result in a pronouncement of punishment for Judah. what was Hezekiah's sin? what was the mistaken thought(s) at the core of this sin?
Israel failed to become what God intended them to be - a light to the world, in fact Isaiah says that instead, they have become plunder. What does God promise them in Isaiah 41:10? why would God do this in spite of Israel's sinfulness?
Isaiah 44:22 tells the people of Israel how they are to react when God restores them from their exile. What were they supposed to do? Has God ever given you a life circumstance to encourage you to do the same?
In Isaiah 48:8, God levies a complaint against the Israelites. What were they guilty of doing? how can we avoid the same mistake?
In the servant song of Isaiah 50, verses 6-7 The Servant proclaims that he will "not be disgraced" despite stating that he "offered [his] back to those who beat [him]" and "did not hide [his] face from mocking and spitting." What can keep us from disgrace even when we suffer hardship and insult in our lives?
What does Isaiah 53 tell you that Jesus did for us?
Isaiah 55:11 guarantees that God's word will not return empty. how has God's word affected your life? Has anything changed as a result of your reading this year?