Old Testament survey (23): Isaiah

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north (Isaiah 14:12-13)

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)

Overview

[1] Isaiah, from Thru The Bible Radio with Dr. J. Vernon McGee ©, with free downloads Notes & Outlines (PDF), Complete 5-Year Study (MP3), America Needs a Declaration of Dependence (PDF), The Millennium (PDF), When God Flexes His Muscles (PDF)

Beginning with Isaiah and continuing through the Old Testament, there is a section of Scripture which is called the prophetic portion of the Bible. That does not mean that prophecy begins with Isaiah, because there are prophecies as far back as the Pentateuch, which was written by Moses. Although the predictive element bulks large in this section, the prophets were more than foretellers. They were men raised up by God in a decadent day when neither priest nor king was a worthy channel through which the expressions of God might flow.

These books of prophecy also contain history, poetry, and law, but their primary message is prophecy. Each writer, from Isaiah to Malachi, is a prophet of God. Today we make an artificial division of the prophets by designating them as the major prophets and the minor prophets. All of the prophets are in the major league as far as I am concerned—I don’t think you can put any of them back in the minors. This artificial division was determined by the length of the book, not by content. Some of the minor prophets are like atom bombs—they may be small, but their content is potent indeed.

These prophets not only spoke of events in the distant future, but they also spoke of local events in the immediate future. They had to speak in this manner in order to qualify for the prophetic office under God according to the Mosaic code. Codes for the priest, the king, and the prophet are given in the Book of Deuteronomy. Note the code for the prophet: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:20–22). If the local event did not transpire exactly as the prophet predicted, he was labeled a false prophet and was so treated. You may be sure that the message of the false prophet is not in the library of inspired Scripture. The prophetic books are filled with events that are local and fulfilled. (Read the complete article)

[2] Book of Isaiah, from gotquestions.org (this website is also available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese-Myanmar, Cebuano, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malaysian, Persian-Farsi, Portuguese, Quechua, Sesotho, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Zulu, and 70 other languages)

The Book of Isaiah reveals God’s judgment and salvation. God is “holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3) and therefore He cannot allow sin to go unpunished (Isaiah 1:2; 2:11-20; 5:30; 34:1-2; 42:25). Isaiah portrays God’s oncoming judgment as a “consuming fire” (Isaiah 1:31; 30:33).

At the same time, Isaiah understands that God is a God of mercy, grace, and compassion (Isaiah 5:25; 11:16; 14:1-2; 32:2; 40:3; 41:14-16). The nation of Israel (both Judah and Israel) is blind and deaf to God’s commands (Isaiah 6:9-10; 42:7). Judah is compared to a vineyard that should be, and will be, trampled on (Isaiah 5:1-7). Only because of His mercy and His promises to Israel, God will not allow Israel or Judah to be completely destroyed. He will bring both restoration, forgiveness, and healing (43:2; 43:16-19; 52:10-12).

More than any other book in the Old Testament, Isaiah focuses on the salvation that will come through the Messiah. The Messiah will one day rule in justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:7; 32:1). The reign of the Messiah will bring peace and safety to Israel (Isaiah 11:6-9). Through the Messiah, Israel will be a light to all the nations (Isaiah 42:6; 55:4-5). The Messiah’s kingdom on earth (Isaiah chapter 65-66) is the goal towards which all of the Book of Isaiah points. It is during the reign of the Messiah that God’s righteousness will be fully revealed to the world. (Read the complete article)

[3] Isaiah, from Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)

Isaiah is justly accounted the chief of the writing prophets. He has the more comprehensive testimony and is distinctively the prophet of redemption. Nowhere else in the Scriptures written under the law have we so clear a view of grace. The New Testament Church does not appear ( 3:3-10), but Messiah in His Person and sufferings, and the blessing of the Gentiles through Him, are in full vision.

Apart from his testimony to his own time, which includes warnings of coming judgments upon the great nations of that day, the predictive messages of Isaiah cover seven great themes:

1. Israel in exile and divine judgment upon Israel's oppressors.
2. The return from Babylon.
3. The manifestation of Messiah in humiliation (e.g. Chap. 53).
4. The blessing of the Gentiles.
5. The manifestation of Messiah in judgment ("the day of vengeance of our God").
6. The reign of David's righteous Branch in the kingdom-age.
7. The new heavens and the new earth.

Isaiah is in two chief divisions:

1. Looking toward the captivities, 1:1-39:8. Key verses, 1:1, 2.
2. Looking beyond the captivities, 40:1-66:24. Key verses, 40:1, 2.

These chief divisions fall into subdivisions, as indicated in the text.

The events recorded in Isaiah cover a period of 62 years (Ussher).

Discussion

[1] Key verses: Isaiah 6:8; 7:14; 9:6; 14:12-13; 65:25

[2] As the New Testament presents the Lord Jesus Christ as its theme, so Isaiah presents the Lord Jesus Christ as his theme. Isaiah has been called the 5th evangelist; the Book of Isaiah has been called the 5th Gospel. Christ’s virgin birth, His character, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His second coming are all presented in Isaiah with definiteness and clarity. (See 1 Peter 1:10, 11; cp. Luke 4:16-22 with Isaiah 61:1-4.) Notes and Outline of Isaiah, by J. Vernon McGee

[3] Summary of Isaiah

• Isaiah 2:1-4 The Holy City
• Isaiah 4:2 The Branch
• Isaiah 7:14 God with us
• Isaiah 8:14 A Rock of Salvation and a Stumbling Stone
• Isaiah 9:1-7 The Child with many names
• Isaiah 11:1-5 A shoot from the Stem of Jesse
• Isaiah 11:6-16 Our Blessed Hope
• Isaiah 12–40 One liners in Isaiah
• Isaiah 25:8; 26:19 When God wipes away the tears
• Isaiah 32 A kingdom of righteousness
• Isaiah 42-53 The Servant Songs of Isaiah
• Isaiah 52:13-15 The Divine Servant
• Isaiah 53:1-3 The Divine Sufferer
• Isaiah 53:4-6 The Divine Substitute
• Isaiah 53:7-9 The Divine Sacrifice
• Isaiah 53:10-12 The Divine Satisfaction
• Isaiah 54-66 The LORD God Reigns

[4] Messianic prophecies in Isaiah

• The Messiah will be a born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14, as fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-35
• The Messiah’s first spiritual work will be in Galilee, Isaiah 9:1-7, as fulfilled in Matthew 4:12-16
• The Messiah will make the blind see, the deaf hear, etc. Isaiah 35:5-6, as fulfilled in Matthew 11:3-6 and John 11:47
• The Messiah will be beaten, mocked, and spat upon, Isaiah 50:6, as fulfilled in Matthew 26:67 and 27:26-31
• The “Gospel according to Isaiah” Isaiah 52:13-53:12, as fulfilled in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
• People will hear and not believe the “arm of the LORD” (Messiah), Isaiah 53:1, , as fulfilled in John 12:37-38
• The Messiah will be rejected, Isaiah 53:3, as fulfilled in Matthew 27:20-25; Mark 15:8-14; Luke 23:18-23; John 19:14-15
• The Messiah will be killed, Isaiah 53:5-9, as fulfilled in Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37-39; Luke 23:46; John 19:30
• The Messiah will be silent in front of his accusers, Isaiah 53:7, as fulfilled in Matthew 26:62-63 and 27:12-14
• The Messiah will be buried with the rich, Isaiah 53:9, as fulfilled in Matthew 27:59-60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:52-53; John 19:38-42
• The Messiah will be crucified with criminals, Isaiah 53:12, as fulfilled in Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32-33
• The Messiah is part of the new and everlasting covenant, Isaiah 55:3-4 and Jeremiah 31:31-34, as fulfilled in Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6-13
• The Messiah will be our intercessor, Isaiah 59:16, as fulfilled in Hebrews 9:15
• The Messiah will be a born of a virgin, Isaiah 7:14, as fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-35

Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Materials by David Malick

• An Introduction to Isaiah
• An Argument of the Book of Isaiah

[2] The Book of Isaiah (25 articles in series), by Allen Ross, Th.D., Ph.D.

[3] Studies in Isaiah, various authors, from bible.org

[4] Materials by Gordon Graham

• Isaiah Overview, Part 1
• Isaiah, Part 2: God’s Redemptive Plan for Mankind

[5] The Major Prophets, by J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M. (also available in Chinese)

Sermons on Isaiah (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

Isaiah 9:6

[1] The Peace Child, by Matt Neace, Jr., First Baptist of Silver Grove, KY

[2] 1615 Who is the Child to Us, by Johnnie R. Bailey, Norway Baptist Church

[3] The Shoulders of Jesus, by Michael Stark, New Beginnings Baptist Church

[4] Tidings of Comfort of Joy, by Pastor Jeremy Stephens, Southview Baptist Church

[5] Seated on the Throne of David, by Michael Stark, New Beginnings Baptist Church

[6] Sermons by Terry Wiese

• Christ in the Old Testament
• Reason – Season
• Wonderful Name

[7] Isaiah 9:6 The Everlasting Father, by David A Estep

[8] The Prince of the Four Names, by David Harp

[9] All About Jesus (LHCOC), by Shane Robinson

[10] Everlasting Father, by Bruce Thacker

[12] Sermons by Robby Roberson

• Prince of Peace
• Wonderful Counselor
• Everlasting Father

[13] A Wonderful Saviour, by David Walters

[14] He Is The Mighty God, by Jim Head

[15] Isaiah 9:6 For Unto Us A Child Is Born, by George Gunn

[16] The Deity Of Jesus Christ, by John C Smead

[17] Jesus Christ Resume, by John W. Worley, Ph.D.

[18] The Cradle that Rocked the World, by Kevin Grant

[19] Why the Virgin Birth? By Kevin Grant

[20] Kim Phuc, by Rusty Russell

[21] What Christ Is, by Richard E. Rutherford, Jr.

Isaiah 53:6

[1] Isaiah 53.Compassion of the Cross, by David G. Shackelford, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary

[2] Our Sacrifice, by Michael Stark, New Beginnings Baptist Church

[3] The Suffering Servant Substitute, by David Harp

[4] Advent 2006 -1- Coming Light: A Light Shines in the Darkness, by Richard DeRuiter

[5] Lent 99 1 - The Via Dolorosa: A Man of Sorrows, by Richard DeRuiter

[6] Healed Forever, by Thomas C. Black

[7] Pre-Paid Service, by Ramon A. Evangelista

[8] Considering the Cross, by Mark Hoffer

[9] What's in a Pronoun? By James Harris

[10] The Silence of the Cross, by Doug McNaught

[11] Atonement Announced, by Steve Parker

[12] He Did It For Us, by Gregory Jones

[13] The Forsaken Gift, by Norman W. Smith Jr.

[14] Forgive Us for the Sake of Your Son! By Paul Voss

[15] Silence of the Lamb, by John Tindall

[16] I Believe Jesus Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Died, and was Buried, by David Krueger

For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.