Isaiah 1-4

Isaiah 1

Isaiah 1:1 Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings. Manasseh, who tradition says executed him, is not mentioned. At a minimum, Uzziah’s reign ended about 740 BC and Hezekiah reigned until 686 BC, a span of 54 years.

Isaiah 1:2-3 Is the Lord speaking through Isaiah only to the people of Judah? Judah and Israel? It may be safe to appeal to the opening verse and history, that this applies only to the people of Jerusalem and Judah in the eighth and seventh centuries before Christ. In speaking to the heavens and the earth, it appears to be a much broader audience. Who are God’s children? Do we know Jesus? Going beyond knowing about Him, do we have a personal relationship with Him? Animals know their owners and dwellings, on a physical level, but God calls us to a spiritual communion with Him, where our hearts become like His by becoming one with Him. Do we, as believers, know and understand Him? Not just theology, but the person?

Isaiah 1:4 This description is one of absolute decadence, not just superficial obedience. Rebellion against all that God has commanded, all that is right and good. The end result of backsliding is total disconnection. 

Isaiah 1:5-9 An appeal to common sense. Reaping what is sown, the result of cause and effect on a spiritual level, should open the eyes of our hearts to the consequences of rebelling against God. The comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah evokes images of divine judgment, not just earthly cause and effect. We shouldn’t need a nuclear war or a firebombing campaign like Operation Gomorrah on Hamburg during World War II to realize this, but that is the end result. Indeed, Jerusalem was besieged by Sennacherib’s army about 701 BC, but God intervened. 586 BC was a different story.

Isaiah 1:10-15 Leaving aside the question of whether the people of Sodom and Gomorrah offered sacrifices to gods, which is not mentioned in the account of their destruction (Genesis 19), God is fed up with superficial rituals. Yes, He commanded the offering of rams, bulls, goats, and lambs under specific circumstances, but the point of those offerings was supposed to be that people would have to pay a price for sin, see a graphic representation of its consequences, and then repent and turn their hearts toward God. He is weary of people  praying ritual words and then doing evil acts. In our day, it would be like going to a worship service, and/or receiving communion, in order to make ourselves feel like we are ok with God, and then proceeding to deny Him with how we live our lives. 

Isaiah 1:16-17 God’s call goes beyond not doing evil. He calls His people to seek what is called social justice. Consideration and care for the most vulnerable people in our midst should be taken up as a mandate at every level - individually by believers, by all branches and levels of government, by private organizations. Not to subsidize or encourage irresponsible lifestyles, but to help them build lives based on fundamental values and overcome awful circumstances.

Isaiah 1:18-20 Often quoted invitation and warning: obey and be blessed, or rebel and be destroyed by His word. Although God created the universe with joy, it cost Him the life of His Son to redeem us. 

Isaiah 1:21-23 Jerusalem, the city of faith, had become rebellious and evil, and the beauty of holy things now was the commonness of evil behaviors. Covetousness, rebellion, oppression of the poor were the new normal. 

Isaiah 1:24-31 One day, Jerusalem will be cleansed by His hand, purged of every evil and impurity, and called the city of faithfulness. They will endure shame and disgrace, some will be destroyed by fire, but the repentant will be delivered with justice and righteousness. This is a description of the life of the believer. When we are first saved, we have no idea what God has in mind for us. In a lifelong process that often includes painful chastisement, He not only cleanses us from sin, He gives us His Spirit, His heart, His essence, implanted in us, so that we can live out our lives in eternity in His image. Instead of dead oak trees to be used as firewood, we will be pillars of righteousness. This describes the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:2)

Isaiah 2

Isaiah 2:1-5 Based on the description of nations existing but behaving, this describes the millennial reign of Christ, not the new heavens and earth. It is the last days of the current creation. The people, all the gentile nations, will come to Mount Zion through the gospel to receive the word of the Lord. Weapons of war will not be needed for conquest or defense, nor even for deterrence. Will this be true even on the individual human level? Both the peoples and the nations are mentioned as choosing and receiving justice. There is a statue outside the United Nations headquarters in New York of a sword being beaten into a pruning hook or plowshare. Sadly, the UN is unable to bring this about, because this peace is from the Lord, not from man.

Isaiah 2:6-9 The land of Israel in Isaiah’s day had turned to idolatry and superstition despite, or perhaps because of, the wealth they enjoyed. They accused the Lord of having abandoned them, but who abandoned who? Jerusalem was idolizing wealth and military power, instead of recognizing them as God’s blessings, they worshipped them as gods.

Isaiah 2:10 When the Lord comes, they will hide from His presence, further elaborated in 2:19-21.

Isaiah 2:11-18 The Lord alone will be exalted on that day when He is present. Hubris will be humbled, and idolatry will cease. The amazing part will be more than just the destruction of molten images of fake gods, it will be the abandonment in human hearts of the worship of power and wealth. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Isaiah 2:19-22 Those who are not in right relationship with the Lord will, on the day of His presence, hide in caves, rocks, and holes in the ground. (Revelation 6:15-17) When the people see Him, they will abandon their worship of wealth. But they will still hide from His splendor and majesty when He returns. The challenge is to recognize this now, and not esteem mere humans and human power. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain and His disciples saw His clothing as white as light, and heard His conversation with Moses and Elijah, and the voice of the Father, they were terrified and fell on the ground. (Matthew 17:1-8) And these were men who were in a good relationship with Him. This event will be far more terrifying to those not in right relationship with Him - the overwhelming revelation of the eternal realities. In that context, why trust mere humans, however powerful they may be in human terms?

Isaiah 3

Isaiah 3:1-7 In the day of judgment there will be a famine of both food and leadership. This applies to the judgment of any society throughout human history. There comes a point where social abandonment of God and His ways leads to His abandonment of that society to the law of sowing and reaping. Divine judgment results in leaders who don’t lead and food that isn’t there anymore. Little children being in charge is like kindergarten recess - bullies control everyone through fear and intimidation and there are no standard of right and wrong. 

Isaiah 3:8-11 Further elaboration on the moral breakdown of society. If anything goes, and there is no standard of right and wrong in society, then cause and effect will lead from the parading of moral debauchery to the disaster that it results in. 

Isaiah 3:12 In Isaiah’s day, leadership was assigned to adult men, presumably who were well acquainted with the law of Moses and would lead others to follow God’s principles. The reference to women and children as leading the people astray implies that they were not leading according to this standard. Even eighty-year-old kings can act like petulant children. In our day, leadership failure occurs with both men and women, of all ages, justifying and encouraging freedom to sin. Not that they don't know right and wrong, but that they reject the idea of moral standards.

Isaiah 3:13-15 The New Testament describes two different judgment days. For believers, there is the judgment seat of Christ, where we each will give account for things done in the flesh. (2 Corinthians 5:10) For the nations and unbelievers, it will be a terrible day of judgment in which punishment will be meted our justly but firmly. (Revelation 20:11-15) In this passage, Isaiah focuses on the leadership of his day, who have exploited the poor for their own purposes. Their judgment eventually came in 586 BC, but it was for discipline. (2 Kings 25:1-21; 2 Chronicles 36:15-21) God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, on that day. 

Isaiah 3:16-23 This passage focuses on the behavior of women who turn from God. Their unique sins result from taking everyday pleasantries out of context, to use them for sinful temptations. This includes flirtatious behaviors, ornamental jewelry, fine clothing, and perfume. In addition they take pride in their husbands status.

Isaiah 3:24-26 Things that are blessings in the context of God’s provision become sin outside that context, and become the loci of judgment. This includes beauty of appearance (since the creation and all God has made were initially beautiful), and strength to stand and fight for what is right. (Genesis 1:26,31, 2:23)

Isaiah 4

Isaiah 4:1 In response to the judgment described above (3:24-26), women will turn to the one Man who can save them, to be saved. (John 8:3-11) 

Isaiah 4:2-4 Everything after creation was very good, implicitly beautiful. (Genesis 1:31) Those who turn to Jesus, the righteous branch, will live in the new Jerusalem, with all of their sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb, and live empowered lives through the fire of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Revelation 7:14; Acts 2:3) This will be even more beautiful than creation was at first. (Revelation 21:2) 

Isaiah 4:5-6 When Israel was in the wilderness, God led them with a cloud of His presence by day, and a pillar of fire by night. (Exodus 13:21-22) In the transfiguration on the Mount, Jesus shined brighter than the sun, providing a glimpse of the eternal light of the world. (Matthew 17:2; John 1:9, 3:19, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9, 12:46) When the disciples encountered a storm at sea and feared they would perish, Jesus rebuked the storm and it was quiet. (Mark 4:35-39) This (the storms of life) is where we live at present.