OT Survey I
Isaiah
―Story‖ of Isaiah
1-5 The setting: Sin, judgment, calls to repentance
then ―call‖ to distant nation (Assyria)
6 Isaiah’s call: The proper response to God’s
holiness and impending judgment on sin
{Whitespace between chapters 6 & 7} Israel
and Syria’s response to God’s impending judgment
7:1-12 Ahaz’s response: Despite God’s promise, I’ll
trust in the one sent to judge me!
7:13 - 8:18 Result of Ahaz’s response: Israel/Syria
will fail, and Assyria will devastate all of Judah
except Jerusalem.
9 - 12 A better future: A coming ruler who will trust
in Yahweh
―Story‖ of Isaiah (cont…)
13-27 Oracles against the nations: Other nations
not trustworthy because they too are going to be
judged
28-35 The Lesson: So, don’t trust in them!
36-39 The Illustration: Hezekiah exemplifies trust,
but unfortunately trusted in Babylon first
40-48 Return: God will send Cyrus to bring Israel
home
49-57 Redemption: God will send a suffering
servant to bring Israel atonement for their sins
58-66 Restoration: God will send a conquering
avenger to destroy rebels and restore justice.
Isaiah and Earlier Revelation
Micah 2:2 – They covet fields and then seize them, And
houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
Lev 26:31-32 –I will lay waste your cities as well, and will
make your sanctuaries desolate . . . and I will make the land
desolate‖ (cf. Deut 28:30)
Deut 28:38-40 – You shall bring out much seed to the field
but you shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it.
You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you shall neither
drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall
devour them.
Deut 28:49-50 –The LORD will bring a nation against you
from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops
down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a
nation of fierce countenance who shall have no respect for
the old, nor show favor to the young.
Isaiah and Earlier Revelation (cont…)
Deuteronomy 30:1-3 – So it shall be when all of these things have
come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before
you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your
God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and
obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I
command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God
will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and
will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your
God has scattered you
Rom 15:8-12 – Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on
behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the
fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is
written, "Therefore I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles,
And I will sing to Thy name.― And again he says, "Rejoice, O
Gentiles, with His people.― And again, "Praise the Lord all you
Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.― And again Isaiah says,
"There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over
the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope."
Isa 61:8 – I will make an everlasting covenant with them (cf. 42:6;
49:8; 54:10; 55:3; 59:21)
Isaiah and Earlier Revelation (cont…)
Few Old Testament books match Isaiah’s ability to use
received Biblical theology while introducing new theological
concepts. Placed strategically at the beginning of the Latter
Prophets, this book reflects the major ideas already divulged in
the Law and the Former Prophets. Isaiah discusses covenant
giving and covenant breaking, the role of the prophets in
warning and encouraging the chosen people, God’s sovereignty
over all nations and the Davidic promises, to name just a handful
of relevant topics. At the same time, the prophecy links the
remnant and the future, the eternal nature of the Davidic
kingdom and the contemporary sins of that institution and the
interaction between God and the Gentiles in ways not yet seen
in the canon. This meshing and shaping of the new and the old
makes Isaiah a formidable theological document.
Paul House, Old Testament Theology, p. 272
Structure of Isaiah
As many times before, much of this material
comes from David A. Dorsey, The Literary
Structure of the Old Testament: A
Commentary on Genesis-Malachi.
See pages 217-235.
Structure of Isaiah
1-12: Introductory messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
13-27: Oracles to nations: Humiliation of proud king of Babylon
Babylon
28-35: Collection of woes: Don’t trust in earthly powers!
36-39: Historical narratives
40-48: Yahweh’s supremacy over idols: Don’t trust in idols!
49-54: Servant messages: Exaltation of the humble servant
55-66: Concluding messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
Structure of Isaiah
1-12: Introductory messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
13-27: Oracles to nations: Humiliation of proud king of Babylon
Babylon
28-35: Collection of woes: Don’t trust in earthly powers!
36-39: Historical narratives
40-48: Yahweh’s supremacy over idols: Don’t trust in idols!
49-54: Servant messages: Exaltation of the humble servant
55-66: Concluding messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
Structure of Isaiah (cont…)
Isaiah 1-12 Isaiah 55-66
At the beginning has a call to At the beginning has a call to
repentance and a promise of repentance and a promise of
forgiveness (1:18) forgiveness (55:1, 7)
Speaks of God hiding from them
and not answering their prayers Speaks of God hiding from them and
since their hands covered with not answering their prayers since their
blood (1:15) hands are defiled by blood (59:1-3)
―The wolf shall dwell with the The wolf and the lamb shall feed
lamb…and the lion shall eat straw
like the ox…They shall not hurt or together, the lion shall eat straw like
destroy in all my holy mountain‖ the ox…They shall not hurt or destroy
(11:6-9) in all my holy mountain (65:25)
[First Verse] ―Listen, O heavens, [Last Verse] Then they shall go forth
and hear, O earth; For the LORD
speaks, "Sons I have reared and and look On the corpses of the men
brought up, But they have Who have transgressed ( [vP ) against
[vP
revolted ( ) against Me‖
Me. For their worm shall not die, And
their fire shall not be quenched; And
they shall be an abhorrence to all
mankind.
Structure of Isaiah (cont…)
1-12: Introductory messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
13-27: Oracles to nations: Humiliation of proud king of Babylon
Babylon
28-35: Collection of woes: Don’t trust in earthly powers!
36-39: Historical narratives
40-48: Yahweh’s supremacy over idols: Don’t trust in idols!
49-54: Servant messages: Exaltation of the humble servant
55-66: Concluding messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
Structure of Isaiah (cont…)
King of Babylon (KOB) vs. Suffering Servant (SS)
KOB smote peoples (14:6); SS was smitten (53:4-5, 10)
KOB oppressed peoples; SS was oppressed (53:7-8)
KOB is wicked (14:5), filled with pomp and splendor (14:11), and is
feared by all (14:16); SS is righteous (53:11), has no form or
comeliness (53:2), and is despised and not esteemed (53:3)
KOB begins with high aspirations (14:13-14) but is brought down to
Sheol (14:15); SS begins in humility (53:2) but is later highly
exalted (52:13)
KOB dies and his life is over (14:18-20); SS dies but shall prolong
his life and even later have great reward (53:10-12)
Seed of KOB will be cut off (14:20-22); SS is cut off but will see his
seed (53:8-10)
Neither buried in own tomb, but KOB cast out (14:18-20) whereas
SS buried in tomb of rich (53:9)
Dead kings of earth arise to meet KOB then mock him (14:9-20);
Kings of earth see servant, arise and bow down before him (49:7)
Structure of Isaiah (cont…)
1-12: Introductory messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
13-27: Oracles to nations: Humiliation of proud king of Babylon
Babylon
28-35: Collection of woes: Don’t trust in earthly powers!
36-39: Historical narratives
40-48: Yahweh’s supremacy over idols: Don’t trust in idols!
49-54: Servant messages: Exaltation of the humble servant
55-66: Concluding messages of condemnation, pleading, and future
restoration
Structure of Isaiah (cont…)
Historical Narrative (36-39)
a Arrival of the hostile Assyrian emissary
• Assyrian king sends envoy to Hezekiah with threatening msg & army
• Hezekiah does not receive them into the city or give them a reply
b Hezekiah’s distress and appeal to Yahweh for help
• Begins: Hezekiah hears bad news of Assyrian message
• Hezekiah asks Isaiah to pray to Yahweh for help
• Isaiah reassures Hezekiah that Yahweh will deliver him from king
c Sennacherib’s blasphemous message: Yahweh can’t deliver you!
d Hezekiah’s prayer to Yahweh: ―Save us…that all may know that you
alone, Yahweh, are God.
c’ Yahweh’s response to Sennacherib: Yahweh delivers Jerusalem!
b Hezekiah’s sickness and appeal to Yahweh for help
• Begins: Hezekiah hears bad news of his approaching death
• Hezekiah prays directly to Yahweh for help
• Isaiah reassures Hezekiah that Yahweh will deliver him from king and add
15 years of life
a Arrival of the friendly Babylonian emissaries (irony!)
• Babylonian king sends envoys to Hezekiah with peacefull msg & gift
• Hezekiah welcomes them into the city and shows them all his treasures.
Major Themes
The holiness of Yahweh
―Holy‖ (or some form of this word) used 68 times
in 66 chapters
―Holy one of Israel‖ used 25 times, only 6 other
times in all of OT (once by Isaiah himself, 2 in
Jeremiah, 3 in Psalms)
On the one hand, His holiness bespeaks His
separation from sin (Isaiah 6!, e.g.)
On the other hand, His holiness bespeaks His
separation from all creation. He is different from
and greater than all nations or idols, so His people
should trust in HIM!
Purpose Statement
As the holy God, Yahweh must punish
those who rebel against Him. In addition,
as the holy God, He is also—unlike the
nations and other, false gods—able and
willing to save those who trust in Him.
Major Themes (cont…)
The salvation (=deliverance) of Yahweh
―Isaiah‖ means Yahweh is salvation
Deliverance offered to Ahaz (7)
Deliverance from Sennacherib for Hezekiah (37)
Deliverance from exile through Cyrus (40-48)
Deliverance from sin from suffering servant (49-57)
Deliverance from sinners through conqueror (58-66)
Deliverance for Gentiles (e.g., 11:10; 19:21-25)!
Jerusalem (Zion)
The center of God’s future kingdom (2:1-4; 4; 66:20-24)
The location of the spared remnant (1:8; 10:20-34; 36-37;
cf. 8:8)
Major Themes (cont…)
The sinfulness of Judah (e.g., 1; 3; 5; 49; 56;
58-59)
The Sovereignty of Yahweh
Ability to declare things yet future (41:21-23;
42:9; 44:6-8; 45:21; 46:9-11)
Ability to declare things from/in the past (41:21-
23; 43:9; 44:6-8; 48:3)
Trusting in Yahweh and no one else
Other nations
Other gods
Interpretive Issues
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will
give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with
child and bear a son, and she will call His
name Immanuel
Isaiah 65:17; 66:22 – New heavens and
new earth.
Next Week
Jeremiah and
Lamentations