INTRODUCTION
The book of Isaiah begins by telling the reader that it
is a vision that was given to Isaiah the son of Amoz. It tells the reader that the
vision concerns Judah and Jerusalem during the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. He calls heaven and earth to hear and to witness
the trial, “For the Lord has spoken.” Parallelism is then used as a literary
technique to show how ungrateful and rebellious Israel has been. “The ox knows
its owner And the donkey its masters crib; But Israel does not know, My people
do not consider” (Isaiah 1:3). He proceeds to condemn the peoples pride and
arrogance, and to proclaim that the Lord will be exalted.
The year that Uzziah died which was 740 B.C. Isaiah
beheld the glory of the Lord in all his majesty. Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me,
for I am undone!” Beholding Gods exaltation brought to Isaiah the full reality
of the sinful condition of himself and the people. A seraphim flew to Isaiah
and touched his mouth with a live coal which took his iniquity away, and purged
his sin. At this point he heard the voice of the Lord asked, “Whom shall I
send, And who will go for us” (Isaiah 6: 8a)? Isaiah answered, “Here am I! Send
me.” It is at this point that he received his commission.
The theme of Isaiah would be that God is Holy and Exalted, and he will
judge the proud, but the humble will be saved. This is a bit simplistic
for a book that is so deep and profound with its poetry that brings forth the
depth of feeling, but it is the essence of the book. God is above all. There is
none greater, but even though God is “I AM” he is concerned about man. God had
a covenant with Israel, and he would uphold His end of it. “Together, the
portrayal of Yahweh as king, and the affirmation of the world wide extent of
His glory constitute a claim for the sole sovereignty of Yahweh.”[1]
THE HOLINESS OF GOD
J.J.M. Roberts focuses on the holiness of God which is
upheld throughout the book of Isaiah and throughout the Bible. The visual that
is given at the beginning of chapter 6 is a majestic vision of God in all His
holiness. The sight of His robe filling the temple, and the sound of the seraphim crying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the
Lord of host” would give one a feeling of awe, and would certainly make one
aware of how unclean he was. The people would hear and see, but not understand
or perceive, and Isaiah’s question was, “Lord, How long?” Babylon would invade, and lay everything
waste. Only a remnant would remain.
The book of Isaiah displays Gods holiness, but it also
shows the response of the people to His holiness. The people were laden with
iniquity. They had forsaken Him, and provoked God to anger. The analysis of
God’s holiness allows the reader to understand why the reaction of the people
was beyond unacceptable. The people would either be humble or rebellious and
gain salvation or judgement. This is a theme that runs through Isaiah. Much
like the theme of Judges the reader begins to see the pattern of people
worshipping idols and living in disobedience to God until things get so bad
they call on God and change their ways, and God would send a judge to save
them, and for a while they would walk with God, and then off they would go
again. This is repeated through the book of Judges. In Isaiah God tells them to
seek Him and live and to love good and
not evil. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him
while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their
thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, to our God
for he will freely pardon.”
THEMES
Barry
G. Webb finds passages in chapter 6 and 40 significant because Isaiah is called
into Gods presence to receive a commission. The first was to judgement and the
second to comfort. “The first has to do with the discipline that is brought to
bear on the people of Judah and Jerusalem…Out of this scourging process there
emerges, by the end of the book, a group of people who are truly repentant.”[2] God is Holy, and Webb
asked how can a holy God forgive the sinner without compromising his holiness?
“Forgiveness is possible only when atonement is made, and atonement is provided
by God himself,”[3]
The reader sees Christ in Isaiah 9:6. In this Scripture we see his humanity
through his birth and his deity in the names Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. His kingdom will be eternal.
Isaiah
50:6 presents the suffering of Jesus. He was pure, and all of the sins of the
world were laid on Him. That would be horrible. We can appreciate how awful it
would be to be falsely accused, but to be pure and have all the filth of the
sins of the world placed on him, and to be separated from His Father. The
shame, the humiliation, the horror of the situation is beyond our ability to
understand the price that was paid for us. The price of love.
In
Isaiah 61:1-2 we see the servant say, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me”
(Isaiah 61:1). Christ read these scriptures in the synagogue and then said,
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). This gives the idea that Christ related with
these Scriptures as pertaining to His ministry.
In
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 we see the sin bearing servant. The interpretation is much
different from Jews to Christians although in both translations the Messiah is
evident. “Judaism interpreted Isaiah 53 to refer to an exalted Messiah who
delivers a suffering Israel.”[4] John N. Oswalt points out
that throughout Isaiah there is a “pairing of opposites” such as judgement and
hope, and servanthood and kingdom. Trust and rebellion, arrogance, and
humiliation. Other important themes are the uniqueness of Yahweh,
righteousness, and the nations.”[5]
Who
would the people put their trust in? They would put their trust in wealth and
beauty. They were willing to put their trust in anything, but the living God.
God would send the Assyrians against them, and they would find that their gods
failed them, because they were powerless. There only hope lay in God. He was
their source of total supply. All the things they had trusted in were bound to
fail. Only God was all powerful and exalted. Their trust needed to be in the
God that loved them and would fight for them. Like Peter when he was walking on
the water, they had their eyes on everything around them instead of on God.
When our eyes are no longer focused on our source we quickly lose ground. “Reliance
upon his promises, quiet, confident trust in his word was the key to rest,
security and well being (7:9; 28:12, 16; 30:15).”[6] Roberts points out that the
only way back for them was the purging of judgement. Yahweh tried to bring them
back, but they would have it their own way which meant they would have to walk
through the fire to be able to find their way back.
CONCLUSION
Isaiah must be treated as a whole, and not pieces. If we
are to accept Isaiah 1:1 as a fact there is no doubt about the author and the
time period. If we accept the idea of several authors the book loses some of
its potency. The main theme of the book of Isaiah is that God is holy and is
the creator of all things. He will judge the proud and save the humble.
[1]
Roberts, J J M. 1982. "Isaiah in Old
Testament theology." Interpretation 36,
no. 2: 130-143. ATLA Religion
Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed
December 14, 2016).
[2] Barry G, Webb. The Message of Isaiah. (Downer Grove,
Illinois: IVP Academic, 1996), 31.
[3] Ibid., 32.
[4] Darrel L. Bock
and Mitch Glaser. The Gospel According to
Isaiah 53. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Academic, 2012), 172-173.
[5] John N. Oswalt. Isaiah: The NIV Application Commentary. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan,
2003), 42.
[6] Roberts, J J M. 1982. "Isaiah in Old
Testament theology." Interpretation 36,
no. 2: 130-143. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials,
EBSCOhost (accessed December 14, 2016).
