isaiah. book of judgment (woe) 1-39 authored by isaiah proper i.1-12 the lord is king a.1:1-31 a...
TRANSCRIPT
ISAIAH
BOOK OF JUDGMENT (WOE) 1-39
Authored by Isaiah proper
I.1-12 THE LORD IS KING
A. 1:1-31 A Situation of Crisis• ESV Isaiah 1:1 The vision of the son of Amoz,
which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah
1. Vision he “saw” Heb. “hazah” (cf. Num 24:4; 1 Sam 3:1; Ezek 7:13, 26 etc.)
2. Isaiah Why"å[.v;(y> means in Hebrew “Yahweh saves.”
3. The Kings and History.
– The Kings of Judah are given and provide excellent background for the events and prophesies Isaiah delivers.
» Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah» 2 Chron. 26-66
– The kings of Israel are not his reference point, but provide crucial background for many of the events in Isaiah’s oracles.
» 2 Kings 15-20
• Isaiah 1:2-3 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
–Know: [d:êy" “Yada” To know by
experience. This is written in 1st person masc. singular. It is meant to address all the people individualistically.
• Isaiah 1:4-6
1. “Ah” in Heb. Hoi, is a cry and sigh of “alas” or “how sad.”
2. Key words show the action was on their parta. Forsakenb. Spurnedc. Turned
3. Hebrew:
a. Vs. 4 “forsaken” Azab Wbåz>[' Is the same word used for divorce.
b. Vs. 6 “slash wounds, lacerations, and bleeding wounds
c. The phrase “be beaten” is in what is called the “passive voice.”
• Isaiah 1:11-13
1.Sacrifice is not sacrifice unless its sacrifice
a. Psalm 51:17
b. 1 Samuel 15:22
c. Malachi 1:10
• Isaiah 1:24-27
• Vs. 18
1. There are mixed views on the meaning of “reason together.”
a. Some scholars say it is the final stages of a lawsuit
b. Others say this is the Lord’s final summary before the jury of heaven before the verdict is read
c. Oswalt in NICOT pg. 101 notes the best way to understand this is God is asking the people to re-examine the two alternatives before them. “Continue in your way and be destroyed or obey God and be blessed” (Oswalt pg. 101).
• Mixed views on the meaning of “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
1. Some believe this is directly referring to leprosy
2. Other scholars (Like Walt Kaiser, Skinner, Kiel and Delitzsch) have pointed out the Hebew and even LXX Greek texts lack evidence of sarcastic interrogative tone.
3. Best to see this passage as “Though it looks things are beyond hope, they can still change. You can still choose what is right and reconcile with God.”
• Isaiah 1:29 29 "You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
1. Sacred Gardens and Oaks
2. Ceremony of Assyrian Kings purification.
B. 2:1 – 4:6 JUDAH & JERUSALEM
God’s Jerusalem and Man’s
• Isaiah 2:1
1. Isaiah literally saw “The Word.” In Hebrew “HaDabar.”
a. Geoffory Grogan in the “Expositors Bible Commentary suggests there is a verbal element to the vision or message received here.
b. “Word” in Hebrew can refer to “word, matter or thing.” God gives “words” to His people.
i. Luke 12:11-12
ii. Hab. 1:1
iii. Dictation Theory
a). God wants to use you as you are
b). 2 Peter 1:21
• Isaiah 1:6-22
1. Summary of this section
a. Vs. 22 “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?”
2. Vs. 6 “You have abandoned Your people”
a. 1:2 said it well “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.
i. God is not a dead beat dad
ii. He is a loving Father that gets pushed away
3. This section is laden with punishment for pride
a. Vs. 11
b. Vs. 12
c. Vs. 17
4. Isaiah 2:13-16
a. A lot of the verbiage in this section is Phonecian
b. Historical Note
c. Principle
• Isaiah 3:1 – 4:1 Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
1. The structure of this section. By Barry Webb in “The Message of Isaiah” pg. 48-51.
a. 3:1-7 “What’s going to happen?”
b. 3:8-12 “Why is it going to happen/”
c. 3:13-15 “Charges against the Elders and Royal Court”
d. 3:16 – 4:1 “Charges against their female counter-parts”
2. 3:1-7 “What is going to happen?”
a. Isaiah 3:1
i. This is literally fulfilled some time later in chapters 36-37.
b. The Lord is about to “Take”
i. Cf. Hosea and Gomer (Hosea 2:5-14)
ii. Vs. 2-3 Remove the leaders
iii. Vs. 4-5 Breakdown of social order
iv. What Assyria begins Babylon will finish 100 years later (Webb, pg. 49).
3. 3:8-12 “Why is it going to happen?”
a. Vs. 8-9 The wickedness of the people
b. Vs. 12 Bad leadership
4. 3:13-15 “charges against the Elders and Royal Court”
5. 3:16 – 4:1 “Charges against their female counterparts”
C. 5:1-30 The Branch
Isaiah 4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.
• The verbs used here are the fruition of David’s last words.– 2 Samuel 23:5
1. The Prophets exhibit four marvelous pictures of the “Branch”
2. Literary masterpieces of Isaiah
1. Branch of David Jer. 23:5-6
C. 5:1-30 The Branch
1. Literary masterpieces of Isaiah
1. Branch of David Jer. 23:5-6
2. My servant the Branch Zech. 3:8
3. The man named Branch Zech. 6:12
4. The Branch of the Lord Isa. 4:2 cf. Jn 20:31 of Johns presentation of Christ from God.
2. The Difference between these
1. The first three focus on the human, royal or servant aspects of the Branch
2. Isaiah’s is purely divine. The “branch of Yahweh”
D. 5:1-30 The Bitter Vintage
5:1-7 The parable
• Form and Structure (Barry Webb, The Message of Isaiah in The Bible Speaks Today)
1. Literary masterpieces of Isaiaha. You can’t even begin to capture in English the
beauty found in the original Hebrew
b. It is written as a song
i. Starts off as a love song and moves to a heavy metal mosh pit with the instruments being smashed.
c. Starts as a song (vs. 1-2) and moves to courtroom language (3 – ff)
• Commentary:1. Vs. 1 “I will sing. . .”
a. The singer is Isaiah, the beloved is God and the vineyard is Judah.
2. Vineyard imagery and language vs. 1-2:
a. Fertile hillside (Terrist farming in Judah/ Jerusalem)
b. Cleared it of stones
c. Built a watchtower
d. Cut out a winepress as well
Watchtower
Watchtower at Yad HaShmonah
3. Hinge verse for courtroom language vs. 3.a. Isaiah 5:3-4
b. Sour grapes is not the result of sweet settings. It’s the byproduct of a bad seed
or acidic soil.
c. Each of the Woe’s on the remainder of the chapter are all a list of sour fruit
that justifies God’s sentence.
4. Note the imagery, common to any Israelite tending a vineyard:a. Pruned and Cultivated
b. Briers and Thorns
c. Clouds not to rain
d. Take away its hedge & break down its wall
5. The sentence vs. 5 Isaiah 5:5 “Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard”
6. Isaiah 5:7a. This verse is a masterpiece in Hebrew. Many
have attempted to capture its eloquence and force in English but have failed to do so.
i. He looked for Justice “Mispat” but saw bloodshed “Mispah” For righteousness “sedahkah” but heard cries of distress “seahkah”
ii. One of the best translations to English by G.H. Bos reads “For measures he looked – but lo massacres! For right – and lo riot!”
5:8-23 The Six Woes
1. This whole section is structured by “Woe” and “Therefore.”
2. The woes are the sour fruit describes in 5:1-7 and reflect back to the condition and judgment on the vineyard (Israelites and Judah)
a. Vs. 2, 4 Greed and land grabbing
b. Vs. 11-12 Drunken Debauchery
c. Vs. 18-19 Arrogant Defiance of God
d. Vs. 20 Self Justifying sophistry
e. Vs. 21 Conceit
f. Vs. 22-23 Perversion of Justice
1. The conditions of the environment were there during the reign of Uzziah (AKA Azariah) 2 Ki. 15:1-7 & 2 Chron. 26:1-23.
a. These are the problems prevalent in our society today. The corrupting of power and riches 1 Tim. 6:9-10, Lev. 25:23-28, Deut. 8:11, 17-18.
5:24-30 God’s Scavengers
1. Theses are the predators who will ravage the unprotected vineyard
STRUCTURESETTINGSYNTAX
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
ISAIAH 6
STRUCTURE
ISAIAH 6
B. 6:1-13 The Prophets Call
1. Barry Webb offers the best outline for this passage:
i. Vision of God 6:1-4
ii. Confession 6:5
iii. Cleansing 6:6-7
iv. Comissioning 6:8-13
C. The Woe oracles from “bad Fruit” and last one is pronounced on himself.
1. The woes are the sour fruit described in 5:1-7 and reflect back to the condition and judgment on the vineyard (Israelites and Judah)
i. Vs. 2,4 Greed and land grabbing
ii. Vs. 11-12 Drunken Debauchery
iii. Vs. 18-19 Arrogant Defiance of God
iv. Vs. 20 Self Justifying sophistry
v. Vs. 21 Conceit
vi. Vs. 22-23 Perversion of Justice
vii.Isaiah 6:5 5 "Woe to me!"
SETTING(History)
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
A. Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on the throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
1. Uzziah 2 Ki. 15:1-7 & 2 Chron. 26:1-27:9)
i. Uzziah AKA Azariah (2Ki. 14:21; 15:1-7)
ii. 740 BC
a. Tiglath Pileser III in year 5 of his reign
b. Time of transition
iii. Dies from Pride and Leprosy (2 Chron. 26:19-21)
A. Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on the throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
2. Setting of the Vision
i. Holy Place in Heaven (Heb 8:5)
SYNTAX(LANGUAGE & COMMENTARY)
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
A. Vision 6:1-4
1. vs. 1 “Filled the temple” lk'(yheh; “heykal”
This word for temple.
2. Vs. 2 ~ypi’r"f. Seraphim
3. Vs. 3 ~yaiîlem meleem “Full”
1. Train of His robe filled the temple
2. Whole earth full of His glory
3. House was filled with smoke
4. Vs. 3 “Holy” vAd±q' Kadosh
A. Vision 6:1-4
1. vs. 1 “Filled the temple” lk'(yheh; “heykal”
This word for temple.
2. Vs. 2 ~ypi’r"f. Seraphim
3. Vs. 3 ~yaiîlem meleem “Full”
1. Train of His robe filled the temple
2. Whole earth full of His glory
3. House was filled with smoke
4. Vs. 3 “Holy” vAd±q' Kadosh
B. Confession 6:5 NIV Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!”
1. “I am ruined” Lit. to be silenced (Motyer, Tyndale 71).
C. Cleansing 6:6-7
1. Coal: Two places it could have come from
i. Coal from altarLev. 16:12
D. Commissioning 6:8-131. These verses are quoted extensively in the
NT (Matt. 13:14-15; Mk. 4:10-12; Lk. 8:10; Jn. 12:39-41) and twice by Paul (Acts 28:26-27; Rom. 11:8)
2. Commentary:
i. Vs. 8 “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I, send me!”
a). Hebrew for “Us” is plural
3. NIV Isaiah 6:9 He said, “Go and tell this people: “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.“
a). To hear in Hebrew is equivalent “to obey”
b). The prophets call to preach, “blind and deaf”
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
ISAIAH 6
STRUCTURESETTINGSYNTAX
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
STRUCTURE
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
7:1 – 12:6 Storm and Sun: Assyria and Immanuel
7:1-9:7 A “Blown” opportunity with a promise.
9:8-12:6 Fear him who clears the Forest, and promises new growth.
Summary 7:1-9:7 A “Blown” opportunity with a promise.
Historical Situation. 1.There were alliances being formed against
Assyria
1. Syria / Ephriam lay seize to Judah and Ahaz Panics. (2 Kings 15:37)
2. God Promises deliverance from the situation.
3. Ahaz fails his test
4. God extends a promise of a coming son of David that will not fail.
SUMMARY 9:8-12:6 Fear him who clears the Forest, and promises new growth.
Four waves of sin and Judgment agains Israel (like a fire cleaning a forest)
God promises to turn his judgment on the instrument of Judgment, Assyria.
Is Go who lill reduce Israel to a small remnant (God shows Judah he will strip the forest of Assyria bare, so don’t fear them)
Out of this cut forest of Israel and Assyria God will bring a “shoot” from house of Jesse
SETTING(History)
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
F 7:1 – 12:6 Storm and Sun: Assyria and Immanuel
• 7:1-17 Isaiah confronts king Ahaz
1. Isaiah 7:1-9
a. Key point of chapter Trust in God.
b. Key Verse
Isaiah 7:9 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'
i. What Ahaz does wrong in this section Hezekiah
will do right later
a). Trust in Assyria against the threat vs. Trust in God
(Isa. 7:9 cf. Isa. 37:14)
b). Listen to the enemy vs. spreading his letter of hate before God
c). Waiting patiently for God’s deliverance vs.
forming political alliances that only backfire in their face
b. Past Setting (History)
i. Ephraim, Samaria, Israel and king Pekah used interchangeable (The same
case is done with Damascus, Aram, and Rezin king of this nation)
a). Son of Joseph, Great leaders came from this tribe like Joshua and Samuel
b). Favorable to Saul’s leadership (2 Sam.15:13)
c). Jeroboam I who rebelled against Solomon and split the kingdom of Judah and Israel was also an
Ephramite
ii. Israel and Judah split early on after solomon with Jeroboam and Rehoboam (2 Ki. 12:1-20)
iii. King Rezin was the leader of Aram (Damascus). Nahaam the leper
was a general of this nation (2 Ki. 5:1-18) and Elisha also brought blindness upon the army and sent them home (2 Ki. 6:8-23).
They were an army of Israel.
b. Present Setting (History)
i. It’s the Year 724 BC. Tiglath Pileser III is on the move.
ii. Three options
1. Side with Aram and Israel
(2 Ki. 15:37 Isa. 7:6)
2. Side with Assyria
(2 Ki. 16:7-9)
3. Side with God.
(Isa. 7:7-9)
SYNTAX(LANGUAGE & COMMENTARY)
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
Commentary
i. Vs. 3 Shear-Jashub “a remnant shall return”
a) The fact that he was in the aqueduct shows he was getting ready for a seize
ii. Children and Isaiah’s message to the king:
a) Shear-Jashub 7:3; Immanuel 7:14 & 8:8; Mahershalal-hash-baz 8:3; Isaiah’s children in 8:18; and the royal child 9:5
b). The message to Ahaz answer not strength and dominance but rather innocence and trust of a child.
c). The real problems were not military but rather moral ones
iii. Isaiah 7:5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”
iv. Isaiah 7:9 If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all
e. Isaiah 7:12-16
i. Vs. 12-13 is about God calling the king on his bluff
a) Ahaz made up mind to ally with Assyria (2 Ki. 16:7-9)
b) What seems to be piety “I will not put God to the test” is actually a
cop out
1) He doesn’t want to hear God’s solution
• Was at the aqueduct fortifying it for a seize (vs. 2)
• Allied with Assyria (2Ki. 16:7-9)
• Avoiding a miracle sign from God
(Isa. 7:11-12)
2) Vs. 2 “Be careful be calm” in Hebrew is actually saying “Be careful and do nothing.”
3) The sign is given “to you.” But it’s important to see it’s not the king alone because it’s written in 2nd masculine
plural. As the Italians say “To yous” ~k,Þl' 4) The sign is to the house of David and the promise of the
throne in a time when its national security is threatened
ii. Vs. 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
a) Much debate has been over the word “Virgin” as “a woman of marriageable age” as opposed to a virgin as it relates to sexuality
b) Walt Kaiser
c) Language of the “Virgin”
1) Hebrew hm'ªl.[;h' “ha-al-mah”
“the virgin”
• Alec Motyer
• No one to date, according to Kaiser, has come forward with adequate proof that the word “al-mah” refers to a woman of marriageable age. Not even with the closely related Canaanite language and its word “glmt”
2) Hebrew The alternative word for a young woman
of marriageable age is tl;WtB.G “Be-
tu-lah” (cf. Isa. 37:22)
• Key passage for Betulah is Gen. 24:16 NIV “The girl was very beautiful, a virgin (Betulah); no man had ever lain with her.”
3) Greek translations The Septuagint LXX. chose the Greek word “Parthenos” (i.e. Parthenon) παρθένος which is the Greek word for a virgin. The same word is used in the NT (cf. Isa. 7:14 from LXX and Matt. 1:23)
4) Ugaritic cultic texts
a) Whose son is it?
1) Some say Isaiah’s kid
2) Some say it’s not a virgin birth but the birth of a son in 8:1-4, Maher-shalal-hash-baz
3) The third theory is a child of Ahaz
b) Immanuel: “God is with us”
1) Look at this through the eyes of any Judah mom. A relevant name. Elimalech “My God is King” (Jdg.)“Our God is with us” in the trying times of Isaiah’s day
2) The point of all this information is Dual-Reference here
iii. Vs. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right , the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste
a). Curds and Honey
b). The age of accountability
1). Jews say its BarMitzpha and Bath- Mitzpha
2). All of this is rooted in the theological conflict of child baptism and original sin
3). Expand this section with early church fathers and contemporary writings
• 7:18 – 8:22 The Choice Expounded
• 8: 1 – 9:7 From Darkness to Light
1. Immanuel: His name arises two more times 8:8 & 8:10
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
ISAIAH 7:1-12:6
Darkness
1st Oracle: A name & its meaning 8:1-4
Judgment2nd Oracle: The rising river 8:5-10
3rd Oracle: The stumbling-stone 8:11-15
1st Reflection: The gathering darkness 8:16-22
Light
2nd Reflection: The coming of the dawn 9:1
Salvation4th Oracle (Climax) A great light shines 9:2-7
• 8:1-4 Oracle #1 A Name and Its Meaning: (Dark Judgment)
1. Commentary on the sign of Maher-shalal-hash-baz
a. Isaiah 8:1-4
i. Vs. 1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz “speeding to the plunder and hurrying to the spoil
a). The birth of this child would also serve as a prophetic sign that perhaps by the time it’s born the Assyrians would be speeding to the plunder of Damascus/Aram and hurrying to the spoil of Israel/Ephriam.
b). This began under Tiglath Pileser III (ANET Vol. pg 190-193)
c). Before the child could say “Momma and Dada”
• 8:5-10 Oracle #2 The River Rising (Dark Judgment)
1. You need to see this in connection with Ahaz’s rejection of trusting the Lorda. All Immanuel will have to inherit is
devastated land
2. Vs. 6-7a. This People i.e. Samaria aka Israel aka
Ephraimb. Shiloahc. Prepare for battle and be shattered said three
times. Just like “Holy, holy, holy.” Twice is for emphasis, three times is for certainty.
• 8:11-15 Oracle #3: The Stumbling-Stone (Darkness/Judgment)1. Vs. 11 The Way: aka “the path”
2. Vs. 12 “Strong Hand” cf. Ezk. 3:14
• 8:1-22 FEAR GOD
• 9:1-7 Messianic Dawn1. God is always thinking of the future!
a. Isa. 9:1-3 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan –
2The people walking in the darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 3You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder
2. NT Quotes this concerning Christi’s work during His ministry and would be true of the Disciples’ work to the ends of the earth after his ascension. (Luke 2:32 & Acts 1:8)
3. Walt Kaiser brings to our attention this is missions in the Old Testament
• 9:8 – 10:14 The Shadow Over Samaria
• 10:5-34 God’s Axe Over Judah
• 11:1 – 12:6 The Messianic Kingdom