Lecture 7; Isaiah1-3

“Isaiah is great for two reasons,
He lived in momentous days, in
critical days of international
upheaval, and he wrote what many
consider to be the greatest book in
the Old Testament.”
William Sanford LaSor

“We see Isaiah move with fearless
dignity through the chaos of his
day, firm in his quiet faith, sure
in his God”
E.M. Blaiklock

Structure of the Book.
With its 66 chapters, Isaiah is the
longest prophetic book of the Old
Testament. Most scholars agree that the
book falls naturally into
two major sections,
chapters 1--39 and chapters 40--66.

I. Condemnation— (1–39)
1. Sermons against Judah and Israel— (1–12)
2. Burdens of Judgment against the Gentiles— (13–23)
3. Songs about Future Glory (24–27)
4. Woes of Coming Judgment from Assyria— (28–35)
5. Historical Interlude— (36–39)
Hezekiah delivered from Assyria (36–37)
Hezekiah deceived by Babylon— (37–38)
II. Consolation— (40–66)
6. God’s Greatness— (40–48) (The Father vs. idols)
7. God’s Grace— (49–57) (The Son, God’s Servant)
8. God’s Glory— (58–66) (The Spirit and the kingdom)

The Book of
Isaiah
Written between
700-680 BC
Isaiah’s ministry in
Judah 740-681 BC

• In cave 4 at
Qumran
approximately
15,000 fragments
from some 574
manuscripts were
found.
•Clay jar of the type the
Dead Sea Scrolls were
found in. From Qumran,
now in the Citadel Museum,
Jordan.
http://www.christiananswers

• The Great Isaiah Scroll was
discovered in Cave 1 in
1947and identified in 1948
• Pieces of the Great Isaiah
Scroll (1Qls-a) have been
carbon-14 dated at least four
times, including a study at the
University of Arizona in 1995
and a study at ETH-zurich in
1990-91. The four studies
produced calibrated date
ranges between 335-324 BC
and 202-107 BC. There have
also been numerous
paleographic and scribal
dating studies conducted that
place 1Qls-a at a date range
of approximately 150-100 BC.

• The Great Isaiah
Scroll of the
Qumran
community is
dated at no later
than 100 BC
• All Messianic
Prophesy in Isaiah
was written well
before the birth of
Jesus including
Isaiah 53

• The Q text is substantially the same as the
received text of the Book of Isaiah that we
now read in our English Bible

Big Picture of the book of Isaiah

Isaiah shows the two-sided nature
of God’s character:
• Mercy and judgment
• Grace and discipline
• Justice and forgiveness
• Exile and salvation

Isaiah 59-66
God’s gracious
promises of hope
Isaiah 49-58
God’s gracious
provision of redemption
Isaiah 40-48
God’s gracious
dealings with man

Timeline for the Book of Isaiah
Judah and Assyria
Timeline for the Book of Isaiah

Line by line analysis of Isaiah 1-3

Isaiah 1:1-17
Vs 1-4, God’s people have forsaken their
master because of their sin
Vs 5-15, They are being disciplined for
their hypocrisy; no prayers answered
Vs 16-17, God desires obedience, good
behavior, not religiosity
Summary: God detests wrong even by very religious people

Isaiah 1:1-17 Lessons or Truth
God disciplines us when we do wrong
Religious acts do not make up for our sins
God does not listen to the unrepentant

Isaiah 1:1-17 Hope
1JN 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in
us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If
we claim we have not sinned, we make
him out to be a liar and his word has no
place in our lives.

Psalm 51:1-12 Hope
• PS 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

Isaiah 1:18-31
Vs 18-27, The LORD has a plan to
redeem Jerusalem, cleansing even the
worst sins of the willing and obedient
Vs 28-31, The corrupt that resist the
LORD will perish, being burned up
Summary: The LORD will purify the willing
and destroy the rebellious

Isaiah 1:18-31 Lessons or Truth
 God can and will cleanse even the worst sinner
if they are willing and obedient
 God is sovereign and Jerusalem will be a
righteous, faithful city
 Those who reject the LORD will perish, both he
and his work burned up

Isaiah 2
Vs 1-5, God has a vision of people living in
righteousness and peace.
Vs 6-22, God’s people are no different
than pagans and will be humbled for their
pride and love of their work, what they
have done or made
God’s people are no different than pagans,
however, they will be taught and follow
Him.

Isaiah 2 Lessons or Truth
 Ultimately, numbers of people will follow God and
this will result in peace (God’s plan).
 Presently, God’s people are like pagans, proud
and lovers of material things.
 God will discipline His people so that they will
walk in the light of the LORD and have peace.

Isaiah 3
 Vs 1-7, The LORD will take from Judah food,
water, and leadership.
 Vs 8-11, The people bring this disaster on
themselves because of their flagrant sin and
rebellion although the righteous will be
protected.
 Vs 12-26, The men and women, especially the
leaders, will be disciplined.
Judah has brought judgment on themselves
because of their sin and rebellion, but the
righteous will be ok.

Isaiah 3 Lessons or Truth
God can protect the righteous while
disciplining the sinful rebellious.
Judgement/discipline can be a lack of food,
water, leadership, freedom.

Now What? How should we
respond to discipline and testing?
• 1 Peter, Peter’s letter to the Christians
who were going through a painful trial:
“Be Holy”
And he says it over and over again

“Be Holy”
• 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 “Be Holy”
• 1 Peter 2:16-17 Don’t use your freedom as a cover-up for evil

“Be Holy”
• 1 Peter 4:19 Continue to do good
Clothe yourself with
humility
• 1 Peter 5:5-7
Result: 1 Peter 5:10-11 God will
restore, making strong, firm and
steadfast

Lecture 7; Isaiah1-3

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Lecture 7; Isaiah1-3