Introduction: Of all the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah are perhaps the most well-known and quoted. However, there is more to Isaiah than Messianic prophecies. The book includes history, descriptions of angels, warning parables from God, prophecies of Israel’s short-term future, predictions of the demise of nations, and tender words of comfort from God to His people. Isaiah is known as the Messianic prophet because of his numerous references to Jesus’ incarnation and redemption of humanity. He is also known as the king of prophets. This is partly because of the proliferation of references to his prophecies in the New Testament. Isaiah is mentioned by name and his words quoted in the New Testament more than all the other prophets combined. There are also verses in the New Testament that do not mention Isaiah by name but are obvious references to his words. For example, John the Baptist sent representatives to Jesus to inquire about His mission, “And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them’” (Luke 7:22). Jesus was informing John of the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies from Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1,11; and 26:19. In the final count, Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than ninety times. Another reason for the title of king of the prophets is the sheer quantity of Isaiah’s prophecies. It is interesting that the large book of Isaiah has 66 chapters, which is the same as the number of books in the Bible. These chapters include an amazing number of prophetic utterances, including guidance to kings, a recounting of Satan’s history, long-term predictions of the downfall of nations like Babylon, messages about the Messiah, and descriptions of the new earth. A third reason for Isaiah to be a king of the prophets is the longevity of his service to God during a critical period in Israel’s history. According to the text, Isaiah’s prophetic service begins during the reign of King Uzziah and extends through three more kings. Legend has it that he continued to prophesy during the reign of a fifth king, Manasseh, who killed him. In fact, it is possible that the prophet who was sawn in two in Hebrews 11:37 was Isaiah.
Author: Isaiah introduces himself as the son of Amoz. While some might think that Amoz refers to the prophet Amos, it is highly unlikely, especially because the “s” and “z” are quite different letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Ancient Jewish tradition says that Isaiah’s father was a brother to King Amaziah making him a cousin to King Uzziah. The Bible does not give us any direct information to confirm this. However, two pieces of evidence make it highly plausible. First, Isaiah had direct and easy access to the kings of Judah and inside knowledge of the political machinations happening at the highest levels of government, as well as the major players participating in those plots. Isaiah speaks intelligently of the interactions of governments (both domestic and foreign) and their leaders. Second, Isaiah’s education and writing ability are of the highest level. He incorporates a wider vocabulary into his writing than any other Old Testament author. He uses 2,186 words compared to Ezekiel’s 1,535 words, Jeremiah’s 1,653 words, and the 2,186 words used by the combined authors of the Psalms. However, vocabulary is not Isaiah’s only literary strength. He loves to play with language. He uses a variety of hyperbole, alliteration, metaphors, and satire, but personification seems to be his favorite literary device. He writes in both poetry and prose. His poetry is full of parallelisms and dual meanings. In short, Isaiah was not just a prophet, he was a talented writer who used figurative language extensively.
Isaiah provides quite a bit of background about himself. He was married to a woman who he called the prophetess (Isaiah 8:3). Thus, it is likely that she was also a messenger of God. He had two sons whose names were signs to the people (Isaiah 7:1-17; 8:1-4), and it is possible that he had even more children who were not used as prophetic props. While he provided messages for both the northern kingdom of Israel while it existed and the southern kingdom of Judah, his residence was solely in Jerusalem. In fact, his famous calling to serve God faithfully came while he was in the temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 6). Based on information in his book, Isaiah served as a prophet of God for at least sixty years. Depending on which part of King Uzziah’s reign he began his service and if he continued into King Manasseh’s reign as tradition states, he could have been delivering messages from God for as much as eighty years.
The book reveals an educated, courageous, and confident representative of Yahweh who worried about his people with the care of a father and never backed down from delivering reprimands to powerful men. On the other hand, chapter six describes a humble man who knew his own sinfulness and trembled in awe at the holiness of God. Isaiah was capable of both mockery and tenderness. His insults could cut to the bone while his promises of restoration instilled hope in kings and simple folk alike. While his words of truth were directed to his own generation, his prophetic promises have resounded down through the ages to speak faith in God’s love to every generation since.
Setting: The first king listed in Isaiah 1:1, Uzziah, died in 740/739 B.C., and the last king, Hezekiah, died in 687/686 B. C., so this book concerns matters from 740-686 B.C. approximately, about 54 years. The book of Isaiah should be read in conjunction with 2 Kings 15-20 and 2 Chronicles 26-32 for more historical background. The historical action in Isaiah takes place in Jerusalem, but Isaiah writes of many other nations also. In his first twenty years, he was giving messages to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, but when Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., Judah became the main focus of Isaiah’s attention. He was not alone in prophesying to the two kingdoms. Hosea and Micah were also delivering their messages to the people at this time. It was a period of turmoil and crisis. Because of the idolatry of the northern kingdom of Israel and their repeated rejection of Yahweh, He had to leave them to the cruelty of Assyria. As a result, the northern kingdom ceased to exist during this time. Assyria then turned its attention to conquering Judah. However, King Hezekiah was smarter than the kings of Israel and even his own father. Although he had toyed with political alliances in the past, when push came to shove, Hezekiah turned to his God, and Jerusalem was miraculously saved. However, even as the threat of Assyria receded, Isaiah warned of a new threat. Babylon would one day invade Judah and take the people into exile, including some of Hezekiah’s own descendants, who would be made into eunuchs.
Theme: The overall theme of Isaiah is God’s love for His people, their disappointing rejection of that love, and the faithfulness of a small remnant that would eventually lead to triumph. From a parable of a vineyard that produces sour grapes to the promises of a new heaven and earth, God is calling His people back from their idol worship and arrogant political maneuvering to a dependence upon the Holy One of Israel. God is attempting to draw the people back to their covenantal relationship with Him. Isaiah switches between reminding his audience of the curses that result from breaking the covenant to the blessings that are received when a people remain in relationship with their God. Always, he holds out the hope of the Messiah to come who will suffer and triumph and mend Israel’s broken relationship with God.
Interpretation: One of the biggest issues in understanding Isaiah is that he has a way of equating the earthly and the supernatural. Oftentimes, Isaiah begins speaking of a prophecy in local terms and then suddenly the prophecy has expanded in meaning to include global significance. A prophecy may be speaking of the near future and without warning it metamorphosizes into the great events of the end of the world. An example of this dual nature of Isaiah’s prophecies is in Isaiah 14 where a seemingly simple judgment against the king of Babylon becomes an indictment of someone obviously supernatural. Is Isaiah equating the king of Babylon with Satan, or is Isaiah saying that Satan has qualities that are similar to the king of Babylon? Isaiah’s words seem to jump from one symbolic meaning to another. Is the symbol of God’s servant indicating the Messiah or Israel? Is Cyrus a messiah or is Jesus the Messiah? Is the sign given to King Ahaz a young woman or a virgin? And is the conception of her child Immanuel a sign that Ahaz should trust God to be with him, or is it a sign of the miraculous birth of Jesus? Many times, one prophecy seems to be speaking of two situations—local present and global end time. My advice is to look to how the New Testament interprets a specific passage with confidence and tentatively accept that there is probably also another interpretation for the immediate setting in Isaiah. In other words, the answer is yes, Isaiah 14 is speaking of both the king of Babylon and Satan because they share qualities in common. Yes, both Jesus and Israel are the servants. (Matthew takes this idea and runs with it demonstrating how Jesus followed the same path as Israel, but Jesus succeeded where Israel failed.) Yes, Messiah is both Cyrus and Jesus. Yes, there was a young woman who conceived in Isaiah’s time, and the prophecy also refers to Jesus’ virgin birth. When we start to understand the dual nature and parallelisms used in many of Isaiah’s prophecies, some profound truths can unfurl for us, just as they opened up to Matthew.
Organization:
Section 1—Focus on the Concerns of the Present Kingdom
Isaiah 1-5: These chapters contain a series of messages of judgment against Jerusalem for rejecting their Lord. From accusing the people of being dumber than donkeys in chapter one to the haunting song of the vineyard in chapter five, Isaiah pulls out all the stops to wake the people up from their rebellion and lead them back to covenantal loyalty to God.
Isaiah 6: This is Isaiah’s official call to service, which actually takes place several years after he has been prophesying to Israel. He sees God on His throne in the temple and seraphim attending Him. Isaiah realizes his inadequacy, but after being purified, he volunteers to deliver God’s messages to the people.
Isaiah 7-12: These chapters deal with the Assyrian threat and the promise that God would deliver Judah if the king would trust in Him. Chapter 7 is a historical account of Isaiah’s message to King Ahaz. Chapters 8-10 contain predictions of the Assyrian invasion. Then in chapters 11-12 Isaiah looks beyond the immediate future to the time when the Messiah will set up his kingdom.
Isaiah 13-23: This section includes a series of oracles directed at surrounding nations. The message here is that God is not concerned only with the Jews. He also calls the Gentile nations to repentance.
Isaiah 24-35: This section blends the concerns of the near future with the final judgment of the earth. Chapter 24 focuses on the desolation of the earth. Then chapters 25 to 27 speak of the triumph of God’s people. Chapters 28 to 29 warn Judah and Israel of their need to reform. Chapters 30 to 31 become more specific in warning Judah (most likely King Hezekiah) of the stupidity of looking to political alliances with Egypt. Then in chapters 32 to 35, Isaiah returns to a triumphal theme as he describes the Messiah’s kingdom.
Isaiah 36-39: This section is straightforward history which describes King Hezekiah’s interactions with the Assyrians and Babylonians, as well as his miraculous recovery from a deadly illness. It is identical to the account in 2 Kings 18-20.
Section 2: Focus on Humanity’s Ultimate Redemption
Isaiah 40-47: These chapters emphasize confidence in God’s purposes and plans. The theme is God’s servant, but the servant changes from chapter to chapter. In chapter 42, the servant is Christ. In chapter 43, the servant is Israel. Then in a strange twist of prophecy, chapters 44 to 47 speak the name of a servant yet to be born, Cyrus, who would rescue God’s people from Babylon. This prophecy of Cyrus was the reason that many Bible scholars decided that part of Isaiah had to have been written at a later date. How could Isaiah have known the name of the king who would defeat Babylon and begin the return of God’s people to Jerusalem? It was impossible . . . unless, of course, Isaiah was a prophet with inside information from God!
Isaiah 48-52: This section is a call to Israel to be fitting representatives of God. Chapter 48 tells them to learn from their captivity. Chapter 49 calls on them to represent their Lord before other nations. Chapter 50 tells them to stop depending on human wisdom and to depend on God instead. Chapter 51 exhorts Israel to respond to the calling being placed upon them by God. Then in chapter 52, Isaiah again looks forward to the Messiah as the “suffering servant.”
Isaiah 54-62: These chapters present the beautiful picture of a future when the Gentiles are gathered into Israel. Chapters 54 to 62 delineate Israel’s part in God’s plans. In chapters 57 to 59, Isaiah calls on Israel to return to God and turn from sin. Then in chapters 60 to 62, Isaiah calls on Israel to be the light to the Gentiles that they were always meant to be.
Isaiah 63-66: These chapters end the book of Isaiah with the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom. There will be judgment and transformation and deliverance. Then God will recreate the earth and extend mercy and justice. In the end, God will be justified and worshiped universally.