OVERVIEW:
Israel’s backslidden condition; Isaiah’s exhortation for repentance; the coming of Christ’s kingdom; Jerusalem’s glorious future; God’s judgment upon sinners; Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
The book of Isaiah is one of the most intriguing books of the entire Bible. There are either some very strange “coincidences” found in this book, or there are some very incredible things God reveals to us through it!
Is it mere coincidence that the Bible is comprised of 66 books and that the book of Isaiah is comprised of 66 chapters?
Is it mere coincidence that Isaiah chapter 1 begins, as does the book of Genesis, talking about the “heaven” and the “earth”? (Genesis 1:1 c.f. Isaiah 1:2)
Is it mere coincidence that chapter 40 of Isaiah, corresponding to the 40th book of the Bible (or the first book of the New Testament), talks about, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” just as does the Gospel of Matthew? (Isaiah 40:3 c.f. Matthew 3:1–3)
Is it mere coincidence that Isaiah chapter 66, corresponding, of course, to the last book of the Bible (the book of Revelation) talks about the “new heaven and the new earth,” just as does Revelation 21? (Isaiah 66:22 c.f. Revelation 21:17)
Is it mere coincidence that the first 39 chapters of Isaiah (i.e. representative of the Old Testament) is so distinctly different in content from the last 27 chapters (i.e. representative of the New Testament) that many have insisted that there are actually two “Isaiah’s” that authored this book? The first 39 chapters, coincidently enough, point to man’s tremendous need for salvation and the last 27 chapters point to God’s gracious provision of it!
Wow! Obviously, we’re not dealing here with mere “coincidences”! The book of Isaiah is actually a microcosm of the Bible. If you are unfamiliar with the term “microcosm”, it simply means “a miniature” or “a small and yet perfect representation of the whole”. Because New York City has residents from literally every nation on earth, we could say that it is a “microcosm” of the world. Because the capstone of a pyramid is simply a miniature of the entire pyramid, we could say that the capstone is a “microcosm” of the pyramid itself. So, the book of Isaiah is a perfect, miniature representation, or microcosm, of the entire Bible!
Note also that the book of Isaiah begins the books of the Bible referred to as “the Prophets.” (Luke 24:27, 44) Of course, “the Prophets” are divided into two main categories or headings: Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets. What determines the distinction between their being “Major” or “Minor” is not the significance of their content, but very simply the amount (or length) of their content. The books comprising the Major Prophets are simply longer than the books comprising the Minor Prophets.
The theme of Isaiah is the same as in all of the Prophetic Books: it is “the day of the Lord” or the second coming of Christ. Regardless of the situations that Israel was facing; regardless of the sins that Israel was committing; regardless of the subject of which the prophet was preaching, the theme in the Prophetic Books is always the same! It always ends with and/or is pointing to “the day of the Lord”!
Note also that the time of Isaiah’s prophecy is approximately 814 to 769 B.C., and takes place during the last half of the book of 2nd Kings, chapters 16 through 25. Primarily, Isaiah writes to the two southern tribes.
Israel’s spiritual condition in chapter 1 is a familiar one in Israel’s history. Once again, they have allowed themselves to spiral downward into apostasy. Note that Isaiah actually uses seven different terms or phrases in verse 4 to describe their backslidden state:
- “sinful”
- “laden with iniquity”
- “evildoers”
- “corrupters”
- “forsaken the Lord”
- “provoked the Holy One”
- “gone away backward”
The pitiful thing about it, however, is that though these terms were accurately descriptive of Israel’s true spiritual condition, it did not stop the people from going through the motions of all kinds of activity that made them think they were doing okay spiritually! Despite God’s graphic commentary of their pathetic spiritual condition, they continued all of their religious observances: the feasts, the sacrifices, the new moons, and the sabbaths long after they had any meaning in their hearts or bearing on their lives. If I may paraphrase, God says to Israel through Isaiah in 1:10–15: “I’m sick of all of your religiousness! Don’t bring me any more of your vain oblations! I can’t stand it! You’re wearing me out will all of this stuff you’re doing! I’m going to close my eyes so I don’t even have to see any more of your hypocrisies! When you lift up your hands in prayer, all I see is all of the sinful things you’ve been doing with them! Spare Me!”
It is quite interesting to observe how much this particular passage, in Isaiah 1, mirrors the letter our Lord Jesus Christ wrote to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14–22, describing the spiritual condition of His church in our day. God’s people come to church in the Laodicean Church Period, looking the part, faithfully participating in the offering, standing and singing the songs, taking copious notes, nodding our heads in all of the right places, saying “amen” in all the right places, and yet, our hearts are not in it! Somehow, all of the things we do on Sundays, have little, if any, bearing on what will take place in our lives Monday through Saturday!
God’s answer in Isaiah’s day, just as it is now, is “Get your heart right! Then, get your heart into it!” God says in verses 16–20 of Chapter 1: “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” The key parallel passage in the New Testament is, no doubt, 2nd Corinthians 6:14–7:1.
Notice a key phrase in Isaiah 1:19. God says, “If ye be willing AND obedient…” Perhaps the key word in this phrase is the word “AND”. Laodicean churches are filled with many “WILLING” people. They’re WILLING to serve in a children’s class; they’re WILLING to be involved in the upkeep of the facilities; they’re WILLING to offer the Lord a gift of love upon the first day of the week; they’re WILLING to do any number of things! The only problem is they just seldom ever “DO” any of these things! WILLING? Yes! OBEDIENT? No!
On the other hand, Laodicea is filled with “OBEDIENT” people. They would never think about not obeying Hebrews 10:25 by missing a service; they would never not obey 1st Corinthians 16:2 by not participating in the offering; they would never miss taking notes during the message on Sunday morning; they would never not “DO” a lot of things! The only problem is, their OBEDIENCE is strictly a matter of DUTY! It is ritualistic, legalistic, hypocritical, and the result of self-disciplining and suppressing their real desires, and “cranking out” spiritual-looking activity rather than the joyous, passionate, heart-felt, Spirit-led response of a “WILLING” heart. Oh, may we surrender ourselves to be both “WILLING AND OBEDIENT”!
As we start down the path of “the prophets” in today’s reading, may I suggest that you underline in your Bible every specific reference to “the day of the Lord” (the Tribulation/Second Coming of Christ/the Millennium). I’ll list the ones I see each day, but it’ll be a whole lot more engaging and valuable if you underline them as you find them yourself, first. By doing this, you’ll understand in a whole new way why the first day of our 365 Days of Pursuit began by emphasizing that “the day of the Lord” is the theme of the Bible!
SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:
- 2:2 – “And it shall come to pass in the last days”
- 2:11 – “in that day”
- 2:12 – “For the day of the Lord”
- 2:17 – “in that day”
- 2:19 – “when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth”
- 2:20 – “in that day”
- 2:21 – “when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth”
- 3:7 – “in that day”
- 3:18 – “in that day”
- 4:1 – “in that day”
- 4:2 – “in that day”
- 5:30 – “in that day”
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- As the ONE WHO WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS — Isaiah 2:2–4 (The Lord Jesus Christ shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing — 2nd Timothy 4:1)
- As the BRANCH OF THE LORD, BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS — Isaiah 4:2 (Zechariah 3:8; 6:12; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Isaiah 11:1)