Isaiah 1: the First of the Major Prophets

I love Bible prophecy! Understanding Old Testament prophecy is certainly a key to unlocking the Book of Revelation. With that in mind, today I am going to begin a lengthy passage on my blog when I start the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah is in a section of the Bible called the Major Prophets. They are not “major” because they are more important than the others, but simply because they wrote more words. Isaiah is the first in that section. He lived through the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. All of these kings can be read about in 2 Kings. Isaiah was most likely from a powerful family as he had direct access to the kings, and was the cousin of King Uzziah. The name Isaiah means “the Lord is salvation.” Isaiah is quoted 65 times in the New Testament and mentioned by name over 20 times. One of the sons of Isaiah was named very oddly—Shearjashub, meaning “a remnant shall return.” As far as the Jews might fall away from the Lord, God even reminds us in the name of Isaiah’s son about the plans He continues to have for His chosen people. Isaiah was a contemporary of other prophets, namely Hosea and Micah, two of the “Minor Prophets.” The Book of Isaiah is a “mini-Bible” of sorts. While the Bible has 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters. The Old Testament leads the way with 39 books, and interestingly, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah seem to have a different feel and theme than the last 27 chapters Amazingly, that is the same number of books in the New Testament. Before we read too much into this, I want to emphasize that man put chapters and verses into the Bible in the 15th century, but as God is outside of time, He knew we were going to do this!
The last subject I would like to discuss before diving into the Book of Isaiah has to do with Bible scholars. A German named Koppe questioned the authenticity of Isaiah 50, and scholars began to study the possibility of two different men named Isaiah based on those differences. Remember, when interpreting the Bible, always look to the Bible first for help. Our help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. The key to our interpretation is in the Gospel of John:

Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
John 12:35-41 (NKJV)

In John 12:38, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 53:1, while in John 12:40, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 6:10. In anticipation of what man will attempt down the road, the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of the Bible is as always, perfect. In John 12:39, Jesus tells us that the same Isaiah made both statements. So if Jesus has already given the answer, I don’t see any reason in delving into word studies to see the similarities or differences between the first half of Isaiah and the last half. I believe in the power of God, and know that power is sufficient to guide the hands of man in writing His book perfectly. Yes, He can even do that with fallible men! With that being said, let’s begin Isaiah 1! Start be reading the chapter:

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The Wickedness of Judah
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, And 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 consider." 4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. 7 Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city. 9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies--I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them. 24 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies. 25 I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. 26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. 28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water. 31 The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.
Isaiah 1:1-31 (NKJV)

Isaiah prophesied during the period of the divided kingdoms, and here, he focuses on the southern kingdom of Judah and the Holy City of Jerusalem. I’ll start with an outline of the first section, chapters 1-35:

Chapters in Isaiah Theme
Isaiah 1-6 Judah
Isaiah 7-12 Israel
Isaiah 13-23 The Nations:
Babylon, Philistia, Moab,Syria, Egypt, Edom,Arabia and Tyre
Isaiah 24-27 The World: The Day of the Lord
Isaiah 28-33 Six Woes upon Jerusalem
Isaiah 34-35 Tribulation and the Millennium

One thing that might be helpful when reading Isaiah is to remember the focus of the book. But remember that the Bible can have more than one focus at the same time. When reading Isaiah, we can first, pertain it historically to the people of the time, the Jews. Secondly, there are so many parts that seem to pertain to the United States, another nation founded on the freedom to worship God, but which has departed just as Israel from what made us a strong nation under God. Lastly, we can pertain Isaiah individually to ourselves.
We open Isaiah with the phrase that it is “the vision of Isaiah…which he saw.” Since the Old Testament is written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, we will not find the same word in reference to John seeing in the Book of Revelation. Yet, Revelation makes the point that John saw, John heard and John was at the events depicted. That’s one of the reasons the language can confuse us in Revelation, as it is a man of the first century describing warfare of the 21st century (or after, as I don’t claim to know the time of the final battle). I can’t say for sure whether Isaiah was given a vision of the events or was transported to those events, as John was, by a God who is outside of time. Regardless, there are so many similarities to the two books and the descriptions within. Let’s start with verses 2-9:

Verse 2 says: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken.” To me, that speaks loudly that the Lord testifies to all creation. Next, He goes onto say in Verse 3 that He has nourished and brought up children. Once again, this pertains first to the Jews, but it is the same God has done with each of us who know Him. He has fed us and brought us up. In Verse 4, we see how evil the nation of Israel had become, as He describes them as “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters. They have forsaken the Lord.” That sounds as much like our country as it does Israel. “They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel.” Today, many pastors like to focus on God’s love, but though He is slow to anger, He still does have anger and wrath and judgment. So many people have trouble understanding how a loving God could also be an angry God. The easiest way of understanding that is through the eyes of a parent. Parents pour their lives into their children, feeding them, clothing them, and teaching them. There is a time when children have to stand on their own, and though all that the parent put into them will be there, sometimes those children can make the wrong decisions. When they do, it can evoke many emotions. Disappointment is certainly one of them, yet when they really mess up, anger is there, as well. As we progress in this chapter, God will call attention to all He has done for the Jews, but they have forgotten Him. Ungratefulness breaks God’s heart, as it does to most. When a child is ungrateful, you don’t discipline them. You hurt! Verse 4 finishes by describing the Jews: “They have turned away backwards.” Backsliding is not a New Testament concept. When we repent, we turn away from our sins and take a step towards God. When we backslide, we turn away from God and step back into our sin, toward Satan. We have all been in this spot, though it grieves me to think that once we have experienced His love that we can ever turn our backs on Him, even for a moment. I guess that is the deceitfulness of the human heart, but God is faithful and will complete His work in us!
In verse 5, God asks, “Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more.” Up to this point in the Old Testament, we have seen a theme. God blesses the Jews. They praise Him. They fall away and worship idols. God punishes them. They repent and He opens His arms, blessing them again. The cycle continues. There is so much that we can see from this cycle. The first thing I see is the depravity of man. How quickly we forget what God has done for us in each of our lives. How sad it is that we can pray for something and when it occurs, we often brag about what we accomplished, forgetting to give credit to the Lord, who accomplished it for us. As sad as it is, what makes my heart jump for joy is the fact that the Lord always forgives when we truly ask Him for that. He never holds our sin against us when we bring it to Him. Continuing in verse 5-6, it says,” the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.” One thing I notice here is that it begins in the foot and progresses to our head. Our foot is emblematic of our walk. Where our walk takes us frequently is what we find ourselves involved in. Walk into a bar, and the chances are much greater you will be drinking. Walk into a crack house and chances are, you are looking to buy crack. From our walk, it progresses to our head. To me, that is emblematic of our minds. When we come to Jesus, He creates in us a new heart, but we still get to keep our old memories. It’s amazing how Satan can take those old memories and give us reminders of the pleasure involved, though he always seems to leave out the brokenness that came from each of those sinful situations. The Holy Spirit gives us that more important reminder, a perspective of reality. I don’t know about you, but that is certainly what occurs in my life. It is a constant battle. The more we continue to walk in places away from God, the more depraved the mind becomes. And finally, as the verse says, the whole head is sick and the heart faints. The wounds have not been dressed, as they continue to fester. How are our wounds dressed? We bring them to Jesus and He, the Master Physician, heals them. Those wounds don’t have to be physical. Jesus heals the emotional scars along with the physical ones if we let Him.
In verse 7, He says, “Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” Having been to the Holy Land, I don’t think of Israel as desolate. I remember the amazing difference when leaving Jordan, and going into Israel. Jordan is barren, filled with red, rocky terrain, with sand everywhere. The only green we saw there was in the desert plants of cactus and yucca. But once we crossed the Jordan River, Israel was truly a land flowing with milk and honey. It was easy to picture how excited the Jews were to leave Jordan and enter the Promised Land, just by seeing the difference between them. Yet at the time of Isaiah, I am sure a different Israel existed. God had promised the Jews that if they followed Him and obeyed His laws, they would not even have to worry about watering the land…He would take care of it. But they had not followed His commandments, and the land had grown desolate.
In verse 8, there is imagery that is hard for me to decipher. “So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” What do each of those have in common? They all have been overtaken by what is around them. The vines in a vineyard, when left unpruned, go everywhere. So do the vines of the cucumber. And ultimately, the city besieged has been taken over by those around. Continuing in verse 8, it says, “Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom. We would have been made like Gomorrah.” This is the 19th usage of the word “remnant” in the Bible, of 86. Every time I see it, I get excited! There are many times throughout the Bible when God saves a remnant of the people and it is all prophetic of the time coming soon when God saves a remnant of the Jewish people. In the Tribulation, 144,000 supercharged Jews (12,000 from each tribe) will spread the Gospel to the Jewish people. Millions will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It is so comforting to me that God never turns His back on us, never washes His hands of the situation, no matter how badly we behave. Those who believe that God rescinded His promise to the Jews in favor of the church are believing a lie that began from the pit of hell. Don’t ever forget, Satan hates the Jews. He hates the Jews because they gave the world the Messiah. He hates the Jews because they gave the world the Bible. He hates the Jews because one day, this great remnant is going to come to know Him as their Savior! Without that remnant, the Jews would be like Sodom and Gomorrah, burned with fire and brimstone and gone from the earth. Even Sodom had a remnant, Lot!
Verse 10-11 says, “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. ‘To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?’ says the Lord." God is a jealous god. By sacrificing to others, and worshipping gods that don’t even exist, the Jews have provoked the Lord to wrath. What is an idol? Though times have changed where we don’t create something with our hands and shape it out of gold, put it on an altar and worship it, that doesn’t mean we don’t have idols today. An idol is anything that you put in the way of your relationship with God. It could be golf on a Sunday morning. It could be your job, that you give too much priority to. It could be money, as we are reminded that the love of money is the root of all evil. God made us for fellowship with Him and when we don’t ever talk to Him, we are not honoring Him in the way He deserves.
He continues talking in verse 11: “’To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?’ says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats.’” God developed the sacrificial system as a tutor. Galatians puts this in perspective for us:

19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Galatians 3:19-25 (NKJV)

The sacrificial system was a model of our sins being covered by innocent blood. Of course, when Jesus died on the cross, that was the ultimate sacrifice of innocent blood, as Jesus, fully God and fully man, chose to sacrifice Himself for our sins. In this passage of Isaiah, God is speaking of the futility of the sacrifices. To me, it is similar to the New Testament theme of “a license to sin.” The Jews were performing the sacrifices ritually, but their hearts were not in serving the Lord. In the same way, under the New Covenant, if we continue the sins of our old lives, knowing that Jesus has forgiven our sins, we are missing the point of His death. He died so that we might live, and live more abundantly. If we continue in our old sins, we are not living more abundantly. We still have the old ball and chain weighing us down. To live in Christ Jesus is to live in the joy and freedom of what He has given us and taken from us.
In Verse 12-13, He says, “’When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.” Though the Jews may have met for all of the occasions prescribed by the Law of Moses, they were not following the Lord in heart. Their sacrifices were futile.
Verse 14 says, “Your New Moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates; I am weary of bearing them, when you spread out your hands I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.” This is a heavy section of the Bible. When we focus on God’s love and forgiveness, we can sometimes skip over the parts that speak so strongly of God’s disappointment in our behavior. Once again, though the Jews might have been following the ritual of the Law, they were missing the more important aspect that involved their hearts. This remained true in New Testament times with the Pharisees, and continues with many people today professing to be Christians though living with their feet planted firmly in the world. We are no longer of this world, though we still live in it. We are seated, even now, in the heavenlies. God tells the Jews here that He will hide His eyes from them, not hear their prayers. The sweet scent of their incense has also become an abomination. All of His senses are reviled in the way they are living. Finally, the last verse of this section says, “Your hands are full of blood.” They have spilled so much innocent blood that they are covered in it. This is symptomatic of living in sin. As bad as it sounds, is there a solution?
In Verse 16, He continues: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean: Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.“ I love this passage. Once again, as evil as we are, God always has a solution for us. Wash yourselves! Though we are dirty, we can become clean. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb! When He tells us to put away the evil of our doings from His eyes, that doesn’t just mean the action or deed. God sees all and that includes what is in the mind and what is in the heart. We aren’t supposed to even think of the old sinful ways. I love where it says, “Learn to do good.” God realizes that we have lived many years as sinners. Our habits are certainly not in doing it His way. Yet He tells us to learn to do good. If we do something right once, it will make it easier the next time. Part of our walk with Him is learning new habits. When we blow it and do it the old way, He reminds us that was not the way He intended. He reminds us softly at first, but it can get louder or more painful if we ignore Him. Then He reminds us to help the weak – the oppressed, the orphan and the widow.
Verses 18-20 are wonderful: “18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Here is the description of those hands that are filled with blood from verse 15 once they have been covered by Jesus. Our sins were as scarlet. Now they are white as snow. We are clothed in the righteousness of His blood. Two good attributes of a believer are willingness and obedience. Later in this book, we see Isaiah’s willingness. “Send me,” he said, quite differently from Moses, who made every excuse of why he couldn’t go. God used Moses anyway, but Isaiah’s willingness is wonderful. God puts opportunities in our paths. We can miss those opportunities by not making ourselves available. If you are available and obedient, God will use you for His mighty purposes!
The focus of the chapter now shifts from Judah to Jerusalem. Let’s continue, starting in verses 21-23: “21 How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.” The faithful city is the one where God’s focus has remained all through man’s history…Jerusalem. This is where Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice to God. It is where King David ruled in righteousness. It is where his son Solomon built the first temple. And it will be the highest place in the world and the focus of everyone is the Millennium, when Jesus rules over this earth. When He says the faithful city has become a harlot, He is referring to the faithful city in the days of King David. Throughout the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, all kings are compared to David. Now, the city is a harlot. Though God loves the inhabitants and has taken care of them all the way, they are putting their energies to other gods. Jerusalem was just and righteous and has become a den of murderers. A perfect description would be impure as it is described as having its silver become dross and its wine mixed with water. Even the royalty is rebellious and dishonest. They don’t defend the orphan or widow, our second reference to those actions in only a few verses. This occurs throughout the Bible and we know by the number of references how much God expects us as Christians to take care of widows and orphans.
The passage continues in verses 24-26: 24 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies. 25 I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. 26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Here, the Lord has a three-fold title: the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel. This is the only time in the Bible He refers to Himself as the Mighty One of Israel. This emphasized God’s role as the ruler of the Jews. They chose a King (Saul) as they wanted to be like other nations. Yet a day is coming when God will be their only King. Though God restored Israel after the Babylonian captivity, that is not what is being referred to here. It is a much greater restoration. Once the Jews were dispersed to the four corners of the earth (in 70 AD when the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed), God promised to bring them back. There are two re-gatherings. There is the re-gathering in unbelief, which occurred in 1948 when the Jews occupied Israel again. Most Jews today are atheistic humanists. Of all the leaders Israel has had since 1948, only Menachem Begin was a theistic believer. The next re-gathering will be in belief. Many Jews will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior in the Tribulation and in the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth, those same Jews who were saved in the Tribulation will repopulate the earth. This passage refers to that time period in history. I wonder if we as believers might be some of the counselors and judges referred to in this passage. When we come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we become kings and priests in His kingdom. We are in a special category as believers in the “Church Age,” as we will rule with Him as kings and priests in His Millennial kingdom. While there are some Jews who have been blessed to lose their spiritual blindness in the Church Age and have come to know Jesus as their Savior, most of the Jews who accept Him will do so after the “fullness of the Gentiles.” This could be one of the many jobs for believers in the Millennium!
And finally, chapter 1 of Isaiah closes with verses 27-31: 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. 28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water. 31 The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.” The term Zion was originally used in reference to Mt. Zion, where Abraham brought his son, Isaac. Yet Isaiah uses the term in reference to all of Jerusalem. This is the city that in the book of Genesis was occupied by Melchizedek, Jebu. Salem is actually the Hebrew word most of us know, ‘Shalom,” meaning “peace.” Jebu-Shalom = Jerusalem. This section refers to the judgment that will come on transgressors and sinners. Those who did not trust in the Lord will be consumed. The reference to gardens and terebinth trees is because these are some of the settings where the Israelites practiced their idolatrous worship, along with the high places. Both the garden and terebinth tree will burn together. Both the rebel and his works will perish. This is the final judgment, not just another punishment.
Well, I guess I had a lot to say about Isaiah 1! If this continues to be the case throughout Isaiah, with 66 chapters we are going to have a book by the end. Hope this helps and if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Praise God for this awesome book!