Isaiah is intimidating. At least to me, it is. I tend to favor the familiar passages that we all know and love - the walk and not grow weary one in chapter 40. And in the same chapter, the beautiful one about God’s Word not fading but standing forever. The encouraging ones in chapter 43 that urge us not to fear and in 45 assuring us of the sovereignty of the Lord. Certainly the messianic prophecies in 53 and the comfort ones from chapter 64. So many that are familiar and well loved.
But we must be mindful of the whole counsel of God and study the unfamiliar (and intimidating) ones as well. Which is where we find ourselves this week.
I found some treasures in the first 8 chapters of Isaiah these past few days. And I am left with more questions as well!
Here are just some excerpts from the notes I took as I read…
5:20 -23 - “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! “ Feels like a commentary from the nightly news these past months! WOW. I suppose every generation prior to ours has felt these verses were apt descriptions of their day and I am no exception. How accurately these describe the state of our country! But I can’t just lament the status quo - how are we to respond to this condition?
6:1-13 - Isaiah had a vision of the Lord, in His glory and splendor. Perhaps this gives us insight regarding what our response should be. As the prophet raged against the wretched spiritual condition of his day, he was given the gift of a vision of the Lord. Instead of being enraptured with the sight, the experience struck fear in him! V. 5 explains why - because the holiness of the Lord revealed to him the wretchedness of his people…and himself. This produced great grief and helplessness. It was only alleviated by the forgiveness and cleansing from the Lord. This spoke loudly to me. As we are appropriately appalled by the ungodliness surrounding us, we must focus on the holiness of God. THAT and that alone is the standard by which all should be measured. Not human laws or opinions - the holiness of God. And that will open our eyes to the truth of our own sin. How we ourselves are accountable before our God. It is we who must see our need for forgiveness and cleansing.
chapter 7 - this one took some pondering and digging. Isaiah is confronting Ahaz, King of Judah. The prophet was urging the King not to fear the imminent attack from the nation’s enemies (and the King was so afraid that v. 2 describes his heart as shaking as the trees of the forest shake with the wind!). Ahaz could not bring himself to trust solely in the Lord - he wanted to rely on his own military resources and any allies he could muster. God invites Ahaz to trust him and even offers to give him a sign. In what must be feigned piety, Ahaz refuses to humble himself and ask for a sign of God’s power. Instead, the King places his trust in what he can control, all the while claiming he doesn’t want to “test the Lord”. (Note to self - it’s not “testing God” if He tells you to do it! It’s obedience!!!) Isaiah responds to this with a oft quoted verse - 7:14 - “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.”
All I knew of this verse was that it foretold of the coming Messiah, that it prophesied of the Virgin Birth. But this slow read through Isaiah raised some questions for me and sent me digging into some resources to understand it better.
I will spare you the (delightful) details and summarize the debate surrounding it. Ponder the context. Isaiah is speaking to King Ahaz about the impending attack on his country. God was reassuring him that it would not stand. The King could not believe (and verse 9 is poignant - read it again for context). God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign of God’s faithfulness. This asking would require humility and Ahaz would not bend. Then comes verse 14. How do we interpret this, given the context? Isaiah is speaking to Ahaz after God has offered to give a sign. Scholars differ on the meaning of this verse. Some say it is “double fulfillment”, meaning that this promise was fulfilled once in the present day it was given (which would mean a child was born or a young woman and she named him Immanuel and that was God’s promise to be with His people) and fulfilled later on a deeper level in Christ (born of a Virgin - father was God Himself - and His name literally means He is God come to live with us). Other scholars say it is a “double reference” - which means there were two parts to the prophecy. That Isaiah spoke to Ahaz and then to the house of David. His words to Ahaz were a rebuke (v. 13) and then to the house of David, a promise - the promise of the Messiah.
8:14 even makes us wonder if Isaiah’s own son was the reference of the verse, as the rebuke to Isaiah or the first fulfillment. I don’t know. See why I think Isaiah is intimidating? :) But I love it all!
Keep on reading and I”ll see ya next week!