Article archive
03/02/2012 10:48
Isaiah 6 through 12 presented an interesting contrast between faith and works. We noticed that God faulted those of Judah as well as Ephraim and Assyria for their works of unrighteousness. As God, then, extends blessing to the remnant, you would think that they are people who exhibited...
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02/24/2012 08:39
From the middle of Isaiah 10 until the end of the section (through Isaiah 12), we see God’s care specifically for his remnant—the heaven-dwellers, those of faith. Verses 20 through 23 provide the prophecy of the remnant’s return. This is an interesting introductory phrase for this whole...
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02/10/2012 13:26
Following the Messiah discussion of the first 7 verses of chapter 9, God and Isaiah present four strophes explaining why Israel deserves judgment. The first of these, from verse 8 to 12, highlights self-reliance—the trust Israel placed in itself apart from God. Verse 8 tells us that the...
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02/03/2012 06:48
To understand Isaiah well, we must keep the flow of the book in mind. After the preface of the first five chapters, the book begins with God calling Isaiah to prophesy in chapter 6. In chapter 7 Isaiah begins his prophecy first with his son Shearjashub who’s name means “a remnant will...
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01/21/2012 10:24
We don’t know how long it is after chapter 7’s prophecy that the Lord instructs Isaiah in 8:1 to write a name on a parchment. But it can’t be long. The activity and statements of the first few verses of chapter 8 is similar to the beginning of the Immanuel prophecy in 7:14-16. Isaiah is...
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11/18/2011 09:04
Chapter 7 begins telling us that Ahaz is on the throne. We have just left Isaiah’s call in chapter 6 that began with Uzziah’s death. However, 16 years transpire between Uzziah’s death, when his son Jotham ascends the throne, and Jotham’s death, when Ahaz begins his reign. The time lapse...
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11/11/2011 07:21
With the end of the preface (Isaiah 1-5), we begin the book proper. However, we should not forget the message of the preface because it will come into play even before Isaiah’s call is begun. I see the book as divided into four major sections. The preface, of course, was the first. The...
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11/04/2011 08:40
Isaiah 5 begins with an allegory of a vineyard. The allegory is not that difficult to understand. But it is usually true that with fairly straightforward allegories, we often miss some of the nuanced fullness. Biblical interpretation certainly goes beyond a surface level read....
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10/29/2011 09:42
Isaiah 3 begins with a call to the people to “Observe!” The Lord God of Hosts (read that, Sovereign Master) grabs their attention so that they will focus on his words. He is turning now from the general descriptions of the previous chapter to specifics. The support structure of their...
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10/21/2011 10:29
Isaiah 2 begins with a superscription similar to the one starting off chapter 1. This structural detail serves a couple of purposes. First, it lets us know that chapter 1 is done. Chapter 1 stands alone as a separate section that actually provides an overview to the whole book. It...
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