One Man for the People

The ever-inventive Jim Jordan points out this cool sequence at the center of the prophecy of Isaiah:

1) The Assyrians threaten Jerusalem, but the Lord delivers the city because of the intercession of King Hezekiah.

2) Then Hezekiah gets sick, beginning to die as king for the people. But he pleads with the Lord and is delivered.

3) Immediately, Isaiah begins the servant songs, where the suffering servant dies on behalf of the people.

In short: By the terms of the Davidic covenant, the king is the representative of the nation, Israel in person. The king suffers and dies for the people. But Isaiah promises a new phase, a new covenant, in which there will be a servant who suffers on behalf of the king. This buttresses the insight of NT Wright and others concerning the “Israel Christology” of the New Testament.