INTRODUCTION Because it contains so many Messianic passages (e.g., 7:1-14; 9:1-7; 11:1-10; 42:1-4; 53:1-12), Christians have long regarded the book of Isaiah the prophet (so called in Isaiah 37:2; 38:1; 39:3) as a kind of “fifth gospel.” This week, we begin our study in the book by . . . . Continue Reading »
Alec Motyer ( The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary ) observes that “Isaiah is the prophet of holiness. In the Isaianic literature the adjective ‘holy’ ( qadosh ) is used of God more frequently than in all the rest of the Old Testament taken . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 56:3, 6 promises that the sons of strangers will be joined to Yahweh. Zechariah 2:11 says the same. In both passages, the verb “join” translates the Hebrew lawah , the verb on which the name “Levi” is a pun. The prophets are not simply talking about . . . . Continue Reading »
Human beings are clay shaped by the Almighty Potter. So are events. Isaiah says that long before the events happened the Lord “fashioned-like-a-potter” the Assyrian invasion and devastation of city and country in Israel and Judah (Isaiah 37:26). If the Lord is a potter fashioning . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 2:12-22 warns of a day when Yahweh will cast down the tall trees and high mountains, the proud men, and the idols. The passage ends with a warning not to esteem man who has breath in his nose. This last is often taken as a reference to the frailty and weakness of man, who should . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 34 prophesies about Yahweh’s assault on the nations and their armies. They will be slaughtered, their corpses will rot on the earth, adn the mountains will be drenched with their blood (vv. 1-3). Instead of sacrificial smoke with its pleasing aroma, the stench of corpses . . . . Continue Reading »
For many throughout church history, fasting is bound up with hostility to matter and the body. We refrain from bodily pleasures of food and drink to train our souls in disembodied life. That’s not biblical. The biblical fast, as Isaiah 58 puts it, is to share food with the hungry and clothing . . . . Continue Reading »
Some scattered notes on Isaiah 33, the product of listening to students comment on the passage in exams throughout the week. 1) Verse 1 includes an interesting variation on the lex talionis. Destroyers will be destroyed, and the treacherous will be dealt with treacherously. But the justice that the . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 6:10 says that Isaiah’s ministry will make the hearts of Israel “fat” and their ears “heavy” ( kabad ). The phrasing is unique to Isaiah 6, but the combination of heavy and fat conjures up Eli, who also was going blind. Isaiah 6 is a new Samuel, and like . . . . Continue Reading »
A number of these thoughts were suggested by students during exams during the last week. I can’t remember now who said what, but thanks to them all. 1) Isaiah 61 begins with a declaration of the Spirit, and ends with a reference to a garden. That suggests the possibility that Gen 1-2 is . . . . Continue Reading »
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