Sunday Morning Teaching Series for The Point, Spring 2012

Transcription

1 Sunday Morning Teaching Series for The Point, Spring Introduction and background to the book of Isaiah The prophet Isaiah stands out as the most important and well known prophetic writings in the Hebrew Scriptures. There is more 'messainic' material that points to Jesus in Isaiah than in any other Old Testament book. Jesus seems to be 'waiting in the wings' behind almost every page. Isaiah is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other Old Testament book (25 times in the gospels and over 60 times throughout the NT). The writings are known not just for the amazing theology, which challenges, comforts and inspires, but for the beauty of the language and literary style. There is such depth of revelation, of who God is, not just what he says, revealing the profound depth of God's love for His people. Isaiah has inspired more worship songs (and makes up a large chunk of classical works like Handel's Messiah) and is read in more churches than any other OT prophet. Eugene Peterson writes this in his introduction to Isaiah in his Message translation of the Bible: 'For Isaiah, words are watercolours and melodies and chisels to make truth and beauty and goodness. Or, as the case may be, hammers and swords and scalpels to unmake sin and guilt and rebellion. Isaiah does not merely convey information. He ceates visions, delivers revelation, arouses belief. He is a poet in the most fundamental sense a maker, making God present and that presence urgent. Isaiah is the supreme poet-prophet to come out of the Hebrew people.' Some say that Isaiah is like the 'bible in minature': 66 books in the bible 66 chapters in Isaiah 39 books in the Old Testament 39 chapters in the first part if Isaiah (containing many key OT themes such as God's holiness, covenant, judgment, etc) 27 books in the New Testament 27 chapters in the second part of Isaiah (containing many key NT themes like the words quoted by John the Baptist (40.3), the coming messiah (4 'servant songs' like 4 gospels culminating in chapter 53 and the theme of atonement, with Jesus' death and resurrection so specifically foretold), the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (chapter 61) which Jesus took on himself so significantly in Luke 4, and concluding with prophecy of a 'new heaven and a new earth' and the return of the messiah in glory (chapters 65-66)). It hardly seems possible that words written some 700 years before Jesus was born could so closely and beautifully describe his earthly life, ministry and passion: Jesus himself takes up Isaiah's mantle and identifies his mission 100% with the messiah that Isaiah foretells in the opening verses of chapter 61 (quoted in Luke ): Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 1

2 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour. (Isaiah ) Jesus is identified even more strongly with the messiah as suffering servant that Isaiah portrays in chapter 53, where despite writing several hundred years before his birth, the prophet literally seems to be describing Jesus's suffering in every detail: 'Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.' (Isaiah ) Let us allow Isaiah to make his own introduction. Here is a selection of some of the best known and most beautiful passages in Isaiah's prophetic writing: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty. Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me! (Chapter 6) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (Chapter 9) Comfort, comfort my people... those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; (chapter 40) Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 2

3 I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Chapter 43) Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. (Chapter 49) Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Chapter 55) See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. (Chapter 65) 2. Key Themes in Isaiah The overall theme running through the whole book is salvation. God's peopole are in trouble. Politically, they are being attacked by enemies on every side, and spiritually, because of their rebellion and sinfulness, they are in trouble with God. Isaiah pronounces God's judgement again and again, God is using the other nations now to bring judgement to pass on his people. They desperately need to be saved, to be rescued both from their Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 3

4 current circumstances and eternally. But Isaiah moves salvation from a local, political issue to become global and eternal as the book unfolds. The vision is not simply for Israel, but for all the nations of the earth who will be gathered in to a 'New Heavens and a New Earth' through the saving work of the coming Messiah ( ; 66.18). Isaiah reveals the need for salvation, the means of salvation, and the final result of salvation for God's people. The major thrust is clearly God's work of salvation: The Salvation Symphony. The prominent themes repeated and developed throughout this vast symphonic work are judgment, comfort and hope. (Eugene Peterson) The Coming of The Lord Salvation for Isaiah is something that God does. This idea of trusting and waiting and believing for God's salvation creates a wonderful sense of expectancy and hope (along with fear) because what is prophecied is simply this: God is coming! (63.1) Salvation is personal, deliverance and restoration will be accomplished by the Lord and his direct intervention (through the coming of his servant). Hence, the people are exhorted again and again to look to the Lord for the help, strength and salvation that they need (and not to other nations or their own resources): This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength (30.15) It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. (50.9) This is God's grace. Salvation is God's gift to his people, not something they can earn or deserve. But they must believe that he is true to his promise and will come and deliver them. Hence, they must have faith. Isaiah reveals the wonderful doctrine of salvation by grace, through faith alone. There is both an immediate and an eternal element to the expectation of God's coming. These two elements of 'the coming of the Lord' are clearly fulfilled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and in the hope of the Second Coming of Jesus. There will be a final cosmic dramatic day when the Lord will come and make everything right (this is the major theme of the final section of Isaiah). But there is also a concrete expectation for God to intervene, to help, to comfort, to heal and deliver his people from every circumstance, according to his timing. The presence and action of The Holy Spirit is also therefore a major theme in Isaiah, and creates another strong link between Isaiah and the New Testament. Prayer Deliverance often involves waiting in faith. What do you do while you wait for God to come? How do you speed his coming? This sense of hope, expectancy and total dependence on God to intervene inevitably leads to prayer. Prayer runs right through the book (see 26.8; ; Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 4

5 14). In one sense the whole book is a prayer. As the book comes to a conclusion, the Lord appoints 'watchmen on the walls' and commands them: 'You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth' (62.6-7) Isaiah's response is one of the most passionate, expectant and faith-filled prayers in scripture ( ), including the heart-felt cry for God to come: Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! (64.1) The Holiness of God The theme of salvation really emerges from an even more fundamental truth that Isaiah emphatically conveys: The holiness of God. The very nature of God is behind all that is contained in the prophecy. Isaiah's favourite title for God is simply, 'The Holy One of Israel'. The adjective 'holy' is used of God 33 times in Isaiah, that's more times than in all the rest of the Old Testament taken together. One fundamental question runs throughout the whole book: 'How can a Holy God have an intimate relationship with a sinful and wayward people?' 'God who is transcendent in holinesshas brought himself into close relationship with a specified people whereby they may claim that he is theirs and that they are his. The whole of Isaiah is an explication of this basic situation: the awsome threat which holiness constitutes to an unworthy, careless, rejecting and unresponsive people (chapters 1-37); the lengths to which the Holy One will go to deal with sin, reclaim the sinner and create a righteous people for himself (chapters 40-55); and the eternal state of holiness which he will prepare for them and wherin they will enjoy him for ever (chapters 56-66).' [Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah] There are many other important themes in the teaching and prophecy of Isaiah inluding: Prophecy hearing God's voice and obeying his word Community when times are tough we need eachother, to point one another to God for comfort and strength (40) and for making mature resilliant disciples (61) Hope/strength come from the Lord, not from idols, other nations, or your own resources (strength, riches, wisdom) (many passages from ch.1-39) so look to God and do not fear (43) Calling/vocation (6) Isaiah's calling Worship Justice/Righteousness (58, 61) Judgement Election Atonement Jerusalem/Zion Heaven/Kingdom Revival Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 5

6 3. Structure, Historical Context and Authorship of Isaiah The very first verse of the book of Isaiah tells us both the time and place of his ministry: The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah (d. 740BC), Jotham ( BC), Ahaz ( BC) and Hezekiah ( BC), kings of Judah. (1.1) (I have added the dates, from chapter 6 we know he began in the year Uzziah died) During this period of Israel's history there were a two main 'super-powers': Assyria to the north and Egypt to the south, (and the new political powerhouse of Babylon to the east is just emerging). Jerusalem's main threat is Assyria which is building a huge empire and conquering many nations. Isaiah falls into three clear sections, sometimes known as three books: I Chapters The Book of the King - Judgment This first section of Isaiah is firmly rooted in its historical context. There are many specific prophecies and judgments against the surrounding nations as well as Israel and Judah. God's patience is running out and judgement is coming, culminating in exile. There is a lot of focus on 'The King', both the king in Jerusalem and the Lord as the true king of his people and the one who is 'coming' as the promised king to reign for ever (9.6-7). Isaiah continually poses this question,which is as important to us today as it was to those who first heard Isaiah's message: 'Is the Lord teally sovereign on the earth? Does he even rule the super-powers? Is he ruling over my life? Or am I a victim of circumstances and the will and influence of others? The kings of Judah are tempted to form alliances with Egypt or to surrender to Assyria at various times, but Isaiah continually calls on them to put their trust in the Lord and not to rely on Egypt (31.1), or their own strength, but in the Lord and his promises. His sovereign power to save is emphatically demonstrated at the end of chapter 37. II Chapters The Book of the Servant - Comfort The mood changes, from the need for salvation, because of judgement and the emphasis on God's holiness and kingship over his people, to the means of salvation: the sevant of the Lord. The context has also changed, there is no more mention of Assyria and Egypt, but there are several sections about judgment on Babylon (especially chapters 46 and 47) and two references to Cyrus (44.28 and 45.1) the king of Persia (the new super-power) as the one through whom God will deliver his people from captivity. Judah was defeated and the exile in Babylon began around 100 years after Isaiah's ministry in Jerusalem (587BC), Cyrus came to power and the restoration began a further 70 years later ( BC). These dates lead many to believe that the second and third Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 6

7 parts of Isaiah could not have been written by Isaiah of Jerusalem, the son of Amoz. Clearly the second half of the book is written from the perspective of exile and return, beginning with the words, Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD s hand double for all her sins. (40.1-2) These are hardly what would be proclaimed to a people who were about to go into exile. But Isaiah was a prophet, and he prophecied what was to come. There is no reason why he could not have foreseen the circumstances that were to come and heard what God wanted to say to his people in exile. There are many consistencies which hold the whole book together as a unity and the Hebrew scriptures have always held that Isaiah be read as one prophet. III Chapters The Book of The Anointed Conqueror - Hope The final section of Isaiah contains no names, places, or historical references. The mood is very much more eternal and global a new heaven and a new earth ( ). God is coming finally to destroy his enemies, to save his people and to make everything right. The emphasis is on final culmination, judgement, healing, transformation and this will be for all nations not just for Israel (56.6-8; 65.1; ). The final vision is of people from all nations, gentiles who would never normally be allowed to enter the Temple, gathering on 'my holy mountain in Jerusalem' to worship together as one with Israel, and some of them will even be priests and levites! This would have seemed inconcievable to the religious people of the day, but it is precisely what Jesus has done for us in making the church a 'holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ' (1Peter 2.5). The prophecy and the cry is now urgent for the king to come (63.1; 64.1), and as we wait prayer is vital and the importance of doing justice on the earch (chapters 58 and 61) these are the characteristics of a waiting people. 'We would indeed be blind not to observe that 56.1 reflects precisely where the church stands today: looking back to the once-for-all redemption at Calvary ( ) and awaiting a final divine act which will rescue the church from sin, failure and opposition and deal finally with any and every counterforce.' (Alec Motyer) Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 7

8 Recommended reading J.A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, (IVP) Nicky Gumbel, The Heart of Revival, Isaiah Barry Webb, The Message of Isaiah: On Eagle's Wings (The Bible Speaks Today) John F.A. Sawyer, Isaiah, 2 Volumes (OT Daily Study Bible Series) Introduction and backgroud to Isaiah page 8