2005 Bible Reading

Isaiah

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth; How To Read The Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

(Pastor Raymond)

How is it possible to summarize this rich 66-chapter book? It is already quite an achievement to finish 66 chapters, let alone retain the powerful messages?

Unquestionably, Isaiah occupies a very important position in the traditions of the Jewish people, and of the Christians. To the former, Isaiah begins the section called “the latter prophets” in their Jewish Bible. It is also the most popular book since their exile because of the message of consolation and forgiveness in chapter 40. Some Jewish traditions even recited chapter 61 on the Day of Atonement simply because of the message of release and Jubilee there. In addition, the “new heaven and new earth” together with the imagery of wilderness being turned into streams of rivers, typifies their “second Exodus.” Finally, the picture of all nations streaming towards Zion described in the end of the book is something every Jewish people would be proud of.

As far as the Christians are concerned, the Book of Isaiah is even more important. Outside of the massive Psalms, Isaiah is the book in the Old Testament quoted most frequently in the New Testament. Basically all New Testament writers, to various degrees, connect Jesus to Isaiah 52:13-53:12. All the Gospels recognize John the Baptist is the voice in the wilderness mentioned in Isaiah chapter 40. Even Jesus uses chapter 61 to announce his ministry whereas Paul models his after chapter 42. More interestingly, the noun “gospel” in the New Testament, might well share the origin with the verb “preach the good news” in Isaiah 52:7 and 61:1, speaking of the return of the reign of God and its associated peace and righteousness. It is indeed extremely impossible for a Christian to read Isaiah without being affected by how the New Testament interpreted it. Nonetheless, let us make an effort to investigate Isaiah in its own right.

The number one thing that is clearest of all is that Isaiah highlights the uniqueness, or holiness, of God with this expression: “The Holy One of Israel.” This epitaph appears a total of 33 times in Isaiah, whilst in the whole Old Testament including Isaiah, the total is just 39 times! Further, the three-fold announcement of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” appears only twice in the whole Bible, once in Revelation and the other one is in Isaiah. Yahweh is Holy because He is uniquely different. Repeatedly the book asserts that only Yahweh is God and there is no God beside him. Many times ironies are used to parody those idols as false gods who “with eyes but cannot see and with ears but cannot hear.” As to the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh, Isaiah speaks with a traditional Jewish perspective: He takes life and gives life; He chastises but also rescues. Yahweh can be called “Holy,” because He acts justly in the realm of moral ethics. Therefore, He is longsuffering, merciful, good, faithful, and does the right things. In turn, His people ought to behave the same.

Sadly, Isaiah also repeatedly prosecutes the failures of God’s people. They refused to trust Yahweh but instead turned to idols. There was no justice in their society, so that God blinded their eyes and handed them over to the Gentiles. Using similar wordings in 7:3 and 36:2, the Book of Isaiah compares the responses of the two kings, Ahab and Hezekiah, in face of the Assyrian assaults and highlights the trust of Hezekiah. But even the good king Hezekiah failed to place his trust in Yahweh when he turned to the King of Babylon, showing once again the typical failure of God’s people: in face of national disaster, the kings always looked for protection from political clouts offered by idol-worshipping countries rather than leaning faithfully on “the Holy One of Israel” and “Yahweh the Lord of Hosts.”

Despite all these accusations, the Book of Isaiah still brings “consolation.” Certainly, God will judge His people and even will turn them over to Gentiles. But God will not desert them completely! Here lies what is known as the “remnant” concept in the Book, one that continues to give the exiled Israelites hope that one day, through the “second Exodus,” God will bring them back from Babylon through the dessert to Zion. On that day, God will reign again in Zion with justice and Zion will become the place all nations will flock to. The people of Israel have for centuries continued to carry this hope, “looking to the consolation of Israel” (See Luke 2).

There is no question that Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a very important passage to Christians, one that should be remembered often particularly during Holy Communion. But to properly view this section, one should be aware of the one Jewish perspective that allows the nation Israel play the role of God’s servant, and at the same time this other Jewish notion that their leaders personally stand for the entire nation as a servant. Isaiah combines these perspectives to foretell of a perfect servant of God. It is small wonder that in Acts, a God-fearing Ethiopian was also wondering “who” the one prophesied is (Acts 8).