Observe the Word

In Isaiah 42:18-43:21, we address the first half of our second major section in the Book of the Servant – the Redemption of Israel. Israel is going to need national redemption from exile in Babylon. God is going to do this. God’s people are to give witness.

I’ve had an intense run of teaching, starting in June, that has forced me to make a pause in the Isaiah series. I will start up again sometime in August.

In Isaiah 41:21-42:17, Isaiah offers consolation for the Gentiles by exposing the idol-gods of the nations, prophesying God’s remedy in a future servant, and responding with a new song. Isaiah’s description of an ideal servant in 42:1-4 constitutes our first of four servant songs in the Book of the Servant.

In Isaiah 41:1-20, Isaiah concludes the initial consolation of Israel, with a powerful, compact description of God as sovereign over world events and with three descriptive pictures of the transformation he will bring about when Israel’s exile is complete.

In Isaiah 40:12-31 Isaiah extols the character of the Creator God as the ground of the hope proclaimed in 40:1-11. We can find comfort in the hope of God’s glory, word and arm when we see God as he truly is.

In Isaiah 40:1-11 God calls for heralds to proclaim his word of comfort for Israel. That word is provided by three voices, each adding to the message of consolation. Before getting into the text, we first introduce the Book of the Servant, chapters 40-55, by addressing Isaiah’s development of the Messiah and righteousness themes.

In Isaiah 38-39 Isaiah creates a bridge between the Book of the King and the Book of the Servant with a reminder that even good human kings do not persevere in faithfulness.

In Isaiah 36-37 Isaiah reminds Judah that God truly is the Lord of History through the example of Sennacherib’s inability to capture Jerusalem.

In this lesson we consider historical sources of Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah to help us better interpret the narrative in Isaiah 36-39.

In Isaiah 31-35, we complete the six woes that rebuke Judah for turning away from God in troubled times to find help in Egypt. Isaiah continues to call his listeners back to God our King who is the source of stability in present times and our sure hope for the future.

In Isaiah 30, Isaiah begins and ends with the human perspective of Judah’s alliance with Egypt and the looming invasion by Assyria. In the middle of the chapter, he gives us two divine perspectives, calling Judah’s leaders to turn back to God and trust him to be their security.

In Isaiah 29, we address the 2nd and 3rd woes of the Lord of History section, chapters 28-37. In this larger section, Isaiah reminds the people of God’s deliverance during a national crisis, so that they might believe God is at work in the present and trust that God will fulfill his promises for the future.

The move from Isaiah 27 to Isaiah 28 is a transition between major sections. In this lesson we briefly summarize 5 principles of faith from the Universal Kingdom section, chapters 13-27, and then move into the first woe of the Lord of History section, chapters 28-37. In chapter 28, employing powerful imagery (fading garlands, ripe figs, a covenant with death and a costly cornerstone), Isaiah calls the leaders of Judah back to trust in God.

In Isaiah 24-27, Isaiah presents a third cycle of passages that look far into the future to a final day where the city of man stands in stark contrast against the city of God and the faithful are exhorted to endure through to glory.

In Isaiah 21-23, Isaiah continues addressing God’s rule over a universal kingdom in a second cycle of oracles to the nations in which he describes the failure of self-sufficiency to meet human need through the depiction of a toppled empire and the rippling effects on smaller nations.