The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.Types of Biblical Literature
— Isaiah 1:1
When we begin to read within Scripture it is important to keep in our minds what kind of Scripture we are reading. You can frame Scripture in your mind as the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther), Poetry (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon), Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel), and Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). Similarly the New Testament Scripture can be thought of as History (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts), Epistles/Teaching (Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, 1,2&3 John, Jude), and Prophecy (Revelation).
This doesn’t mean you won’t find cross over between the types. Some prophecy is written as poetry, some poetry is prophetic, you clearly find teaching in the historical gospels, and we recognize that the gospel of John is special in the way it approaches the life of Christ in contrast to what are known as the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Luke wrote most like a historian and God used him to present us with the book of Acts.
As we approach Isaiah we approach one of the Major Prophets. It is major because of the length of the book and minors are minor because they are relatively short books. As prophetic literature we look to see God speaking His message through a man to a people that need to hear Him. God speaks in a context and even as we begin with verse 1 we see the names of 4 kings that give us a historical context for our study.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
— 2 Timothy 3:16-17
We don’t pick out one type of literature or one spot in the Bible and figure the rest has nothing to teach us. We study all of Scripture looking for God’s teaching, reproof, correction, and training so that we as men may be competent and ready to do the works He has prepared beforehand for us to do. In Isaiah we’ll see flashes of light that stretch from 750 years before Christ right down to our day.
Isaiah the Man
Isaiah was well-educated, married, and had two children. He was obviously surrendered to God and was chosen by God to prophecy in Jerusalem. Isaiah’s prophecy was delivered between 740BC to 700BC. For about 200 years folks have argued about the authorship of this book. Some have granted Isaiah with the chapters 1 to 39 but then suggest another prophet for chapters 40 to 55 and then another for chapters 56 to 66. This is because of slight changes in language. Nothing in the book suggests multiple authors. Books like Psalms with multiple authors state that they have multiple authors. New Testament authors indicated that Isaiah had a single author. I think the real problem that critics have had with Isaiah was that he was a prophet. What I mean is that he named Cyrus more than a century before there was Cyrus. He also predicted the virgin birth of Christ. Isaiah was remarkable because of God’s work in his life and we find his words quoted often. The book of Isaiah is so often quoted that I pray God will tap you on the shoulder each time you hear an Isaiah quote outside this class during our study. Isaiah was a beautiful writer, a wonderful preacher, a poet, and a man who loved God deeply and without reservation. According to tradition, he was killed by being sawn in two. God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. That plan can include great courage and Isaiah glorified God in his death as well as his life (Hebrews 11:37).
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
— Isaiah 1:2-4
Isaiah prophesied during a time of decline in the relationship of Israel with God. They were living in the shadow of the Assyrians. Notice that Isaiah doesn’t deal with the godless nations surrounding them but addresses the people of God. Often we are distracted by what goes on around us in morality, in prosperity, and in all those things that cause us anxiety. We forget God and His call on our lives. We start to accept sin as a way of life, we seek the gods of those who forget God (like money), and we forget that God is in control. We need to remember whose we are (like the ox) and remember who our provider is (like the donkey). We are Israel in this age and much of the Christian Church, especially in America, is laden or weighted down with sin just like those outside the church. We have churches that are named Christian who have been taught to deny the atonement and teach others the same making them offspring of evildoers who deal corruptly. They clearly have forsaken the Lord. They despise the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged from God. They may do great things but they are not acting for God and they are in danger of hearing Christ say that He never knew them (Matthew 7:23).
The heavens and the earth bear witness to the broken covenant with God (Deuteronomy 30:19 and 32:1) and the God is called Lord to indicate the personal revelation of God. In addition, this is presented as a court case in which the facts are to be listed and judgment given. God raised up children and they were children by being created as His children (Isaiah 45:11), elected as His children by redemption (Isaiah 49:7), and children of a covenant (Isaiah 24:5). Likewise, if you’ve been born again, are a child of God by creation, by election, and by a new and living covenant. We should be even more careful than those few who remembered God in Isaiah’s time to seek Him first in everything we do and place all of our lives under Christ’s Lordship. Rebellion in particular should have no place in our lives since it is a violation of God’s rule over our life that finds its beginning in our hearts.
One of Isaiah’s favorite names for God is “The Holy One of Israel” (used 26 times). This name draws attention to the perfection of God and the relationship with His people. You, if you are born again, are grafted in regardless of your earthly heritage and have become Israel. You need to see your name linked to the Holy One. Place your name there after the Holy One. He is the One who will tolerate no unrighteousness and no darkness and no impurity. The “Holy One of Dwight” scares me. It reminds me of my proximity to the God before whom I live my life (coram Deo). It should place the fear of God in our hearts.
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