A Reader's Guide to the Bible by John Goldingay

Author:John Goldingay [Goldingay, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2017-11-14T05:00:00+00:00

ISAIAH

The book of Isaiah falls into clear divisions.

1–12. Isaiah indicts the people of Judah in the time of King Ahaz (about the 730s before Christ). Judah is enthusiastic about its worship but full of moral rebellion and unfaithfulness between people, and in practice it does not trust its God but tries to protect itself by deft political alliances. Isaiah warns of God’s judgment but promises that God will eventually restore Israel: the section ends with a psalm of praise for Israel to sing “on that day.”

13–23. Isaiah declares that God’s judgment will also fall on other nations: Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Assyria, Dumah, Arabia, Tyre. While his indignation reflects the nations’ opposition to Judah, the prophecies are addressed to Judah itself. To Judah they form another warning not to rely on these peoples and also an encouragement not to be afraid of them. In addition, on one hand, Isaiah includes Jerusalem in the condemnations to make it clear that it is in no better a position than anyone else, and on the other hand, he promises mercy and blessing for many of these other nations, as well as speaking of their judgment.

24–27. This section includes further pictures of judgment and restoration, but the references are less political and less specific. The picture is more one of universal judgment and of resuscitation.

28–35. This section includes more indictments of Judah, warning of judgment but promising that God will eventually restore Judah, when “the desert will rejoice and flowers will bloom in the wilderness.” The chapters parallel Isaiah 1–12, but these messages belong to a later period, especially to the reign of King Hezekiah (about the 700s before Christ), and the challenge to trust in God becomes the central feature.

36–39. These chapters reflect the same period, the reign of Hezekiah; these are not messages of Isaiah, however, but stories about Isaiah similar to those recorded in 2 Kings. They look forward, beyond the reign of Hezekiah, to the exile of Judahites to Babylon, which will happen more than a century later.

40–55. This section presupposes the situation nearly two centuries later when Jerusalem has not only been destroyed (which happened in 587 BC) but many Judahites have been in exile in Babylon for fifty years. In light of that fact, the chapters introduce a new note: here “comfort” to the distressed is the center of the message. God is about to defeat Babylon and free people to go back to Judah (as happened in 539 BC).

56–66. These chapters are again less specific in reference. They are like Isaiah 1–12 in that they challenge the people about their waywardness and disobedience, but they reflect the situation in Judah after the fall of Babylon in 539, when the return promised in Isaiah 40–55 has been achieved but all is still not as it should be. The whole book closes with a promise of a new Jerusalem.

The book of Isaiah thus speaks to many different periods and takes up many different themes, but a feature that

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