Isaiah - Chapters 38-66

This is a transcription of a lecture on the book of Isaiah. It covers various chapters and themes, including the historical context, the sovereignty of God, the fall of Babylon, the love of God for His people, the servant songs, and the hope found in judgment. The lecturer emphasizes the importance of understanding the theological concerns addressed in Isaiah. Overall, the lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the key ideas and messages in the book. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapters 38 through 66, which means this will be a very brief overview of these chapters. Last year I took six lessons to cover these 28 chapters in June of 2023, but because I've taken a much longer look at 1st and 2nd Kings this year, to look at the history, I'm going faster on places that I took extended time last year. Chapters 38 and 39 are in the first half of the book of Isaiah, which are also covered in 2nd Kings chapter 20, and this is after Assyria had defeated the northern ten tribes of Israel, and exiled them to other lands, and brought people from other lands to Israel, and after the Lord defeated Assyria for King Hezekiah of Judah, because he humbled himself before the Lord, and Assyria blasphemed the name of the Lord. Now in chapter 20, Hezekiah got sick, and again, because he humbled himself and prayed, the Lord healed him and extended his life another 15 years. In the Isaiah passage, chapter 38, we have a poetic writing of King Hezekiah after his illness and his recovery in chapter 9 through 20. Chapter 39 is the story of the envoy from Babylon, and King Hezekiah showed them all the treasuries and everything in his kingdom. Hezekiah declared to him in Isaiah chapter 39, verses 5 through 7, Hear the word of the Lord Almighty, the time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord, and some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon. Hezekiah thought that was good, since it would not be in his lifetime. Dr. Betz said in Old Testament class about chapters 40 through 55, The people are addressed during a time of despair and discouragement, and they are really concerned about the promises of God, and even questioning, has God been defeated by the Babylonian gods? If you remember when Assyria tried to attack Judah, the commander made comment that none of the other nations' gods were able to win against Assyria. This is found in chapters 36, verses 18 through 20, and chapter 37, verses 12 through 13, And therefore Judah's god could not either. But Judah's god did. He kicked butt, and Assyria ran home with their tail between their legs. But what about Babylon? If the Lord is going to allow Babylon to defeat Judah because of the sin of Judah, does that mean their god is defeated too? This question leads us into the second half of Isaiah, and we see a few themes running through these passages. The first is that the Lord is the only God, and all the other gods of the nations are just made by human hands, so the Holy One of Israel cannot be defeated by other gods because they are not real. The God of the Jews is the creator of the universe. He is sovereign over all nations and all people. One of the verses that shows this is chapter 46, verses 9 and 10. Remember the former things, those of long ago? I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say, my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. We also see in these chapters that yes, Babylon is coming, but the Lord will send someone to also conquer Babylon. Chapter 43, verses 14 and 15, this is what the Lord says, you are a redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians in the ships in which they took pride. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's creator, your King. In chapter 44, verse 28, we see that the Lord will raise up Cyrus as the Lord's shepherd who will rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. And then chapter 45, verse 1 says, this is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut. So Hezekiah's reign ended around 687 BC, which was also around the end of Isaiah's ministry. The Assyrian Empire falls to Babylon around 612 BC, and the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC. And then comes the Medes and the Persians who conquer Babylon around 539 BC. And Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a proclamation allowing the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem in 538 BC. And so Isaiah prophesied about something that will happen around 150 years later with the name of the king. Now some people debate that Isaiah didn't really write this because someone later had to have written it. But I totally disagree with that stance because of the Lord who is beyond time, and His plan was before time, and He knows Cyrus by name, and He knows you by name too. This leads us to another point in these passages. The Lord loves His children even, even in the midst of the difficult times. Chapter 55 verses 7 and 8, For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the Lord your Redeemer. Then verse 10, Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you. Chapter 60 verse 10 says, Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and the kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion. Chapter 48 verses 10 and 11, The Lord says, See I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake I do this, how can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. In other words, Judah's lifestyle became corrupt, and it was because of their sinfulness that the Lord allowed this furnace of affliction. But it was not just to inflict pain, the purpose was to purify them, so they would live in such a way to reflect Him well to the world. This leads us to another very important theme found in these passages, and that is the four servant songs found in chapter 42 verses 1-7, chapter 49 verses 1-6, chapter 50 verses 4-9, and chapter 52 verse 13 going through chapter 53 verse 12. In these passages many times the servant of the Lord is the whole nation of Israel, but because we have the New Testament, we know that the ultimate Lord's servant was the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these passages are also called the suffering servant songs, because what we find is that the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, did not spare the Lord Jesus Christ from pain either. The verses that blow my mind are chapter 50 verses 5 and 6, the sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious, I have not drawn back, I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard, I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Have you ever thought about the Lord Jesus offering his back to be beaten for you? That he offered his cheeks so that Roman guards could pull out part of his beard for you? That he did not turn and hide from the pain, or the mocking, or the spitting in his face, but that he was willing to take that in obedience to the Lord his Father, and why? So that we could live in such a way to reflect him well to the world. One of the key verses of Isaiah is chapter 53 verse 6, we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. When Jesus died on the cross, the Lord laid on him all our sin, and all we have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are forgiven and saved. Who can be saved? Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord from every nation. Chapter 42 verse 6, I the Lord have called you in righteousness, I will take hold of your hand, I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. Chapter 49 verse 6, he says is it too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept? I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Chapter 56 verse 6 through 8, and foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. The sovereign Lord declares, he who gathers the exiles of Israel, I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered. The last few verses of Isaiah, we find that one of the reasons for the exile is that while they are gone, they will proclaim the Lord's glory among the nations, verse 19 and then verse 20a, and they will bring all your brothers from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. Some people say that the first 39 chapters of Isaiah focus on judgment and the last 27 chapters focus on hope, yet Dr. Betz points out that if we look closely, we find both of these run through the entire book because there is an interdependence between these two themes. Judgment comes to those who disobey the Lord, but what is the purpose of the judgment? To purify them so that they would come back holy like the Lord, and in that find hope. Then Dr. Betz said, hope for Judah is not found in the avoidance of judgment, but in judgment. Dr. Betz started his lecture of Isaiah with, Isaiah comprehends the entirety of theological concerns in the Bible. The holiness of God is especially here, and it is as clearly here than anywhere in the Old Testament, and the unchanging grace of God is clearly here as anywhere in the New Testament. This may be why the book of Isaiah is so often quoted in the New Testament. I will only share one, and that is when Jesus was preaching to his hometown in Luke chapter 4. He reads from Isaiah chapter 61 verses 1 and 2a, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And then he said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. What is interesting is that he also stressed the point that the message of Isaiah was also for the Gentiles, and for that his town wanted to kill him. I will end today's lesson with the words of Isaiah chapter 55 verses 6 and 7. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Thanks for listening, and may the Lord's blessings be upon you until next time.