The book of Isaiah can be divided into 2 sections; the judgment and the comfort. The first thirty nine chapters are about judgment and the rest is comfort. The book of Isaiah is about the prophet Isaiah and the visions he saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah was mainly called upon by God to prophesy to the people of the kingdom of Judah. Judah was experiencing some difficult times and was on the verge of being destroyed by Egypt and Assyria, but God showed them mercy and spared their life. The book of Isaiah paints a picture of God’s forthcoming judgment. “ The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will turn together, with no one to quench the fire” (Isaiah 1: 31), this shows how powerful God’s judgment is; it is going to come blazing down like a forest fire. The book of Isaiah also mentions that Isaiah also recognizes that our God is merciful, compassionate and gracious. According to the book of Isaiah, the great nation of Israel (Judah and Israel) was deaf as a beetle and blind as a bat when it came to God’s commands. The book of Isaiah, more so than other, emphasizes on Messiah and the salvation that follows him. One day, the Messiah will rule in righteousness and justice, “ a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice” (Isaiah 32: 1). Peace and safety will be brought by the Messiah; through Him, Israel will be the light house and all the nations will look up to Israel. The book of Isaiah mainly focuses on the kingdom of Messiah on earth; it also says that God’s righteousness is entirely revealed during Messiah’s reign.
As an ambiguity, the book represents Messiah to be the one to suffer. “ Christ suffered in his body; arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (1 Peter 4: 1), the book of Isaiah also mentions that you can only be healed through his wound. Although God punishes sinners he also comforts them at the time of their trouble, for instance “ As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66: 13)
RESPONSE
According to the first verse of the book of Isaiah, it was about the visions of Isaiah. If that was the case who is the author of the book; could it have been, Isaiah? Toward the end of the book, it describes the arrival of the Messiah and all the suffering he has to tolerate in order to wipe our sins clean. In order to fulfill all the prophecies in this book, the sovereign Lord organized every detail down to the crucifixion. All throughout the book of Isaiah, the main themes were the judgment and salvation of the people of Israel. From what I have noticed, the book of Isaiah is mentions a group of angels, called seraphim. It introduces the idea of heaven. The book also mentions Lucifer, an angel of god, the days before became the devil. One of Isaiah’s prophecies was one that was truly remarkable; it was the prediction of the Persian king Cyrus and his life, were mentioned long before his birth. Isaiah’s calling from god was mainly make the people of Judah and Jerusalem repent, and return to god as he is the judge, the jury, and the executioner. According to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah’s job as a prophet was to deliver an important message; repent your sins to the God and that Salvation comes not from man but the God almighty. The first chapter in the book of Isaiah, God promises the people two things; the first for the people who are good, and the second for the sinners. God’s promise to the obedient one was “ you will eat from the best of the land” (Isaiah 1: 19) and to the disobedient people, “ you will be devoured by the sword” (Isaiah 1: 20). If you look at the Isaiah’s prophecies; they were basically depictions of the life of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Why was the Northern Kingdom, Israel, being judged upon? What was Israel doing that made God so angry, that He decided to punish them for their sins? Why is the verse, “ For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.” (Isaiah 9: 12, 17, 21; 10: 4) repeated several times in the book of Isaiah? What does it signify? When I first started reading the book of Isaiah, one thing that I noticed is the fact that the book had 66 chapters and the first 39 chapter, the judgment, and the last 27 chapter, the coming of messiah and the salvation. Similarly, the Bible has 66 books divided into 39 books, the Old Testament, and 27 books, the New Testament. Are these numbers related to each other, if so does that symbolize anything? Something that needs to be further analyzed.
