Isaiah 3

Study Guide 54: Isaiah 1-6 THE HOLY ONE Overview Isaiah is one of the most significant of Old Testament books. Isaiah spoke out to Judah during the critical years of Assyrian expansion, when the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was destroyed. Isaiah is especially significant for (1) his revelation of God through powerful, vital names (such as Holy One, God the Judge, etc.); for (2) his clear vision of Jesus the Messiah; for (3) his Servant theme; and (4) for his powerful visions of history’ s end. The book is divided into two major segments, written at different periods of Isaiah’ s life.

Outline I. Visions of JudgmentIsa. 1-35

1. Israel’ s Holy OneIsa. 1-6
2. Book of ImmanuelIsa. 7-12
3. Oracles of judgmentIsa. 13-24
4. God’ s sure purposesIsa. 25-35 II. Historical InterludeIsa. 36-39 III. Visions of SplendorIsa. 40-66
5. Beyond the ExileIsa. 40-48
6. Servant of the LordIsa. 49-55
7. Redemption’ s needIsa. 56-59
8. RestorationIsa. 60-66Isaiah’ s great contribution to modern Christians is his majestic portrait of God and of our Lord. As we meet God in this great prophetic book we are moved to awe — and to worship.

Commentary So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy by His righteousness. Isaiah 5:15-16To the Jews, Isaiah was the greatest of the prophets. The commentator Karl Delitzsch called Isaiah the “ universal prophet.” Probably no other Old Testament document has been more deeply studied than the Book of Isaiah. Certainly none has had more books and articles written about it. The New Testament alludes to it over 250 times and quotes Isaiah specifically at least 50 times! There are several reasons for this fascination with Isaiah. As literature, Isaiah has been called the “ climax of Hebrew literary art.” In content, it deals in a sweeping way with the great themes of the Old Testament. Judgment and hope, sin and redemption, find clear expression here. Christians have been fascinated by the picture of Jesus the Messiah drawn by this man who wrote so many centuries before Christ’ s birth. The picture of the suffering Messiah in Isaiah 53:1-12 has been critical in our understanding of Jesus’ Calvary death. Isaiah has also been a source of controversy. The book is divided into two distinct halves, set apart by a historical interlude. The first half of Isaiah announces judgment; the second half seems to assume the judgment has passed and that hope has come. Were these two sections of Isaiah written by the same person? Or was a “ Second Isaiah” added later on? Conservatives have argued persuasively that the whole book was written by Isaiah the son of Amoz, whose ministry extended over some 60 years from 739 to about 681 b.c.This was a critical period of Old Testament history. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was overwhelmed by Assyria. Judah was threatened as well. What was God’ s message to a nation and people threatened by a Gentile world power? How were His people (and how are we) to live in the face of the powers of the world around them? But the primary reason for reading Isaiah is to see the Lord. Certainly we’ ve seen God in other Old Testament books. We’ ve seen His power in the Exodus, His righteousness in the Law, His justice in the Book of Judges. But somehow it’ s as though we saw God through the events recorded. He is there, but as a shadow; glimpsed, but not fully revealed, in His actions in history. In Isaiah the veil of history is pulled aside and we see God directly, revealed in all His glory. It’ s as if we set out at night to explore a new land, holding up our flickering candles to light the darkness. We see, but not clearly. And then torchlight more brilliant than the sun fills the sky, and what had been only outline becomes solid and real. In the light of that torch, we see clearly for the first time. Isaiah’ s distinctive ministry is to lift high the torch, to show us, in brilliant clarity, the God men grope after. For all of us who desire to know God in a deeper and fuller way, the Book of Isaiah holds great promise. As you study it with your group, you will together be filled with wonder at the greatness and majesty of our God. You will be moved to praise and to hope, as God lifts high the torch of revelation to show us . . . Himself! LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Launch your study of Isaiah in a simple way which will help your group members sense the value of this great book in developing a more adequate vision of God. As people come in assign the following brief readings. When the session is ready to begin, do the first reading yourself and have others follow in sequence. Introduce each reading with a statement: “ Our God is a [Holy God, etc.]” and read the appropriate verses. The readings and introductions are: Holy One, Isaiah 5:15-16Sovereign Lord, Isaiah 8:13-15God the Judge, Isaiah 11:3-5God, our Salvation, Isaiah 26:1-4Everlasting God, Isaiah 44:6-8The Living God, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 41:13Lord of Glory, Isaiah 60:1-3After the readings, open in praise to God for who He is. Then introduce Isaiah, pointing out that we meet God in a special way in this book, and will come to appreciate Him deeply as we study.

“ I Saw the Lord” : Isaiah 6:1-13The year was 739 b.c. It was the twelfth year of Jotham’ s coregency, three years after the death of Israel’ s great king, Jeroboam II. According to tradition this may have been the actual year in which, on the banks of the Tiber River across the Mediterranean, Rome was founded! In Judah it was the year King Uzziah died. For Isaiah, it was the year he saw the Lord. These events were turning points for both Judah and Isaiah. For Judah Uzziah’ s death marked the beginning of the end of peace and prosperity. Assyria had begun to expand westward. Israel joined with Syria to stave off an attack and then tried to force Judah into a coalition with them against Assyria. Judah refused to go along, so Israel and Syria attempted to replace Judah’ s king with a man of their own choosing. Finally, King Ahaz of Judah called on Assyria for support against his two local enemies, only to find himself threatened by this voracious helper. Ultimately, Israel became a puppet state and then suffered complete destruction (722 b.c.), and Judah was left exposed on her northern and western flanks. Within the land there was a deepening spiritual decline. Uzziah had begun as a godly king, and “ as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:5). Growing military success, however, made Uzziah proud. He turned away from God, was struck with leprosy, and retired to a separate house for his final years. Jotham, his son, ruled for him. Jotham “ did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 27:2) and during his 16-year reign enjoyed continued political and military success. But he had little influence on the practices of Judah’ s people. The Bible tells us that they “ continued their corrupt practices” (2 Chronicles 27:2). The sins against which Isaiah would cry out were deeply entrenched in the lifestyle of Judah as well as of Israel! Uzziah’ s death was symbolic. He who had begun so well and had found prosperity in obedience had been struck by the dread disease of leprosy. An appearance of health and strength remained for a time, but the disease was at work within the body of the king; its marks became more and more visible as the ravages of that dread sickness took their toll. Finally, destroyed within and without, Uzziah died; his pride and his disobedience brought judgment on him. Isaiah pointed out that Judah was also diseased, just like her king, because she too had deserted the Lord. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. Isaiah 1:4Isaiah graphically describes the advanced stages of leprosy: Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness — only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. Isaiah 1:5-6Judah’ s sickness, like that of Uzziah, had to end in death. The year Uzziah died was a pivotal time for Judah. She had a last opportunity to choose between life and death. And Judah’ s choice, like Uzziah’ s, had been made. Yet this was the year Isaiah saw the Lord! We read about his vision in Isaiah 6:1-13 and recognize that the prophet has been called to a lifelong work. From this time on, Isaiah would lift high the torch to reveal God to his people, and to us. He would proclaim the God who stands behind all history, the God who wants us to know and love Him. In the year Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord, and his whole life and perspective were transformed. As ours too can be. Isaiah’ s description (Isaiah 6:1-4). Perhaps Isaiah had come to the temple to pray or to offer sacrifices. We’ re not told. All we know is that suddenly the veils were stripped away and Isaiah “ saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted” (Isaiah 6:1). He was surrounded by angelic beings. The foundation shook, smoke filled the temple, and God’ s brilliance blazed as the beings cried out: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3Isaiah was filled with dread. He was confronted with the reality which God’ s people had ignored: the God of Israel is holy. Isaiah’ s response (Isaiah 6:5-9). When Isaiah saw God’ s holiness, he also saw his own condition. With all his pride and his self-righteousness stripped away, Isaiah cried, “ Woe to me! . . . I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Against the stark holiness of God, Isaiah suddenly saw his whole lifestyle as a perhaps unwitting but nevertheless real expression of an inner wickedness. But then God acted. One of the angelic beings touched Isaiah’ s lips with a live coal from the altar, announcing, “ Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). The altar fires, which would one day flare up with Jesus’ blood, now brought Isaiah covering of sin and release from guilt. Pronounced holy by the Holy One, Isaiah could now stand before the Lord. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Divide into teams of three. Each person is to tell the others something of what led up to his or her conversion experience. After sharing, have your group members, still in teams, read Isaiah 6:1-7. What points of comparison do members find between their own conversion experiences and this experience of Isaiah? What differences?Returning to the whole group, explore: “ How might this powerful conversion experience have affected Isaiah? How did it make him feel about himself? About God? How might this experience affect his values and future commitments?” Isaiah’ s vision of God, and his experience of cleansing, prepared him for a lifetime of ministry. When Isaiah heard God ask, “ Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” he responded immediately. “ Here I am. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN In Isaiah’ s vision of God the prophet saw Him as bright and awesome. We have no way to capture or represent this vision. Yet we do need to move beyond words to help boys and girls sense the awesome greatness of the Lord, and to worship Him as Holy One and Saviour. One way to do this is with a 100-plus watt light bulb. Let boys and girls feel the heat (warmth), and see that the bulb is too bright to look into directly. God is holy, too bright to look at. But God loves us and, like the light bulb, sheds the light of His salvation so we can come to know Him, and can see the way that we should go. Encourage the children to think of God’ s holiness and love when they notice a light bulb, and thank God for being bright and holy, and warm. Isaiah’ s commission (Isaiah 6:10-13). Isaiah was now charged with a staggering task. He was to speak God’ s Word to a people who had made an irrevocable choice and warn them of the certainty of judgment. He was to point out their blindness and their unwillingness to listen. Isaiah had to face the fact that God’ s people would remain deaf and blind to the Lord’ s message for another hundred years. Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away, and the land is utterly forsaken. Isaiah 6:11-12Only then would God’ s people finally hear. Only then would they read the words of Isaiah the prophet and see the Holy One who reveals sin and brings forgiveness. What a burden for Isaiah to bear. He knew the men and women he walked beside were doomed; he realized the supernatural power with which his words were endowed and that all his prayer concern would not break through to reach the hardened hearts of his generation. But what a blessing to know that another day would come! Someday, when Isaiah himself had been laid to rest and all the people who spurned God had returned to dust, other generations would pour over Isaiah’ s words and find God’ s Spirit quickening them to life with the Holy One of Israel. And so it happened. Isaiah prophesied judgment, and it came. But generations of believers before Christ poured over Isaiah’ s words and found a vital hope. And generations after Christ have returned to this book to renew their vision of the Lord. One exciting archeological find, the Dead Sea Scrolls, gives us insight into how accurately the prophet’ s words have been preserved. The Qumran community hid their sacred library some 180 years before Christ. The library was discovered in 1947. Apparently Isaiah, along with Deuteronomy and Psalms, were especially loved by these Old Testament believers. Among the finds was a copy of Isaiah, the first copy of any Old Testament book from the pre-Christian era. Before this time our earliest text of the Hebrew Bible dated from around a.d. 1100. The striking fact is that the text of the scroll authenticates the Hebrew text of our Bible; except for minor differences in vocalization, spelling, and the presence or absence of an article (“ the,” “ that” ), this ancient text is the same as the text of some 1,300 years later! God has preserved across the centuries an accurate text of His Word so that you and I can read our Old Testament with the confidence that what we see on its pages is a translation of the very words the authors penned.

Three Sermons: Isaiah 1-5 These first chapters of Isaiah contain three sermons that, together, give us a picture of Isaiah’ s early ministry. They also underline the holiness theme that culminates in Isaiah 6:1-13. Each sermon gives us insight into the spiritual condition of God’ s people, a condition of great concern to the Holy God. An indictment (Isaiah 1:1-31). This first sermon is both an indictment and an appeal in which God described the sins that characterized the lifestyle of His people. In choosing the way of sin, Judah had “ spurned the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 1:4). Living in sin is an act of rebellion, a deliberate choice to turn against God. God’ s complaint against Israel focused on her lack of concern with justice. Isaiah cried out to this people: Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of My sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:15-17Judah still maintained the appearance of religion. She continued to worship; offered sacrifices; held Sabbaths, solemn convocations, required festivals, and appointed feasts. But her heart was far from God; her life was, in fact, dedicated to ungodliness. God said Judah must be purged so that once again Jerusalem may be known as the City of Righteousness. Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will both be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord will perish. Isaiah 1:27-28LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT We know that God is holy. But what is it that people do which is an affront to holiness? Lead your group members to study Isaiah 1:1-31, to first identify what is unholy, and then together to describe a “ holy life” for God’ s people. A description of judgment (Isa. 2-4). Isaiah saw beyond time to the end of history when the glory God intends for His purified and holy people will be theirs (Isaiah 2:2-5; Isaiah 4:2-6). The promise is rich in beauty. God will judge between nations; swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. No more will men train for war. The Lord will wash, cleanse, and shelter. Jerusalem will become “ a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain” (Isaiah 4:6). But before that time judgment will come! The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty. . . . The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled. . . . Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth. Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 2:17, Isaiah 2:19The prosperity Judah had come to trust would be stripped away. Those who had crushed their brothers and ground down the faces of the poor would experience the full meaning of being crushed and ground down. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Work as a group to define from Isaiah 2:1-5 and Isaiah 4:2-6 : “ What is God straining to accomplish among us?“ When your members have arrived at consensus, work in teams. Study the rest of Isaiah 24:1-23, to determine: “ What in our lifestyle blocks God’ s goal of cleansing and peace?” And, “ What actions can we expect to take against such behavior?” Judgment vindicated (Isaiah 5:1-30). A farmer planted grapevines, intent on harvesting a crop of choice fruit. But despite all the farmer’ s care, the yield was only sour and bitter grapes. Applying this figure, Isaiah confronted the people of Judah. They were themselves God’ s tender plantings, but the fruit they had produced was bitter. He looked for justice, but saw blood shed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress Isaiah 5:7So God will act. He will vindicate His holiness. He will not permit the people called by His name to tarnish His glory, or to splatter His character with their filth. The Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the Holy God will show Himself holy by His righteousness. Isaiah 5:16Those who have rejected the word of the Lord will feel His anger burn and will see His hand raised to strike. It is then that we find the report of Isaiah’ s personal experience with God, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-13. Isaiah too saw the Holy One of Israel. But, unlike Judah, Isaiah dropped to his knees and confessed his sinfulness. Unlike Judah, Isaiah felt the burning touch of forgiveness, which did not bring pain but healing, and a renewed relationship with God. What a portrait for us. God comes to us as the Holy One. We can fall to our knees before God, acknowledge our sins, and discover that holiness heals. Or we can turn our backs on the vision as Judah did, and know that in spurning the Holy God we invite a dreadful, certain fate. For God will be exalted. The Holy God will show Him self holy. In forgiveness or in judgment, God’ s holiness is revealed. How then will His holiness be revealed in you and me?

Teaching Guide Prepare Skim through the first six chapters of Isaiah, jotting down words and phrases that help you sense the holiness of God.

Explore

1. As your group members arrive assign readings that introduce them to some of the names of God found in Isaiah, that help make this great Old Testament book so significant. See the “ link-to-life” idea above.
2. Give a brief overview of the book, using the outline and other information at the beginning of this unit.

Expand

1. Have group members share their conversion stories in preparation for looking at Isaiah’ s conversion story in Isaiah 6:1-13. Follow the plan provided in “ link-to-life” above.
2. Follow up by examining either Isaiah 1:1-31 or Isaiah 2-4. The experience of King Uzziah serves as a mirror for the nation. Israel’ s sin was likened to the king’ s leprosy; the judgment that would fall on Israel if they did not repent is like the judgment that fell on Uzziah when he turned away from following the Lord. Either of these two studies will help your group members sense the necessity of responding to God as Isaiah did. For those who accept forgiveness, God’ s holiness is healing. For those who will not turn to the Lord, holiness destroys.

Apply Several verses imbedded in the dark portrait of Judah’ s sin offer us hope. For instance, “ Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds” (Isaiah 3:10). Read this and these other verses in closing: Isaiah 1:18-19; Isaiah 2:5; Isaiah 5:16. Close with sentence prayers, suggesting each person express thanks for one of the truths reflected in the verses just read. Also, suggest that this week each person choose one of these verses to memorize.