The Incomparable God
A Study in Isaiah 40-48
Isaiah 40-48 speaks to a broken people who have struggled with idolatry and now are under the discipline of the Lord because of their idolatry. The people to which this message was originally written were experiencing exile. In other words, their homeland had been destroyed and they were now strangers in a foreign land. They were “captives” in Babylon. Their enslavement to gods/idols other than the one true god led, ironically, to physical enslavement.
The solution to idolatry is none other than recognizing Who really is the one and only incomparable God. Isaiah 40-48 presents Yahweh, the creator God as the HOLY ONE—the one like whom there is no other.
Through this study I hope you will gain a new sense of how great Yahweh is and how much He desires to be in relationship with His people.
Goals for this Bible Study:
1) To know God more through His revelation in the book of Isaiah, especially Isaiah 40-48
2) To consciously apply the truths which He intended through the Book of Isaiah
3) To learn how to interpret Old Testament literature like Isaiah. This will be done by example—i.e. learn by doing and imitating what you see me and your leader doing.
4) To encourage one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25, accountability)
5) Memorize, meditate, and apply Isaiah 40:12-31
Expectations: 2 hours this week of preparation/reading in order to contribute meaningfully to discussion
The Incomparable God
Bible Study #1
ISAIAH
John A. Martin
INTRODUCTION
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most- loved books of the Bible; it is perhaps the best known of the prophetic books. It contains several passages that are well known among Bible students ([e.g., 1:18; 7:14; 9:6-7; 26:8; 40:3, 31; 53). It has great literary merit and contains beautiful descriptive terminology. ]
Isaiah also contains much factual material about the society of Israel around 700 b.c. Besides pointing out the shortcomings of the people the prophet noted that God always has a remnant of believers through whom He works.
Isaiah spoke more than any other prophet of the great kingdom into which Israel would enter at the Second Advent of the Messiah. Isaiah discussed the depths of Israel’s sin and the heights of God’s glory and His coming kingdom.
Author and Date. The author of this book was Isaiah the son of Amoz (Isa. 1:1). The name “Isaiah” means “Yahweh is salvation.” Though more is known about Isaiah than most of the other writing prophets, the information on him is still scanty. Probably Isaiah resided in Jerusalem and had access to the royal court. According to tradition he was a cousin of King Uzziah but no firm evidence exists to support this. He did have personal contact with at least two of Judah’s kings who were David’s descendants (7:3; 38:1; 39:3).
Isaiah was married (8:3). He had two sons, Shear-Jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3). …
The year of Isaiah’s death is unknown but it was probably after Hezekiah’s death in 686 b.c. (and therefore probably in Manasseh’s sole reign, 686-642) because Isaiah wrote a biography of King Hezekiah (2 Chron. 32:32). Isaiah’s death would have occurred after Sennacherib’s death (Isa. 37:38), which was in 681 b.c. Since the prophet’s ministry began sometime in Uzziah’s reign (790-739 b.c.) Isaiah ministered for at least 58 years (from at least 739, when Uzziah died [6:1], to 681, when Sennacherib died).
According to tradition dating from the second century a.d., Isaiah was martyred by King Manasseh. Justin Martyr ([ca. ]a.d. 100-165) wrote that Isaiah was sawed asunder with a saw ([cf. Heb. 11:37). ]
As is true of all other prophetic books in the Old Testament (except Lam.), the Book of Isaiah bears the name of its author (Isa. 1:1). Many modern scholars divide the book into two or more parts and say that each part had a different author. However, according to strong Jewish and Christian tradition the book had only one author. No doubt was cast on the Isaian authorship until the 18th century when critics began to attack a number of Old Testament books and to question their authorship and internal unity. (See the next section on “Unity.”)
Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah (1:1). The reigns of these kings (including coregencies) were: Uzziah (790-739 BC), Jotham (750-732 BC), Ahaz (735-715BC), and Hezekiah (715-686 BC).
These years in Israel’s history were a time of great struggle both politically and spiritually. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was deteriorating politically, spiritually, and militarily and finally fell to the Assyrian Empire in 722 b.c. The Southern Kingdom of Judah looked as though it too would collapse and fall to Assyria, but it withstood the attack. In this political struggle and spiritual decline Isaiah rose to deliver a message to the people in Judah. His message was that they should trust in the God who had promised them a glorious kingdom through Moses and David. Isaiah urged the nation not to rely on Egypt or any other foreign power to protect them for the Lord was the only protection they would need.
Purpose. Isaiah’s primary purpose was to remind his readers of the special relationship they had with God as members of the nation of Israel, His special covenant community.
Like the other writing prophets, Isaiah knew of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:2-3; 15:18-21; 17:3-8, 19) in which God promised that Israel would (a) enjoy a special relationship with Him, (b) possess the land of Canaan, and (c) be a blessing to others.
Isaiah was also aware of the Mosaic Covenant, given Israel at the time of the Exodus from Egypt and repeated by Moses to the generation of Israelites who were about to enter Palestine. Throughout the Book of Deuteronomy God through Moses had promised the people that as members of the covenant community they would be blessed by Him if they lived according to the Mosaic Covenant (e.g., Deut. 28:1-14). But He also warned them that if they did not obey His commands and decrees they would experience the curses (punishments) spelled out in the covenant (Deut. 28:15-68) including exile from the land.
However, because of the Abrahamic Covenant in which God promised blessing on Israel and the world, Moses could confidently affirm that even after the people had been exiled from the land the Lord would someday bring them back to the land of promise and establish them in His kingdom.
So Isaiah was calling the people of Judah back to a proper covenantal relationship with God. He was reminding his generation of the sinful condition in which they were living and of its consequences. God would judge the nation, but He would also eventually restore them to the land (cf. Deut. 30:1-5) with full kingdom blessings because of His promises to Abraham.
Observation Questions
1. Questions: Skim Read Isaiah 1-3, 5-6. What do you notice about the themes and motifs? What stands out to you? The metaphor of the vineyard is a familiar NT metaphor, but it was first used in the OT in Isaiah 5:1-7. What is the meaning of this parable in Isaiah 5:1-7? What was God going to be doing with His people at that time? God ultimately wants a people who will be like those in Isaiah 12 and he will purge and purify until he accomplishes this. Please read Isaiah 12 now. Share your insights with the group.
2. Question: What did Isaiah witness in his lifetime in regard to the northern kingdom of Israel also called Samaria? (Isaiah 8, see especially verses 8:4-8). Note that the “wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria” in verse 4 refer to the alliance between the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Damascus.
3. Question: To which kingdom was Isaiah a prophet? (Northern Kingdom—Israel, or Southern Kingdom Judah , see Isaiah 1:1)
4. Question: What was his general message to this kingdom (1:2ff)? Why was Isaiah in a particularly strategic place chronologically to announce the certainty of ultimate destruction of Judah if they did not turn from their ways? (cf. question #2)
5. Question: Why did God pour out judgment upon the Northern Kingdom Israel and pronounce future judgment of the southern Kingdom of Judah? (cf. Jer 5:19, 2 Kings 17:15)
· Background Summary:
In 1445 BC at Mount Sinai with Moses as the mediator, Yahweh entered into a covenant relationship with Israel in which He defined Himself as the Great King which demanded the exclusive loyalty of His servant—Israel. The very first stipulation of the covenant was that His servant, Israel, have no other god than Yahweh (Exodus 20). As Israel developed into a nation this stipulation was broken by the nation of Israel. Israel chased after other deities, while still proclaiming that Yahweh was Israel’s national deity (cf. Is 48: 1-2; 2 Kings 17.)
Israel was to be the exclusive servant of an incomparable sovereign. Israel seemed to lack the capacity and the will to fulfill the main requirement of any servant--to remain loyal to his sovereign. The Bible’s prophetic books were warnings to the people to go back to serving the one true God.
As sovereign, Yahweh was justified in placing Israel under “the ban”, a status ineligible for redemption. Yahweh was justified in destroying Israel’s political and religious institutions, and in destroying its capital. It was within Yahweh’s sovereign rights to deliver His unfaithful people over to another nation so that Israel may have ceased to exist.
Because of their disloyalty (idolatry), the ultimate judgment of Israel corresponded to the nature of the offense. Yahweh gave the Israelites over to the system of idolatry with which they had been enamored. Israel became “deaf” and “blind” spiritually like the deaf and blind stone idols which they were following (cf. Psalm 135:14-18, Is 42:16-20). Yahweh even sent them into captivity to dwell in the very geographical heart of idolatry.
6. Discuss in your group what “spiritual idolatry” among Christians looks like today. Why would we need to study about idolatry? (i.e. Col 3:5)
7. Read Isaiah 6 on the next page.
8. Question: What similar terminology do you notice in the passages listed with Isaiah 6?
9. Question: What is the correlation between idols and people who worship them?
***PLEASE NOTE YOUR ANSWERS TO QUESTION 7 & 8. These concepts become a major theme/motif in Isaiah 40-48**
G. K. Beale states---“We resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration.” In other words, we become like that which we worship.
Isaiah 6 is all about idolatry as well even though it may not seem like it on the surface. The obscure “cleansing of the lips” ritual that Isaiah goes through possibly refers to a pagan idolatry ritual taken over by the Lord to illustrate a point. G.K. Beale states regarding verses 6:6-7.
It may be that the cleansing of Isaiah’s “mouth” and “lips” reflects an ancient Near Eastern ritual known as ‘the washing of the mouth,” which was known at the time of Isaiah. Isaiah’s presence at the threshold of the temple, the burning of his lips and the pronouncement of his cleansing (“your iniquity is taken away”) appears to be a parody of an ancient Near Easter ritual by which idols were prepared for the gods to dwell in them. If this is correct, then the scene in Isaiah 6:1-8 would be a way of mocking the idolatrous institutions of the day and show that Isaiah himself is the true living image of the true God” - G. K. Beale, We Become What We Worship, p. 64.
10. Question: In this famous Isaiah 6 passage what was the precise mission of Isaiah? (Isaiah 6:9-10) Why? In other words what was God turning over Israel to be like?
11. Question: What could Israel apparently not “see” and “hear” that Isaiah clearly “saw” and “heard” in 6:1-4
12. Question: How do you tend to “become what you worship?”
13. Question: Idolatry will always “minimize” God. How?
Isaiah 1:27-3129 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen. 30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water. 31 The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them. / Isaiah 2:12, 17-18
12 For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased….17 The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols will completely vanish.
Isaiah 5:13
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge
Psalm 135:14-18
14 For the Lord will judge His people And will have compassion on His servants. 15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, Yes, everyone who trusts in them.