20061211 Bible Study for the Day- Isaiah 1

Introduction to Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah captures the prophecies given to and the history of the prophet Isaiah who likely lived from the 750s to the 670s Before Christ (BC) during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh, the kings of Judah during that period.

Thematically, Isaiah is divided into two important parts. The first theme of Isaiah is God’s judgment against apostasy in Israel and Judah by handing Israel and Judah over to their enemies. This judgment happened historically by the invasions and conquests of the Assyrians in 732-681 BC and the Babylonians 606-586 BC. During this time, Israel (the northern ten tribes of the Jewish people) were captured and dispersed, effectively ending the continuity of those tribes. Eventually, Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians and the first Temple burned.

The second theme addresses the coming of Israel and Judah’s relief from that judgment, the coming of the Messiah. Significant references to the coming of Christ are found in Isaiah and it was the fulfillment of those prophecies that were an important reference point during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the later ministry of the Apostles to the Jews.

There is some historical-critical debate about the authorship and context of the Book of Isaiah as well as debate about differences in translation of the book between Christian and Jewish versions, however the book has been a part of the Jewish canon since the post exile period and has always been included as part of the Christian Bible. Further, much of the debate rests on scholarship conducted since the 18^th century, while there is very little evidence of this debate before the 18^th century.

As with all Bible studies, it is useful to use commentaries as a guide to the text to help keep the study focused. One good commentary to start with is the People’s Bible commentary (parts 1 and 2) on Isaiah available from the Northwest Publishing House of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

All of the verse links in this study come from the site BibleGateway.com.

This study is part of the three-year Bible Study available from the WELS begun with this weblog on 1 January 2006 and part of the Bible Study for the Day series. A spreadsheet of the daily Bible readings can be found at this link.

Context for Isaiah 1

Isaiah 1 launches immediately into God’s condemnation of Judah because of the people’s apostasy in their faith. This chapter is a pronouncement of judgment, rather than a warning, that is a statement of the consequences that an unfaithful people will suffer for their lack of faith.

Isaiah 1

Modern Christians sometimes have a hard time with the language of the Old Testament as it is sometimes found in books like Isaiah. We do not like to think of our God and our faith in the context of condemnation and judgment. Yet, this language of condemnation and judgment is provided to us for a purpose, not only as a warning but also as a guide.

The warning is to beware the consequences of straying from our own faith. Such straying leads us only away from God, and there is no doubt that, if we stray too far, we find ourselves separated from God altogether. If we are separated from God, then what hope do we have? The guide is to be aware of the pitfalls of the world, the devil, and our own sinfulness that constantly seek to separate us from God. If we look to what other people, our spiritual forbearers, did that lead them astray, we can learn from their errors and avoid them.

DLH