Personal Reading & Reflection on Isaiah (1 to 2 pages minimum)

The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, started his ministry in 740 BC, the year King Uzziah
died. His name means “The Lord saves”. He was married and had at least two sons,
Shear-Jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3). His ministry spanned the reigns of
Jotham (740/39 – 732/31 BC), Ahaz (732/31 – 716/15) and Hezekiah (716/15 – 687/86).
Besides his writings (which included a history of King Uzziah recorded in 2 Chronicles
26:22), he also enacted his prediction that the king of Assyria will capture Egyptians and
Cushites as prisoners by going stripped and barefooted himself (Isaiah 20).

It was a turbulent time during the expansion of the Assyrian empire westward. Around
733 BC, Aram and northern kingdom of Israel tried to pressure Ahaz king of Judah to
join their alliance in opposing the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. Judah is at the
crossroads in determining where its security lies. But Ahaz sided with Assyrians and
Israel was conquered in 722-72. Isaiah opposed his action of submitting to Assyria in
order to counter the northern threat (Isaiah 7, 2 Kings 16:5-18). In such a context of
threats to the Davidic dynasty, Ahaz was counseled by Isaiah to place his trust in the
Lord who ruled, redeemed and instituted the nation (7:4, 9). In Hezekiah’s reign, where
Isaiah’s influence was at its peak, both Damascus (732 BC) and Samaria (722 BC) fell
just as he predicted they would (7:7-9). The king faced the dilemma of continuing
servitude to Assyria or rebel under the support of Egypt. Isaiah delivered the promise that
the Lord himself will defend the sovereignty of nation and city during the king’s
sickness.

Isaiah as the prophetic enforcer of the Lord’s covenant with the nation warned of the
divine judgment of God on His rebellious nation and its eventual hope of redemption.

Alec Motyer found several theological themes which unite the Isaianic literature: the
Messianic hope, the motif of the city, the Holy One of Israel, history and faith. He
proposed three Messianic portraits: the King (chapters 1-31), the Servant (chapters 38-55)
and the Anointed Conqueror (chapters 56-66). In each portrait, the Messiah is revealed to
be endowed with Spirit and word; righteous in his rule, work and character; of Davidic

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descent and his restoration of Zion will issue in a new world where salvation extends to
the ends of the earth. The nations will be brought into the blessings of Zion (chapter 60).

Jerusalem (pictured as Zion, the mountain or the city) has a prominent role in his vision.
Its predicted restoration will encompass the restoration of the nations as well. Chapters
24-26 highlight the contrast between the city of God and the worldly system structured
without God.

The title “Holy One of Israel” was used twenty five times in the book. The calling of
Isaiah is preceded by a transcendent vision of the holiness of God (6:1-13). Heavenly
creatures exclaim His utter otherness from created beings. The emphasis on divine
holiness is worked out in the wrath that befell those who willfully sin (1-37), the extent in
which the Messiah will bear sin and redeem His people (40-55) and the eternal state of
holiness in which they will remain in his presence (56-66).

In the historical context of Ahaz and Hezekiah, each king was faced with the choice to
trust in the Lord by faith or rely on their own strength and wisdom. Instead of depending
on Assyria or Egypt, they were called back to the covenant with the Lord. Faith is not just
a religious concept but a political reality.

In reflection, the message of Isaiah is important to Christians for the astonishing glimpses
of the Messiah as “God with us” born of a young maiden, who came as a servant king to
suffer on our behalf and whose revelation to the Gentiles would gather them under the
Lord’s reign as well. The ministry of John the Baptist found its meaning as “the voice
calling in the desert to prepare the way for the Lord” in Isaiah 40:3-5. Jesus began His
ministry as fulfilling what was written in Isaiah 61:1-2 – “to preach the good news to the
poor, proclaim freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind and release the oppressed”.
Matthew would see Jesus’ preaching ministry as fulfilling Isaiah 9:1, 2 that the light has
dawned on the Gentiles living in darkness. Thus all of Scripture including Isaiah points
forward to the climax and culmination that is in Christ.

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