By Captain Michael Ramsay
Today we return to more of a ‘teach’ than the traditional ‘preach’ that we usually see here.[1] We have been looking at Luke throughout the Christmas season and that is inherently more ‘preachy’ than some texts in the Bible in its very open egalitarian or even anti-wealth and privilege presentation of the gospel.[2] It is very much good news to the poor (cf. for example Luke 10:20-34, 18:22-25).[3] It is the social justice gospel.[4]
Today we are leaving Luke’s teaching about the proleptic fulfillment of the social justice prophecies (cf. Luke 1: 46-56, Luke 18:18-19). Today we are looking at one of the prophets who longed for the advent of the era that Luke heralded and Christ proclaimed (cf. esp. Isaiah 7-9, 61). Today we are looking at ‘First Isaiah’. But first we are going to have a sword drill. Who can find…make sure that everyone has a Bible…who can find…when you find the passage just read it out…who can find:
Genesis 12:1-3: 1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
2 Samuel 7:12: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
Romans 3:3-4: What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
Genesis 6:3: Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
Isaiah, the book:
One last sword drill: ready? One, two, three, who can find First Isaiah first? Psst, there isn’t a book called First Isaiah. I will get someone to find and read Isaiah 1:1, though: “The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” This is what we are speaking about over the next few weeks.
Susan taught us last week a bit about Isaiah and the historical context leading up to the time of the prophet last week. We are going to build on that somewhat today.
To review: there is only one book actually called ‘Isaiah’ in our Bible but it was probably written over a period of up to four hundred years and scripture (Genesis 6:3), reason, tradition, and experience all lead us to the conclusion that Isaiah did not live to be 400+ years old. When was the last time you met a 400 year-old? The book of Isaiah speaks about three successive superpowers: Assyria, Babylon, Persia. The first 39 chapters of this book were written when Assyria was the superpower.
As a bit of a reference point, in recent history the last three significant world superpowers have spanned a comparable time period to date: the USA, 1945-Present; England, 1588-1945; Spain, 1493-1588.[5] I don’t know about you but I haven’t met anyone who has been alive since Spain ruled the world. No one since the time of Noah, the scriptures state, has lived to be 400 years old (Genesis 6:3). This is the same scenario as with the book of Isaiah: for the prophet Isaiah (who was dead before the existence of the Babylonian or Persian empires) to write the whole book it would be as if someone from the Spanish Empire wrote a book as if they lived in present day America. This is one reason among many, that many (but not all) scholars in this day and age believe that Isaiah was written by up to three groups of people.[6]
Isaiah has three distinct divisions that academics often refer to as 1st Isaiah (Chapters 1-39), 2nd or Deutero-Isaiah (Chapters 40-55), and Third or Trito-Isaiah (Chapters 56-66). Second and Third Isaiah were probably composed by his disciples after the prophet Isaiah’s death (cf. Isaiah 8:16).[7] You will note as we read through Isaiah together as a congregation that there is a significant stylistic difference between Chapters 1-39 and Chapter 40 onwards. Another key difference between the sections, as Susan told us last week, relates to the conquest of Judah and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The first temple was probably destroyed (586 BCE) about one hundred years after the prophet Isaiah was dead (690 BCE) and it is still recorded in the book of Isaiah as both an impending event (Isaiah 1-39) and an accomplished fact (Isaiah 39-66). It was certainly destroyed after 1st Isaiah was written and probably long before 2nd and 3rd Isaiah’s composition.[8] However, even though this book likely has two or even three sets of authors, it is important to read it through as whole.[9] After all it is contained in our Bible as one entity. That being said, today we are looking primarily at the life and times of the author of so called ‘First Isaiah’. We are looking at Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah the son of Amoz (Isaiah 1:1).
Isaiah, the person:
Does anyone know how, according to tradition, the prophet Isaiah died? Have you ever seen some of those live magic/illusionist shows where everything appears one way but it is really something entirely different? There is this one act where inevitably the magician/illusionist climbs into a box and is cut in half and then his assistant puts the box back together and the magician/illusionist gets out and walks around perfectly in tact. Isaiah’s adversaries – King Manasseh of Judah et el. (cf. 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33) – pulled off the first part of this trick perfectly, sawing him in half, but all the king’s horses and all the king’s men didn’t bother to try to put Isaiah back together again. Isaiah, according to tradition, was captured and then killed by being sawed in half with a wooden saw by the King of Judah (cf. Hebrews 11:37). This probably happened around 690 BCE (cf. Ascension of Isaiah, Martyrdom of Isaiah 5:1-15, Lives of the Prophets 1.1).[10]
Isaiah was most likely somewhat educated as he had knowledge of history, economics and religion. He was probably born in Jerusalem -which was the capital city of the country of Judah, which was just south of Israel - around 760 BCE.
Isaiah entered into ministry after experiencing a vision in the Temple in the year 740 BCE, the year King Uzziah died (Isaiah 6).[11] Isaiah 1:1 states that he ministered during the reigns of the Kings Uzziah (AKA Azariah, 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah. Manasseh, the king who traditionally had him cut in half, was King Hezekiah’s son. He was the longest reigning monarch of Judah and it seems, the most evil (cf. 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33).
Isaiah’s dad:
Isaiah 1:1 tells us that Isaiah’s father’s name was Amoz but nothing else is really known about his father. (Amoz, by the way is not the same person as the prophet Amos whose prophecy is also included in the Bible.) Jewish tradition declares Isaiah to be of royal stock. Tradition claims that Isaiah’s father was a brother of Amaziah, the king of Judah; this would make Isaiah part of the royal family.[12] While this claim cannot be substantiated, Isaiah may have been an aristocrat or he may have had the support of a powerful aristocrat for he seemed to have ready access to kings of Judah (Isaiah 7:3; 37:21-22, etc.).[13]
Isaiah’s wife and children:
Isaiah had a wife who was a prophetess, as recorded in Isaiah 8:3. This is neat: this is similar to our Salvation Army where the husband and wife are in ministry together. Isaiah was a prophet and his wife was a prophetess.[14] They had children whose lives were wrapped up in the ministry as well, not unlike the Salvation Army, and just like many Salvationists have a habit of naming their children something to do with the Army: William, Catherine, Evangeline, Bramwell, etc.; Isaiah and his wife’s children were named according to their ministry. The prophets’ children’s names were prophetic (reminiscent of Hosea; see Hosea 2:1-11): they were named Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning ‘the spoil speeds, the prey hastens’ or ‘Quick loot, fast plunder’, and Shear-jasub, meaning ‘a remnant shall return’ (Isaiah 7:3; 8:3, 18; cf. Isaiah 1:9, 7:1-4, 8:1-4, 10:20-23). These names refer to the Assyrian invasion and the survival of a faithful remnant.[15] These were his children’s names. This is Isaiah, the person. He and his family were prophets and he ministered from about 740 BCE until his death around 690 BCE.
What does the world look like at this time?
The maps are of Assyria and The Mediterranean today.
In sports and entertainment: the first Olympics are held in 776 BCE in Greece.[16] The game of chess is arguably invented by Palamedes in 680 BCE.[17] In urban development, the city of Rome, which would eventually conquer Israel (63 BCE) along with the rest of the Mediterranean world, is founded in 753 BCE. In science, Babylon and China are starting to understand and track planetary movements around this time and Assyria itself invents the water-wing (so to speak) or the first PFDs (life jackets): Assyrians begin to use animal bladders filled with air as swimming aids.[18]
Palestine -including Israel, Judah, Philistia, Syria (Aram), and many other states- was often seen as an Egyptian protectorate throughout its early history – or at least well within (what we would call during the Cold War) Egypt’s sphere of influence. Palestine, in the time of the prophet Isaiah, is now being threatened by Assyria: the new and upcoming superpower.
What about Assyria, the Superpower of Isaiah’s day?
Assyria was named for its first capital city, Ashur, which was founded ca. 2000 BCE on the banks of the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. (You remember that Abraham of Genesis came from the city of Ur, which is also in Mesopotamia, at about the same time as Ashur was founded; Genesis 11:28-30). The Assyrians later moved their capital to Nineveh and started to grow into an empire in the mid-ninth century BCE (see Genesis 2:14, 10:11-12).[19]
Now, we recognize the city of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, don’t we? We’ve heard of it before. Can anyone think of a famous story in the Bible that revolves around Nineveh and the salvation of the people of Nineveh? (Jonah) Can anyone tell me what book of the Bible we would find the story of Jonah in? (Jonah) Remember that it was to Nineveh that God sent Jonah and he didn’t want to go and preach there because then the people of Nineveh, whom Jonah hated, might actually be saved. Jonah even went so far as to board a boat to run away from this landlocked city – Nineveh is not on the Ocean! - but God sent a whale (a giant fish) to swallow him and then spit him up on shore again so that he could bring the message of salvation to the Ninevites around this same period of time (ca.786-746 BC).[20]
International Relations:
In the context of the prophet and story of 1st Isaiah, there are some other important international events involving Assyria – not the least of which is the Syro-Ephraimitic War (734-732 BCE, Isaiah 7:1-8:21). (Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel and at this time the names were interchangeable.) This war occurs when Ahaz is King of Judah (2 Kings 15:38 - 2 Kings 16:20). Assyria, from the East, is threatening the countries in Palestine. Israel and Syria (Syria, a.k.a. ‘Aram’, is not Assyria and Nineveh: Syria is north of Israel; Assyria is near present-day Iraq) wants to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to withstand a possible invasion by Assyria, the superpower.
Judah, with the blessing of the Lord and at the prompting of the prophet Isaiah, refuses to join this ‘coalition of the willing’ (cf. Isaiah 7:5-9). As a result Syria (Aram) and Israel join forces in an attempt to impose a ‘regime change’ on Judah. Judah, following the Lord and Isaiah’s counsel, defeats the coalition forces. It is in this context that we will be introduced to many Messianic prophecies that are fulfilled with the advent of Christ (see Isaiah 7-9). Israel and Syria (Aram) will later fall to Assyria. Judah, after the death of the prophet Isaiah but before the end of the book of Isaiah, will also fall. Judah will fall to Assyria’s successor, Babylon; who will in turn fall to the Medes and Persians.
Judah is spared conquest by Assyria. The Lord spares them as they pay tribute to Assyria. (You know what tribute is, right? Tribute is like in the mob movies where they pay ‘protection money’ to the mob so that the mob won’t beat you up or kill you.) As long as Israel continues to pay Assyria, Assyria has no reason to invade them.[21] The Philistines, who also live in Palestine, at the encouragement of the Egyptians, another regional superpower, also formed part of a ‘coalition of the willing’ to resist Assyrian hegemony (Isaiah 20). Hezekiah’s refusal to join this coalition serves him well for this rebellion is crushed in 711 BCE by the Assyrians.[22]
This is not the end though: the lesser power of Egypt continues to try and gain control over the Palestinian kingdoms and later Babylon – an enemy nearer to the heart of Assyria – tries to entice Judah to resist the Assyrians. Contrary to the advice of Isaiah, this time they give in and begin preparing the country for war and war they get. Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704-681 BCE), invades (2 Kings 18:13-19:37; 20:12-19). Judah does not put up much of a resistance. By 701 BCE Assyria has taken 47 Judean cities and Sennacherib has laid siege to Jerusalem, trapping Hezekiah, “like a bird in a cage”. King Hezekiah then empties the treasury and he even strips the Temple of God of its gold to raise enough funds to pay off King Sennacherib (2 Kings 18; Isaiah 36). Sennacherib then leaves for home where he is assassinated by two of his own sons (2 Kings 19:1-7, 36-37; Isaiah 37:1-7, 37-38). Assyria would return to the area later. They defeat Israel, Syria, Philistia, and even Egypt. When Israel falls that is the last time in history that Israel (786 BCE) is an independent nation (except for briefly under the Hasmoneans, 141-63 BCE). Judah is just a tributary (a puppet government?) of Assyria. This is the world at the time of the prophet Isaiah.
After the death of Isaiah but before the completion of the book of Isaiah, Judah too, in 586 BCE, is conquered. They are conquered by Assyria’s successors, the Babylonians. Judah then rebels against Babylon and so the Babylonians destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple of God that is in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is in ruins; there is no more Temple and there are no more descendants of David sitting on the throne. Judah and Israel as independent nations are finished.[23]
The Messiah and the World.
Let us jump ahead to Isaiah Chapters 7-9, which those of you who have been following our reading plan have read by now. It is in the context of the destruction of Israel, and the impending destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple (which some people thought could never be destroyed because that is where they believed that God Himself dwelt); it is in this context that God -through Isaiah- tells us about Jesus, about Immanuel, who is ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8; see also Matthew 1:23). God - through Isaiah - tells us that in His impending society, when the Messiah comes, those who oppose God (and do not love their neighbour and stand up for the disenfranchised) will be brought low (Isaiah 9:8-11:16; see also Isaiah 3:14, 15, 10:2, 11:4, 26:6, 32:7, 41:17, 58:7, 61:1).[24] They shall stumble on the Messiah. To them he will be a stumbling block and stone of offence (Isaiah 8:15, 28:16; See Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8; See also Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17) but for the rest of us who do serve Jesus, the Messiah, we will experience His Salvation.
The nations of Israel and Judah are finished by the time the book of Isaiah is finished but in Isaiah’s future he sees not only Israel’s but the whole world’s salvation (See Isaiah 42:12, 49:6, 49:13, 57:18, 60:1-3, 61:2, Zechariah 8:20-23; Luke 2:30-32; Acts: 13:47;cf.also Matthew 4:16; Luke 17:24; John 1:4-9, 3:19-21, 5:35, 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:36, 12:46; Acts 26:23; Romans 2:18; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 4-5; Colossians 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16…). It is in this context that Isaiah proclaims that very famous prophecy that we quote every Christmas (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV):
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
This is the good news and this good news is the same for us today. When we are in our darkest spots; when we have placed our faith in our country, our rituals, our laws, our humanity, or whatever other else we are tempted to erroneously place our faith in and when that all comes crashing down – which it inevitably will; when all else fails and the days seem dark and our struggles seem immense; we, like Isaiah, can look to Immanuel; we, like Isaiah can look to the Jesus. Isaiah looked forward to and foretold Jesus’ birth to the virgin Mary and the proleptic proclamation of his Kingdom to come (Isaiah 7:14; see Matthew 1:23 and Luke 1:27-34).[25] We can now look back with certainty upon that fulfilled prophecy, as Jesus has already come, and we can also eagerly look forward to Jesus’ coming again because our Lord who promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Romans 3:3,4; see also Judges 2:1), our Lord who has given us his comfort, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back and He’s coming back soon (see Revelation 22:20) and this is good news.
Let us pray.
http://www.sheepspeak.com/
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[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘What’s the Point: an Introduction to Hebrews’, Presented to Swift Current Corps, 05 September 2009 for another such ‘teach’.
[2] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein. Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Introduction to Luke/Themes and Theology of Luke/Themes and Theology of Luke: Discipleship and the Christian in the world, Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] God has always had a concern for the vulnerable even as is recorded in the OT: Deut 15:4 says, “However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,” Cf. also: Exod. 23:6,11, Lev. 19:10,15, 23:22, 27:8, Deut. 15:7, 15:11, 24:12-15, 1 Sam 2:8, Pss. 22:26, 34:6, 35:10, 82:3, Isa. 61:1, Eze. 16:49, 18:12, 22:29, Amos 2:7, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6, Zec. 7:10.
[4] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Good News to the Poor: Comparing a Christian Worldview as expressed in Luke’s Gospel to Marx’, Presented to William and Catherine Booth College March 2009. Available on-line: http://sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_History_TSA.htm#Marx
[5] The Key events I picked to signify the power shifts were the detonation at the first atomic bomb, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Papal decree of 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, written up one year later in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
[6] Cf. Gene M. Tucker, ‘The Book of Isaiah 1-39’ in NIB VI: Isaiah – Ezekiel (Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn., 2001), 32-35.
[7] Cf. D. R. Jones, ‘The Tradition of the Oracles of Isaiah of Jerusalem’, ZAW 67:226-46 (1955). Cited in Ronald E. Clemens, ‘The Unity in the Book of Isaiah’, Interpretation 36 no 2 April 1982, pp. 117-129.
[8] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, ‘Isaiah 1-39,’ Westminster Bible Companion (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, Kentucky, 1998), 3-4.
[9] Ronald E. Clemens, ‘The Unity in the Book of Isaiah’, Interpretation 36 no 2 April 1982, pp. 117-129.
[10] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Introduction to Isaiah in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1233. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+1
[11] Edward Dalglish ‘Isaiah’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 716-717.
[12] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Introduction to Isaiah in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), 1233. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+1
[13] Geoffery W. Grogan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah/Introduction to Isaiah/Background of Isaiah/The life of Isaiah, Book Version: 4.0.2
[14] But Cf. John H. Tullock and Mark MacEntire, The Old Testament Story, (Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2006) 214 where they argue that Isaiah 8:3 may not be designating his wife as a prophet but rather as the wife of a prophet.
[15] Edward Dalglish ‘Isaiah’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 717.
[16] Stephen M. Miller, Who`s Who and Where`s Where in the Bible (Barbour Publishing Inc.: Uhrichville, Ohio, 2004), 9.
[17] The Timechart of Biblical History, (Third Millennium Press Ltd.: Chippenham, UK :2003), 8.
[18] Bernard Grun, The Timetables of History: New Third Revised Edition, (Simon & Schuster, Touchtone: New York, USA: 1991), 7-8.
[19] See Daniel C. Browning Jr., ‘Assyria, Religion and History of’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 120.
[20] Another interesting note until just recently, Nineveh was one of the longest running Christian communities in the world. The Christians have almost all fled to Syria since the American re-conquest of Iraq though.
[21] There was a period though early in King Hezekiah’s reign when he refused to pay his protection money; see 2 Kings 18:1-12
[22] John H. Tullock and Mark MacEntire, The Old Testament Story, (Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2006) 217.
[23] Ofri Ilanit, Ha’aretz Newspaper. ‘Shattering a National Mythology’ (Wednesday 25 November 2009: Jerusalem, Israel). Available on-line: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966952.html It is interesting too that many of the current ‘Jewish’ inhabitants of Israel are probably not of Jewish ethnicity at all where as many so-called ‘Palestinians’ on the other hand probably are.
[24] Cf. Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Notes to Luke/Luke 2 Notes/Luke Note 2:25, Book Version: 4.0.2. Note on 25: The "consolation [paravklhsi", paraklesis] of Israel" refers to the time when, according to Isa 40:12, God would end Israel's time of alienation and suffering through the advent of the Messiah
[25] Cf. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Note on Isaiah 7:14 in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1254. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Isaiah+7 : Although some claim that the word translated virgin (Hb. ‘almah) refers generally to a “young woman,” it actually refers specifically to a “maiden”—that is, to a young woman who is unmarried and sexually chaste, and thus has virginity as one of her characteristics (see Gen. 24:16, 43; Ex. 2:8, “girl”). Thus when the Septuagint translators, 200 years before the birth of Christ, rendered ‘almah here with Greek parthenos (a specific term for “virgin”) they rightly perceived the meaning of the Hebrew term; and when Matthew applied this prophecy to the virgin birth of Christ (see Matt. 1:23), it was in accord with this well-established understanding of parthenos (“virgin”) as used in the Septuagint and in other Greek writers.
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