Prophet Isaiah

Isaiah has already warned Israel of their coming judgement and knows that in their own works to save themselves they are growing tired. Matthew Henry in his commentary on this passage mentions, “it is bad to have evil thoughts rise in our minds, but worse to turn

The leaders of Israel were struggling to maintain power due to its neighbors. The prophet Isaiah guided Hezekiah by preaching that he should place his trust in God and not Assyrian alliance. However, King Hezekiah was not consistent with his trust in God, which later resulted in the fall of reign. The book of Isaiah can be broken down into three sections. Chapters 1 to 39 represent the call of judgement for the city of Jerusalem. Chapters 40 to 55 represent the prophet Isaiah in exile, and chapters 56 to 66 represent the return from exile to a new Jerusalem. Each section highlights a part of Isaiah’s

The book of Amos is the earliest preserved example of classic prophetic writings. It consists of nine chapters, but Amos did not write the entirety of them. “A majority of scholars think that not all of the material in Amos goes back to the prophet himself but was added later by ancient editors of the book.” The anthology contains a variation of materials: prophecies, visions and addresses from Amos to the people of Israel. Two major themes of the book are the social injustice in Israel, and the impending doom in Israel’s future.

In his book, My Jerusalem, former Mayor of the titular city, Teddy Kollek, creates and provides commentary on twelve walks through contemporary Jerusalem. The man who presided over Jerusalem’s 1967 reunification, the Jewish Kollek paints his city as a potpourri of peoples, faiths and cultures—and he seems glad of it. His celebration of the constant intermingling Jewish, Muslim and Christian aspects of the city was what interested me most in the book. As much as I’d like to believe in his descriptions of a peaceful potpourri, these feel perhaps too optimistic for a city still very much divided. Kollek emphasises the manner in which all manner of people flow together through the streets of Jerusalem: ‘the black-garbed Hassidim and the T-shirted backpackers, the long-frocked Armenian and Greek priests, the Ethiopian monks and the shorts-and-sandals kibbutzniks, the sensibly shod American Baptist pilgrims and the veiled Moslem [sic] women’ (16).

The First Isaiah, or the Isaiah of Jerusalem, was an extremely important prophet who wrote chapters 1-39 in the book of Isaiah. Located in Judah near Jerusalem "before the Babylonian exile", which was around 740 BC, Isaiah grew up in a generally wealthy family at the time (Newland 163; Miller 92; Brown 76). He was educated and could write very well, and was called to be a prophet later in his life (Newland 164). However, society at this time was extremely corrupt, and the people committed many sins, such as idolatry. Isaiah became a prophet when he had a "vision" and saw God as king in a temple along with His "seraphs" or angels serving Him (Miller 96-97). Isaiah was astonished, as he felt "unclean" due to the fact that he was from such a corrupt

Isaiah’s terminology when describing God as “The Holy One of Israel”, not only shows reverence by admission of God’s holiness, but also emphasizes the point of the great offenses that the Israelite nation committed against God. As a holy God, he cannot allow sin in his presence, and therefore, must bring effect to the cause. With God’s ultimate goal of reconciliation, punishment is used to its effect while the Servant’s main role was making it available to the people.

The first half of the book discusses the message and warning from Isaiah that God will punish Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations for their corrupt behavior, that includes idolatry and immorality (Holy Bible, NIV, 1996). "Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! This is what the Lord says: "The children I raised and cared for have turned against me. Even the animals-the donkey and the ox-know their owner and appreciate his care, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still do not understand". "Oh What a sinful nation they are! They are loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil and corrupt children who have turned away from the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel, cutting themselves off from his help" (Isaiah 1: 2-4). The second part of the book discusses the message of forgiveness, reassurance, and hope. Hope comes in the form of the impending Messiah. Isaiah explains that the Messiah will be "both a suffering Servant and a sovereign Lord" and will "offer forgiveness to all who turn to him in faith" (Holy Bible, NIV, 1996). "Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. He will shelter Israel from the storm and wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot and weary land. Then everyone who can see will be looking for God, and those who can hear will listen to his voice. Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly" (Isaiah 32:

When taking simply the literal aspect of chapter 4 of the Book of Lamentations, one would simply believe it to be a ‘doom-and-gloom’ account of a decrepit Jerusalem. However through a closer reading of the text, along with more of an understanding of the literary tactics used by the writer throughout Lamentations, one would ultimately start to draw a better picture of what is going on during the siege and thus achieve a better grasp of what the narrator(s) wants the reader to believe. In other words, there is more of a reason why Jerusalem is in this ‘fallen’ state than a surface reading would present. This reason: Monetary (and materialistic) greed which oppresses the poor and needy is what ‘blinds’ even those who are able to see the clearest. When one’s vision is blinded by greed s/he cannot see the LORD, so He becomes angered.

We must first realize that the Book of Isaiah can be divided into three blocks (1-39, 40-55 and 56-66), and each are starkly different in tone, theme, and delivery (Chilton, 189). Chapter 58 belongs to the third block, and thus, does not dabble in the same “interplay between doubt and reassurance, and confident, hymnic affirmation in response to the uncertainty of people” (Chilton, 198). We can see this new tone clearly in the 4 opening lines. “Shout out, do not hold back! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah, 58). When compared against the more emotionally vacillatory first and even the second block of Isaiah, the third block is conveying a

The final chapters mostly describe God's judgements for other nations and the prediction of punishment for

The book of Isaiah provides a message to the nation of Israel and is one of the most powerful books of prophecy in the Bible. The prophet spoke of events to come that many have attempted to discern. Scholars, Rabbis and Christian Clergy differ in their interpretations of these passages in Isaiah 52 and 53.

Isaiah came during a pivotal time in history. The world was changing rapidly and life was on the edge of prosperity and ruin, as it is today. In this uncertain time Isaiah was called by God to deliver a message of warning, comfort, and deliverance. Christians view the prophecies of Isaiah as a projection of the coming of Jesus Christ. Isaiah spoke of divine judgment and the promises of God through the Prince of Peace. Isaiah’s message of the future King was very meticulous. He describes how Christ will come, Christ’s character and Christ’s purpose. In this paper I will dissect Isaiah’s prophecies in the Old Testament and reference them to the events of Christ in the New Testament.

Thus, the historical and political setting for Isaiah 40-66 could be spread across the rule of three dominant nations, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. Boadt notes that while the theme of Deutero-Isaiah was Consolation, the overall theme of the book centered on God as the Holy One of Israel; foreign rule was God’s disciplinary tool, and God’s makes Zion the Divine dwelling place. (Boadt 1984, 417)

This forced relocation surely put Judah’s people into an emotional tale-spin, potentially affecting those in both Judah and Babylon for generations. Families that could not find healthy ways of handling their predicament may have given rise to children who continued with unhealthy habits and actions, doomed to repeat their parent’s mistakes. Ezekiel’s main concern is the negative actions which were against God, i.e. God’s laws and the priestly traditions Ezekiel was called to uphold.

The second event, concurrent actions on all fronts Nehemiah speaks of a new vision for the city of Jerusalem, where the people could create the foundation for change if they commit to achieving the results. Nehemiah organizes work crews, sustains opposition from those who oppose the rebuilding, and reforms the court system. Furthermore, Nehemiah purifies the religious practices and aligns the religious teachings with God’s scriptures. Using concurrent actions as Nehemiah demonstrates, builds momentum, and shows the commitment of the people participating in the rebuilding process.