The Divine Oracle Of Isaiah

Desperate to escape the despotic government, many people from Judah turned to false gods and idolatry.6 Pleading to God for rescue from such an immoral, faithless place, Habakkuk learned that the situation of Judah would be rectified in time.7 God said that He had prepared a chastising rod and that Babylon would be the avenging instrument of the just Judeans.8 After the Babylonians expelled Jehoiakim from the throne, God emancipated the Judeans and relieved the heinous social situation. In the end, Habakkuk knew that the just Israelite would not perish from the calamities of the Babylonian attacks;9 he knew that righteousness and faith would prevail. Instead of rectifying the situation at once, the Chaldean empire took control and continued to treat the Judeans harshly. Furthermore, Habakkuk became angry and questioned God again. Nevertheless, he heeded to the previous words of God and kept his faith. Before humanity lost faithfulness, Habakkuk needed to spread this message throughout the empire to save the Judeans. Habakkuk had to extend the word of God to all oppressed people, so he wrote in a style the Israelites could grasp.

Much of Isaiah’s messages to the Kings are in the form of political instruction. Isaiah first important message as a prophet comes during the time of King Ahaz. At this time Assyria has grown very strong. The North Kingdom is already vassal. Thus, the north and Aram are planning a rebellion. They threaten Ahaz by telling him to join the rebellion or they will invade the south kingdom. Isaiah’s message is to stay out of the conflict and trust God. Ahaz however, calls Assyria to aid him and uses treasures from the temple in order to bribe the Assyrians (Brubacher, Meta). In the end, Assyria crushes the rebellion saving the south but making them vassal in the process. The next king, Hezekiah inherits a vassal nation. He is most known for his rebellion against Assyria. Isaiah tells him to stay out of the revolt as the lord will take of the situation. Hezekiah believes he will have a chance since a new ruler recently took the throne and decides to join the rebellion. In theory, this mentally would have made sense. The time of a new king taking the throne is the best time to rebel. His disregard for the message

As we examine the heroes of the faith outlined for us in the Old Testament, we would be hard pressed to find a more faithful man that King David. After the death of King Saul, David became the King of the Hebrew people. David, who was meek and pious, steadfastly believed in the true God and tried to do His will. He had endured much persecution from Saul and other enemies but did not become bitter, did not lift his hand against Saul, as he was the Lord’s anointed, but placed all his hope in God, and the Lord delivered him from all his enemies.

The surrounding nations had an influence on the people of Israel and this was not pleasing to God. They wanted a king. They wanted to be like other nations and have a leaded. A king they could see.

his righteous turn to rule the kingdom since he is the oldest of the four sons of

King David wrestled with sin, such as adultery, family disorder, and rebellion on a national level, however he also experienced great accomplishments as well. One great achievement was the unification of Israel. "Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, "We are all members of your family. For a long time, even while Saul was our King, you were the one who really led Israel. And the Lord has told you, "You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be their leader" (2 Samuel 5:3). It is here that David makes a covenant with the leaders and becomes anointed as the

The book of Isaiah has a lot of unique historical, social, and political factors to it. The prophet Isaiah prophesied during the reign of King Ahaz and Hezekiah (740-681 BC). Isaiah mainly worked during the reign of Hezekiah, However; his first narrative was under King Ahaz in 734-733 BC. In which, King Ahaz was dealing with crisis regarding foreign powers and was struggling on how to protect his people. One of main themes in the book of Isaiah is that not to trust in human power but instead one should trust in God. Isaiah prophesied under a very complicated social setting, Isaiah lived during a time of rapid corruption in the government of Israel. He preached that the government was not following God's covenant. He also preached to the people of Israel who rebelled against God’s covenant. The prophet Isaiah also guided the leaders of Israel during very tough political times.

The Syro-Ephraimite War that occurred in 736 BCE -732 BCE included kings, Philistines, Edomite’s and people taken away as slaves. One of the major prophets Isaiah began to challenge the policies that were instituted by the Judahite King Ahaz. Yahweh chose Isaiah to give advice to the King Ahaz of Judah and instruct him to put all his trust in Yahweh. The king was young and fearful of Yahweh. He was also afraid to ask for a sign from Yahweh, as instructed by Isaiah. Ahaz stated that he will not ask for a sign nor will he test Yahweh (Isaiah 7:11-13).

After the Assyrians took down Israel, they went to Judah and made grievous threats to destroy their trust in the Lord. This took place after Hezekiah rebelled from Assyria ruling over them. The King of Assyria and his people destroyed other nations then burned their God’s in fire. This gave birth to great pride. This pride led to the Assyrians saying that the same fate awaited the God of Israel namely (Judah) to call upon God.

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 nation of Israel was set apart as holy to the LORD. But they When the children of Israel demanded a king, they did so to be like the other nations. The first three kings were Saul, (outwardly tall, handsome and strong—a seemingly good choice for a king, but inwardly arrogant, proud and unrepentant—not God’s choice), David (a man after God’s own heart who repented of his sins and as such was God’s choice), and Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived, but because of covenant disobedience became the catalyst for the division and ultimate exile of Israel.

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.

The Servant King is a great book for any person who would want to get involved or simply study theology. Alexander focuses heavily on Christology throughout the entire book. He begins by going through the Old Testament and explains how it points to the Messiah that is Jesus Christ. He goes through specific events such as: Creation, the woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed, promises to Abraham, the judges, the beginning of a monarchy for the Israelites, and many other important events of the Old Testament. The main point of these sections is to show how even in the times of the Old Testament, all things were still pointing to Christ the Messiah, and the future king. In Chapter 13, titled the same as the whole book, “The Servant King,” Alexander talks about how the future king is described in the latter half of Isaiah, saying that he will suffer for those that have sinned. He will take on their sin for them. This is important because this is something that sets apart Christ from all other kings that have rules over the Israelite people.

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)

Before, King David gathered a surplus of wealth when in power to bring the Jewish culture into the Golden Age. “With Solomon...the surplus accumulated...rapidly dissipated in ambitious building.” (Asali p.53) through large fortifications and military armaments. At his old age, he placed a heavy tax burden on his people, and in turn they became largely bitter towards him. After his death, massive conflicts came before the people to eventually split Israel and Judah into separate kingdoms. In 800 B.C.E., “two centuries later, the Assyrians conquered the north, and many of the Jews of Israel were deported” (Ardito, Gambaro and Torrefranca p.42). Later, in 600 B.C.E., the kingdom of Judah was overthrown by the Babylons. In turn, this lead to their captivity as slaves; entering a new era of a nomadic culture spread across the western world. On the other hand, it was this captivity which strengthened their religious identity, and evidently propagated the largest monolithic deity known throughout the 21st century: Jesus Christ.