Introduction to Isaiah
Overview
Section titled “Overview”ESV Study Bible
| Category | Isaiah 1–39 | Isaiah 40–55 | Isaiah 56–66 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | Eighth century BC; Assyrian threat | Sixth century BC; Babylonian exile | Prophecies about all times and occasions until the end |
| Audience | God’s rebellious people craving worldly security | God’s defeated people under worldly domination | All who hold fast to God’s covenant |
| Actions | God purifies a remnant of his apostate people through judgment | God consoles his discouraged people in exile | God prepares all of his true people for his promised salvation |
| Message | “In returning and rest you shall be saved … but you were unwilling” (30:15) | “The glory of the LORD shall be revealed” (40:5) | “Keep justice, and do righteousness” (56:1) |
Themes of Isaiah
Section titled “Themes of Isaiah”ESV Study Bible
- God is offended by religious ritual, however impressive, if it conceals an empty heart and a careless life (1:10–17; 29:13; 58:1–12; 66:1–4).
- God’s true people will become a multinational community of worship and peace forever (2:2–4; 19:19–25; 25:6–9; 49:6; 56:3–8; 66:18–23), and the predominant culture of a new world (14:1–2; 41:8–16; 43:3–7; 45:14–17; 49:19–26; 60:1–22).
- God opposes all manifestations of human pride (2:10–17; 10:33–34; 13:11; 16:6; 23:9; 28:1–4).
- The foolish idols that humanity creates are destined for destruction (2:20–21; 19:1; 31:6–7; 44:9–20; 46:1–7).
- Though God’s judgment will reduce his people to a remnant, his final purpose is the joyful triumph of his grace (1:9; 6:1–12:6; 35:1–10; 40:1–2; 49:13–16; 51:3; 54:7–8; 55:12–13).
- God can judge people by rendering them deaf and blind to his saving word (6:9–10; 28:11–13; 29:9–14; 42:18–25).
- The only hope of the world is bound up in one man: the promised Davidic king (4:2; 7:14; 9:2–7; 11:1–10), the servant of the Lord (42:1–9; 49:1–13; 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12), the anointed preacher of the gospel (61:1–3), and the lone victor over all evil (63:1–6).
- God actively uses creation, history, and even human wrongdoing for his own glory (10:5–19; 13:1–27:13; 36:1–39:8; 40:12–26; 44:24–45:13).
- With a great and holy God ruling all things, humanity’s duty is repentant trust in him alone (7:9; 10:20; 12:2; 26:3–4; 28:12, 16; 30:15–18; 31:1; 32:17–18; 36:1–37:38; 40:31; 42:17; 50:10; 55:1–7; 57:13, 15; 66:2).
- God’s people, feeling abandoned by God (40:27; 49:14; 51:12–13), foolishly put their trust in worldly powers (7:1–8:22; 28:14–22; 30:1–17; 31:1–3; 39:1–8).
- God will uphold his own cause with a world-transforming display of his glory (4:2–6; 11:10; 35:1–2; 40:3–5; 52:10; 59:19; 60:1–3; 66:18).
- God uses predictive prophecy to prove that his hand guides human history (41:1–4, 21–29; 44:6–8; 44:24–45:13; 46:8–11; 48:3–11).
- God’s past faithfulness and the certainty of his final victory motivate his people toward prayer and practical obedience now (56:1–2; 62:1–64:12).
- The wrath of God is to be feared above all else (5:25; 9:12, 17, 19, 21; 10:4–6; 13:9, 13; 30:27; 34:2; 59:18; 63:1–6; 66:15–16, 24).
Isaiah’s Messianic Prophecies
Section titled “Isaiah’s Messianic Prophecies”| Isaiah | New Testament |
|---|---|
| 6:9–10 — “Make the heart of this people dull … lest they see with their eyes,” etc. | Matt. 13:14–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26–27 |
| 7:14 — “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son … Immanuel” | Matt. 1:23 |
| 8:14; 28:16 — “Behold, I am laying in Zion … a stone of stumbling … everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” | Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:8 |
| 8:17–18 — “I will trust in him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me” | Heb. 2:13 |
| 9:1–2 — “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” | Matt. 4:15–16 |
| 10:22–23 — “Only a remnant will return” | Rom. 9:27–28 |
| 11:10 — “The root of Jesse shall stand as a signal for the peoples” | Rom. 15:12 |
| 25:8 — “He will swallow up death forever” | 1 Cor. 15:54 |
| 40:3 — “A voice cries in the wilderness” | Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4–6; John 1:23 |
| 42:1–4 — “Behold, my servant … in whom my soul delights” | Matt. 12:18–21 |
| 45:23 — “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue confess” | Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10–11 |
| 49:6 — “I will make you a light to the nations” | Acts 13:47 |
| 49:8 — “Today is the day of salvation” | 2 Cor. 6:2 |
| 52:7 — “How beautiful … are the feet of him who brings good news” | Rom. 10:15 |
| 52:15b — “Those who have never been told of him will see” | Rom. 15:21 |
| 53:1 — “Who has believed our report?” | John 12:38; Rom. 10:16 |
| 53:4 — “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” | Matt. 8:17 |
| 53:5 — “He was wounded for our transgressions” | Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:24 |
| 53:7–8 — “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,” etc. | Acts 8:32–33 |
| 53:9 — “There was no deceit in his mouth” | 1 Pet. 2:22 |
| 53:12 — “He was numbered with the transgressors” | Luke 22:37 |
| 54:1 — “Sing, O barren one,” etc. | Gal. 4:27 |
| 59:20–21 — “The Redeemer will come to Zion” | Rom. 11:26–27 |
| 61:1–2 — “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” etc. | Luke 4:18–19 |
| 62:11 — “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes’” | Matt. 21:5 |
| 65:1–2 — “I was sought by those who did not ask for me … all day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” | Rom. 10:20–21 |
| 65:17; 66:22 — “The new heavens and the new earth” | 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1 |