Luke He and the other angels were created before God made the earth, before Genesis 3 , when Adam and Eve walked in the garden. Ezekiel , Isaiah There will come a time when those eyes will be opened.
Isaiah , 2 Corinthians God will lift the veil of blindness in Israel. Theologian Dr. John Isaiah ; Isaiah ; Isaiah ; Isaiah Isaiah Clearly, judgment for sin is deserved and will be executed. For the Christian, this is a good reminder of why we need the Messiah, the Savior, who became sin for us and took our judgment so we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Our God is a compassionate God. He truly is a compassionate and kind God! For those with other backgrounds, understanding the Hebrew manner of writing is often difficult. Isaiah did not intend for every word he used to be interpreted in its most literal sense. He made constant use of metaphors, similes, analogies, parables, types, and shadows.
The following are some examples:. Isaiah used the names Sodom and Gomorrah to tell Judah even more forcefully that they were very wicked and were close to being destroyed, just as Sodom and Gomorrah had been.
Someone who is unfamiliar with those processes would have difficulty understanding the simile Isaiah uses in verse Keil and F. The wise, divinely inspired course adopted by the husbandman in the treatment of the field and fruit, is a type of the wise course adopted by the divine Teacher Himself in the treatment of His nation. The punishments and chastisements of Jehovah are the ploughshare and harrow, with which He forcibly breaks up, turns over, and furrows this field.
But this does not last for ever. When the field has been thus loosened, smoothed, and rendered fertile once more, the painful process of ploughing is followed by a beneficent sowing and planting in a multi-form and wisely ordered fulness of grace. He threshes it; but He does not thresh it only; He also knocks; and when He threshes, He does not continue threshing for ever, i. This is the solemn lesson and affectionate consolation hidden behind the veil of the parable.
Such use of imagery adds power, beauty, and life to the message of the writer. In Isaiah —20 the prophet poetically described the idolatry of Israel. In describing how some wood from trees was made into gods to be worshiped, while other wood from the same source was used to serve domestic purposes, Isaiah created a mental image which powerfully illustrated the foolishness of worshiping idols.
This manner of speaking was much more convincing than if he had just told the people not to worship idols. Dualism and esoteric terms. That is, they can apply to more than one situation or may be fulfilled at more than one time.
He also at times combined dualistic phrases with terms that were intended for or understood by only a certain group. Such esoteric language brings to mind religious concepts that only those who have the proper religious background readily understand without further explanation. The term Zion v. By using such terms as these, Isaiah conveys profound spiritual meaning to those who understand the special significance of his language.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, Isaiah wrote of the gathering of Israel and their eventual triumph over Babylon. This figure is an excellent example of dualism. Babylon is used to refer both to the nation of Babylon as it existed at the time of Isaiah and also to the wickedness of the world and the dominions of Satan in the world, which the nation of Babylon epitomized.
In his writings about Babylon in these chapters, Isaiah used concepts that applied to the future fall of Babylon as a nation and as the symbol of the world , to the triumph of Israel, and to the pre-mortal overthrow of Lucifer and his hosts see Isaiah — This richness of language and meaning seems to be what Nephi meant when he spoke of the manner of prophesying among the Jews. There is frequent reference to the law of Moses and extensive use of imagery, figurative language, and phrases that have dualistic and esoteric meanings.
Though modern readers cannot fully grasp the culture and times of ancient Israel, understanding the methods Isaiah used to convey his meaning can give the reader a far greater understanding of Isaiah. Isaiah frequently referred to cities and towns of the Holy Land as well as to neighboring nations. To one who knows the geography of the areas of which Isaiah spoke, his writings are much more clear and have greater impact. A good example of this kind of reference is found in Isaiah — Craig C.
Broyles and Craig A. Evans Leiden: Brill, , In contrast to the arrogant pride and self-sufficiency that will bring us down or the exploitation of the poor in order to gain wealth, a fourth theme in Isaiah is that, as we put our trust in the one true God, we will live in peace and prosperity. The people of God rejoice at the time of harvest Is. Because of the stress of the impending invasion by Sennacherib, the land had lain dormant. God promised food from it even though it was not farmed.
But for a people to enjoy the fruit of the vine, years of peace are required to carry out proper cultivation. Peaceful conditions are a blessing from God. Similarly, in the depiction of the new heavens and the new earth where the former things will be forgotten in the new creation, the people of God will no longer be oppressed but will build their own houses, drink their own wine, and eat their own food Is.
In the Old Testament, farming was the major occupation of the majority of the people. Thus many examples in the Bible are drawn from agrarian life and expectations. But the larger principle is that God calls us, regardless of our vocation, to trust him in our work as well as in the more apparently religious aspects of our lives. This happens when we compartmentalize our work as a secular affair that seems to have nothing to do with the kingdom of God.
Of course, in a fallen world, living faithfully does not always result in prosperity. But work done apart from faith can lead to even worse outcomes than material poverty. More than any other writing prophet, Isaiah takes us repeatedly to a vision of God that, once grasped, will cause us to bow low in humble adoration. God is the source of all that we are, all that we have and all that we know. Now Isaiah shows us the God who is the source of that knowledge and wisdom, and why our understanding of who God is matters in our life and work.
The God who made us and gave us understanding is the only source of such knowledge:. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? See, he takes up the isles like fine dust. Lebanon would not provide fuel enough, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? Once we recognize God as the source of our life, our knowledge and our wisdom, it gives us a new perspective on our work.
The very fact that we have the knowledge or the skill to do the work we do takes us back to our source, God, who created us with the skill sets and interests that come together in our lives. Recognizing this also allows us to learn from others to whom God has given complementary knowledge or skill.
When we experience God at work in us, our work becomes fruitful. Righteousness and justice are accomplished by the servant. Righteousness is something to be received rather than attained. This prompts to ask about our own roles. Sometimes we have the opportunity to make our workplaces more just, more compassionate, more oriented toward making the world a better place. Conversely, at other times, it is difficult to do our work as God intends. Individuals or systems in our workplaces may resist the way God is leading us.
Our own sin and shortcomings may short-circuit any good we might have accomplished. Even our best efforts may not seem to make much difference. The two portraits of righteousness presented in Isaiah and are pursued to give us a nuanced understanding of righteousness in Isaiah It is in this portion of Isaiah that some of the clearer portraits of a theology of work are offered. The language of Is. In this passage, the created possibility for the people of God to do righteousness is found in the last clauses of Is.
This is the only means by which talk of human responsibility or righteous actions can occur. It is in the security of the forgiveness of God found in Jesus Christ that the impetus for good works materializes.
A claim is made on the people of God because of the prior forgiveness of our sins in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied from — BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. The book of Isaiah provides us with the most comprehensive prophetic picture of Jesus Christ in the entire Old Testament. It includes the full scope of His life: the announcement of His coming Isaiah —5 , His virgin birth , His proclamation of the good news , His sacrificial death — , and His return to claim His own —3.
Because of these and numerous other christological texts in Isaiah, the book stands as a testament of hope in the Lord, the One who saves His people from themselves.
How can the two coexist? The presence of judgment indicates its necessity for salvation to occur. Before we can have salvation, we must have a need for it! So the bulk of those early chapters in Isaiah detail judgments against the people who have turned their backs on the Lord, showing us that those who persist in their rebellion will receive judgment.
He will preserve a small remnant of faithful believers, those who will continue on into the glorious renewed world He has prepared for His children in the end times —
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