Isaiah Chapter 1: The Messianic Prophet

 V. 1: “¹The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

The book of Isaiah contains the prophet’s written record of his visions when he ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

Isaiah was a contemporary of two other Old Testament prophets, Hosea and Micah. His name means “The Lord Is Salvation” in Hebrew. He spent 53 years prophesying in and around Jerusalem, from 739-686 B.C. You’ll find the history of this time period in 2 Kings chapters 15-21 and 2 Chronicles chapters 26-33.

The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 B.C., after which Isaiah directed his message to the southern kingdom of Judah. In his preaching, he condemned Judah’s empty ritualism and idolatry and foresaw the coming Babylonian captivity of Judah that took place in 686 B.C. because of this departure from the Lord.

We know very little personal information about Isaiah. His father was Amoz, and he was married and had two sons, and when God called him to ministry in 739 B.C., he willingly responded. But we have a lot of information about his prophetic ministry, because he left a written record for us, the Old Testament book of Isaiah, which is filled with his prophecies about Israel and the advent of the future Messiah. Isaiah is known as the “Messianic Prophet” because so much of his prophecy deals with God’s grace toward Israel and his predictions of the Messiah, culminating in chapter 53, where he portrays Christ as the slain Lamb of God.

God called each of the Old Testament prophets to speak on His behalf. These men and women did not express their own opinions. Instead, “…prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit…” (2 Peter 1:21). God spoke to the prophets in several ways, mainly through dreams and visions: “…When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams” (Numbers 12:6).

Vv. 2-6: “² Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!

    For the Lord has spoken:

‘I reared children and brought them up,

    but they have rebelled against me.

³ The ox knows its master,

    the donkey its owner’s manger,

but Israel does not know,

    my people do not understand.’

⁴ Woe to the sinful nation,

    a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

    children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the Lord;

    they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

    and turned their backs on him.

⁵ Why should you be beaten anymore?

    Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

    your whole heart afflicted.

⁶ From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

    there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

    and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

    or soothed with olive oil.”

Bible scholars traditionally interpret vv. 2-6 as introducing us to the scene of a legal proceeding in a kind of courtroom setting where the Lord is the plaintiff and the nation of Israel is the defendant. The Lord is accusing His chosen people of failing to give Him their loving obedience in response to His care and provision. The accusation is apostacy, which has resulted in the loss of the chosen people’s special status before God.

“The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger…” in v. 3 is a strong rebuke to the Israelites that unlike those beasts, God’s people did not know the One who cared and provided for them.

One of the interesting things I find in vv. 2-6 is how many words Isaiah used to describe the sins of the chosen people Israel. He said they had “…rebelled…” in v. 2, and he accused them of ignorance in v. 3 (“…Israel does not know, my people do not understand…”). In v. 4, he calls them a “…sinful nation…”, “…a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption…,” and a people who “…have forsaken the Lord;…have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.”

In these opening lines of his prophecy, Isaiah is addressing the people of Israel and Judah directly. He believes it is irrational for them to continue their sinful living and rebellion against God.

Then, starting in v. 7, Isaiah describes the future destruction of Judah as if it had already taken place (vv. 7-9):

“⁷Your country is desolate,

    your cities burned with fire;

your fields are being stripped by foreigners

    right before you,

    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

⁸ Daughter Zion is left

    like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut in a cucumber field,

    like a city under siege.

⁹ Unless the Lord Almighty                                                                                                

    had left us some survivors,

we would have become like Sodom,

    we would have been like Gomorrah.”

In these verses, the prophet envisions a future when Judah has been invaded and rendered desolate. Jerusalem, the daughter of Zion, will be like an isolated hut standing in the nation's wreckage, and only a small remnant of God’s people will survive the carnage through His grace.

It was not long before Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. In 701 B.C. the Assyrians under King Sennacherib invaded Judah and left the land desolate. In his writings, Sennacherib boasted that he captured many Judean cities and cornered Judah’s King Hezekiah in Jerusalem like a “caged bird.” Jerusalem appeared to have no defense against its attackers. A tiny remnant of Judeans survived, and Isaiah refers to them later in his prophecy as the ones who survived God’s judgment and will take possession of the land.

In v. 9, Isaiah tries to show the Judeans the depth of their depravity by comparing them with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are historic examples of cities God destroyed because of the sinfulness of their people.

In vv. 10-15, Isaiah warns that God is displeased with meaningless religious rituals and sacrifices without obedience:

“¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord,

    you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the instruction of our God,

    you people of Gomorrah!

¹¹ ‘The multitude of your sacrifices—

    what are they to me?’ says the Lord.

‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings,

    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;

I have no pleasure

    in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹² When you come to appear before me,

    who has asked this of you,

    this trampling of my courts?

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

    Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—

    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals

    I hate with all my being.

They have become a burden to me;

    I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,

    I hide my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers,

    I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!’”

To be compared to the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah would have been deeply insulting to the Israelites and told them they were deep in sin. They were content to busy themselves with religious rituals and observance of certain aspects of the ceremonial law, but they mostly ignored the social justices the law required of them.

God is not happy with the people of Judah and their worship practices. Their sacrifices were well beyond the requirements of the law, and He regarded them as meaningless (vv. 11-13) and rejected them. Religious observances by people living in sin are not acceptable to God, and He will pay no attention to their prayers of sinners (v. 15).

The New Moon feast mentioned in vv. 13 and 14 took place in ancient Israel on the first day of each month, the day after the new moon appeared. It was a feast day with ordinances similar to those of the sabbath and requiring ritual purity for participation. Like the Sabbath, it was a day of rest from work.

Isaiah offers the solution to the people’s separation from God in vv. 16-20:

“ ¹⁶ Wash and make yourselves clean.

    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

    stop doing wrong.

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice.

    Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

    plead the case of the widow.

¹⁸ ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’

    says the Lord.

‘Though your sins are like scarlet,

    they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

    they shall be like wool.

¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,

    you will eat the good things of the land;

²⁰ but if you resist and rebel,

    you will be devoured by the sword.’

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Through Isaiah, God is calling the people of Judah in these verses to repent, turn away from evil, and to begin practicing righteousness and social justice: “…seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (v. 17) in order to accomplish His will and live a moral life.

God calls for His people to be clean in v. 16 and pardons those seeking forgiveness. These verses serve as a kind of a preview of the final portions of the book of Isaiah, which focus on grace and forgiveness more than on the judgment of sin.

In v. 18, the colors “…scarlet…” and “…crimson…” are references to the guilt of those whose “…hands are full of blood…” (v. 15), indicating evil and wickedness; “…white as snow…” and “…they shall be like wool…” portray what is clean, with guilt having been removed. Isaiah warned the Judeans that God’s that their standing with God was conditional in vv. 19-20: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; ²⁰ but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Beginning in v. 21, Isaiah’s prophecy focuses on the deplorable conditions in the city of Jerusalem:

“²¹ See how the faithful city

    has become a prostitute!

She once was full of justice;

    righteousness used to dwell in her—

    but now murderers!

²² Your silver has become dross,

    your choice wine is diluted with water.

²³ Your rulers are rebels,

    partners with thieves;

they all love bribes

    and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

    the widow’s case does not come before them.

²⁴ Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

    the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

‘Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes

    and avenge myself on my enemies.

²⁵ I will turn my hand against you;

    I will thoroughly purge away your dross

    and remove all your impurities.

²⁶ I will restore your leaders as in days of old,

    your rulers as at the beginning.

Afterward you will be called

    the City of Righteousness,

    the Faithful City.’”

Once known for its faithfulness, justice, and righteousness, Jerusalem had become like a prostitute and the home of murderers (v. 21). Its leaders are corrupt and accept bribes, and there is no justice (v. 23).

God has always planned for Jerusalem’s future restoration (vv. 25-26). The city was restored after the Babylonian captivity in 538 B.C., but Isaiah’s prophecy is of a different and more permanent restoration that is still in the future, when one of the characteristics of the end-times will be Jerusalem as leader among the nations. A number of Old Testament prophets predicted Jerusalem’s eventual rise to prominence. Jeremiah wrote: “…all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord…” (Jeremiah 3:17). Ezekiel prophesied: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her…” (Ezekiel 5:5). And Zechariah predicted: “…many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.” (Zechariah 8:22).

This is one of the main themes in Isaiah—Jerusalem, the unfaithful prostitute, becoming the pure and holy wife of the Lord. This transformation begins with God’s judgment removing Jerusalem’s sin and corruption followed by His forgiveness and steadfast love for His repentant people.

“Zion” originally was the name of the hill Ophel in the eastern part of Jerusalem, but it came to refer to the city of Jerusalem itself:

“²⁷ Zion will be delivered with justice,

    her penitent ones with righteousness.

²⁸ But rebels and sinners will both be broken,

    and those who forsake the Lord will perish.

²⁹ ‘You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks

    in which you have delighted;

you will be disgraced because of the gardens

    that you have chosen.

³⁰ You will be like an oak with fading leaves,

    like a garden without water.

³¹ The mighty man will become tinder

    and his work a spark;

both will burn together,

    with no one to quench the fire.”

Isaiah continues the theme of restoration continues in v. 27 before returning to a stern tone in v. 28.

Vv. 27-28 draw a contrast between the redemption of Zion (v. 27) and the destruction of the people who will not repent. Then vv. 29-30 focus on pagan idolatry being practiced in Jerusalem. The sacred oaks and the gardens Isaiah refers to in v. 29 are associated with pagan ceremonies that took place around them.

Sacred oaks played a large part in the Canaanite fertility worship. Oak trees symbolized the death and rebirth of pagan gods, and the trees were usually found in groves or around springs or wells that became sacred places for pagan worshippers.