How about even so specific is the prophecy where it says that they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, he was buried in a rich man's tomb, as we discover in the new Testament, with, Joseph of Arimathea yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him for he has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin, and he shall see his seed and he shall prolong his days. Notice the seed is brought in here. Notice that the father sent the son, and he was even pleased to provide his son. And we can see this chapter picks it up again, and it's all on Jesus. One of the most powerful prophetic chapters in all of Scripture pertaining to the Lord.
Well, hello and welcome to the You Can Learn the Bible podcast where we summarize complete Bible books in single episodes. My name is Bodie Quirk from You can learn the bible.com here with Joey Rozek, lead pastor of Living Springs Fellowship in New Jersey, who I have not gotten a chance to podcast with in a number of months 'cause we've been on a break. Joey, we are back. It is so good to see your face, to hear your voice, man. Are you excited? As, as excited as I am because I'm so pumped to be back podcasting with you bro.
we are back and better than ever, Bodie. I feel like we are,
Amen. Amen.
waiting to return to our podcast. This has definitely been our longest break, but I think that we both have had a lot of things going on in our lives with ministry and, exciting developments there. But we want to get this rhythm going again, And, one of the things that I'm excited about is that we are going to start a whole new genre today on the prophetic books, and we're hitting the mountain peak one right from the beginning.
I mean, this is the longest, prophetic book of the Bible, and one of the ones that, Bodie, have you noticed it's been one of those books that it's so hard to get your arms wrapped around because not only is it 66 chapters, but it's also one of those books where when you actually try to organize it and structure it, You look around, a lot of people have attempted to do this in a variety of ways, but I think after this period of time, we've come up with plan today that I think is going to be really helpful for you, whether you teach the Bible or study it.
I think one of the things that unintentionally elongated our break was at this point. book just really took more prep time than any other book that we have attempted to summarize. But I think the fruit of the, of our work is going to be worth it for our listeners because I think today's going to be helpful.
So I am so excited to get into the book of Isaiah with you, Joey, today, let's do a couple quick announcements upfront, just quick reminders for people.
We are, we offer this podcast in a number of different formats. So So you can watch us on YouTube. You can do audio only and just hear us on Apple podcasts and Spotify.
We also want to offer a one page summary of each and every book that we summarize so that you could use that in your Bible study. So that's available. We're going to give you the link for that at the end of the episode,
but we also have a surprise. We actually rerecorded the book of Genesis. So if you go back in your podcast player, you won't see a brand new episode for Genesis come up. You have to go back to the original one and play it again. But if you do, we actually felt that we could have done a better job, and so we rerecorded the audio for Genesis. So that's a little bit of a surprise. If you are been following us along, you actually get two new episodes today, but we didn't want to create another brand new ones. We thought that would interrupt the sequence of our podcast . So that is there for you. That is episode seven. Genesis explained.
the first books, we got to make sure we land the foundation right and strong. And so we, we feel this first Genesis book now redone is going to give you a stronger overview of that book. As
Yeah. I, yeah. Are we allowed to say that it's like just way better than the first time we did it? Cause I think it is. So
I mean, I think it's, it's our
I think it's good though. It's really good, but let's get into it today.
So today's episode is on the book of Isaiah. Isaiah explained, we are going to apply our seven part framework to, to equip and to inspire your Bible study.
What are the essentials of Isaiah? Where does it fall in the storyline? What are the major themes? What's the structure? And then the application pieces. What does it teach us about God? What does it offer our Christian life? What are our favorite things? This is our seven part structure and I'm ready to get going, Joey, because I think our listeners are eager to, like you said, this puts a big, large book. How do we get our arms around it?
Well, let's just start with the essentials. What would you say if somebody asked you, Hey, Joey, what do I need to know first, if I'm going to study the book of Isaiah, well?
Yes. Well, first of all, don't get intimidated by the fact that it's 66 long chapters. In actuality, the book, think about this, the book of Isaiah, it's been said kind of mirrors the whole Bible. Cause you could break it up into two big sections that are kind of like the old and the new Testament. We'll talk more about that later, but to give you The 411, the who, what, when, where, why, and how on this book. here's where we'll start.
Date we're talking about 740 BC. So this is just, a bit before the Assyrian invasion, 722 BC, and , we're going to see that kind of being on the precipice. It's under the genre of prophecy. This is the ultimate book of prophecy.
The first of the major prophets I would even tell you not only is it the longest book of prophecy, but it is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament. Isaiah is now we know Isaiah is the author because not only does it open up with his name but his name is referenced 21 times, in the New Testament.
So the New Testament authors, Jesus, everyone confirms Isaiah. Some people and some scholars have tried to break this up into multiple authors. And I get it because this does not have a natural flow like a lot of other books. So it does need some help in structuring, but because they're prophecies and visions, that's how sometimes God works.
He's given. various images, visions to Isaiah. Now the setting takes place about the fall of Israel. As we mentioned, idolatry is invoking the wrath of God, and therefore judgments are coming in multiple forms to multiple nations. Now the purpose of the book shows God's sovereignty. He is in control. We see his judgments and his justice displayed, but beautifully, we see salvation.
Salvation unfolding throughout the whole book. The audience of course is Judah first and Jews everywhere, but all future generations benefit from it. We as Christians can see how everything is in a sense, predicted in this book that we believe in, in the new Testament about Jesus and so many other areas. So it's a wonderful book to dive into Bodie. I'm excited.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a good one. It's a good one.
That's a perfect start, Joey, because now we want to ask a question number two, which is where does Isaiah fit in the story of the Bible? Now you've already started this, but let's talk about the context of this book, cause I remember in our previous five episodes, we have done wisdom books, which really didn't have a historical context, but Isaiah, you absolutely have to understand what's going on in the world to understand what's happening in this book.
book. Where does Isaiah fall? It falls before and after the fall of Israel. So remember that Israel was a nation under Saul, David, and Solomon. It was divided into two Israel and Judah, and it has been a divided kingdom up to this point for 190 years. But there has been rampant idolatry, both in the North and Israel, as well as in the South, and God's patience is about run out for the North. And so he has raised up Assyria to bring His judgment and it is in this time where Assyria is becoming the world's superpower and it's at this time that God raises up the prophet Isaiah to be his mouthpiece, both to Judah and to Northern Israel.
So Isaiah's prophetic call happens. Assyria is the dominant world empire. And it's also the same place. If you want to kind of understand the prophets, cause it's interesting, all the prophets get lumped together in our Bible, but they are actually spread out over the history at different spots.
So Isaiah is a contemporary to Hosea, which you may not know cause they're not. books are not next to each other. But what we really want to know from a historical standpoint is that Isaiah in the very first verse tells us that he is a prophet to four separate kings of Judah. This is very, very important.
In fact, Joey, I want to look at this verse right here
because it says in Isaiah 1, 1, the vision of Isaiah, son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. So both the North and the South. In the days of four kings, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Those are all kings in the South in Judah. But it tells us that Isaiah had a long prophetic ministry.
So if you're watching the video you can see a little bit of a timeline snapshot that shows you Isaiah's relationship to some of these kings of Judah, because remember you've got the South and you've got the North. If we go up to the North, what we see
is that we are a couple years right before Northern Israel is going to get wiped off the map. So Isaiah is at this crucial moment. in Israel's history,
and that's what we want to keep in mind when we're going to go into reading this book, because God has called him as his mouthpiece at this crucial juncture,
where the North is about to fall. We know that the South is going to stay longer, but Isaiah is a key figure
in why Judah lasts longer than northern Israel. So Joey, I think that gives us a snapshot. Anything you want to add on the storyline number two?
Well, I think it's probably just good to let you know that Isaiah is going to have his prophetic ministry for literally like a half a century. We mentioned these four kings. His name will tell you why his life was so important in the prophecies he received. His name means salvation of Yahweh. He is a prophet that unveils the salvation of God some tradition in history says that he was one of the prophets who was sawn in half, it's believed by Manasseh. We don't know, it's not in the Bible, so it's not something we can confirm 100%, but it's an interesting life Isaiah gives. But I think when you look at the content of what he gives, you realize, wow, God had such a significant ministry for this man.
Yep. Awesome. Well, on the heels of that, Joey, let's talk about the themes, the major themes of this book. You said 66 chapters. There's a lot going on in this book, but there are some very clear themes that our listeners should know about. What would you say are the most predominant themes of the book of Isaiah?
Well, so as I said, starting with his name, Isaiah means God is salvation or salvation of Yahweh. And what we see is that whenever God is going to save, whenever God's going to do a work, it's always in the context of man's sin. It's in the context of the rebellion of man. So we are going to see a lot of judgments in this book judgments on not just Israel, but the nations as a whole.
But of course, whenever God's bringing justice. We also know God brings mercy, mercy triumphs over judgment. So we're going to see that theme as well. Now, the idolatry of Israel and the nations is the key focal point of what brings in God's wrath. God is a jealous God. He wants to be worshiped as Yahweh and the one and true God.
And so it's important that we note. of the idolatry that is throughout the lands, the nations. God is sovereign over all things, which means he's in control. It means that God never loses his prophetic plans or his pulse on what's happening. He's always intimately concerned and he's in full control.
He's also a holy God. We're going to see his holiness throughout the pages of this book. And that is another key theme. Now, this is a book of prophecy. So we're going to see a lot of prophecies and even specific ones pertaining to the Messiah, the promise of a coming Messiah, the Mashiach. We're also going to see the faithful remnant, those who did not bow the knee to other idols, and the restored hope that God has, even in the Israel's history of idolatry. God is still a God who brings beauty from ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. That is from this book that beautiful prophecy there.
And of course it all leads up to Bodie, the coming kingdom of God. That's the prominent theme that we arrive at when you get done with the book.
Yeah. And there's then that all falls within that major theme of Isaiah's name, meaning God is salvation. So it's a really, really cool to know that this is going to be huge when it comes to understanding this book. Okay, cool. So again, so now let's move into Joy, what I think. I think is going to be the most challenging part for our listeners.
So we've looked again at some of the essentials. We know kind of where it falls on the storyline. You just walked us through the themes.
When we approach the structure, which is number four of our framework, we're going to ask them questions. What are the major sections of Isaiah? And then within those sections, we want to talk about application.
What does Isaiah teach us about God and what does Isaiah offer our Christian life? And we have struggled more with this section. structure than with any other book, because if you had Joey and Joey already mentioned this, it's very difficult to organize, but I think Joey, the way that we're going to offer this to our listeners is clear and simple and easy to follow.
So there are three sections we want you to know about in the book of Isaiah. Remember 66 chapters is quite a bit of material, but if you can understand that Isaiah has these three sections chapters one through 39 is all about proclamations. We see lots and lots of proclamations of both judgment and deliverance in that first big section, one through 39.
But then. we had a hard time because there's a number of standalone chapters that are so important as standalone chapters. So what we've done is our second section. section is actually all of those chapters grouped together. So they're not side by side. They are interspersed throughout the book.
But chapter six, chapter nine, 11, 35, and 53, this is the focus of prophecies. These are messianic standalone chapters. So part one is proclamations in chapters one through 39. But within that, and within section three, there are these prophetic standalone chapters that when we put them together as a group, they really highlight how prophetic this book is, okay?
So number one is proclamations. Number two is prophecies. That's the group of standalone chapters. And then part three is chapters 40 through 66, promises. And that's where we really start to see Israel's restoration and expanding glory. We get a lot of future stuff happening in that one. So there's a lot going on in this book.
Let's just talk through the first section. Cause we've got 39 chapters in the first one, Joey. I mean, most books aren't even nearly that long on their own. And it's just part one.
And I think like, this is just while you look at the structure or for those who are listening about this, again, you can see 39 chapters make up this first section. And then you have chapters 40 to 66 for that last section. And then we have those standalone chapters. But again, that's how our Bible is broken up.
We have 39 books of the Old Testament. We have 27 books in the New Testament. So Isaiah does have that kind of interesting parallel. And it's interesting that it does have. a sense of fulfillment about God's kingdom in that second half. And so I think that is just an kind of a unique thing about this book as well.
We want to really highlight those prophetic chapters for you. but let's start with this first section because there's a lot that does happen in the first 39 chapters, Bodie, right?
Right. Yeah. So, so what's going on? If we were to summarize the first big section, isaiah is delivering messages of judgment against Israel, against Judah, and against the surrounding nations. Why? Because what Joey already said, for their idolatry. But it also offers promises of restoration of a coming messianic kingdom. So that's the banner of this first section, but 39 chapters is a lot. Let's break it up. Let's go one level deeper here and ask how, what are the major subsections here?
So Joey, I'll let you introduce some of these, and then we're going to show you just some key verses in this, first part of Isaiah that we really think are important.
Well, the first 12 chapters is a lot about the prophetic judgment, but also the promises that are, that are bent toward Judah that God gives. Now, at this point, Judah has forsaken covenant with God. Isaiah then delivers a series of messages that will talk about God's judgment and then all the while the future hope.
So this is going to be the back and forth theme, kind of two sides of one coin. And so that's in the first 12 chapters. Now, in the next section there, 13 to 27, We'll see a bit more of the focus on the other nations where in the beginning it's more on Judah. We'll see the other nations start to really get named and mentioned a lot of unique nations that are still around to this day and, and the judgments that came that were the neighboring nations of Judah.
The nations that surround Judah have a great prominence because they can have an effect on being either instruments of God's judgment toward Israel or Israel and Israel's prosperity. His, the blessing out of Israel can flow even outside of that nation to all the nations of the world.
And of course, that's always been God's heart. He told Abraham that through your seed, all the nations will be blessed. So that is God's heart. In chapters 28 to 35, we have warnings, prophetic warnings under Hezekiah's reign. He'll be a key king. That's mentioned a lot in that section. Basically oracles of well against Judah for relying on foreign alliances instead of trusting in God with prophecies about the messianic kingdom.
And the last few chapters of the first section 36 to 39 is about prophetic deliverance amidst foreign deception. We're going to see how Hezekiah, who had this extra extension to his life, he basically compromised Judah security and Babylon was able to see what was inside the temple and eventually would steal it and take it. So this is part of the
That's interesting. Yeah, it is. It's interesting.
And there's some key verses here, if we can see these four blocks, let's look at this first one, right, Joey? In the first section, one through 12, Isaiah 12, two and three as well as one of the most quoted verses that Chris mentioned, Christmas time, Isaiah seven 14.
These are some of the key verses that we really wanna highlight in Isaiah in the first 12 chapters, right? We hear this at Christmas every year, Isaiah seven 14. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall call his name Emmanuel, right? And so we see the first hints, these first Messianic hints, even in this first section of the book. But Isaiah 12, two and three is beautiful as well. I'd love for you to read that, Joey,
Yeah.
a key verse that we wanted, we wanna highlight.
it again, Isaiah's name means God is salvation. Here's what this verse says, behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for YAH, remember the first part of Yahweh, for YAH the Lord is my strength and song. He also has become my strength. My salvation, therefore, with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
I mean, that promise is so beautiful. I love that picture, wells of salvation, the idea that you can keep drawing over and over again on the goodness of God and his faithfulness throughout all time, even in times of adversity or rebellion. And God is
Mm hmm.
in who he is.
It's good. Yeah. And so then you get to like, once you get to chapter 13, like you said, 13 to 27, that's a tough read because there's judgment after judgment after judgment. But one of the verses within that block that we wanted to highlight is Isaiah 26, three, which is a really sweet encouragement that we get, which simply says
you keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you And it's almost like a proverb that could apply to any believer at any time, but it does happen to fall within this more difficult section where it just feels like, whoa, and whoa, and whoa, and judgment. Isaiah 26, three is a sweet reminder of when our attention is on Christ, even in times of judgment, in times of what feel like desolation, God is still with us, you know, even when he doesn't feel like it. So Isaiah 26, three, it's probably a key verse in that block
Yes. In fact, if you were to read that verse in Hebrew, you would actually see that it says, you will keep him in shalom, shalom, because shalom means perfect prosperity, perfect peace. So it's saying shalom. It's a shalom, kind of shalom. It's the perfected peace. And so. It's a beautiful way of seeing how God's peace can come in and guard our hearts and minds, even when we're anxious, even when life seems so difficult. So that's a beautiful verse that we can encourage so many believers with
Oh, it's so good. Yeah, it's so good.
So in that third subsection, Joey, 28 to 35, the focus is really on Hezekiah, but it's these, like you said, it's these prophetic warnings, it's these oracles of woe against Judah. Why? Because they're not trusting in the Lord. They're relying on foreign alliances instead of the God that they are in covenant with. But we also see these prophecies of a future coming Messianic kingdom. It is one of the most God centered books in the Bible.
And when we understand that the glory of God, the fame of God is at stake with this nation, we can see why Isaiah prophesies some of the things that he does. But in that section, Isaiah 30 has the key verses that we wanted to highlight today. 30 verses 18 and 19,
and I just love this. It says the Lord will wait that he may be gracious to you, and therefore he will be exalted that he may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice. We talked about that theme earlier. Blessed are all who wait for him. for him. Again, this is Isaiah 30, this is 18 and 19.
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer you. Oh, so good.
Amen.
one, Joey, in this section here on the Hezekiah,
Well, you really see the gospel reality in the midst of this idolatrous time. Israel's insecure. They're, they're trusting in man. They're looking to Egyptians and God wants to say Egyptians are men. They're not God. They're not God. And, and in fact, you'd rather have God because he's patient. He waits, he's gracious.
He just gives out of his love. He has mercy to give to them. And if we wait on him those who wait upon the Lord a little bit later, it will say, shall mount up with wings like an Eagle, right? So , it's just beautiful to see the grace of God in the midst of judgment. Of course, doesn't that go all the way back to Genesis six, when Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, when man was only having evil thoughts continually in their hearts.
And so, yeah, great passage.
Yeah. Yeah.
The last section sets up a lot of what's going to happen coming forward, right? Because if we know, if you remember King Hezekiah, he's one of Judah's righteous kings, but there's an interesting thing that happens in the end of his life. He gets really sick and he prays, God, would you extend my life?
And what's interesting, Joey, is that God honors this prayer, but it doesn't actually say it. It seemed to be what's best either for him or for the nation. Like, why are these three chapters, why are they their own subsection, 36 through 39? And like, what does it offer the larger book of Isaiah?
Well, it really sets up the next section because where the next section is going to focus on what the Messiah will do and what God will do with his kingdom, this still has the kings of men in their prideful states. Hezekiah doesn't feel like his life has been complete. He wanted an extra time. So he gets 15 years, but in that 15 years we discover that he's not.
That Manasseh is born, who becomes one of the most evil kings from him. We, we discovered that there's some deception that takes place. And a lot of what will follow has to do with this extended life. I think it's a reminder to us that we really want God's will in our world, not our own will. And so there's, it's a great way to set the tone as we go into the second section.
Right. Yeah. And a verse that we would just want to highlight is Hezekiah's prayer.
It's in Isaiah 37, verses 15, and Joey, I'd love to have you read that.
Yeah.
like what does this offer our understanding of the book of Isaiah? Yeah.
So Hezekiah says this prayer in Isaiah 37, 15 through 17. It says, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, Oh, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the one who dwells between the cherubim. You are God. You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
You know, in this prayer, you really see that it is this kind of realignment with God. where he alone sees what needs to be done. He alone accomplishes what the need is for man. It reminds me of Psalm 121, where it says, I lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
And you can really see this is where we have to all get to when we're all overwhelmed in life. When we're stuck in sin or in a situation that seems so difficult, We should all lift up our eyes and remember the Lord who is able to graciously pull us out of the pit, set our feet back on a rock, and we can see that he is the one who can truly turn things around.
And that's what introduces us into the second half of the book where you really do see the turnaround. We get to see but before we go into the second half of the book, don't we, we want to go back now and see some of the highlighted chapters that are in this section that, that are the standalone prophecies.
And then also that's in the second section, because you're going to see, we're going to highlight some chapters now before we go into the
Yes. Yeah. This is one of the most exciting things about the book of Isaiah is how much incredible specific prophecy that we see.
So we said we're kind of making a section up with these standalone chapters, but in these part two on prophecies, what we have is Isaiah gives visions of God's holiness and glory, and so what we also see along with that, we get glimpses of Israel's suffering servant king, but we also see the future hope of glory for Israel's future, even though what is about to come upon them is soon coming judgment and exile. There's this interesting tension happening. So let's highlight, Joey, some of these really crucial essentials. Essential Messianic chapters when it comes to the book of Isaiah.
So in chapter six is basically you have God's glory and you have Isaiah's call. That's gonna be our first one. The second important chapter is Nine Messianic Hope and Coming Judgment 11 is gonna be the third one we want to call out, that is the Righteous Branch from Jesse. Okay, so we got six, we got nine, we got 11, and we're gonna go through these in a second.
But the next one is Chapter 35. That's where we see future hope and return from exile. And then though, Isaiah 53, probably one of the most beautiful and well known chapters in all the book is the suffering messianic servant. Okay. So let's walk through each of these standalone chapters and help our listeners see why these are so important to be called out one at a time. Joey, start us with what happens at Isaiah six.
So yeah, we have these five chapters and it's right to start with this first one, Isaiah six, because this really shows the calling of the prophet. It begins with his vision of the Lord seated on his throne and the train of his robe fills the temple. And this is in the year that King Uzziah died. So I love that the contrast, you have a man, the king of Israel as a man dies, but we see the king that's ruling in heaven who will one day be the true king of Israel.
And so God appears to Isaiah in glory in this chapter. And then you see Isaiah responding with repentance. and surrender. And one of the beautiful ways that he surrenders is not just in a sense of like, God, I surrender myself to you because you're the one worthy of worship. But he's like, God, if you could use my life, because he hears a conversation in heaven where God says the question, whom shall I send? He heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send? And who will go for us? Isaiah actually responds to the vision and says, here am I send me.
Amen.
This beautiful, here am I, I'm just, I'm right before you, Lord. Send me, I want to go and do the work you have. And then of course the work that God has for him is not easy because he has to send Prophecies of judgment that Israel have eyes and not see and ears and not hear and hearts that will not understand, but what a chapter.
I mean, I love you know what I love about this chapter two, Bodhi, is this, he's at this point where when he starts to see the holiness of God, he begins to see how unholy he is. He says, woe is me, I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips amidst the people of unclean lips. And just when he's so aware of his sinfulness, just when it seems like a hopeless situation for Isaiah, we see this amazing picture in verse six where a seraphim flies over to him and in his hand is a live coal and it touches that mouth that he says is unclean.
This is what the gospel does for us. God sends to us gracious help when we recognize our need for a savior and he's able to apply Amen. His, the live coal is like a picture of the, of the living word of God, Jesus himself who can cleanse us. Jesus says in John 15 three, good contrast to that verse. You are clean because of the word that I have
Right.
I love it.
I love it. Yeah. We see the beautiful, I mean, we see the throne room of God. There's almost a parallel to Revelation chapter four and five as well too, but it's the response of Isaiah willing to do what needs to be done. That's such a beautiful part of why Isaiah six is at one of those key Isaiah nine is another one.
This is where we see messianic hope and we see coming judgment. So what's happening here is it is a dark time, but in the midst of darkness, what we start to see are what we said in some of our previous chapters, gospel glimpses. We see this, this glimpse of hope of a coming divine ruler that is going to come to Israel.
And so if you've ever been to a church at Christmas, you have undoubtedly heard Isaiah nine, six, Which, which talks about the coming rescuer as a child, which would be a shock. It's not an adult King, but it says Isaiah 9, 6, for unto us, a child is born. A son is given. The government will be on his shoulder.
His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. This is a. It's hard to wrap our heads around how much darkness they were feeling as their nation was crumbling around them as Assyria was coming on, but here we have Isaiah speaking to the people of God. No, God has not
Yeah.
This is a word of hope. Isaiah 9 is beautiful.
I can almost hear this song, Bodie. Wonderful counselor, the everlasting. It's just a, it's a beautiful, beautiful passage. You know, it also shows the divinity and humanity. of Jesus. When it says unto us a child is born, there's the human side. Unto us a son is given, there's the divine side. You see, Jesus pre existed. He never did not exist. He's the eternal one.
And so Jesus was given by the Father. Remember, for God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son. So in a sense, God gave God, God, the father gave God the son. And you see that beautiful Christmas incarnation in this verse. And so this is a beautiful chapter.
It's not limited to just about Jesus because when prophecies are given, here's another point for you listeners. A lot of times when a prophecy is given, the generation that hears the prophecy receives some form of application from it. right away. But the fulfillment of this prophecy is clearly about Jesus, which the New Testament authors confirm in the gospels when this passage is brought up again.
So I think that's a really important thing. Some people say, this isn't about Jesus. This is talking about the context of what's going on at this particular time. And we can say, yes, but, but, but why do you say it's about Jesus? We can say yes, because you see the fulfillment is Jesus, but there is application in a generation that hears it.
And I love the opening part of the, of the chapter. That's a really important point, but it also says in verse two, those who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Jesus, of course, declares, I am the light of the world. And so we see him picking up on that. And then when it also, one more thing, which is interesting is that in the first verse, where it says the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, that is The area where Galilee is. Is, which is where Jesus, of course, is Jesus of Galilee. That is in the area that is mentioned here. Nazareth happens to be in Galilee. And of course,
Right.
would grow up as a
Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. So much good stuff. That's what we're talking about. There's so much more that we could go, could go into, but these are the essentials, right? Isaiah six, Isaiah nine, Isaiah 11 is another one. this guy. gives us another hint of Jesus lineage, because it talks about the righteous branch from Jesse.
Who is Jesse? Jesse is the father of King David, from whom Jesus lineage is found. So the future, he's a future messianic leader. This is, we're told, again, Isaiah's Centuries before Jesus, but somebody will come from David's line who will fill the earth with his knowledge and glory. And I love Isaiah 11, 2, which talks about how the relationship of the spirit to this divine leader.
It says the spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom. And isn't this so perfect in Christ, right? The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. That is our Jesus, right? That is who he lived to be.
In fact, yes, not only is it Jesus and not only is he the light of the world, but this is a picture of the lamp stand. You see, there's six different descriptions here in pairs of two. If you look at the lamp stand in Israel the lamp stand,
in fact for those who are actually watching on video, I'm going to show you something cool here.
Take a look at this. You actually can see that there's the main vine. This is right in the center here. Remember, Jesus, I am the vine and we are the branches. But in this case, you can notice that every branch comes and does you have one side of it and then the other side of it. And so you have spirit of wisdom, understanding, you have the spirit of counsel and of might, you have the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And so you can see that there is this beautiful kind of picture of how the land stand in Israel works. And something else that I would just point out
is that, remember in the revelation, the Jesus is talking about how the seven churches are also a picture of the lampstand is the churches. So you can see how everything gets fulfilled where Jesus is the vine, where the branches were grafted in, but it started with Israel and God is showing you his big picture plan.
That includes all of these wonderful realities. We have understanding when we have knowledge of the Holy one, he's the counselor, he's the mighty God, as we just read in the previous passage. And so the spirit of counsel and might is there. So you can just see a lot of connections,
Well, even when it talks about the seven spirits in the book of Revelation, a lot of people have noticed that there are seven descriptions of the spirit in Isaiah 11 too, which is another beautiful connection. So, so much amazing stuff here. So, but that's our third chapter that we want to focus on. The next standalone chapter is chapter 35. This is where it gives us a future hope of a return from exile. Because again, Babylon hasn't showed up yet, but Babylon appears a lot in this book because this book is very future and forward looking. It's again, after all, a book of prophecy, as Joey said, prophecy is both current, and future.
So here in 35, this is where Isaiah gives this glorious vision of restoration for all sinful humanity and the coming of a new heavens and the new earth. See, Isaiah is the first person in the Bible to give us this phrase. The first appearance of a new heavens and the new earth is not revelation.
It's the book of Isaiah. And in Isaiah 35 verses five and six, we read kind of a description of this future state where it says, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears and the death shall be unstopped and the lame shall leap like a deer. The tongue of the dumb will sing. The waters will birth forests in the wilderness and streams in the desert. It's this picture of abundant life that Isaiah is given from God to us. To speak forward to Israel and to Judah.
Yeah. , this is the future hope of Zion as we often hear in the glory of Zion. And when you think about Zion, we think about the mountains of Jerusalem. We think about the actual city of Jerusalem. But of course, in many ways, Zion in scripture is like the perfected Jerusalem where when we see it all finalized in Jesus and what happens when everything's finalized and fulfilled in Jesus, all the things that were the effects of the fall have no impact anymore.
The curse has been reversed, and it's all because, as the salvation plan has been rehearsed, as we look to Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate fulfillment of it all, eyes are opened. Now people can see. Ears are open. Now people can hear. People can walk. The lame are walking, and people are now singing the truth of God.
The joy of salvation is on the lips of people. Again, they're drawing from the wells of salvation. And so what was desert, Now becomes living streams, living Springs are jumping. I like the sound of that living Springs. They're, they're coming out of the wilderness. There's life flowing and, and of course yeah, our, our church has that very name living Springs.
And
love that. Yep.
poetic picture, Bodie.
Yep. But none of it's possible unless we have Isaiah 53, our last standalone chapter, right?
Isaiah 53 is, shocking because it sounds like it belongs in the New Testament because what we get is this extremely beautiful, detailed description of the suffering messianic servant.
In Isaiah 53, some people have said that if you just read it and you don't say where it belongs, people will assume that it's about Jesus, but it's given to us in 740 BC, right? It's hundreds of years before Jesus. And it talks about this holy servant of God who was rejected, afflicted, and killed when he died.
Why? For the healing and salvation of God's people. So the key verse here that we want to show is, verse five of Isaiah 53. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And by his wounds, we are healed. I mean, this Joey sounds like something we could have read in Hebrews or in the letters of Paul, it was written by Isaiah hundreds of years
Amen. Amen. And you know, this passage, I mean, in the new King James version, it reads by his stripes, we are healed. The wounds are, are from the blood that was spilled of Jesus. Now, I think it's really important to note that a lot of Jewish rabbis don't even want to touch this chapter anymore for the points you mentioned, Bodie.
You read this chapter and it just screams Jesus. The descriptions are so specific of the Lord. It mentions in verse seven, he was oppressed and afflicted and he opens not his mouth. That's exactly how Jesus responded when he was being led as a sheep to the slaughter and when he was standing before Pontius Pilate and Herod, he opened not his mouth.
It says he was taken from prison and from judgment. That's exactly what happened in verse eight. And who will declare. His generation. There's a lot of questions in this chapter. The opening verses say, Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? All throughout scripture, the arm of the Lord is the one that brings salvation.
But notice, to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? You'd have to be blind to read this chapter and not see Jesus. which only goes to show that it's the revelation of the Holy Spirit that allows us to see what is so obvious after you see it. But we pray for Jewish people with this chapter to read Isaiah 53 and just to ask the question, if this is about the Mashiach, the Messiah, and of course it carries so much of the messianic undertones of what we're looking for. How can we not see Jesus in this?
And one more, you know, there's so many things we could do a whole, a whole episode on this chapter alone, Bodhi.
Yes. I
How about, how about even so specific is the prophecy where it says that they made his grave with the wicked, of course, he was crucified by two thieves, but with the rich at his death, he was buried in a rich man's tomb. As we discover in the new Testament, With, Joseph of Arimathea and then in verse 10, something so powerful, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him for he has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin, and he shall see his seed and he shall prolong his days.
Notice the seed is brought in here. Notice that the father sent the son, and he was even pleased to provide his son. Remember, Abraham was asked to provide his son, and God says, Nope, don't do it. On this mount, the Lord will provide. Yahweh Yirah, Jehovah Jireh. And we can see this chapter picks it up again, and it's all on Jesus.
One of the most
powerful prophetic chapters
in all of Scripture
pertaining to the Lord. Yeah.
Yeah. So this part two of the book of Isaiah, of our structure, These messianic standalone chapters, Isaiah 6, 9, 11, 35, and the last one we just talked on is probably the most important, Isaiah 53. Read these as, beautiful gospel glimpses that Isaiah gives us. But we want to also read them in light of the larger structure.
So that's part two. We just finished part one are the messages of judgment against Israel and Judah, and then the surrounding nations for their idolatry, also with promises of restoration.
In this second one, we just looked at Isaiah gives visions of God's holiness and glory among glimpses of Israel's suffering, serving King and the future hope of glory despite the soon coming of judgment and exile.
So that is now part one and part two, but. Now we get to look at how the book wraps up. And I say wraps up in quotes, because we have, a big section from chapters 40 to 66. This is where we look at promises, Israel's restoration and expanding glory.
So Joey, give us a summary, if you would, what should we know about this larger section? And then, cause it's really one big section, but there are some key verses that we want to give you, but what's this section about?
Yeah. So this whole 27 chapter section which remember models a little bit after the New Testament because it's so messianic focused. It's so much on the kingdom of God. Basically here's what we can say as a summary, Isaiah reveals God's redemptive plan of salvation. In these chapters from the Babylonian captivity, all the way to the coming of Messiah and his kingdom of righteousness and peace, two beautiful ways to describe his kingdom.
This is where God rules. That's what the kingdom of God is. It's God's reign and rule on the earth where he reigns and dwells with his people. In a new heavens and a new earth. It all culminates right with the new heavens and the new earth.
You know, people, scholars will debate over, is there a messianic period and so forth, a thousand year reign of Christ? I believe there is. There are others who would just say it goes right into the new heavens, the new earth, you can't escape this. God's kingdom will be unmistakable when it comes. It's just so full. It's so glorious because these promises. In chapters 40 through 66, highlight and nuance so many beautiful aspects of what God does for Israel, where He reigns as their Messiah, but also again, all the nations are blessed. You read Philippians chapter two, and we see that every knee will bow of those in
Right.
earth and under the earth,
Yes.
will confess that Jesus is Lord. These chapters are going to highlight
Yeah.
place surrounding that
Right. And we really tried to do a subsection. It really doesn't , break up really well. It's really all about Israel's restoration and expanding glory, but we want to highlight some key verses for you. So we'll just kind of go back and forth on these, Joey, as we wrap up our episode, but Isaiah 40 verses one through three,
it says, comfort, comfort my people. This is how the whole section works. Section begins. So we went from numerous judgments and woes to now we want to, God wants to speak. Comfort. Comfort. My people, Isaiah 40, verses one and three says, your God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Cry to her that her warfare has ended her iniquity as pardon that she has received from the Lord's hand, double for all her sins.
And then we have a really important verse, Joey, that I'm gonna let you explain. Isaiah 40, verse three, which says, A voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord makes straight in the desert a highway for our God. Why is ever important?
Yeah, well this might sound familiar to a lot of people. This is straight out of the New Testament from the lips of John the Baptist, as he fulfills this prophetic description of the forerunner of the Messiah. Another translation, new King James. And the King James says,
A voice crying out in the wilderness. Make straight. The way of the Lord. And, and that's exactly what John the Baptist role was to do. He was to call people to repentance, to prepare a way, to make a straight path for people to look to Jesus. If you remember in John chapter one, John the Baptist says, behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And so in the time of wilderness, Israel has been through many experiences of the wilderness. We see that a voice is now crying out and the Lord is literally coming and he's on the scene. He's literally there. And, and John the Baptist gets to announce it. And this is prophetic. The Bible always declared that there would be one who would prepare what the Messiah was going to do. And this is that passage, Isaiah 41 through three. So amazing.
we should highlight from this larger third section? Joey?
we could literally highlight so many beautiful passages, but we've picked some really good ones to pull out because they really capture. the essence of this whole section here.
And so Isaiah 40 verses 10 through 11 says this, Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, and he will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young.
You can really see beauty of the Savior, the tenderness of the Messiah. Remember, Jesus described himself as being gentle and lowly in heart. And here we have this passage of him gently leading those who are with young. Remember even when children were said to be an annoyance to Jesus by the crowds or even the disciples. And Jesus says, forbid not the children to come to me for such is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus loves the children of the world, right?
We know that song perhaps in Sunday school children's ministry. But Jesus gathers the lambs. In fact, isn't that what he told Peter to Peter feed my lambs. Tend my sheep, feed my sheep when he was restoring him. So you really see the shepherd's heart here. You see what Jesus is going to be like in this passage. And again, this is old Testament,
Right.
all of these truths. So wonderfully. Yes.
beautiful. Yeah. There's just so many.
A couple other ones though. Isaiah 42, 1, Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. I have what? I have put my spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. This is looking forward to the new covenant, right?
With the new covenant is where the spirit of God is indwelled upon people. Jesus, of course, being the inauguration of that new covenant. So Isaiah 42, one, beautiful. I also like Isaiah 43, seven, because it really talks about what, What people were created for, not just, not just the immediate nation of Judah, but he says, everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for what, Joey, for my glory, you and I, and every human soul, we were created to glorify God.
And he says, yes, I have formed him. I have made him. And so the Bible is very clear where you came from. God created you. He had you in mind uniquely, and you are a unique gift to the world. And your life is a unique gift as well. What would it look like if your life was filled with his spirit in the same way that that many brothers and sisters down through the ages have done when we trust in Christ together?
Amen. You know, these two verses highlight so much of what the gospel means to us, that God would come into this world to humble himself and become a servant, right? He said, if you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all. And that's exactly what Jesus did. That Isaiah 42, if you read the first four verses, is such a An amazing section in this prophetic picture of the kingdom to come and the king to come.
And I just want to highlight this. Remember even in Mark 10 45, it says the son of man did not come to be served,
but to serve
give his life as a ransom for many. And these things were all
all laid out.
and laid out
Hundreds of years earlier.
Yeah. Well, it's not just messianic stuff too. One of the coolest unique details is that the person who will free the Jews from captivity is Cyrus. And the Lord, literally through Isaiah, uses and calls Cyrus by name hundreds of years before he was even born in Isaiah 45, one through three.
It's crazy, Joey. It says, that says the Lord to his anointed. to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue the nations before him, to loose the arbor of kings, to open before him the double doors so that the gates will not be shut. I will go before you. I will make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by name, am the God of Israel. So incredible that Isaiah in 740 is talking about Cyrus, who is going to be the person that would free them after the Babylonian captivity, hundreds of years in the future, and he's called by name.
Yeah. literally 150 years before Cyrus comes on the scene, 150 years. and you know, what's amazing buddy, this is a great time to say, how could Isaiah write about a man who hadn't even been born yet? This is why people would even be skeptical and say, Oh, this couldn't be prophecy. This had to be written afterwards.
But remember what the apostle Peter wrote in his epistle, second Peter one verse 20 and 21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Only the moving of the Spirit over Isaiah's life could allow him to pen words
good.
ahead of time because in one way to describe prophecy is future history
Yes.
it actually
happens. And that's what we see here.
Oh, Joey, I love that.
Couple of last verses in this final section that we want to highlight. Isaiah 45, Joey, go ahead and share these verses if you
Yeah. This just shows you the uniqueness of God. When we say he's holy, he is unparalleled, set apart. He's unique. Here's what it says in Isaiah 45, 18 and 22. For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain.
Notice everything's purposeful with God who formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. So what do you do with that? He goes on to say, look to me and be saved. All you ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other.
This was actually the verse that caused Charles Spurgeon to be saved when he was a young teenager and he, on a wintry night, found himself trying to find a church that was open and the deacon, because the pastor couldn't make it due to a lot of people being snowed in.
He just looked out at the small number of people that were there. And he just said simple words, look to me and be saved. Look to me and be saved. that's what we would call all people to do. Get your eyes on Jesus,
Right.
see the Messiah of Israel, see the one who comes who's like no other. He's the Lord, and these passages just highlight it so beautifully. I love
Yeah. Yeah. Last couple we want to talk about as we wrap up our episode, Isaiah 55 one, ho everyone who thirsts come to the waters. You have no money. Come buy and eat. Yes, come and buy wine and milk without money and without price. Again, another vision of a future of abundance.
Another one in Isaiah 55, there's three in this one chapter, verse eight is a very well known verse says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord
and then verse 11, Joey, read that one. I would love for us to, to highlight
Uh, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. This just shows us how powerful the Word of God is. It's living and powerful. When, once it's released, it's that seed that can go into a heart, and the implanted Word is able to save the soul.
Every time the Word of God is spoken, even if a soul is not saved, it'll be used for their judgment. Either way, the Word of God, will never be void. It will always be used as the means in which God chose to reveal himself. And if we don't respond to that word, it will be used in judgment against us, but it's, it's sent forth to deliver you.
Right.
you life. God's word is life giving. And that's what we see in this passage.
Yep. And speaking of life giving, the last verse that we want to highlight, Isaiah 61. 1. There's so many more we could have chosen, but this This one is so great. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to what? To bring good news to the poor. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and to the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
There's so much future hope in this book. There's messianic Prophecy, there's present judgment. There's so much in this book, Joey. This is a massive, massive book, but what a gift. what would the Bible be like if we didn't have Isaiah?
I know. And that last passage is also might be familiar to you. This is what Jesus quoted from at the beginning of his ministry back in Nazareth. He opens up the scroll of Isaiah. He read out those words and he didn't continue reading because the last parts that he left out he was going to fulfill in his second coming.
Very precise of the Lord that he would only give the parts of this that would pertain to his messianic ministry in his first coming. And so you really do see the whole of the Bible is just beautifully interwoven and Isaiah captures it so wonderfully with eternal life and of their coming kingdom, and of that joy of salvation.
So I think we covered, wow,, we got through it, Bodie. This is what the whole is all about. We want you to dive in and, and really read the chapters. I mean, it's going to hopefully help a lot of our listeners to
Yes.
it. This is a great structure that might help you as you go through this book.
Yes. Let's recap it again. This is a lot to pack into one episode. So part one, chapters one through 39 are proclamations. Judgment and deliverance. After that, there's the prophecy. Messianic standalone chapters, those key standalone chapters, 6, that really give us an incredible picture of the coming Messiah.
And then the final section, section three, promises Israel's restoration and expanding glory. There's a lot that Isaiah gives us. And we hope that at least if this book was overwhelming before, it might be just a little bit less overwhelming because
Yeah.
have at least a guide, a journey, a framework to apply to the book of Isaiah.
Last question, Joey, what do you personally love about this book or any of your favorite things we haven't covered so far as we wrap up?
Well, yeah, I think because the whole book is prophetic and even as we broke down that structure, proclamations and promises, it's all prophetic, but we're trying to help you to hone in on the intention of the author to help you see these things in real time.
You know what? I love Bodie is I love the way that I can see Jesus. In a Old Testament prophetic book in so many different places. It's not like there's just only one chapter. I mean, we highlighted the five standalone chapters, but there are loads of standalone verses. And I think so many of them we didn't get to cover, but you see that Jesus will eventually bring righteousness to the whole earth.
Justice will be in the coastlands. I mean, people are going to praise the Lord. I have so much hope that comes to my soul. When I read this book, and so I just want to encourage you to really look for Jesus. I mean, every time you come across a verse and you can say, wow, this is pointing to Jesus too.
That's what I would encourage the listeners to do as you go through this book. I used to make a little cross beside some of the verses as I would go through this book, just because you'll see how many prophetic pictures there are of Christ. As you go through this beautiful book of prophecy.
And, and he tells us We are his own. He says, you are mine. I've called you by name. I love that you are my witnesses, all of these things point to not only Jesus, but what we get to have in Jesus, because what's
Amen.
is true for the people of God.
Amen.
Yep.
That's what I want to say. Look to
Yep. Yep.
you ends of the earth.
I love this book because I feel like God's, it's a theater or a showcase of God's glory. Like God is, this is such a God centered book, but I love, I'm going to tack on to what you said. This It's such a Christ exalting book as well, even hundreds of years before Jesus ever came on the scene.
There's a lot to love about this book. There's a lot to read. There's a lot to study. We hope that this episode has at least helped you get your arms around the book a little bit better, Joey, right?
And so, we said in the beginning that we want to offer you a one page subscription. Summary of everything that we have shared in this episode, and so you can get data, you can learn the bible.com/notes.
That's you can learn the bible.com/notes. There's another resource that we've offered as well that we used in this episode called the Timeline. So if you would like a complete visual timeline of the Bible, that is also free. That is also on the website. That is that you can learn the bible.com/. timeline.
And as well, just a reminder, just if you're ever able to leave a review on iTunes or Spotify, it really just helps other people find this kind of show who are out there looking to help understand the word of God better.
But Joey, this episode was a little longer, but I think it was worth it. Cause I think I think this book is a treasure. What do we get to look forward to in our next episode, on the book of Jeremiah?
Well, After looking at the major prophet, Isaiah, we're going to see another major voice in the Old Testament, Jeremiah. He doesn't just write this book. He writes Lamentations. But what we'll discover with Jeremiah is how God is always speaking to a people, even when they're in rebellion. Jeremiah is raised up by God to call people to repentance.
And so he's also known as the weeping prophet. We'll learn why we'll discover that he was appointed by God for a very special time. His name means that Yahweh appoints. And so this is a great opportunity to see how God able to call us out in times of darkness to see his marvelous light
Amen. Amen. Well, we're signing off here. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, we do this because we believe that you can learn the Bible. We pray this episode was helpful and that it equipped you and inspired you to go and read the book of Isaiah. And until next time, we wish you grace and peace and the Lord be with you.
Amen.