The Major Prophets: Isaiah

King Hezekiah has always been my favorite of the Kings of Judah, and I must say that Isaiah is my favorite prophet! If I purchase a new Bible, I almost always start reading the new one in the book of Isaiah. ( I mark the text as I read, that is why I have to keep buying new ones!) There are so many quoted verses from Isaiah in the New Testament, too! In this book we are blessed with beautiful promises of hope, as well as reading of suspenseful battles, messages about the end times, and so so much more!

It is difficult in a study of the minor prophets to leave out the major ones. Micah's account and message is greatly enhanced by knowing the work of Isaiah and visa versa. The book has 66 chapters, so it is impossible to do justice to the book of Isaiah in 16 minutes! However, it is fun to pull out the narrative portions and also focus on a few of the less known portions of the book, as well as some of the more "famous" sections.

This video gives a brief summary of the book of Isaiah in narrative form! Don't miss this exciting session as the prophet Micah's sister, Jerusah, teaches about the prophet Isaiah, giving the account of her life in Judah during the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Hold on tight to hear about three amazing miracles, as well as learn how the faithful remnant endured days of religious persecution. While Jerusah is a fictional character, the account she is giving is right from the scriptures. Enjoy! To download a worksheet, click here. For questions and scriptures, click here!

Scriptures:

Isaiah (Selected portions) Isaiah 6-9, Isaiah 36-39, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 11:1-5, Isaiah 55

Questions for Small Group Discussion:

1. What part of this video stood out to you the most?

2. God instructs Isaiah and the believers what to do in times of persecution. How does that relate to what seems to be coming to us in America today? What can we do?

3. What are some of the same tactics used by Satan to attack believers that King Ahaz used? How are they the same thing that is coming against us today?

4. What is prophetic telescoping?

5. Which of the three miracles increased your faith the most. Why?

6. Why is it often said that pride is our greatest enemy? How was pride a greater enemy than the Assyrian army for King Hezekiah?

Spend time in meditation and prayer.

Read Isaiah 53, the “Holy of Holies” of the Old Testament out loud. Then spend time thanking God for his suffering servant.

Read Isaiah 9: 1-7, and 11:1-5. Out loud. Then thank him for the promise of His Coming King!

Finally, read Isaiah 55 out loud. Thank him for the life he promises us!

You may wish to see this video about the Dead Sea Scrolls. (1:38)

Watch this exciting video about the new scroll fragments being found currently! 3 min.

Here is a copy of the text of the video:

Sometimes when my brother, Micah, went from Moresheth, to Jerusalem to prophesy for Yahweh, my husband Yacov and I would go with him, too. My name is Jerusha. My big brother Micah, the prophet, had always been my hero. He was an unwavering lover of Yahweh.

Remember when Micah spoke to you, he told you that there was plenty of excitement going on in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah during the years 750-687 BC? My brother Micah was called to join the prophetic “team” of one of the most revered prophets—Isaiah. The story of his life and message would not be complete without sharing with you a few words about his mentor and colleague. What times we all had!

I was in awe of Isaiah. He heard so clearly from the Lord! He was a highly educated man, and he spoke and wrote with eloquent language.He knew more words than anyone else I had ever known. His very presence commanded respect and authority. His name means, “Yahweh is Salvation.” In a sense, his name describes the main prophetic message of his writings, too! As a younger prophet, my brother Micah had much to learn from him. Isaiah began to hear from God during the reign of Uzziah, the father of King Jotham. Zechariah, the priest, was a faithful scribe for Isaiah. Avi, Zechariah’s daughter, was the wife of King Ahaz.

The first five chapters of Isaiah’s book, written early in his life, were warnings for Judah and Israel,as well as descriptions of the Day of the Lord, and a beautiful poem about God’s Vineyard. Ah, I wish I had time to share it all! We loved to listen to him read from his scrolls. His home was not very far from ours, and when he was not in Jerusalem, occasionally we would visit him there.

Where was I? Oh yes. In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord! He was high and lifted up, sitting on a throne in the temple. I still remember him telling us about it, with trembling in his voice. There were seraphim, or angels, around the throne, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy!” Smoke was all around the throne, and as the angels sang, there was an earthquake. One of the angels, took a tong and lifted a hot coal from the altar of God. He took the coal and touched Isaiah’s lips. He said, “Behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged.” (Isaiah 6:7). Then the Lord himself said to Isaiah, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us!” Isaiah immediately replied, “Here I am, send me!”(6:8) Can you imagine what it would have been like to be in the actual presence of the Lord?”

With the authority of the Lord now resting on Isaiah, his prophecies now became more powerful and personal. During the years of King Jotham, Uzziah’s son, the Lord was quiet. But when King Ahaz came onto the scene, Isaiah was called to speak out. Remember what Micah told you about King Ahaz being a wicked king? He sacrificed on the high places to idols, and even sacrificed his sons, throwing them into the fire to appease the god, Molech. Those were dark days. The temple was so desecrated with false altars and idols, that eventually the doors to the temple were closed. Yahweh worshippers were in the minority. Isaiah and Micah and the rest of the faithful remnant were in hiding most of the time. True believers were mocked. The priests and Levites that followed the Torah left the temple service. Only the priests that were “tolerant” of “ modern thinking”, and not “closed minded” against being inclusive to all types of worship remained.

Yet, Isaiah was not afraid to confront King Ahaz. He met him at the aqueduct by the Fuller’s Field, and gave him a prophetic word from the Lord. Ahaz was fighting fear, because he knew that the Northern Kingdom of Israel had joined forces with the army of Syria to come against Jerusalem, with the goal of setting up their own king! They had already attacked cities in Judah and had taken many captives. God, who was even MORE angry with the Northern Kingdom at that time, had a word of hope. “It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass.” Isaiah told him. Isaiah also prophesied that both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Syria would not be nations for too much longer. Their threat would last for a few years, yet come to nothing, and both of their capitals would eventually be destroyed along with the rest of their kingdoms.

Isaiah, who clearly did not care for King Ahaz very much, asked Ahaz if he would like a supernatural sign to confirm the prophecy. Oftentimes, these signs validated Yahweh and also the prophet as authentic when the words came true. Whether Ahaz simply did not want to validate Isaiah, or wanted to turn his nose up at God, he foolishly refused, pretending to not want to “weary” the Lord. In any case, Isaiah went on to give one of his most famous prophecies of Messiah, “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son.. And His name shall be called, Immanuel..” You can read the entire story in Isaiah 8. Then he cautioned King Ahaz, that though Jerusalem was safe from Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Judah would be attacked by Assyria--the very kingdom he was paying tribute to and appealing to for help. Their army would some day overflow the entire country like a flood, taking the towns and cities, and rise up to Jerusalem, the very neck of the kingdom!

As you can imagine, none of this changed King Ahaz’s behavior. These were dark days for the servants of Yahweh. I can remember Micah and my husband, Yacov, spending time in hiding with Isaiah and the faithful priests and Levites, reading the scrolls of Yahweh and praying for the nation of Judah. God told Isaiah, not to fear the officials who were saying that the believing remnant was forming a “conspiracy” against the government because we would not go along with their religious “reforms.” Can you imagine that? Us? All we were doing was speaking the truth! This reminds me of America today. Will you, as believers of Yeshua and Yahweh, be eventually accused of forming a conspiracy against your government because you won’t conform to a liberal, and permissive, yet controlling agenda? Are dark days looming ahead?

God gave Isaiah some explicit instructions to give to the faithful remnant. “Do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow, Let Him be your fear!” (8:12-13).He told us through Isaiah that he, Yahweh, would be our sanctuary, but a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. But then he told Isaiah to divide the scrolls of the word of God, seal them and hide them among the disciples. To those who were willing to be taught of God, the Word became increasingly precious as the days grew darker. We were to wait on God, and hope in Him.(8:17) Isaiah and his family set their jaw to be used by Yahweh to display his signs and wonders. I can’t help but wonder if this prophecy may have been given for your encouragement, too. (8:18)

The great scroll Isaiah wrote for God’s holy word was later divided into 66 chapters. In a sense it was like a mini Bible. The first 35 chapters included prophecies regarding Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations, along with the tribulation and the millennial kingdom. Here you can see the prophetic concept of “telescoping.” What does that mean? It means that the prophecies may be fulfilled in some form close to the time they were given, and again in complete fulfillment in the future. Remember Joel? The locusts came up against the Northern Kingdom in Joel’s day, and they also foreshadowed the four horsemen of the apocalypse of Rev. 6. This happens throughout Isaiah’s book.

Many of the prophets such as my brother, Micah, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah quoted Isaiah., even Yeshua, Jesus, and some New Testament writers. The middle section of Isaiah’s book is a dynamic historical interlude in chapters 36-39, including 3 miracles. The final section contains many uplifting prophecies about the coming Messiah, the Day of the Lord, and the Millenial Reign of Christ.

Oh, I know you will want to hear about those three miracles! They were absolutely amazing. Perhaps some of the most wondrous in the entire bible. Don’t miss reading Isaiah 36-39!

When Micah spoke to you, he told you that Ahaz finally died, and we were given the answer to our prayers! King Hezekiah! He loved the prophet Isaiah. He was often seen in King Hezekiah’s court, advising and encouraging him. The reforms Hezekiah brought to Judah were swift and astounding. Imagine, worshipping in the temple and celebrating Passover again! However, the prophecy Isaiah had given about Assyria coming to attack Judah weighed heavily on Hezekiah’s mind. He fortified the city walls, built up an armory of weapons, stored food, and built a tunnel from the Gihon Spring, outside the city walls, diverting water into the city, to have water in the event of a siege.

The Assyrians did indeed come. They took all the fortified cities of Judah, and turned their attention to Jerusalem. Fear gripped the city. The attack was imminent. The power and brutality of the Assyrians was unprecedented. Those of us from the small villages flocked to safety within the fortified walls. Our faithful remnant remembered the promise… only up to the neck...! The commander of the Assyrian Army taunted the leaders of Judah outside the city gates. Such an amazing drama. King Hezekiah, tearing his clothes, headed to the temple to pray. In the meantime, he sent word to Isaiah to pray, too. Isaiah reassured Hezekiah all would be ok. But then, a threatening letter came from King Sennacarib of the Assyrians...and Hezekiah headed straight back to the temple, laying it out before Yahweh and crying out in prayer again. We were praying, all of us, waiting on the Lord. Isaiah finally appeared with a different letter. This time it Yahweh’s dictated message back to Sennacherib. You can read it! It was what we needed to hear! Isaiah also prophesied that the Assyrians would not take the city… They would leave without even shooting an arrow!! How we all jumped and clapped with relief.

We went to bed that night, confident, but not yet knowing Yahweh’s plan. Overnight, the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185, 000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When we woke up in the morning, there they were, all dead! King Sennacherib returned home to Nineveh, and the Assryians never came up against Jerusalem again.

That was the first miracle. Later, during Hezekiah’s reign, he became very ill and his health was failing. Isaiah informed him to set his house in order, he was going to die. After Isaiah departed, Hezekiah, turned to the wall, cried out to the Lord in prayer and wept bitterly! And guess what? Isaiah returned with the news that God had heard his prayer, and decided to extend his life 15 years! He also told Hezekiah that the Assyrians would never take Jerusalem! If that was not wondrous enough, God gave a heavenly sign to validate the healing. The shadow on the sundial went 10 degrees BACKWARD! Everyone knew Yahweh was up to something, and in three days, Hezekiah was healed, and worshipping at the temple!

Of course, Hezekiah’s fame went far and wide with the news of these three miracles of Yahweh. Over time he gained great riches and honor. He had treasuries of silver and gold, and rebuilt the fortified cities. About this time, envoys from Babylon, a rising empire, sent a letter to Hezekiah. They wanted to visit him and bring a gift because they heard the news that he had been on his deathbed, and then recovered. But this new letter, he did NOT lay out before the Lord in the temple.He was not careful! , Hezekiah’s heart had become prideful. He carelessly welcomed the Babylonian envoys, showing them all the wealth in his kingdom. Unknowingly, this was a test given to him by Yahweh, and unfortunately he did not pass it. Sadly, Isaiah brought Hezekiah a message again. One day everything he had shown to the Babylonians would be carried off to Babylon, including his future grandsons!

Eventually, Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became king. He was without a doubt, the most wicked king Judah ever had, even more wicked than his grandfather Ahaz. I regret to tell you, that Manasseh hated Isaiah so much that he sentenced him to a gruesome death. He sawed him in two! Oh, how the people who remained faithful to Yahweh grieved his death.

But we had the prize, the scrolls of Isaiah, to comfort us. And what a comfort they were. From chapter 40 to the end of his great work, we were treated to the most amazing prophetic writing of all… the Holy of Holies of the Old Testament, Isaiah Chapter 53. Prophecies of the coming Messiah!! A Suffering servant! In other places, he also shared with us words of a coming Messiah- king, and the millennial kingdom of Christ. So many beautiful passages of scripture are found in his scrolls! “ Arise, shine! For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you… and his glory will be seen upon you. The gentiles will come to your light!

I decided then to memorize so many of his words, saying them over and over in my mind as I went about my days. Each promise, each word, was a special love letter from the Lord himself. I dreamed about the day I would meet our Messiah… a suffering servant, and a reigning king! Spending eternity with Messiah became our blessed Hope.