When I asked the Lord what we should study next he immediately led me to Isaiah. I have to admit it is a little intimidating but when I started reading about the book I was convinced this is what we need to study. The word Isaiah means "Yahweh is Salvation". Isaiah is directly quoted in the New Testament 21 times. His prophesies are incredibly accurate naming people's names like Cyrus who was not reigning yet and towns like Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah. He prophesied around 740 B.C. during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham. Ahaz, and Hezekiah who were all kings of Judah. Isaiah was believed to have been sawn in two during the reign of Mannassah like mentioned in Hebrew 11.
He prophesied during a time when the southern and northern kingdoms had experienced nearly a half-century of prosperity and power. During this time their leaders had turned to pagan worship and the people had slipped into moral decline. The wealthy oppressed the poor, the women neglected their families in the quest of carnal pleasure, and many of the priests and prophets became drunken men-pleasers. (Sounds much like today.) Isaiah starting prophesying at about the time of the first Olympic games of the Greek.
The purpose of the book is to declare God's displeasure with the judgment upon sin in Judah, and the surrounding nations. It was also to turn God's people away from sin back to God. And most importantly it was to give hope and promise for the faithful remnant of God's people. So the book is full of promises or restoration and redemption, the promise of a Messiah, salvation to the nations, and of the triumph of God's purposes in spite of suffering.
Lord, speak to us through this book and give us hope and joy. Happy 4th of July. Remember to pray for our nation.
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