For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading through the prophet of Isaiah. Throughout my time in reading the Old Testament again, God has been humbling me to the point of seeking to know Him more through Scripture. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16, Scripture is profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness. At this point, I sense that God is training me to obey His Word and to really take His Word more and more seriously. This just my own personal reflection as I read Isaiah.
Isaiah was called into ministry during the time of King Uzziah, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1), but his ministry started after the death of King Uzziah (Isaiah 6:1). Date is possibly around 740BC – 680BC.
The Terrifying passages in Isaiah are usually the judgement upon nations after nations. Usually you read those kind of passages from chapters 1 – 34. The more I read about the prophecy, the Spirit is prompting to me to take those words seriously. During those time, nations, especially Israel and Judah, were in rebellion against God due to their arrogance and stubbornness to reject Yahweh as their one and only true God, and worshiped idols. King Sennacherib of Assyria mocked King Hezekiah for trusting in Yahweh instead of Baal. However, Sennacherib failed to invade Judah. Let us not forget about the passages in Isaiah 56-58. Check your heart and see if you’re really God’s people.
The Beautiful passages in Isaiah are usually from chapters 40 – 66, but passages earlier on are beautiful too. There’s so much hope for people who were exiled from their land. There’s so much hope for sinners. There’s so much hope for God’s people in the future. God is inviting us to trust Him. God is inviting to believe in His promise. Isaiah prophecy the “New Heavens and a New Earth” (Isaiah 65:17-25), which resembles to John’s revelation in Revelation 21. Additionally, passages such as Isaiah 53 speaks about the suffering servant, which is a messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ.
Just wanted to quickly summarize the book of Isaiah although there’s so much more to talk about. However, just want to say Happy New Year, and God Bless.
Tommy Wong 