160 Thrive Deeper: Isaiah Chapters 1-12

Isaiah 1-12 (740-700 BC) Isaiah the Prophet lived in Jerusalem in the last part of the 2 Kingdom period (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) and his prophetic word was directed to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah had been warning Hezekiah (the king of Judah at the time) about the nations rebellion against God and under Hezekiah’s reign there was a ‘revival’ of sorts. In 701bc, the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib marched against Judah and besieged Jerusalem and Isaiah urged the King – Hezekiah - to trust the Lord, who miraculously delivered the city from the Assyrian army. But Isaiah could see the eventual exile of Judah and continued to speak into this future generation. Isaiah preached that God’s judgement was going to come to Israel and Judah through the nations of Assyria and later Babylon, because they refused to turn from their idolatry and oppression of the poor. But, as we will read as we work through the book of Isaiah, this message of judgement is delivered with a message of hope – as we saw with Micah – that in spite of this judgement and the nations continued disobedience, God would one day fulfill all His covenant promises through an everlasting King of David’s line. The purpose of this covenant though remember, was not just about the nation of Israel, but that God’s blessing and salvation would flow to ALL the nations as per his promise to Abraham. We do a ‘deep dive’ on Chapter 6 as we hear of Isaiah’s call to God’s mission. In Isaiah’s vision (around 740 BC soon after King Uziah’s death) he sees God sitting on His throne in His temple, surrounded by heavenly creatures shouting HOLY HOLY HOLY and worshipping Him. This opens dramatically Isaiah’s awareness of the seriousness of his own sin and that of the people of Israel. Isaiah needs to trust God. Israel will be chopped down like a tree and left like a stump in a field which will also be scorched and burned, but will become a ‘holy seed’ that will survive. We then see the prefigurement of Christ as Isaiah tells of the new King whose Kingdom will set people free from oppression. This new King – Immanuel – will be empowered by the Spirit of God to rule over the NEW JERUSALEM, bringing peace to all with the nations looking to this King for his wisdom. This Kingdom will transform ALL CREATION and bring PEACE.