Isaiah 1

The Hebrew name of the English ‘Isaiah’, is Yəšaʿyāhū (Yahweh is salvation’). His name in English can also be Isaias, Jesaiah, Jeshaiah, or Esaias. It is likely that the prophet Isaiah wrote the whole of the 66 chapters. I will not mention ‘other’ views on authorship because many of them emanate from unbelieving theologians. Isaiah wrote his book during the reign of four kings*: Uzziah (or Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, all kings of Judah. Isaiah seems to have started writing in the final years of Uzziah, and the early time of Manasseh. This suggests his prophetic work lasted for about 64 years. He had two sons: Shear-Jashub (‘a remnant will return’) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (‘quickly to spoils, plunder speedily’).

(*Uzziah – tenth king of Judah; 783-742 BC, initially ruling with his father. He was powerful and won many battles. Was later struck by a disfiguring skin condition, and his son Jotham took the throne. This was a punishment from God for daring to enter the Temple to burn incense. An earthquake resulted, damaging the Temple wall, allowing light to shine on Uzziah’s face – which then turned leprous. He was driven from the Temple to live in isolation in a house, until he died.

It is said that Jotham was co-regent with his father, but took full control of kingship, about 740-736 BC. After just 16 years he was deposed by pro-Assyrian factions, in favour of his son, Ahaz. Both Uzziah and Jotham are listed in the New Testament in Jesus’ genealogy. He was successful in battles, even against Israel. However, the corruption of Israel soon permeated Judah, and is recorded by Micah and Isaiah.

Ahaz reigned for 16 years and is described as evil. Like Jotham, he was co-regent with his father and his reign lasted until 715 BC, though other sources say it was 728 BC. He, too, is mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy.

Hezekiah saw the destruction of Israel by Assyria and was king during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem (701 BC). He was considered to be a righteous king and is mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy. His mother was daughter of the High Priest, Zechariah. Hezekiah reigned for 29 years, possibly as co-regent for 14 years. He reformed the Temple and purged it of paganism, and fought the Philistines. He also attempted to bring peace between Judah and Israel. Isaiah, then, lived at a time of both turmoil and war, and saw the decline of Israel and the goodness of Hezekiah).

A past-member of our church once murmured (about myself): “I don’t know why I bother to attend – all he talks about is doom and gloom”. One theologian, after checking the contents of the whole Bible, said that over 70% of the Bible contains ‘doom and gloom’! As our Bible studies are at the behest of the members, I am not responsible for the doom and gloom! I can only report on what the Bible contains, which is about sin and its remedy. I cannot stick yellow smiling faces on its pages. The same can be said of Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah. And, Isaiah portrays the “wrath of the Lord” in his book! Yet, his words are referred to many times in the New Testament. I will not place any emphasis on, or quote from, Muslim sources.

Ancient rabbis say Isaiah was a descendant of Judah and Tamar, and his father was Amoz, brother to king Amaziah. I would not rely too much on the Jewish source, when accounts cannot be verified as a source. Rather, we must concentrate on what Isaiah said and did, according to his own book. The books of Kings and Chronicles both show Isaiah (a Levite) was a substantial figure and prophet, and perhaps also a priest. This seems to be implied by his being called by God in the Temple. He knew amazing miracles and is typified as a ‘mighty voice’. As we study his book, we will see why.

During the lifetime of Isaiah, Israel was under continuous threat from Assyria. The northern kingdom (Israel) was destroyed by Shalmaneser in 722 BC. Under the first king in his lifetime, Judah flourished and won victories over surrounding nations – Edomites, Philistines, Arabs, etc. defensive towers were built throughout the territory, vineyards proliferated. The military then consisted of a standing army of well over 300 thousand men, who had the benefit of a revolutionary slinging machine. But, when Tiglath-Pileser became king of Assyria, trouble began to brew.

Following this, Uzziah sinned and was ‘presumptuous  in the Temple’, leading to leprosy and an ignominious burial. The later king Jotham coincided with hostility towards Syria and Israel. In the 8^th century Jerusalem grew from a small town into a major city.  Iron made in Malaya was being imported to many countries.

China recorded the solar eclipse in 780 BC. A little later in 776 BC it is said the first Olympics took place. In 771 BC China was invaded by barbarians. In 753 BC Rome was supposedly founded by Romulus. In 727 Babylonia became independent of Assyria, who later lay siege to Tyre for four years. In 720 Israel was conquered by the Assyrian king Sargon II before continuing to assimilate other cities.

Roman kings also made their mark and even reformed the Roman calendar. Spartans founded a new city in southern Italy (706 BC). In 705 BC Sennacherib became king of Assyria and a year later he moved his capital to Ninevah. Helped by Egypt, king Hezekiah of Judah fought against Sennacherib’s rule, who later failed to capture Jerusalem. The Hindu Upanishads (Hindu text) was written about 700 BC. In the middle of the 8^th century, Jonah was commanded to go to Ninevah; and he was possibly known to Isaiah who, soon after, prophesied the coming of Christ. But, before that, he prophesied the coming captivity. The above is only a minimal account.

It is said that there is a difference between the first 39 chapters and the others, suggesting different authors. If we apply the principles of forensic linguistics to the matter we might indeed come to the same conclusion. But, there is also another explanation – that Isaiah wrote the first 39 chapters with a specific itemised call from God, and then God gave him a separate calling for the other verses, which could explain the difference in ‘style’, etc. In my own lifetime my ‘style’ was not concocted, but it changed over the years. Why? Because what I have been given by God to do has changed; my literary ‘type’ has altered simply because of my age, knowledge, and so on, and the way God wishes me to write. Therefore, in future, some might think I was not the only author. So, for me, there is no concern over authorship of Isaiah.

We could go on, describing the upheavals and godlessness of the kings and nations, which were part of Isaiah’s warnings. At the time the world was a very busy place, much as it is today... and this is a simplified history of Isaiah.

Chapter 1

Verses 1-6

1. “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

The book begins with the author’s name: Isaiah (yᵊšaʿyâ), son of Amoz ('āmôṣ, but not Amos the prophet). Isaiah means ‘Jehovah has saved’. He prophesied during the reigns of four kings, mentioned in the text. The book came about as a vision, ḥāzôn. This can be interpretated as a dream in the night, a vision arising from an ecstatic state, or as a verbal communication from God. In my view it was a direct communication from God whilst Isaiah was awake. I say this because we can discern two streams of thought in many parts of the book... Isaiah taking the primary meaning from God and then applying it to a secondary line of thought, arising from the original vision. The root of the word is ḥāzâ, which can include a visual vision, and also an intellectual acknowledgement of the contents.

Isaiah is in no doubt about the importance of the vision, so calls the universe (heavens) and earth, with all its people, to listen carefully: “the Lord hath spoken”! God told him that He had brought up children (the Hebrews) and given them everything, and now they rebel. He continued – even oxen and donkeys know their owners, who look after them, yet Israel no longer knows Who the Lord is. In other words, they knew Jehovah but chose to ignore Him. What a fearful thing to do. And yet, it is rife today in our own time. Only trouble can follow this kind of foolish behaviour.

Jehovah speaks of a “sinful nation... laden with iniquity”. The Lord is not speaking against one or two individuals, but the entire nation. He does this when the majority are guilty. The whole nation is marred by the sins of the many, who are a “seed of evildoers”... so familiar in our own time. Because they bear the seed of sin, they are corrupt and go on to corrupt everyone else. By ignoring God they bring His wrath upon them. No longer moving forward in the Lord, they “are gone away backward”*. That is, they have become strangers, literally moving backwards in soul and behaviour to their old selves before God saved them from Egypt and other enemies. (*Note how charismatics fell backwards during their ungodly Toronto Blessing meetings).

They have hurt themselves... yet, why should they remain stricken? They prefer to revolt against God and, like addicts, they will damage their own selves – it is the way of sin, to hurt the sinner. Sadly, says the Lord, the “whole head is sick” and leading the people by their noses into further sin.  Their very thoughts are hurtful and pushing the people to run amok without rationality, their hearts (beliefs, thoughts, emotions, spirituality, etc) are also sick. Just like today!

Every part of the nation is sick, from top to toe; the head (leading the rest of the body) is unsound, and unsoundness is condemned by God. Like men possessed by demons and are ravaged by them, so the nation is being ravaged by its own corruption and sin (much like today in the West), producing huge wounds and bruising. This is the lot of people who sin – they damage themselves and yet keep sinning, like drunks who drink themselves to death. They ignore the “putrifying sores” and do not even treat or bandage them. They seem to chase after more sores, leaving them to destroy the body itself. We see this in modern times, when homosexuals chase after being ‘gifted’ with HIV! They want literal wounds and illnesses that kill! This is the trend today, as wicked people drive the nation to the precipice, while the nation sleeps.

Verses 7-11

7. “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.”

How close is Isaiah to describing our own days? His country was desolate (laid waste) and burned down... see the world events at that time.  The land was filled with foreigners who took what belonged to the Jews, even in front of the same Jews... the foreign invaders destroy what they have not taken. Jerusalem was now like a vine-dressers cottage in the middle of vines or cucumber fields, isolated and under siege, no longer significant. This describes the lives of Christians in our day! Though victims of their own sins, Jews could have been totally obliterated like Sodom and Gomorrah, but for the intervention of Jehovah, Who left alive “a very small remnant”. Very small is mᵊʿaṭ - very few, small, fewest, of little worth. Remnant, śārîḏ, refers to the ‘rest’ who were still alive; survivors who escaped (śāraḏ). We can see just how battered Judah was, with hardly  any Jews left alive. This speaks of a time of military defeat on a grand scale. Yet, God mercifully left enough survivors to begin again.

Isaiah calls strongly to the survivors, who were now behaving in ungodly manner, deserving the accolade “rulers of Sodom”. Who wants to be known as a ruler of despicable evil, not just doing evil but commanding others to copy? Isaiah calls on them to obey God - 'ĕlōhîm; still mighty though His people were decimated. He bluntly asks why they sacrifice to the God they openly reject. He shouts out – ‘listen to the tôrâ’! Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God, Who is sick of the sacrifices, which He does not delight in. But, why, when it is the Lord Who instituted them? He is saying there is no value whatsoever in adhering to sacrifices and rituals, if the people do not also love Jehovah in their hearts! Nor does God love our many traditions and rituals today, when we do not mean what we think, say and do. Like Isaiah, we can ask ‘What is the purpose of your many traditions?’

Verses 12-17

12. “When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17. Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

God asks why the people held to their sacrifices whilst their hearts were cold, even in the ‘solemn meeting’ – when everyone gathered on a feast day. ‘Who asked you to come into my Presence when your sacrifices and rituals are not genuine Stop all of it, for what you do is vain! The sacrifices and oblations are a mockery! Everything you do is wicked – get away with you!’ This should be the call of all Christians, when pseudo-Christians pretend to be righteous. Jehovah said He hated the many feasts, and they wearied Him. Most were initiated by Him, but the superficiality of the priests and people caused Him to loathe them. The people spread their hands in the air (as do modern charismatics), but it meant nothing because their hearts were not with Him. He hid His eyes from them and did not hear their urgent prayers. Their hands were full of blood (from sacrifices. It might also apply to wars made without His command). Go and wash yourselves clean (ritually) and stop your wickedness. Stop your evil! Instead learn again how to be righteous; help the poor and oppressed, help the fatherless and widows. God was, then, calling His people back to repentance and living truly holy lives. This is much needed today.

Verses 18-26

18. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
21. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
22. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
23. Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
24. Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
25. And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
26. And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

Another famous statement: “Come now, let us reason together”! That is, Jehovah is asking Isaiah and the people to discuss what is happening. He wants them to walk with Him, as He walked with Adam, to talk about a variety of matters. He wants to ‘reason’ with them (just as He does today). To reason, yāḵaḥ, is to put things right, to judge what is true, and also to rebuke and chide. Thus, God sees sin and wants it removed. Rather than impose His condemnation, He wants the people to think carefully and return to their former holiness. On this occasion, then, He did not suddenly bring punishment, but gave them an opportunity to see for themselves that they were doing wrong.

In His mercy He says that their sins are so obvious, but they can be washed away until the people were again white as snow (pure), like clean wool. If the people listened and were obedient of their own accord, they would have all good things from Him. BUT, if they continued on their sinful path they would be killed by enemies (which later happened, and also happened again in 70 AD). Isaiah passed on this divine message, an ultimatum. God had had enough of the decline of trust in Him. Jerusalem (the faithful city) was acting as an harlot, either sexually or, alongside, committing religious fornication by adopting the ways of heathen (including their own Jews). At one time it had good judgments and righteousness, but now they were murderers. The word used (rāṣaḥ) is literal. Silver is mixed with dross (waste) and wine diluted by water. Though this might be literal, it mainly means the Jews had become sinful. The leaders (princes) were rebels and lived amongst thieves (both religious and literally), just as politicians today easily move amongst bad people, particularly those who buy favours and status. They cared nothing for the orphans and widows, just as Jesus pointed this out in His day about the Pharisees.

Because of this decline Jehovah said He would allow enemies to avenge Him. And we read of such enemies attacking and even ruling the land given to Jews by God. Is this why Israel is under attack today? Is God warning them to stop their sin? Verse 25 speaks of God turning against the Jews, so as to remove the wickedness and slothful religion. He would even take away “all thy tin”. This can mean dross. But, at that time tin mining was prolific, so it could also mean a sudden loss of riches gained by mining.

Verses 27-31

27. “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
28. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
29. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
30. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
31. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.”

Unfortunately, sometimes, God will bring us back to reality and faithfulness only after inflicting us with enemies. Thus, Zion (Jerusalem and all of Judah) would be bought back by the suffering under enemies. Sinners and others would be ruined together, and those who forgot God would be destroyed. When God moves His hand of judgment it can smash both His people and enemies, so that His might is known and fear of Him is returned. On that day, the desire for the best in life - here referred to as oaks from Lebanon and pretty gardens, such as the hanging gardens of Babylon – will die. Wanting human fleshly things over against the things of God, is a sure way to lose out on this earth.

God will ensure the mighty oaks will shrivel, and the garden has no water. God will treat them with contempt, as lowly tow (a flax strand) is lit by a spark, to become a raging fire. Because it is begun by God, no man can put it out. What we see is Judah (along with Israel later) condemned by God, Who asks them to talk with Him and to stop their deliberate abuse of His will. Isaiah sees the cause and the effect, and the answer. very often our errors and sins must be highlighted before we can at last live in peace with God, after repentance and change.

© 06 April 2025

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