Rebirth of Planet Earth

• Lesson 13 for the week of June 19 to June 26

Read: Isaiah 65-66 Background Considerations We don’t read a lot in the Old Testament about life beyond death or heaven or resurrection. These ideas appear in places, but they are limited in number and mostly...

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Desire of Nations

• Lesson 12 for the week of June 12 to June 19

Read: Isaiah 59-62 Background Considerations Salvation and deliverance in the Old Testament typically carry the more everyday ideas of rescue or deliverance from pests, storms, enemies, drought, etc., as well as the more theologically significant...

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Waging Love

• Lesson 11 for the week of June 5 to June 12

Read: Isaiah 55 and 58 Background Considerations Many see Isaiah 56-66 as another inspired addition to the book of Isaiah from an even later time than the Babylonian exile. Whereas chapters 1-39 assume primarily an...

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Doing the Unthinkable

• Lesson 10 for the week of May 29 to June 5

Read: Isaiah 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12 Background Considerations Last week’s lesson introduced us to the so-called “Servant Songs” and the debates surrounding their interpretation. It also recommended our attempting to listen to what these words must have...

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To Serve and to Save

• Lesson 9 for the week of May 22 to May 29

Read: Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6 Background Considerations Within Isaiah 40-55 many students of the book have seen a major theme develop around the idea of “the servant.” The term “servant” appears in this section with a...

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“Comfort My People”

• Lesson 8 for the week of May 15 to May 22

Read: Isaiah 40 Background Considerations It is in Isaiah 40 that all students of the book recognize a dramatic shift. Whether one attributes this to another author or not, the shift is here. For the...

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Defeat of the Assyrians

• Lesson 7 for the week of May 8 to May 15

Read: Isaiah 36-39 Background Considerations Whatever position one takes about the authorship of Isaiah, chapters 36-39 provide a historical narrative which bridges the gap between the major points of emphasis and feel of the preceding...

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Playing God

• Lesson 6 for the week of May 1 to May 8

Read: Isaiah 13-23, 24-27 Background Considerations Among the many speech forms which the prophets use in their preaching are Oracles (Speeches) against Foreign Nations (OAN). These appear is all of the prophets except Hosea and...

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Noble Prince of Peace

• Lesson 5 for the week of April 24 to May 1

Read: Isaiah 9 and 11 Background Considerations These chapters introduce us to some of the memorable lines from Isaiah, especially for Christians who have the New Testament in mind as they read both the descriptions...

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The Hard Way

• Lesson 4 for the week of April 17 to April 24

Read: Isaiah 7 and 8 Background Considerations As noted in last week’s study guide, chapters 7-9 of Isaiah assume some awareness of the events surrounding what came to be known as the “Syro-Ephraimitic War,” a...

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When Your World Is Falling Apart

• Lesson 3 for the week of April 10 to April 17

Read: Isaiah 7 Background Considerations We are introduced in chapter 7 to an interesting role PKs (prophets’ kids) play in the ministry of their parents. Not unlike preachers’ kids, the offspring of prophets are not...

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Crisis of Leadership

• Lesson 2 for the week of April 3 to April 10

Read: Isaiah 6 Background Considerations Ah, finally, we got to the prophet’s call vision! Why is it placed here and not at the beginning of the book, as in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah? After all, it...

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Crisis of Identity

• Lesson 1 for the week of March 27 to April 3

Read: Isaiah 1 and 5 Background Considerations The opening discussions about a biblical book always raise the issues of date, historical context, authorship, background, themes, general outline, etc. (see the earlier pages in this booklet)....

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Introduction to the Book of Isaiah

• Introduction

The Eighth-century Prophets Douglas R. Clark The prophets of the eighth century B.C.E. include Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah. Recognized by many as the first of the “writing prophets” and among the most brilliant and…