Introduction to Isaiah - 270

Judgment doesn’t get the last word—holiness does. We’re kicking off a new verse-by-verse journey through Isaiah by setting the scene: a prophet with court access who spoke truth to power during invasions, sieges, and national panic. We map the turbulent history around Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh; the fall of Israel; the Assyrian threat to Judah; and the Babylonian exile that shaped the book’s tone. Along the way, we unpack why Isaiah’s voice is both razor sharp and deeply tender, exposing idols and injustice while announcing comfort and a coming king.

You’ll hear how Isaiah writes—with parallel lines that sing and indict, metaphors that refuse to fade, and narrative scenes that land the prophecy in real events. We compare Isaiah’s style with Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, and Zechariah to show the shared prophetic toolbox and Isaiah’s unique fluency. We also address the big question: single author or multiple hands? We lay out the three-part structure many propose, then make the case for unity using the Dead Sea Scrolls, literary coherence, and the theological arc that runs from judgment to consolation.

Most of all, we draw the line from ancient crises to modern hearts. Isaiah’s charges still sting: idols that look like self and status, leaders seduced by gifts, worship without justice, and wisdom that winks at evil. Yet the book keeps steering us back to hope—the Servant who suffers and heals, the nations drawn to light, and a God who names empires and keeps promises. If you’re hungry for Scripture that confronts and comforts in equal measure, this series aims to give clarity without losing wonder and application without losing awe.

Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Got questions or insights as we study? Message us at connectingthegap.net or email daniel@connectingthegap.net—and check out Marriage as a Mission on Amazon for practical tools to build a Christ-centered home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage For Isaiah
• 1:30 Show Intro And Housekeeping
• 2:10 Launching A Verse By Verse Series
• 4:26 Who Isaiah Was And Why It Matters
• 8:15 Isaiah’s Royal Access And Bold Voice
• 11:13 Overlapping Prophets And Shared Themes
• 14:05 How Isaiah Writes: Poetry And Prose
• 18:19 Parallels With Other Prophets
• 21:24 Tradition Of Isaiah’s Martyrdom
• 22:23 Three-Part Structure Of Isaiah
• 25:00 Assyria, Exile, And Return
• 28:25 Single Authorship Versus Multiple Authors
• 32:10 Dead Sea Scrolls And Unity Of The Text
• 34:31 Messianic Prophecies And New Testament Links
• 36:19 Why Judgment Came: Idols And Injustice
• 39:16 Hypocrisy, Pride, And Rebellion
• 42:10 Israel’s Fall, Scattering, And Return
• 46:00 Why Isaiah Still Matters Today
• 48:10 Listener Questions And Contact Info

Transcript

Daniel Moore: 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to this week's episode. Today we're jumping into one of the most powerful and honestly one of the most intense books in the entire Bible, the book of Isaiah. Now before you tune out thinking, oh great, 66 chapters of doom and gloom, well just hang with me. Yes, Isaiah talks about judgment, but it's also packed full of hope, redemption, and some of the clearest prophecies about Jesus that you'll find anywhere in Scripture. It's almost like the gospel before the Gospels. Isaiah was kind of the original tell it like it is prophet. He wasn't afraid to step on a few toes, and let's get real, if Isaiah had a podcast back then, he probably would have lost a few subscribers after episode one. But he also gives us some of the most beautiful words of comfort and encouragement ever written. That God hasn't given up on his people and that a savior is coming. We're gonna unpack who Isaiah was, what was going on in Israel and Judah during his ministry, and why his message is still just as relevant today. So grab your coffee, or maybe something stronger, if you really want to jump into this 66th chapter study with me, and let's jump into this incredible story of Isaiah, the prophet who saw the glory of God and wasn't afraid to speak. Truth to power. Well, welcome to Connecting the Gap. This is a podcast about marriage, Bible, and book studies, and we interview people that have a story. I'm Daniel Moore, your host. Thank you guys for joining us this week. If you're not familiar with our show, check out our website at www.connectingthegap.net. All of our platforms are there, YouTube and Rumble links. We're also on the Christian Podcasting app Edify. And we're also on your Alexa and Google Smart devices. You can also visit us on social on Facebook, Instagram, and X at CTGap Online. If you're a fan of our show, please subscribe. Feel free to leave a comment on our platforms, give us a thumbs up or a five-star Revent Apple podcast, and we'd be eternally grateful to you for doing that. Well, this week we are starting off something new. We've taken a couple of week break here as we wrapped up our study on Daniel that we did here over the last few months. And we're going to go a different direction. God's really led me and put it upon my heart to do a verse-by-verse study of the book of Isaiah. And I've been working diligently on this for quite some time and been putting this together. And I'm not actually completed with it yet, but I am far along at this point that we can go ahead and start the podcast on this. And I hope that you guys are up to this challenge. We're going to go through all 66 books of the book of Isaiah. It's probably going to be parked here for a while. We're going to attempt to do this every week. This episode will land on Tuesdays of each week as we're still going to continue our marriage podcast platform on Thursdays. So tune in every Tuesday if you're wanting to take this journey with me. And this week, it's going to probably be a little bit longer. I'm going to try to keep these a little bit shorter, probably about 30 minutes or so each week. We're going to try to get through just as many verses as we can, and we're going to try to pack as much information in as we can. Obviously, there's probably still lots of things that's going to be left out there each week that we probably won't cover. But this is a big book, and we do eventually want to get to the end of it. So I'm going to do the best I can to try to put all the details in that need to be brought out for this book of Isaiah each week as we go through the different chapters verse by verse. This week, though, we're going to do an introduction to the book of Isaiah. And we're going to probably be having a little bit longer episode today as I get through the intro here of this book because I just want to go ahead and do all of this in one week. And then next week we'll start with chapter one. So this week, go ahead and get your Bibles, get your pens, paper, your coffee, whatever it is that you need as we get ready to sit down here and do some studying this week. We're going to be going through the introduction to the book of Isaiah. So as we begin the study on Isaiah, we're going to start here with who exactly is Isaiah. And I don't know how many of you out there that are with me in this have actually read through this entire book and really know exactly who Isaiah is. But Isaiah is one of the major prophets that's in the Old Testament. And we're going to go ahead here and go through this week's episode just describing who Isaiah is, what the purpose of this book was, why it was written, and all the details that surrounds this book and why it's actually in the Bible. So as we start off here, we're going to talk a little bit about Isaiah the person. Isaiah, he's considered as one of the major prophets in the Old Testament, just as I mentioned here just a few seconds ago. And this does not mean that he was any better than any of the other prophets. It simply is labeled major because of the length of the book. If you're familiar with the Bible and how it's laid out, there are major and minor prophets, and the minor prophets, their books are a little shorter than what the major prophets are, as the major prophets have a lot of chapters in their book. The longer prophetic books in the Old Testament, they're considered to be the major ones, while the shorter ones are considered to be minor. So this week, just want to welcome you to our verse by verse study of the book of Isaiah. It's one of the most insightful and definitely one of the most theologically rich books in the Bible, in my opinion. Before we jump into the text itself, though, I think it's important to understand both the historical setting in which Isaiah wrote and who this man was behind the prophecy. So Isaiah, he was the son of Amos, and he is one of the most well-known and influential prophets in the Hebrew Bible. His name means Yahweh is salvation, which obviously reflects the overarching theme of his prophetic ministry. God is the only source of salvation and the futility of trusting in human strength or alliances. Isaiah's life and work spans a significant period in Judah's history, and his writings address theological, political, and social issues that were deeply relevant in the time and continue to resonate today. And I just want to mention here as we do this study, what we're going to do each week is we're going to go through as many scriptures as possible, verse by verse, and we're going to discuss all of those and what they mean, have little summaries throughout different sections of it, and we will do an application for today, as this is an ancient book in the Bible, but definitely holds many truths and many things that we can apply in our lives today. So we're going to be talking about how relevant it is as we go through this study and how all of these things that Isaiah wrote back then actually resonate with all of us. And so we'll be going through all of that as we go through this study as well. So Isaiah was a native of Jerusalem, and he exercised his prophetic ministry primarily in the southern kingdom of Judah. And this was also during a time of major political upheaval. According to Isaiah 1, verse 1, his ministry took place during the reigns of four kings of Judah, and those are named Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and those dating from approximately 740 to 686 BC. This would have made Isaiah a contemporary of major events such as the rise of the Assyrian Empire, the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, and the Assyrian threats to Judah itself. Jewish tradition and some historical sources suggest that Isaiah may have had royal lineage, or at least access to the royal court, allowing him direct communication with kings and officials, as seen in passages like Isaiah 7, where he confronts King Ahaz or even Isaiah 38 and 39, which narrate his engagements with King Hezekiah. If you're familiar with the way things were in biblical times, you didn't just show up and talk to the king. You had to have reasons, you had to have a process there to be able to make that happen. And sometimes you just did not get to talk to the king. And if you showed up uninvited, um that there was a likeliness there that you could be killed for that. So the fact that Isaiah had access to the royal courts and so much interaction with kings kind of shows that there had to be some royalty in his background. This courtly status would help explain the sophistication of his language as well. He was very educated and he had a very good understanding of international politics and his boldness in speaking to ruling authorities. He had no problem speaking out to those that were in charge. He had no problem of speaking up against the kings and the monarchs and the people that were in high places, that were in uh leadership positions. He had no uh worry about talking to any of them and reprimanding them or chastising them, whatever the case may have been, and a lot of the writings that he did throughout his book. So, also according to ancient rabbinical tradition, the prophet Isaiah had royal lineage through his father Amos. Though this is not explicitly stated in the biblical text, this tradition holds that Isaiah was the first cousin of King Uzziah, who was the king of Judah during Isaiah's early life and ministry. Amoz and King Amaziah were brothers, so Amaziah was the father of King Uzziah. Therefore, that makes Isaiah the King Uzziah's first cousins. So that kind of wraps up why he probably has some royalty there. And again, this isn't in the Bible, but it is in traditional speakings of different uh commentators and different people that have written on that period back then in the study and the research that's there. Uh, this shows that he was probably first cousins with King Uzziah, which solidified his royalty status. Isaiah likely began his ministry in the last year of King Uzziah's reign, which was circa about 740 BC, as recorded in Isaiah 6, where he recounts his dramatic vision of God enthroned in the temple. This vision becomes a pivotable moment not only for his prophetic calling, but also for the theological foundation of his messages, which emphasize God's holiness, his justice, and transcendence. Now, Isaiah's ministry overlapped with several other prophets, and as we talked about here at the beginning, there are major and minor prophets throughout the Old Testament, and you may not have realized it because all of these prophets' books are separated in the Old Testament. You know, you've got uh some of them, they're just written kind of in an order there, and they have different books in between them or whatever. So, unless you really study this out, a lot of times you don't realize that some of these prophets were actually prophesying and living at the same time. And you can actually go through some of their books and you can see parallels of some of the stories that take place in some of their books that they have written. So when Isaiah's ministry was taking place, some of the prophets that his ministry overlapped was Amos and Hosea. They were a couple, they were active in the northern kingdom of Israel during the early part of Isaiah's ministry, and both of those also warned of impending judgment due to social injustice and religious apostasy, some of the same things that Isaiah will be speaking about as we go through this book. Micah was another prophet, he's a contemporary and near neighbor in Judah, and he shared similar themes with Isaiah, particularly in condemning the exploitation of the poor and the corruption of leaders. And in the latter part of Isaiah's life, the prophet Nahum may have begun his ministry, though he addressed primarily Assyria and Nineveh. So as you see here, Isaiah's ministry actually overlapped several of the other prophets that have written books that are now in the Old Testament. Now Isaiah's prophetic activity covered a forty to fifty year period during which he addressed a range of audiences. In these audiences he addressed kings, priests, people, and foreign nations. His messages dealt with both immediate concerns, such as the threat of Assyria and the temptation for Judah to form alliances with pagan nations like Egypt, as well as long-term theological themes, including the Messianic promise, the holiness of God, and the future restoration of Israel and the nations. The book of Isaiah is written in a blend of literary styles. It's written in a poetry stance, prose, narrative, and symbolic action. However, the primary literary style of Isaiah does tend to be poetry and prophetic prose. Much of it is in Hebrew poetic form, which is characterized by parallelism, vivid imagery, and symbolic language. This poetic structure is especially prominent in the oracles and messages delivered by the prophet. And this may be sounding like Greek or Hebrew to you at this point instead of English, but I guarantee you, as we start going through Isaiah, you're going to start seeing all of this. If you are familiar with the book of Revelation, Revelation also uses a lot of symbolic language and vivid imagery, parallelisms. There's a lot of uh similarities between Revelation and how Isaiah was written. You're going to notice that as we go through Isaiah, sometimes a lot of people have a hard time understanding Isaiah because he uses a lot of symbolic language and imagery and a lot of the prophecies that he puts out there. And, you know, the people back in that day, I mean it was probably more common to them. They understood what he was talking about with a lot of the things that he was delivering in his speeches and the different things he would say to our to everyone, the prophecies that he would do. But we are far removed from that, and our culture is different than what it was back then. So now when we read Isaiah, it's a little bit more difficult for a lot of people to understand it. But as we go through the book of Isaiah, we're going to try to bring some light to a lot of that and try to help uh bring it down to a point where it can be understood by anyone that uh listens as we go through this study. And, you know, this poetic structure that takes place here in Isaiah was especially prominent in those oracles and messages delivered by him, and you're going to see that once we start getting into the study deeper. Now, Isaiah also contains narrative and historical prose sections, and these are particularly in chapters 36 through 39. And in those chapters, they recount historical events involving King Hezekiah and the Assyrian invasion. The book moves between various styles, including apocalyptic elements, laments, and promises of future hope, which add to its complexity and its richness. The text often uses metaphors, allegories, and rhetorical questions, which are all harm hallmarks of Hebrew prophetic literature. A lot of the prophetic chapters and books that you read in the Old Testament, they utilize a lot of this type of writing. Now, several other prophetic books in the Old Testament that share similarities in literary style with Isaiah. As we're talking about this, these books like Isaiah often use Hebrew poetry, vivid imagery, parallelism, and symbolic language. And just to name a few so you kind of have a little bit of an understanding, and you maybe kind of put these up next to each other and uh see where the similarities are. The first one's Jeremiah. You know, like Isaiah, Jeremiah blends poetic oracles with his narratives. And Jeremiah also contains many prophetic messages delivered in poetic form, as well as prose sections detailing the prophet's life and interactions with kings and priests. Jeremiah also uses lamentations as he wrote the book of Lamentations and symbolic acts to convey messages from God. Ezekiel is another one, and Ezekiel features complex imagery, especially in its visions and symbolic actions. And also like Isaiah, it includes both poetic and prose sections. Ezekiel also shares Isaiah's use of apocalyptic elements and future restoration themes as well. The book of Hosea, one of the most interesting books in the Bible, in my opinion. This book is rich in poetic language and metaphor, particularly the image of Israel as an unfaithful spouse. Hosea's style is emotionally charged and symbolic, similar to some of Isaiah's more passionate passages. And if you've never read the book of Hosea, you have to go read that book. It's very interesting as God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute. And that relationship that he had with her, uh, Gomer, he had to stick with her. And that was very symbolic for Israel with how the relationship with Israel was with God as Hosea was trying to relay this message to the Israelites through his personal relationship with the prostitute. And it's a very interesting thing that God asked Hosea to do in that book. And we're not going to be obviously doing that book right now, so we'll leave it at that. But go read that and check that book out. It's a very interesting read for sure. Another one is Amos. Amos uses poetic oracles and is notable for its strong themes of social justice. His style includes stark imagery and repetition, similar to Isaiah's, and emphasizes God's coming judgment. Micah, he combines poetic pronouncements of judgment with messages of hope and restoration. And the literary style is often compared to Isaiah, and some scholars believe the two prophets were probably contemporaries, as we mentioned earlier. Joel uses vivid poetic language, especially in describing locust plagues in the day of the Lord. It contains apocalyptic themes similar to sections of Isaiah as well. And then Zechariah, especially the chapters of 9 through 14, those include poetic and apocalyptic material with symbolic imagery and prophecy of a coming messianic figure, similar in tone and content to the book of Isaiah. So as we kind of look here, you'll notice that Isaiah does it's not a standalone book. There's a lot of books in the Old Testament that are very similar, written in a same in a similar way as the way of the book of Isaiah was. And so it's very interesting once you start studying all of these different books and these different prophets and the things that they have written and the messages they were trying to convey, the Israelites, they just they just turned deaf ears. They had plenty of people out there trying to tell them what they were doing wrong and how God was wanting to pull them back into the fold, but they sure had a hard time listening. But in general, the major prophets, which are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and many of the minor prophets, uh such as Hosea, Micah, and Amos, they share common stylistic features such as the use of poetic devices, vivid imagery, and prophetic symbolism. However, each prophet also has a unique voice and emphasis, and it's shaped by their historical context and divine calling. And scholars often note that Isaiah's literary mastery and consider the book as one of the most beautiful examples of Hebrew prophetic literature. And I can attest to that, the way that Isaiah is written is just unreal. I mean, if I was it would definitely have to be a download from God for me if I had to write a book like that, because the way that Isaiah wrote it in his tone, the sarcasm, a lot of the things that you're going to see as we go through this book, it's just totally amazing the way that Isaiah put this together and had so much to write about. And so I think you guys are going to be really intrigued with the study as we go through it. Isaiah's life probably ended tragically. According to Jewish tradition, particularly the Talmud and other rabbinic writings, he was sawn in half under the reign of King Manasseh, who was Hezekiah's son, due to his fearless denunciations of injustice and idolatry. This tradition may be referenced in Hebrews chapter 1137, where in that scripture it actually talks about saints being sawn in two. And typically, if you look that up and kind of check out what they do with all of that, what they did with that back then is uh they would typically put the person in a log, a hollow log, and then they would actually saw that log in half with them in it. Uh a very, very horrid way to die, for sure. Uh, but uh it's it's pretty well commonly accepted across the board that that's how Isaiah's life probably ended. Now the book of Isaiah itself is traditionally divided into three main sections by many scholars. Chapters 1 through 39 is often called first Isaiah or Proto-Isaiah, containing the prophet's messages during his lifetime, addressing Judah's sin, the coming judgment, and the glimpses of hope. As we move to chapters 40 through 55, that has been known as the second Isaiah or Deutero Isaiah, believed by some scholars to be written during the Babylonian exile, focusing on comfort, the promise of deliverance, and the suffering servant. And then the final ten chapters of 56 through 66, sometimes referred to as third Isaiah or Trito Isaiah, which looks like the future restoration of Israel and the judgment upon the wicked. Now, the reason for this division is because some scholars believe there were other authors besides Isaiah involved in writing this book. And here's how that belief lays out as it intertwines with the different events and wars that took place during the time period of the book of Isaiah. So the book of Isaiah stands as one of the most theologically rich and historically layered texts in the Hebrew Bible. Spanning a period of dramatic political upheaval, social crises, and spiritual renewal, the book is not defined by a single event or war, but instead reflects a complex mosaic of historical moments that shaped the life and faith of the people of Judah over several centuries. Broadly categorized into three major sections, the book of Isaiah addresses the Assyrian threat of the 8th century BC, the trauma of the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC, and the struggles and hopes of the community returning from exile. Each section speaks with its own voice and context, reflecting the changing historical landscape and offering messages both of warning and great hope. Now, chapters 1 through 39 of Isaiah are traditionally linked to the historical prophet Isaiah, which is the son of Amos, who lived during the 8th century BC and ministered primarily to the southern kingdom of Judah. This period was marked by the aggressive expansion of the Assyrian Empire, whose military campaigns threatened the stability and very existence of smaller kingdoms such as Israel and Judah. Within this context, the prophetic role of Isaiah was to call the people and their leaders back to faithfulness to God amid rising fear and political instability. So a significant conflict of this time was the Syro Ephraimite War, which was approximately 735 to 732 BC. This was a regional conflict in which the kingdoms of Israel, also referred to as Ephraim, and Aram, which is Syria, formed an alliance to resist Assyria and attempted to source Judah under King Ahaz into joining their revolt. Well, when Ahaz refused, Israel and Aram attacked Judah to depose him. The prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God, urged King Ahaz not to fear the alliance and not to form counteralliances, especially with Assyria. Isaiah's message was clear, trust in the sovereignty of God rather than in foreign assistance. Yet Ahaz, disregarding the divine counsel, appealed to Assyria for help. Assyria responded by defeating Israel and Aram, but Judah's dependence on Assyria led to its status as a vassal state, something Isaiah saw as both a faithless act and a dangerous surrender of Judah's autonomy. Shortly afterward, in around 722 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria. The capital Samaria was captured, and its population was deported. A common Assyrian practice that effectively dismantled Israel as a political entity. For Isaiah and the people of Judah, the fall of Israel served as both a warning and a theological lesson. The prophet interpreted the event as the painful consequence of covenant unfaithfulness and idolatry and warned Judah that a similar fate awaited them if they did not return to God. Another pivotal moment from this period was the Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701 BC, during the reign of King Hezekiah. The Assyrian king Sennacherib launched a campaign against Judah, capturing several cities and finally laying siege to Jerusalem. In this crisis, Hezekiah heeded Isaiah's counsel and turned to prayer and trust in God rather than seeking military alliances. Miraculously, the siege of Jerusalem ended with the withdrawal of Assyrian forces, and the city was spared. This event reinforced Isaiah's theme that faith in God, rather than political strategy or foreign alliances, was the true source of security. Then chapters 40 through 55, they shift dramatically in tone and context, moving into the period of the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC. These chapters, believed to have been written by a later anonymous prophet, often referred to as second Isaiah, speak to a broken and despondent community living in captivity. The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC, and many of its leading citizens had been deported to Babylon. In the midst of this national catastrophe, the prophet offers a message of hope, forgiveness, and divine liberation. The Babylonian conquest had devastated the land and shattered the confidence of the people in their relationship with God. Well in this dark period, second Isaiah proclaims that God has not abandoned his people and that their time of punishment has come to an end. The text introduces the theme of the servant of the Lord and foretells a new act of redemption and deliverance comparable in magnitude to the Exodus from Egypt. One of the remarkable features of this section is the prediction of the fall of Babylon and the rise of Cyrus the Great of Persia. The prophet ambiguously named Cyrus as God's anointed, which is a shocking and unprecedented designation for a foreign non-Israelite ruler. In 539 BC, Cyrus conquered Babylon and subsequently issued a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. So this turn of events is presented not as a mere political shift, but as a divinely orchestrated deliverance, affirming the sovereignty of God even over empires and nations. Well, the final section of the book, chapters 56 through 66, is often referred to as third Isaiah, and it addresses the community that had returned from exile. This post exilic period was fraught with disillusionment. Though the physical return to Jerusalem had occurred, the rebuilding of society, the temple, and religious life proved immensely difficult. Expectations of a grand and immediate restoration were unmet, and the people found themselves struggling with poverty, internal strife, and wavering commitment. Third Isaiah responds by calling the community to pursue righteousness and justice and to uphold true worship in the renewed temple. This section also broadens the vision of God's salvation to include not only the remnant of Israel, but foreign nations as well, emphasizing a more universal scope of God's redemptive plan. The themes of social justice, humility, and preparation for God's ultimate reign become more pronounced, and they begin pointing forward to a future where God's glory would be fully revealed and all nations will come to worship Him. So the book of Isaiah is a living document of Israel's spiritual journey through crisis and hope. From the Assyrian wars that threatened its existence to the Babylonian exile that shattered its identity, and finally to the rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem, Isaiah speaks across all these generations, offering a prophetic vision rooted in covenant faithfulness and divine sovereignty. While the authors of Historical settings may vary, the central message of trust in God, repentance, and future hope remains constant, inviting readers then and now to see God's hand at work in the unfolding of history. Now, as I've been reading here, you probably heard me mention that some people believe that there is a second author of Isaiah. Well, I personally myself do not hold the view that it was separate authors, and I'm going to explain this here and why I feel this way about this book. So the book of Isaiah begins with the statement identifying its author. It says the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amos saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. That's Isaiah 1, verse 1. Well, like other prophetic books, both major and minor, Isaiah takes its name from its author. However, some modern scholars question the traditional view, suggesting instead that Isaiah was written by multiple authors. They divide the text into three distinct segments, like we just went through, chapters 1 through 39, 40 through 55, and 56 through 66, each supposedly authored at different times by different individuals. These theorized authors are labeled Proto-Isaiah, Deuteros Isaiah, and Treeto Isaiah, meaning first, second, and third Isaiah, respectively. Well, the main evidence cited to support this view includes variations in writing style and the presence of future events described as though they have already happened. This latter characteristic is known as the prophetic perfect tense. A notable example is Isaiah 53, where the Messiah's suffering is articulated as if it were an already completed event. Well, anyone that's ever heard of Pastor Charles Swindall, who does Insights for Living radio programs, been doing that for years. He interprets the idea of dividing Isaiah into separate parts as stemming from a refusal to accept predictive prophecy. He contends that this undermines God's ability to convey messages to his people and disregards the numerous specific messianic prophecies found throughout the Bible. And I agree. I myself am a Pentecostal and I believe in miracles. I believe that God does speak through his people. I do believe that God speaks the future through sometimes through different people. And for someone to specifically sit and say, Well, Isaiah saw these things and he's making it sound like that this is happening right now or it's already happened, uh, there's just no way. You know, there's there's no way he could have done that. Well, they're taking out the the full power of the Trinity, of the Holy Spirit, of God and the way that he can speak through prophets and through people and that are following him and willing to speak out. And I know many instances where, you know, God spoke through someone and they shared a vision or they shared a something prophetic uh to someone close to them that had not happened yet, and it happened. And I've seen that personally with my own eyes. And I think that as Charles Swindall's saying here, if you discount that uh from the book of Isaiah here and state that, hey, God, he doesn't talk to people that way, he doesn't use prophets and you know the different people to share these visions and these hopes for the future and all these different kinds of things, then you're taking the power out of God's hands. You know, God is almighty, he can do whatever he wants, and he can use people whoever he wants to use. And as we are gonna see in Isaiah, he even uses people that don't even believe in him. And so I myself feel like I think Isaiah wrote this whole book. I really do. Um, I know that there's probably people out there that'll disagree, and that's fine. I totally understand that. It's not a make or break thing for me, it's not gonna get us into heaven or keep us out. So I'm not really worried a whole lot about that. But as far as I'm concerned, and the way that we're going to attack this book is uh I feel like that there is support there for the traditional single authorship of Isaiah, and it rests on the consistent unified nature of the text throughout history. So this book has always circulated as one complete work and has always been consistently known as the book of Isaiah. The earliest known copy of this book was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls and dated around 175 BC, and it presents the text as one continuous scroll without any sections or breaks. Notably, there is no indication in ancient manuscripts that the book was ever thought to have multiple authors or intended divisions, including at the major transition point between chapters 39 and 40. So I agree with the view that Isaiah is indeed the author of this book that bears his name. The theory of multiple authors lacks substantial support, and in my opinion should be dismissed. Isaiah remains one of the most eloquently composed book in Scripture, offering timeless relevance through his prophetic insights, warning against sin and judgment, and its rich portrayal of God's mercy and promises of restoration. So traditional Jewish and Christian beliefs hold that Isaiah wrote the entire book, guided by divine inspiration, and that the prophetic foresight in the latter chapters reflects God's timeless message rather than different authorship. Isaiah's prophecy significantly influenced later Jewish theology and strongly impacted the New Testament. He is one of the most frequently quoted prophets in the New Testament, particularly the suffering servant passages of Isaiah 52-53, which Christians see as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Passages such as Isaiah 7.14, where it says, Behold the virgins shall conceive, and Isaiah 9 6, where it says, For unto us a child is born, are foundational to Christian messianic expectations. So Isaiah was not just a prophet of judgment, but one also of immense hope. He foretold both the near destruction of Judah and its future restoration, ultimately pointing to a divine Messiah who would bring justice, healing, and peace not only to Israel but to the whole world. Understanding Isaiah's life, times, and message is vital for any serious explanation of biblical prophecy and theology. His boldness, literary genius, his theological depth, and enduring relevance make him one of the most significant figures in all of Scripture. So the book of Isaiah is unique in both scope and depth. Its sixty-six chapters cover prophetic judgment, messages of comfort, historical narratives, and vivid visions of the future. It's often referred to as a miniature Bible, which I find I find this kind of interesting because it mirrors the structure of the Bible as a whole. 39 chapters of judgment, followed by 27 chapters of consolation, just like the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New. In Isaiah 2, verse 8, Isaiah says their land is full of idols, they bowed down to the work of their hands. The next thing that they are being reprimanded for is injustice and oppression. The people were guilty of social injustice, the leaders and judges took bribes, the poor and vulnerable were exploited, and there was widespread corruption. In Isaiah 123, Isaiah says, Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves, they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow's case does not come before them. The other thing that they were having issues with was religious hypocrisy. Isaiah criticizes the people for outwardly practicing religion while their hearts were far from God. They continued with sacrifices and ceremonies, but their lives were full of sin, and their worship was meaningless. In Isaiah chapter one, verses thirteen through fifteen, it reflects this. It says, Stop bringing meaningless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you. But the Israelites, they were guilty. Another thing was moral decay and pride. Isaiah spoke against their arrogance, their pride, and their moral corruption. The people called evil good and good evil, and they relied on their own wisdom rather than God's guidance. And who does that sound like now? The people of today. In Isaiah five, verse twenty to twenty one he says, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight. And another thing that Isaiah was on the Israelites about was the rebellion against God's commands. The people they ignored prophets, they dismissed God's law, and they followed their own ways. In Isaiah thirty, verse nine it says, They are a rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. So these are just a few examples, but they form the basis for why Isaiah proclaimed judgment on Israel and Judah, while also offering hope for future restoration if they turn back to God. Now Israel has their fall and rise as a nation also documented in the Bible. Israel's history is unique among ancient nations, particularly when viewed through the lens of biblical prophecy and the continuity of its people and national identity. Many ancient civilizations and nations mentioned in the Bible, such as the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Assyrians, they eventually disappeared from history. Their cities were destroyed, and over time their people were absorbed into other cultures. None of them really re-emerged as a nation after total destruction. However, Israel followed a dramatically different path, which aligns remarkably with the prophecies found throughout the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament, several prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others foretold both the scattering and the eventual regatherings of the Jewish people. A few examples here in Deuteronomy 28, verse 64, it speaks of how God would scatter Israel among the nations. In Ezekiel chapter 36 and 37, he prophesies that God would restore the people of Israel to their land, renewing them spiritually and physically. In Isaiah 11, verses 11 and 12, it describes a second regathering from the four corners of the earth. And then Amos chapter 9, verse 14 and 15 proclaims that God would replant Israel in their land, and they would never again be uprooted. So historically, the kingdom of Israel of the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC, and the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom, fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC. Though the Jews returned from Babylon exile centuries later, Jerusalem was destroyed again by the Romans in 70 AD, and the Jewish people were scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. For nearly 2,000 years, Jews lived without a national homeland, facing centuries of persecution, yet retained a strong sense of ethnic and religious identity. What makes Israel's story so extraordinary is that against all historical odds, the Jewish people not only survived dispersion, but re-established a sovereign nation in 1948 in the very land promised to Abraham and his descendants. This momentous historical event has been seen by many as a fulfillment of longstanding biblical prophecies. From a biblical perspective, the reestablishment of Israel serves as a powerful validation of the Bible's divine inspiration. It reflects the faithfulness of God to his covenant with Israel and demonstrates that prophecies spoken thousands of years ago have come to pass in real observable history. Many argue that no other ancient nation has experienced such a complete cycle of judgment, exile, and literal restoration. This uniqueness strengthens the claim of the Bible as not just an ancient religious document, but as the inspired Word of God containing accurate foreknowledge of events far beyond what could be known or manipulated by human agency. The Reformation of Israel after nearly two millennia offers historical and prophetic support to the reliability and the divine origin of the Scriptures. So over this next year, or however long this takes us to get through this study, as we walk through this book of Isaiah verse by verse, we're going to explore its rich layers, the immediate historical context, the poetic and literary structure, and the deep theological messages that continue to resonate throughout Scripture and that we can apply in our world today. So whether you're familiar with Isaiah or just beginning to explore this prophetic masterpiece, it's my prayer that this study will provide insight, inspiration, and a deeper appreciation of God's redemptive plan through his servant Isaiah. Well, that's going to be all for this week. As you know, you can reach out to us. You can go to my website at connectingthegap.net. We have a form there that you can uh reach out. So I would like to encourage you each time that we have an episode, if you have any questions or any comments, something you'd like to add to the commentary as we go through these different chapters. I'm always open to hearing people's thoughts and their views on things that we study here on Connecting the Gap. Uh please send an email. Or you can get on Facebook and social media, and you can also message us there on X and Instagram. Uh we also have comments on Spotify, YouTube, Rumble, just different areas. If we see those and we are able to use those in future episodes, we will. Questions, we'll just answer you back. Whatever it may be, we'd love to hear from you. So please do that. And the email to reach us here is Daniel at connectingthegap.net. Well, I'm looking forward to this study, and I hope you are as well. Next week, when we come back, we're going to go ahead and start into the book of Isaiah as we start to tear apart chapter one in that book. But that's all for this week. And as we go, we just want you to remember that we believe that God's word never fails us. God's word has stood the test of time, and through Jesus' death on the cross, he has connected the gap. This is an extension of Connecting the Gap Ministries, and we pray that you have a blessed week. Hey guys, as I go this week, just want to take a minute to share something that's been on my heart and tell you a little bit about my new book, Marriage as a Mission, living out God's Design for Marriage. You know, a lot of times we think about marriage as something that's meant to make us happy or as a partnership that just kind of fits into our busy lives. But what God's really shown me over the years and what I talk about in this book is that marriage is so much more than that, it's a mission. As husbands, God has called us to lead our homes, to love our wives the way Christ loved the church, and to live in a way that points our families back to Him. And that's not always easy, I'll admit it. It takes humility, patience, forgiveness, and a lot of grace. But when we start to see marriage as something we do for God's glory and not just for our own comfort, that changes everything. This book isn't just theory or theology, it's practical. It walks through what it looks like to lead your home God's way, to build unity with your wife, to handle conflict biblically, and to raise your kids with purpose. It's written for regular guys and women who want to grow as husbands and wives, and who want to make sure that their marriage reflects Christ's love to the world. So if you're looking for something that'll challenge you, encourage you, and help you see your marriage from God's perspective, I'd love for you to check it out. Again, it's called Marriage as a Mission: Living Out God's Design for Marriage. It's available on Amazon, and we also have a six-session study guide that you can also use with it as well. And you can use that for couple study, and it's also set up for group study. So it's good for churches, uh, for life groups, um, couples groups, marriage groups, whatever you may be having with different groups of people. Uh, this is an awesome way to connect with each other, have some good discussion, and you can utilize that study guide, uh, which is a companion with the book, and you can use that to study. So I hope that you'll go check that out again. That's available on Amazon.com. Both of those books are. And I wrote this book because you know at the end of the day, marriage isn't just about two people trying to make it work, it's about two people living out God's mission together.