Isaiah— the Messianic Prophet
08.03.22
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6, 7)
Isaiah is the most important of all the OT prophets. As J. Sidlow Baxter wrote “What Beethoven is in the realm of music, what Shakespeare is in the realm of literature, what Spurgeon was among preachers, that is Isaiah among the prophets.
He appears to have been from an influential and distinguished Jewish family, though we know nothing of his father. He was married, had at least two sons and his wife also had the gift of prophecy (7:3; 8:3).
He appears to have been on familiar terms with the royal court, perhaps having been the court preacher. He was a well-educated student of international affairs, who spent most of his time in the city of Jerusalem. He gave advice to the rulers on foreign affairs.
Isaiah’s call to his prophetic ministry was reinforced through a special vision [Isaiah 6]. The LORD asked: Who will go for us? Isaiah responded: Here am I; send me. He saw the LORD as the High King. This would influence his ministry thereafter.
Though often scoffed at, and his message doomed to be ignored by the nations, Isaiah chose to keep on keeping on. What an example to each of us.
As we read through the book, we can note his character. He is bold, patriotic, tender, indignant, passionate, sarcastic, eloquent and deeply reverent.
One of his most amazing prophecies concerned Cyrus, King of Persia (44:28). Isaiah told of his coming almost 200 years before he was born, and even predicted his name!
One of his greatest accomplishments was advising and aiding Hezekiah, the King of Judah, to effect sweeping reforms to bring the nation back to God. With his help Sennacherib the Assyrian king and his mighty host were defeated [2 Kings 19; Isaiah 37].
An old tradition relates that he was martyred sometime in the reign of Manasseh, possibly being sawed in two in a hollow log (Hebrews 11:37).
Isaiah’s name is akin to Joshua and Jesus. It means: ‘Salvation is of Yahweh.’
He wrote from approximately 740-680 BC. His ministry in Judah began under godly King Uzziah and ended under wicked King Manassah. He wrote to both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and to most of the Gentiles nations, especially Assyria, which would one day conquer and disperse the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
In some respects, Isaiah is a miniature Bible. It has 66 chapters while the Bible has 66 books. The first 39 chapters correspond to the 39 books of the OT which largely anticipate the coming of and need for the Messiah. The last 27 chapters neatly parallel the 27 books of the NT because they speak a great deal about God’s provision of the Messiah.
Isaiah has more to say about the Messiah than does any other prophet. In our next article we will focus on what Isaiah has to say about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel.