The opening chapters of Isaiah (1 -12) concern messages of judgment and hope. Centered squarely upon Jerusalem, and more broadly, the Northern and Southern kingdoms. As Jerusalem remained in a state of disobedience, rebellion, and idolatry, Yahweh’s anger and decrees made sure the eventual demise of His people and surrounding nations. Babylon, a hostile and foreign country, would attack Jerusalem and be eventually burned to purify it of corruption. Even though His people have gone too far, their hearts were hardened, and they were committed to destruction. After the devastation of Israel from Assyria, Yahweh’s people would not end without hope as there would emerge a holy seed. A seed that produces a tiny shoot from a stump of a tree that was symbolic of Israel would bring a messianic king to rule over a new Jerusalem in peace, justice, and righteousness
As the course of history and the decree of impending judgment unfolds, a comparison between two cities is made in chapters 13-27. On the one hand, the nations in the Ancient Near East were cast as a city high and lofty yet only destined for ruin because of its total rebellion against their Creator. While on the other hand, there is a promise of a new Jerusalem, another city, where God reigns over all nations, and there is no more suffering, injustice, or death.
The prophet Isaiah further condemns Jerusalem’s interests in saving itself through an alliance its leaders formed with Egypt. Isaiah makes it clear that the only way to be saved from judgment is repentance and trust in Yahweh. Not by relying upon neighboring nations for protection. To demonstrate this as an effective route of safety, King Hezekiah had humbled himself and prayed for Yahweh’s deliverance from Assyria, another enemy but from the North. Yahweh rescued Jerusalem through Hezekiah’s appeal. Yet even after Yahweh comes through a dramatic way to save Jerusalem from the Assyrians, Hezekiah, this time, allies Babylon. While the prophet Isaiah informs Hezekiah that Babylon will eventually betray and destroy them. Hezekiah had sought to impress and earn Babylon’s favor for security and status, while that should have been solely through Yahweh alone.
The final section of Isaiah involves messages of hope. As the inhabitants of Jerusalem in Babylonian captivity were to be released, they were to take up residence in Judah again. The prophet Isaiah wrote future instructions concerning the renewal of God’s people. And they were to abide by the covenant they accepted long ago. God delivered His people from Babylon through raising an army in Persia to defeat their foes. So, the people of Jerusalem were expected to return and rebuild their relationship with Yahweh and each other. Isaiah’s message to those rescued from Babylon was prophesied and recorded onto a scroll for their hope and instruction. The future hope we read about in chapters 40-66 has come, and God’s people get about the business of daily life in Jerusalem.
Chapters 40-48 open up with an announcement of hope through service to the nations. However, God’s people become contentious with Him and claim that He ignored them. When in reality, He was at work among them to purify them of corruption and to rescue them from permanent and final harm. It was their God all along who judged them and, after a while, rose Persia to conquer Babylon their captors and set them free. This judgment was to get them all to recognize that Yahweh is their God, and they are His people. Not the idols of their idolatry. Their obligation was to return to Him and repent while trusting His word going forward into the future.
As Israel’s people were restored to Jerusalem, they were contentious, and they lost faith in their God Yahweh. So, God would form a new kingdom with a new messianic servant who would restore Israel and become a light to the nations. The servants to follow this messianic figure (Christ) are recognized as “the seed” (Is 6:13), who are humble and repent. They are not among the wicked who reject God’s servant and His way of restoration. The wicked will face God’s justice and will be removed from the “new Jerusalem” forever. While the servants will humble themselves, repent, and own their evil to obtain forgiveness to inherit the new kingdom. In comparison, the “new Jerusalem” or the new kingdom is figurative imagery for a new creation where death and suffering are gone forever. It is where all nations of God’s new covenant family are brought together in perfect fellowship with each other and with their God as intended.
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