Sermon Tone Analysis

In making the decision to preach through the prophetic book of Isaiah on Sunday evenings, it may well represent the proverbial “Biting off more than I can chew” kind of decisions.

Isaiah contains several challenges for us.

First of all, in length this is a sprawling text.

After the Book of Psalms, Isaiah is the longest book of the Bible—sixty-six chapters ... 1,292 verses.

I have no idea when we might finish with the Prophet.

Second, the text presupposes familiarity with the historical contexts in which it was composed.

Unfortunately, the book’s historical and socio-economic backdrop is unfamiliar with many modern-day Christians.

That means that—yes—from time-to-time, I will have to acquaint you with ancient near-east history.

Joy.

I’ll try to be kind.

Nevertheless, the text has much that commends it for our study and meditation.

It speaks straight from the heart of God with some of the most passionate poetry to be found in the Bible.

It speaks candidly about how God feels towards and reacts to His people.

The person who hears and understands the heart of Isaiah is not far from knowing the heart of God.

Isaiah also contains some of the most fascinating passages in all of Scriptures that are so relevant that they resemble headlines pulled right out of today’s news casts.

These include:

* Hard-hitting criticisms of empty religion;

* Panoramic and extraordinarily impressive views of God’s coming day of judgment and the everlasting joys which follow;

* Some of the most famous of all Messianic prophecies;

* Dramatic narratives of times of national crisis;

* Honest exposures of a rotten society and a heartfelt cry for revival;

* The famous story of Isaiah’s call and commission;

* Robust assertions that God is the world’s only Savior with worldwide purposes to carry out; and

* Many passages full of pastoral comfort.

Tonight I want to give provide an introduction to The Prophet, The Prophet’s Milieu, and The Prophet’s Message.

!

I. THE PROPHET

#. what do we know about Isaiah?

#. some of what we know can be directly gleaned from the pages of Scripture

#. some of what we know can be inferred from what he writes and what others write about him

!! A. ISAIAH WAS A FAMILY MAN

#. he identifies himself as the /“son of Amoz”/

#.

Hebrew tradition says that his father was a brother of Amaziah the king, who was the father of Uzziah the king

#. if this tradition is accurate, it could explain why, in the sixth chapter of the prophecy, when he saw the great vision in the days of the death of King Uzziah, the young prophet was so deeply stricken and grieved

#.

Isaiah’s name means “Salvation of the Lord” and happens to be the key theme of this book

#.

Isaiah is married and simply identifies his wife as /“the prophetess”/ (8:3) either because she was married to a prophet or because she shared the prophetic gift

#.

Isaiah fathers two sons that we know of, and their names have prophetic significance

#.

Shear-jashbu—/“a remnant shall return”/ (7:3)

#.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz—/“quick to plunder, swift to the spoil”/ (8:1-4)

* ILLUS.

Can you imagine this poor kid on the first day of kindergarten?

/“And what is your name young man?” “My name is ‘Quick to Plunder, Swift to the Spoil’.”/

!! B. ISAIAH WAS A MAN OF THE CITY

#. he was born in the city, he labored in the city, and he loved the city

#. that city was Jerusalem

#. he had a long ministry, covering fifty years or more, the entirety of which, was spent in Judah’s capitol

#. the dates of his prophetic ministry lasted from 750 B.C. through 700 B.C.

#. he was essentially the “court preacher”—personal prophet to four respective Kings of Judah

#. his figures of speech, his references, and his poetic imagery are all drawn from urban life

#.

Isaiah was a man at home in the highest circles of government who had ready access to the king

#. he knew the priesthood intimately and was conversant with the life of the upper class

#.

Isaiah grew up in a day of affluence and prosperity

#.

King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel brought their people to the highest achievements of economic and political prosperity

#. together, the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel rivaled the power and glory of the united kingdom under David and Solomon

!! C. ISAIAH WAS CLEARLY—AND SPECTACULARLY—CALLED TO MINISTRY

* /“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried.

“I am ruined!

For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!””/ (Isaiah 6:1–8, NIV)

#. because of this dramatic and dynamic experience, Isaiah has been referred to as /“the Apostle Paul of the Old Testament”/

#. as you read his prophecy, you will discover that he was a man in touch with God

#. he saw God’s Son and he saw God’s glory

#. he heard God’s message, and he sought to bring the nation back to God before it was too late

!! D. ISAIAH WAS A MAN WHO LOVED HIS NATION

#. the phrase “my people” is used at least twenty-six times in his book

#. he was a patriot with a true love for his country, pleading with Judah to return to God and warning when their foreign policy was contrary to God’s will

* ILLUS The American political leader Adlai Stevenson called patriotism “not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”

He was not thinking of Isaiah when he said that, but Stevenson’s words perfectly describe the prophet and his work.

!! E. ISAIAH WAS A MAN WHO HATED SIN AND SHAM RELIGION

#. his favorite name for God is “the Holy One of Israel”

#. he uses it twenty-five times in his book

#. it is used only five time in the rest fo the Old Testament

#. he looked at the crowded courts of the Jewish Temple and cried out, /“They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward”/ (Isa.

1:4)

#. he examined the political policies of the leaders and said, /“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help ... but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord”/ (Isa 31:1)

#.

Jehovah was holy, but the nation was sinful; and Isaiah called the people to repent

#. his courage in this is astounding

#. unafraid to denounce kings and priests, and unwavering when public opinion went against him, he boldly declared the Word of God

#. at one point, Isaiah wears only a loin cloth for three years, hoping to gain the attention of a people who were blind to the growing threat of Assyria

#.

Isaiah was a social critic, remorselessly applying the yardstick of God’s law to what he saw

!

II.

THE PROPHET’S WORLD MILIEU

#.

Isaiah’s life and ministry takes place during the last half of the eighth century before Christ

#. around the world ...

#. the Chou Dynasty is flourishing in China

#. the Hindu sages of India have begun compiling the Upanishads

#. the Greek author Homer pens the Iliad and the Odyssey

#. and the prophet Isaiah writes the most exquisite Hebrew composition of that culture

!! A. HE LIVED THROUGH TURBULENT TIMES

#. the prophet was called to ministry at the time when Assyria was building its empire into one of the largest and cruelest that western Asia had ever seen

#. he saw the neighboring kingdom of Israel crack, collapse and vanish

#. for forty years Isaiah walked quietly in the corridors of power challenging Judah’s kings to trust God even when he could see the campfires of the apparently invincible Assyrian army right outside Jerusalem’s gates and hear the threats of the enemy general coming over the walls

!! B. HE PROPHESIED UNDER FOUR KINGS

* /“The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”/