JUDGMENT, | HISTORICAL INTERLUDE, | SALVATION, |
Judgment on Judah, | Sennacherib, | Idols verses the One True God, |
Assyrian invasion foretold, | Hezekiah, | The Messiah, |
The Branch, | Final restoration, | |
The KIngdom, | ||
Judgment on the nations, | ||
The promise of restoration, | ||
Woes on Israel, | ||
The promise of restoration, |
Major characters #
- Isaiah (“Jehovah is salvation”), son of Amoz
- Uzziah (790-740 bc), Jotham (750-731 bc), Ahaz (735-715 bc32), and Hezekiah (715-686 bc), kings of Judah
- Sennacherib, king of Assyria
Major themes #
- Judgement
- Sin
- Salvation
- Messiah
- God
Major words/phrases #
- “in that day” (43x)
- salvation (28x)
- woe (23x)
- Holy One (30x)
- sin, sins, sinful, sinners (23x)
- sing (16x)
- glory (48x)
- holy (29x)
Major locations #
- Ephraim (Israel)
- Assyria (Capital city: Ninevah)
- Babylon
- Syria (capital city: Damascus)
- Moab
- Tyre
Christ in all the Scriptures #
- The Virgin Birth, 7:14
- A Child born, a Son given, 9:6-7
- A Branch, from the stem of Jesse, 11:1
- A Precious Cornerstone, 28:16
- A light to the Gentiles, 42:6; 49:6; 9:2 (cp. 60:19-20)
- The Anointed One, 61:1-3
- The Glorious One, 63:1-6
- The Servant of the LORD, 42, 49-53
The name “servant” is applied by Isaiah to the Messiah, to the entire nation of Israel, to the godly remnant (43:10), and to Cyrus. Usually the context makes clear which one is intended. (William MacDonald)
William MacDonald gives the following outline of chapters 49-57:
- The Messiah as Servant, 49
- The Messiah as True Disciple, 50
- The Messiah as Righteous Ruler, 51:1-52:12
- The Messiah as Sin-Bearing Sacrifice, 52:13-53:12
- The Messiah as Redeemer and Restorer, 54
- The Messiah as World Evangelist, 55:1-56:8
- The Messiah as Judge of the Wicked, 56:9-57:21
While the entire section (chs. 40-66) anticipates the ultimate restoration and peace of Jerusalem, ch. 41-48 do refer particularly to the return from the Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem that followed in the days of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah.
John Riddle, WTBT: Song of Solomon, Isaiah (Ritchie, 2005), pg. 398.