A Study of Isaiah: Session 4

1. Review:
   
   Week 1: We looked at the prophet Isaiah and discussed some details about him. He prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah and was what is called a pre-exilic prophet. His prophecy was one of judgment. We looked at the purpose of this study, and that is to bring us to new ground in our awareness of who God is. One writer, James MacDonald, whom I am using as a reference says that we should be "Gripped by the Greatness of God." This is the purpose of this study. For us to become gripped by who God. As we pointed out in the first weeks study, if we will draw closer to God we will see changes in our life (Hosea 6:3, James 4:8, and Jeremiah 29:13 and see what God says).
   
   Week 2: We looked at the most important characteristic of God, and that is His Holiness. We discussed how us becoming fully aware of God's holiness will drive us to understand what God meant when He said that we are to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). An awareness of God's holiness reveals to us our need for salvation and just as it did with the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 6, it drives us to repentance. We closed this session with the question, "What is it in your life right now that needs to be dealt with so that you can draw closer to God?"
   
   Week 3: Last week we started a study of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. We went through the first 10 of the questions below. I have posted a response to the questions we discussed. The overall points that I think we were brought to were:
   The world of today is much like the world was in the time of Isaiah, with people not even having a thought of God.
   The church of today is much like the people of Judah, in that they performed their methods of worship but with a mindset that the methods were enough. God looks down on our acts of religion and tells us that He wants none of it.
   New Study:
   
   Prophets of the OT: This week for information on prophets I want to give you a layout of the history of the nations Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia along with the prophets who lived and prophesied in the times of these nations. This will be discussed in class.
   
   
   Study Covered Last Week
   What do we want to find about God in this section on Judgment? Let's take it a step at a time and see what we can learn.
   1. First, what do we find that God accuses the nation of breaking that result in the judgment? 1:2-9. God accuses Israel of having broken her covenant relationship with Him 1:2-9
   2. How does God describe what He sees as being the status of their awareness of Him? 1:2-3 Israel, unlike an animal, does not even know who its master is 1:2-3
   3. What had already happened to the nation as a result of what God had accused them of doing? 1:4-9 Israel has abandoned the LORD and been flogged by neighboring nations for her disobedience to the covenant 1:4-9
   4. What was God rejecting that the nation would have considered central to their relationship with Him? 1:10-17 God rejects the nation's external worship of Him because of her corrupt acts toward the needy 1:10-17
   5. Was God's judgment imminent or does God give them opportunity to change? 1:18-20 God exhorts the nation to repent in their actions to find forgiveness and blessing or else to expect to receive judgment 1:18-20.
   6. Why does God promise restoration and to whom is it promised? 1:21-31 Because Jerusalem has become overrun with evil God declares that He will bring about a just judgment upon sinners and a gracious restoration upon the city for the sake of the righteous 1:21-31
   7. What is the prophecy being made in 2:1-4:6 and when will it happen? In the word given to Isaiah, Judah and Jerusalem are told of a time when their city will be the center of the world politically, but they will first undergo judgment from the Lord for their prideful sin 2:1--4:6
   8. The house of Judah is exhorted by the prophet to do what? 2:5 The house of Jacob is exhorted to walk in God’s light 2:5.
   9. What do we learn about Judah (the vineyard) and its relationship to God in 5:1-7 Through the image of a vineyard planted by the Lord which produced bad fruit, the Lord promises to judge the nation for her rebellion against Him as expressed in evil upon the people 5:1-7
   a. Setting: Isaiah sings a song of God on behalf of His vineyard (the nation) 5:1a
   b. The Lord (beloved) prepared well a vineyard and expected it to produce good fruit, but it produced worthless ones 5:1b-2
   c. The nation is exhorted to be the judge concerning whether the Lord could have done anything else for the sake of His vineyard 5:3-4
   d. The Lord of the vineyard promises to destroy the vineyard by taking away its defenses, and charging outside sources to bring about destruction 5:5-6
   e. The Lord of Hosts vows to judge Israel (the vineyard) and Judah (His choice plant) because of their rebellion against the people 5:7
   10. How will God's judgment be fulfilled? 5:8-30 After Isaiah pronounces woes upon the nation for its hubris against the people in a breaking of the Law of the Lord, he tells of a humbling judgment which the Lord will bring from foreigners against His people 5:8-30
   
   
   Study for this Week
   
   I asked you to look specifically at Ahaz and Hezekiah in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles and see how what you see there relates to what is in the book of Isaiah
   
   11. Judgments: (7:1-12:6)
   a. What is the story of Ahaz? (7:1-25)
   b. Who is being brought to judgment and who is being used as an instrument of judgment in 8:1-10:34
   c. Who and when is 11:1-12:6 about?
   12. Give two of the judgments of the nations given in 13:1-23:18.
   13. What do we find about the condition of Israel in the end? 24:1-27:13
   14. What happens to the people of God in the end? 33:1-24
   15. Who is blessed and who is cursed? 34:1-35:10
   16. What is the story of Hezekiah? 36:1-39:8
   
   Question: From the reading of this week, what do we learn about the judgment of God? What causes it to happen and where does it usually fall?