Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
Lamentations
© John Stevenson, 2012

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2
Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles,
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

2000 - 1500
Period of the
Patriarchs
1500 - 1000
Exodus and
Sinai
1000 - 500
Judges Kings of Israel and Judah
Poetic Books
Prophetic
Books

What is a Prophet?
• They functioned as Preachers
• They functioned as Predictors
• Prophet versus Priest

Jeremiah 18:1-3
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
2
“Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I shall announce My words to you.”
3
Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel.

Jeremiah 18:4
But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

Jeremiah 18:5-6
Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,
6
“Can I not, O house of
Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD.
“Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
”

Jeremiah 18:7-8
At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it;
8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

Jeremiah 18:9-10
Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it;
10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying
My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.

If I speak concerning a nation to destroy it
If they turn from their evil
I will relent of the calamity
If I speak concerning a nation to plant it
If they do evil and do not obey
I will think better of the good

• 2 Samuel 12:22. “…for I said, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’”
• Jonah 3:9. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
• Joel 2:14. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him

• Conditional Predictions: “If… then” clauses
• Unqualified Predictions
• Confirmed Predictions
• Sworn Predictions

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

“If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
20
But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
(Isaiah 1:18-20).

Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
(Jonah 3:4).

Then the LORD answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.” (Habakkuk 2:2).

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
(Habakkuk 2:3).

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23
I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance .” (Isaiah
45:22-23).

Old Testament: 39 Books
New Testament: 27 Books
Judgment: 39 Chapters
Comfort: 27 Chapters
Total Books: 66 Books Total: 66 Chapters

Chapters 1-35
Judgments in the
Present
Chapters 36-39 Chapters 40-66
Historical
Interlude
The Judgment of God
Messiah the Judge
God’s Government
A throne (6:1)
Glory in the
Future
The Comfort of
God
Messiah the
Servant
God’s Grace
A lamb (53:6)

Northern Kingdom Ends !
740 735
Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
716
Hezekiah
697 687
Manassah
Amos
Ministry of Isaiah
Ministry of Micah
Ministry of Hosea
Nahum

A Microcosm of the Entire Book of
Isaiah
Isaiah 1:1
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth

Isaiah 1:2-3
2
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the LORD speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
3
An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master's manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.”

Isaiah 1:4
Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers, Literally “Seed of Evil Ones.”
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One of
Israel,
They have turned away from Him.

Isaiah 1:10
Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:11
"What are your multiplied sacrifices to
Me?” says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams,
And the fat of fed cattle.
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

Isaiah 1:21
How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.

Isaiah 1:26-27
26
Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city."
27
Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.

Isaiah 6:1
In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

Isaiah 6:2-4
Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3
And one called out to another and said, “Holy,
Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.
”
4
And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

Isaiah 6:5
Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
”

Isaiah 6:6-7
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7
And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.
”

Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Child Motif
• Shear-jashub (Isaiah 7:3)
• Immanu-el (Isaiah 7:14; 8:8)
• Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah
8:3)
• Isaiah’s children (Isaiah 8:18)
• The Royal Child (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Now it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of
Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. (Isaiah
7:1

When it was reported to the house of
David, saying, “The
Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.
(Isaiah 7:2

Isaiah 7:3
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet
Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field,

Isaiah 7:4
“…and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.
’”

Isaiah 7:5-7
Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying,
6
“Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”
7 thus says the
Lord GOD: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.
”

For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is
Rezin (now within another 65 years
Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people)…
(Isaiah 7:8)

Isaiah 7:10-12
Then the LORD spoke again to
Ahaz, saying,
11
“Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.
”
12
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”

Isaiah 7:13
Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my
God as well?

Isaiah 7:14-16
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
15
He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.
16
For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

Isaiah 7:14
Partial
Fulfillment
Seen in Isaiah's day with a young woman who gave birth to a son
Ultimate
Fulfillment
Seen in Jesus who was born of a virgin and who is "God with us"

Woes of Judgment against Judah (1-5)
A Son and A Song of Salvation (6-12)
Woes to the Nations.
Babylon (13:1 - 14:23).
Assyria (14:24-27).
Philistia (14:28-32).
Moab (15-16).
Damascus (17).
Cush (18).
Egypt and Cush (19-20).
Babylon (21:1-10).
Edom (21:11-12).
Arabia (21:13-17)
Jerusalem (22).
Tyre (23).
A warning (24).
A Song of Salvation (25-27)
Woes of Judgment (28-35)

Historical Interlude

Isaiah
1-35
Isaiah
36-37
Isaiah
38-39
Isaiah
40-66
Messages for Israel under
Assyrian struggle
Invasion of the
Assyrians
Historical Section
Prophecy
Hezekiah faces death &
Babylon
Messages for Israel looking ahead to
Babylon &
Persia
Prophecy
Judgment Comfort

Isaiah 40:1-2
“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2
“Speak kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD’S hand
Double for all her sins.”

Isaiah 40:3
A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”

Isaiah 40:4-5
Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5
Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the
2 nations.
He will not cry out or raise His voice ,
Nor make His voice heard in the street. (Isaiah 42:1-2).

A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4
He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law. (Isaiah
42:3-4).

• Look through Isaiah
52:13 – 53:12 and note the parallels to the ministry of Jesus.
• What are the needs of Isaiah’s readers that are underscored and how are those needs met in the
Servant of the Lord?

Saw the Northern
Kingdom of Israel taken into Captivity at the hands of Assyria
Foretold of the judgments that would come in the future
Saw the Southern
Kingdom of Judah taken into Captivity at the hands of Babylon
Explained the reasons for the judgments
Judah was experiencing
Looks primarily to the future
Looks primarily to the present

Bold and fearless Gentle and compassionate
Was married to a prophetess and had children with prophetic names
Was commanded not to take a wife or have any children

Pharaoh
Neco

Jerusalem
 Carchemish

Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar

Josiah dies at Megiddo and is replaced by his son
Jehoahaz
 Megiddo
 Jerusalem
(Josiah)
Pharaoh
Neco

Chapter 1
Prologue
Call of
Jeremiah
Chapters 2-20
From Josiah to the first year of
Nebuchadnezzar
Chapters
21-45
From
Josiah’s sons to the
Captivity
Judgment against Judah
Chapters
46-51
Oracles to the
Nations
Nations
Chapter
52
Epilogue
Fall of
Jerusalem

Call of Jeremiah (1)
Prophecies of Judah & Jerusalem (2-35)
Historical
Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (36-38)
The fall of Jerusalem (39)
Narrative
After the fall of Jerusalem (40-45)
Prophecies of other nations (46-51)
Fall of Jerusalem (52)

Jeremiah 1:4-5
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Jeremiah 1:6-8
Then I said, "Alas, Lord God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth."
7
But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' Because everywhere
I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.
8
Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:9-10
9
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the
LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put
My words in your mouth.
10
"See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant."

Jeremiah 5:1
Roam to and fro through the streets of
Jerusalem,
And look now, and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find a man,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.

Jeremiah 29:10
"For thus says the LORD,
'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon,
I will visit you and fulfill
My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

605 B.C.
1st Deportation by
Nebuchadnezzar
(Daniel taken to
Babylon)
597 B.C.
2nd Deportation
(Ezekiel taken)
586 B.C.
70 Years
Includes Inaugral and
Terminus year
70 Years
Not including Inaugral or Terminus year
538 B.C.
Return to land under
Cyrus & Feast of Booths
Celebrated at New Year
515 B.C.
Temple Destroyed at 3rd Deportation
Temple
Completed

And Jeremiah said, "The word of the
LORD came to me, saying,
7
'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it."'

Jeremiah 31:31-32
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34
And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
”

Old
Covenant
New
Covenant
Jerusalem
Let us go up to the house of the
Lord
Church
Go unto all the world and make disciples of the nations

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
3rd person plural
(“they”)
1st person singular (“I”)
1st person plural (“we”)
Each verse begins with an acrostic
Each line begins with an acrostic
Writer addresses himself to his readers
Each verse begins with an acrostic
No acrostic
Writer prays to God

Lamentations 3:40-42
Let us examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the LORD.
We lift up our heart and hands
Toward God in heaven;
We have transgressed and rebelled,
Thou hast not pardoned.

• God is Sovereign over the affairs of men
• Sin brings forth tragic consequences
• There is hope in the darkness