Theology of Isaiah
Bro. Gary Spaeth
The Theology of Isaiah
• The Character of a Holy God
• The Covenant of a Holy God
• The Carnality of a Holy People
– Forgot God
– Transgressed God’s commands
• The Justice of God in Punishing Sin
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Sovereignty of God
Punishing Israel
Punishing Judah
Punishing the pagan Nations
• The Salvation of God providing a means of Restoration
– Through the promised messiah
• The Promise of future blessings and glory
LECTURE 4 – THE SALVATION OF GOD
PROVIDING A MEANS OF RESTORATION
WHY DID GOD SPARE ISRAEL FROM
TOTAL ANNIHILATION?
Reason for God’s Salvation
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God is Faithful
God is Love
God is Merciful
God is the Savior
God is the Redeemer
God is Gracious
God is Just
God’s Faithfulness
• God Is Faithful
– General Faithfulness
• Isaiah 25:1
• Isaiah 49:7
– Faithfulness to His covenant
• Isaiah 59:21
• Isaiah 61:8
God’s Love to His People
• No mention of the word love in the first 35
chapters of Isaiah.
– Love is pictured in Isaiah 5 (Vineyard)
• The first mention comes in Isaiah 38:17 with
Hezekiah’s song of thanksgiving.
• Isaiah 43:4 – “I have loved thee”
• Isaiah 48:14 – “The LORD hath loved him”
• Isaiah 63:9 – “In his love”
God’s Mercy
• Lack of Mercy
– Isaiah 9:17 – “neither shall have mercy on their
fatherless and widows”
• 1) Hypocritical in their thinking;
• 2) Evil in their doings;
• 3) Foolish with their words.
– Isaiah 27:11 – “he that made them will not have
mercy on them”
– Isa 47:6 – “Thou didst shew them no mercy”
God’s Mercy
• God’s display of Mercy
– Isaiah 14:1 – Show in allowing Jacob back to the
land
– Isaiah 16:5 – Millennial throne established in
mercy
– Isaiah 30:18 – Waiting to show mercy
– Isa 49:10 - “he that hath mercy on them shall
lead them”
– Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee;
But with great mercies will I gather thee.
God is a Saviour
• Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of
Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia
and Seba for thee.
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me
there is no saviour.
Isaiah 49:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee
with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with
their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall
know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy
Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
God is the Redeemer
• ‫ גְּאּו ִלים‬geʾûliym - “to buy out of slavery” God, as it
were, redeems his sons from a bondage worse than
slavery.
• Isaiah 43:1, 14 “I have redeemed thee”
• Isaiah 44:22-24
• Isaiah 52:3, 7-12 – “ye shall be redeemed without
money”
• Isaiah 59:20 – “he hath redeemed Jerusalem”
• Isaiah 63:9 – “In his love and in his pity he redeemed
them”
God Is Gracious
• The word grace is not used in Isaiah, but the
concept is displayed throughout the book
– Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
– Isaiah 40:1-2 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of
the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
God is Just
• Isaiah 1:19-20 19 If ye be willing and obedient,
ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye
refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with
the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath
spoken it.
Salvation of Israel
• Isaiah 12:1-5
– God is my salvation
• Isaiah 25:1-9
– O Lord, thou art my God
• Swallow up death. (See 1 Cor. 15:54; Hos. 13:14; Rev.
20:14.)
• Wipe away tears. (See Rev. 7:17; 21:4.)
Through the Promised Messiah
• Judah was chasten because of sin and
cleansed from iniquity but the removal of
iniquity was the work of the promised
messiah.
– Isaiah 40:4-11
Cleansing of Israel’s sins
• Isaiah 4:4 (KJV) When the Lord shall have
washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion, and shall have purged the blood of
Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit
of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
Cleansing of Israel’s sins
• Isaiah 43:25-26 (KJV) 25 I, even I, am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own
sake, and will not remember thy sins. 26 Put
me in remembrance: let us plead together:
declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
The Messianic Prophet
• The ministry of John the Baptist (Mt. 3:3; Lk. 3:4; Jn. 1:23)
• The ministry of Christ to the Gentiles (Mt. 4:14, 15; 12:17, 18)
• The future rule of Christ over the Gentiles (Rom. 15:12)
• The healing ministry of Christ (Mt. 8:17)
• The blindness of Israel (Mt. 13:14; Acts 28:25-27)
• The hypocrisy of Israel (Mt. 15:7)
• The disobedience of Israel (Rom. 10:16, 20)
• The saved remnant of Israel (Rom. 9:27, 29)
• The sufferings of Christ (Acts 8:28, 30)
• The anointing of Christ (Lk. 4:17)
Fulfilled Prophecies from Isaiah
The Prophecy
The Fulfillment
The Messiah…
Jesus Christ…
will be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14).
was born of a virgin named Mary (Luke
1:26–31).
will have a Galilean ministry (Is. 9:1, 2).
Ministered in Galilee of the Gentiles
(Matt. 4:13–16).
will be an heir to the throne of David
(Is. 9:7).
was given the throne of His father David
(Luke 1:32, 33).
will have His way prepared (Is. 40:3–5).
was announced by John the Baptist
(John 1:19–28).
will be spat on and struck (Is. 50:6).
was spat on and beaten (Matt. 26:67).
will be exalted (Is. 52:13).
was highly exalted by God and the
people (Phil. 2:9, 10).
Fulfilled Prophecies from Isaiah
The Prophecy
The Fulfillment
will be disfigured by suffering (Is. 52:14;
53:2).
was scourged by the soldiers who gave
Him a crown of thorns (Mark 15:15–
19).
will make a blood atonement (Is. 53:5).
shed His blood to atone for our sins (1
Pet. 1:2).
will be widely rejected (Is. 53:1, 3).
was not accepted by many (John 12:37,
38).
will bear our sins and sorrows (Is. 53:4,
5).
died because of our sins (Rom. 4:25; 1
Pet. 2:24, 25).
will be our substitute (Is. 53:6, 8).
died in our place (Rom. 5:6, 8; 2 Cor.
5:21).
Fulfilled Prophecies from Isaiah
The Prophecy
The Fulfillment
will voluntarily accept our guilt and
punishment (Is. 53:7, 8).
was silent about our sin (Mark 15:4, 5;
John 10:11; 19:30).
will be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Is.
53:9).
was buried in the tomb of Joseph, a rich
man from Arimathea (Matt. 27:57–60;
John 19:38–42).
will save us who believe in Him (Is.
53:10, 11).
provided salvation for all who believe
(John 3:16; Acts 16:31).
will die with transgressors (Is. 53:12).
was numbered with the transgressors
(Mark 15:27, 28; Luke 22:37).
will heal the brokenhearted (Is. 61:1, 2).
healed the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18,
19).
His Incarnation
• Isaiah 7:14
– This sign was to be given by God. (Note the
phrase, “the Lord himself.”)
– It was given to the entire house of David and not
to Ahaz (the word “you” here is plural).
– It involved a miraculous sign (God had just invited
Ahaz to ask of him any fantastic miracle he
desired, whether “in the depth or in the height
above.” (See v. 11.)
His Incarnation
• Isaiah 7:14
– It concerned a virgin birth. (The Hebrew word almah
was a common term for an unmarried and sexually
pure woman)
– This mighty miracle sign would result in the very
incarnation of God himself into human flesh, for the
baby’s name was to be Immanuel, meaning “God with
us.”
– This divine baby would also be completely human,
eating what other children ate, and growing to
maturity like other children. (Compare Isa. 7:16 with
Lk. 2:52.)
Who is the Mother and Child?
1. The mother is royal, perhaps the queen, and so the child
is a royal prince, perhaps Hezekiah.
2. The mother is Isaiah’s wife, and so the child is one of his
sons
3. The prophecy does not refer to a specific mother and child
but to mothers in Judah generally, who will give their
offspring names symbolizing hope in God (cf. 1 Sam 4:19–
22).
4. The mother is the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus Christ
(cf. Matt 1:22–23).
5. The mother is a royal contemporary of the prophet,
whose child’s name would symbolize the presence of God
with his people and who would foreshadow the Messiah
in whom God would be incarnate.
His Birth
• Isaiah 9:6
– For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
– Both his humanity and deity are seen here.
– The phrase, “A child is born” refers to his humanity (Lk.
2:7; Heb. 2:14; 1 Jn. 4:9).
– The phrase, “a son is given” refers to his deity (Jn. 3:16).
Five Great Names
• “Wonderful”
– This word is used to represent something unusual or
extraordinary.
• “Counsellor.”
– “Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been
his counsellor?” (Rom. 11:34). (See also Jn. 2:24, 25.)
• “The mighty God”
– “El-Gibbohr”, Isaiah understood that the Messiah was to
be God.
• “The everlasting Father”
– literally, Aviad, “The Father of eternity.” (See Jn. 1:3; Col.
1:16; Heb. 1:2.)
• “The Prince of Peace”
– this is Sar-Shalohim, as described in Isaiah 57:15-19.
the Branch out of the root of Jesse
• Isaiah 11:1-2
– “Out of the stem of Jesse” (2 Sam 7:16, Jer. 23:5)
– “the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him” (Matt.
3:16-17)
• The attributes of the Holy Spirit would characterize the
Messiah
• Isaiah referred to the Holy Spirit more than
did any other Old Testament prophet
– 30:1; 32:15; 34:16; 40:13; 42:1; 44:3; 48:16;
59:21; 61:1; 63:10-11, 14).
The Spirit will rest upon Him
• The spirit of wisdom
– that ability to discern the nature of things.
• The spirit of understanding
– the ability to discern their differences.
• The spirit of counsel
– the ability to adopt right conclusions.
• The spirit of power
– the ability to carry them out.
The Spirit will rest upon Him
• The spirit of knowledge
– the ability to personally know the very essence of
the Father himself.
• The spirit of the fear of the Lord
– because of this knowledge, the ability to always
refrain from displeasing him. (See John 8:29.)
His Relationship to the Father:
• Beloved by the Father
– Isaiah 42:1
– Mine Elect
– My soul delighteth
• This was quoted in Matthew 12:18 and demonstrated
in Matthew 3:17 and 17:5.
• Obedience to the Father
– Isaiah 50:4-6
• (See Jn. 7:16; 8:28, 38; 12:49; 14:10, 24; Phil. 2:8; Heb.
10:5.)
His Specific Ministry to the Gentiles
• Isaiah 9:1-2
– Darkness by the hand of the Assyrian army
– Light by the Son of God
• Jesus Raised in Northern Region of Israel, Galilee of the
Gentile
• Matt 4:12-16
His Gracious Ministry to All
• Isaiah 42:2-4
– He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to
be heard in the street
– A bruised reed shall he not break
– The smoking flax shall he not quench
– Matt. 12:14-21 Quotes Isaiah 42:2-4
His Miracles
• Isaiah 35:5-6
– A. The eyes of the blind were opened.
• (See Mt. 9:29; Mk. 8:25; Jn. 9:7; Mt. 12:22; Mt. 20:34.)
– B. The ears of the deaf were unstopped.
• (See Mt. 11:5; Mk. 7:34.)
– C. The crooked limbs of the lame were
straightened.
• (See Mt. 9:2; Mk. 12:13; Jn. 5:8.)
His Message
• Isaiah 61:1-3
– “Observe that the Lord Jesus suspended the
reading of this passage in the synagogue at
Nazareth (Lk. 4:16-21) with the words ‘Year of the
Lord.’ The first advent, therefore, opened the day
of grace, ‘the acceptable year of the Lord,’ but
does not fulfill the day of vengeance that will be
accomplished when Messiah returns.” (Scofield )
His Sufferings and Death
• In three key passages Isaiah describes in
accurate and awesome detail the crucifixion of
Christ some 700 years before it took place.
1. Isaiah 50:6
– 1. the smiters—Matthew 27:26, 30; John 18:22
– 2. the spitters—Matthew 26:67; 27:30; Mark
14:65; 15:19
His Sufferings and Death
2. Isaiah 52:14
– Matthew 26:67- 68; 27:27-30
• “The literal rendering presents a shocking
picture: so marred from the form of man was his
aspect that his appearance was not that of a son
of man, i.e., not human. This was the effect of the
brutalities described in Matthew 26:67, 68;
27:27-30.”
– Scofield notes:
The Servant Songs in Isaiah
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Isa 42:1-9
Isa 49:1-13
Isa 50:4-11
Isa 52:13-53:12
Who is the Servant?
• Isaiah
– Isa. 20:3
• David
– Isa. 37:35
• Israel
– Isa. 41:8; 44:1, 21; 45:4; 49:3
• Christ
The Servant is Christ
• The testimony of John the Apostle—John
12:37, 38. (Here Isa. 53:1 is quoted.)
• The testimony of Philip—Acts 8:32, 33. (Here
Isa. 53:7, 8 is quoted.)
Quotations of Isaiah 53 in NT
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Matt. 8:17 – Isa. 53:4-5
Luke 22:37 - Isa. 53:12
John 12:38 - Isa. 53:1
Acts 8:32-33 - Isa. 53:7-8
Romans 10:16 - Isa. 53:1
1 Peter 2:22 - Isa. 53:9
Outline Isaiah 53
• The Rejection of the Savior (53:1-3)
– A Powerful report (John 12:38, Rom. 10:16)
– A Weak appearance
– A Despised servant
• The Atonement of the Savior (53:4-6)
– A barer of other’s burdens (1 Pet. 2:24)
– A barer of guilt for the guilty
– A barer of iniquity for those who went astray
Outline Isaiah 53
• The Submission of The Savior (53:7-9)
– A Silent servant
– A Cut off servant
– A Buried servant
• The Exaltation of the Savior (53:10-12)
– A Pleasing Sacrifice
– A Satisfied Sovereign
– A Shared spoil
His Resurrection, Ascension, and
Exaltation
• Isaiah 52:13
– He would be exalted (literally, to be high).
• This is a reference to his resurrection. (See Mt. 28:110.)
– He would be extolled (meaning, to be lifted up).
• This is a reference to his ascension. (See Acts 1:9, 10.)
– He would be very high (or, greatly exalted).
• This is a reference to his exaltation. (See Phil. 2:5-11.)
His Resurrection, Ascension, and
Exaltation
Isaiah 53:10-12
• The sufferings of God’s Servant.
– a. He poured out his soul unto death as a trespass
offering unto God. (See Jn. 10:11, 15, 18.)
– b. He was counted as a common criminal.
– c. In spite of this, he bore the sins of the world
and prayed for his tormentors. (See Heb. 2:9; Lk.
23:34.)
Isaiah 53:10-12
• The satisfaction of God’s Servant.
– a. He shall see the spiritual children he died to save.
(Compare Heb. 12:1, 2 with Jude 1:24.)
– b. He would fulfill the will and pleasure of his Father.
– c. He will receive from his Father the spoils of victory.
(See Rev. 11:15.)
– d. He will be the supreme source of blessing to many
nations. (See Rev. 21:22-26.)
– e. He will enjoy this satisfaction throughout all
eternity. (See Rev. 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:1, 2; Heb. 10:22.)
Christ in Isaiah
1. His Incarnation
7:14, 15;9:6
2. His Youth in Nazareth
11:1, 2; 53:2; 7:15
3. His Relationship with the
Father
42:1; 50:4, 5
4. His Miracles
35:5,6
5. His Message
61:1,2
6. His Specific Ministry to the
Gentiles
9:1, 2
7. His Gracious Ministry to All 42:2, 3
8. His Suffering and Death
50:6; 52:14; 53:1-10
9. His Resurrection, Ascension,
52:13; 53:10-12
and Exaltation
9:7; 42:4-7; 59:16-21; 11:3-5; 49:1-12; 32:1;
10. His Millennial Reign
33:22