College Press Publishing

The New Testament quotes Isaiah more than any Old Testament book other than Psalms, but Isaiah offers much more to the Christian. The challenges the prophet Isaiah confronted in his ministry provide the backdrop for profound theological insights. During Isaiah's lifetime the Northern Kingdom fell and the Southern Kingdom was facing the future prospect of defeat and exile as well. In his critique of the sins that would cause Judah's fall to Babylon, Isaiah provides insights into the basic qualities God looks for in a relationship with his people.

The burning question remains how God can continue his covenant purpose through his chosen people if all that lies ahead is defeat and exile. The answer lies in the revelation Isaiah receives of a glorious future in which God overcomes his people's bondage to Babylon and ultimately their bondage to sin. The key to this future is the glorious nature of God.

Through his great command of language and imagery Isaiah conveys a God who is sovereign and powerful, but also faithful and compassionate; a God who is exalted above the heavens, but also at home with the humbe and contrite; a God who brings devastating judgment, but also works and waits for sinners to return to him.

Such a God obviously cannot be appeased by external rituals or manipulated for selfish ends. By exposing Israel's false worship Isaiah unmasks Israel's failure to recognize these fundamental truths. The importation of idolatrous practices or pagan presuppositions about the nature of God undermines a relationship with God at the most basic level. 

Although God seeks and waits for and works to redeem sinful humanity, ultimately he judges those who reject his outstretched hand. But for those who acknowledge his power and his grace, who humble themselves and seek to be his light to the world, and who strive to become a just and compassionate community of faith, the richest blessings of the covenant God await.

God's nature has not changed since the days of Isaiah. Worship still serves as a barometer of a people's relationship with God. The responsibility to be God's light to a darkened world now resides in the church. Isaiah thus presents a timeless message for those who desire to know God and to respond to him properly.

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