Book 23 · Old Testament · Major Prophets
Isaiah
To show the holy God judging sin, comforting exiles, and promising a servant-king and a renewed world.
World at a glance
Assyria · Babylon · Jerusalem
Isaiah son of Amoz stands behind it; scholars debate how the book grew over time
Set in the eighth century BC, with visions reaching to the exile and return
Judah, and later the exiles and those who returned
What was happening in the world
Isaiah preached in Jerusalem while the Assyrian war machine — Tiglath-Pileser, Sargon, Sennacherib — swallowed nation after nation, destroyed the northern kingdom in 722 BC, and besieged Jerusalem itself in 701. The book's later chapters look past Assyria to Babylon's rise, the exile, and a Persian king named Cyrus as the unlikely way home.
What this helps us see
“Holy, holy, holy” leads straight into being sent. And the fasting God actually wants includes freeing the oppressed and feeding the hungry.
The shape of the book
- 01Judgment and hope for Judah (1–39)
- 02Comfort and the servant (40–55)
- 03A restored people and a new creation (56–66)
Grace and holy living
The holy God cleanses and sends. A sanctified life is love made available for God's mission and for justice that restores neighbors.
For reflection
Where is God’s grace inviting you beyond knowledge into wholehearted love and faithful action?