Without any hesitation, I always count the Old Testament (Hebrew
Scriptures) Book of of the prophet Isaiah as one of my all-time
favorite portions of the Bible. The Lord used this prophet
to declare not only the sin of God's people in Israel, but also
the cure for sin: God's own grace through a mighty Messiah
(Anointed One) who was to come.
God does not hold back from exposing sin for all that it is in
Isaiah. Judgments are also spelled out and promised as an
inevitable result of the sins of the people. But greater
than all of these is the grace of God and the incomparable
promises of salvation and restoration by God's own Servant.
No other book speaks more clearly of Christ than the ancient
prophet of Isaiah.
If you want to know the heart of God for us all, then read and
become totally familiar with the Book of Isaiah. If you
want to know why Jesus went through many of the things He did,
then read and get to know thoroughly the writings of Isaiah.
Unbelieving "scholars" (but not true students of Scripture) have
tried many ways to rid themselves of the power of God's Word in
Isaiah. This is nothing new. The prophet himself
faced many critics and enemies of the truth in his own day (see,
for example, Isaiah 30: 8-13). And tradition has it that
he was murdered because of his testimony, his body sawn in half.
Likewise, modern critics still try to divide up the book of
Isaiah, claiming that it could not have all been written by the
same man.
Nevertheless, God has spoken and does speak. The prophet
Isaiah tells us so many things about Christ that one nickname
for the book is the "Gospel of Isaiah." Yet no critic has
yet been foolish enough to claim that the book of Isaiah (or
portions thereof) were written after Jesus died on the cross at
Calvary. (But give them time.) In the mean time, we
who know the Lord thank God for His work of grace in the
prophetic words of Isaiah.
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