It can be daunting sometimes to preach and teach from the prophetic books. After all, the average reader doesn’t have the background needed in biblical history and prophetic literature to make sense of many passages. In the book of Isaiah, the average reader might ask: ‘Who is Sennacherib [Isaiah 36:1; 37:17, 21, 37] and why is he important?’ ‘Why does the book of Isaiah seem to jump around from topic to topic and from time period to time period?’ ‘Why is Isaiah’s call recorded in chapter 6 and not at the beginning of the book?’ ‘How are Isaiah 40-66 relevant to Isaiah’s readers?’ These, and many other questions, can overwhelm the reader, making the book of Isaiah seem too complicated to understand. Yet in wrestling with these questions, we come to see how fascinating and truly amazing the book is.
Isaiah’s vivid imagery and clear message of God’s deliverance of Israel are evidence of Isaiah’s confident hope for God’s people in the future. We learn that future Israel is a remnant of people who emerge after a lengthy and progressive purging process: ‘it will happen that the one who remains in Zion and the one who is left in Jerusalem will be called holy – all who are recorded for life in Jerusalem’ [Isaiah 4:3]. While the main theme of Isaiah’s message is clear, the book can be difficult to grasp as a whole. Looking at two aspects here may help in understanding the book overall.
