1-OT 26 Isaiah

Lesson #26 Isaiah 2019 Before starting this lesson, read at least Isaiah 1, 6, 14, 30, 40, 43, 59. If possible read the whole book. You may find it helpful to read just the minimum chapters, go thru the lesson and then read the whole book. You will discover what works best for you. Isaiah is a favorite because of its many beautiful and well known verses. It is also an unusual book - in how often it is quoted, how much it tells about Jesus and how it was used. First of all, how often it is quoted. In the New Testament there are 50 direct quotes and over 250 indirect quotes. Out of the 66 chapters, 47 are quoted from. There are more quotations from Isaiah in the New Testament than from any other book, except the Psalms. In addition, Isaiah gives more details about Jesus than any other Old Testament book. Because of this, there will be two lessons on Isaiah. In this study, we will be looking at the background, author and outline of the book. In the following study, we will spend the whole lesson on what Isaiah tells about Jesus. But what makes this book most unusual, is how it was used in the days of the Old Testament. Isaiah wrote chapters 1-39 for his generation living in the land of Judah, in the 700’s BC. The style is quick and abrupt. The purpose is to warn about God’s coming judgment. Isaiah writes for the Jews Chapters 40-66 were written, not only for believing Jews in the in the 600’s in Judah, but also for Jews living in exile in Babylon in the 500’s BC. The style is contemplative and consoling. The purpose 500's is to give comfort and assurance of God’s deliverance. 700's BC BC 600's In other words, the book of Isaiah was written for different people living in different time periods. Because this is so unusual, it has led some people to think there were 2 authors. They say the prophet Isaiah wrote the first part while living in Jerusalem in the 700’s. Another author wrote the last part while living in Babylon in the 500’s. They call the 2nd author - deutero Isaiah - the 2nd Isaiah. This would explain the difference in style and time. It would also explain the accuracy of details about the people and events in the 500’s. However, other people say there is just one author for the whole book – the prophet Isaiah. There are several reasons. First we have the title for God, Holy One of Israel. It is used 12 times in the first part of the book and 14 times in the last part. It is used only 6 other times in all the rest of the Old Testament. When a phrase is unique to a book and common to both sections, it immediately points to one author. Another reason for just one author comes from archeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the writings is a copy of Isaiah which dates back to 150 BC. All 66 chapters are in one scroll with no separation whatever between chapters 39 and 40. From the days of Moses, a person writing God’s words wrote their book on a new scroll. Later, when scribes made copies, if they put several short books on the same scroll, they always separated them so it was clear there were different authors. This certainly would be true if there were 100 years between 2 authors. So if there were 2 Isaiahs and Jewish scribes combined their books in later copies, there would have been an obvious space between them. But when we look at the Dead Sea Isaiah scroll, at the end of chapter 39, there is no separation. This means Jews in 150 BC believed the book had just one author. A third reason is Jewish New Testament belief. Nine times New Testament authors quote from the 2nd 1 half of Isaiah. In each case they state Isaiah wrote or said. They never write, the other Isaiah …. A fourth reason comes from the Gospel of John. In John 12, beginning with verse 38, there are 2 quotations from Isaiah. The apostle John first quotes from Isaiah 53 - the 2nd half of Isaiah. He continues in the next verses, for this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere..... The quotation that follows is from Isaiah 6. John quotes from both the 1st and 2nd halves of Isaiah and says they were both written by the same person. When we look at the facts, we find history supports just one author for this book. The final answer however is based on what we believe about Scripture. The real issue is whether Scripture is only the words of human authors or is it the Word of the Lord - God’s Word? If it is only human authorship, there had to be 2 authors. No human being could know specific details about events and people 100 years in the future. However, if this is the word of the Lord, then it is based on God and what He can do. Does God know what will happen 100 years from now? Of course. So if God is the real author of Scripture, He only needs one Isaiah to write about the present and the future. In summary, the book of Isaiah is unusual for its many quotes in the New Testament, what it tells about Jesus its use in the Old Testament for different people living in different time periods. With this background of the book, now let’s get the background of the prophet himself. According to chapter 1:1, he lives during the time of 4 kings - Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This makes him contemporary with Micah in the southern nation of Judah and with Hosea in the northern nation of Israel. BC 1050 1000 950 900 Israel J S D 850 800 R 700 650 600 550 BC Amos Elijah Elisha Jonah Hosea S Judah 750 Jo Ahtha H azm ez ek ia h Isaiah is married. His wife is a prophetess and they have 2 sons. Joel Micah Isaiah . Israel . Samaria Jerusalem . Judah ISAIAH From his writings we can see he is highly educated, an orator and a poet. Jewish tradition says Isaiah was part of the royal family - the line of David. This means he is born in Judah. It explains his education, his access to the kings and why he is advisor and historian for 2 of them - Uzziah and Hezekiah. Since he talks with and writes about the kings, it means Isaiah is a prophet in Jerusalem, the capital. He is a prophet for some 60 years from c. 740 - 681 BC. Besides the book of Isaiah, background information comes from 2 Kings 15-18 and 2 Chronicles 26-33 Both Isaiah and Micah live at a time when the political and spiritual conditions of Judah change with every king. Uzziah is godly and God gives him many victories. Jotham is godly and has a strong nation. Ahaz rejects God and the nation suffers continual defeats while he is king. Hezekiah is godly so once again the nation of Judah is strong and prosperous. Since Isaiah and Micah are dealing with the same conditions, it is not be surprising that many of the things they say are similar. (see endnotes for more details about this) Isaiah, thruout childhood and teen years grows up under king Uzziah. This king was also called Azariah. Uzziah was exceedingly brilliant and very gifted. Under his leadership, Judah had her greatest prosperity and glory since the days of Solomon. These were her glory years. So when Uzziah died, it seemed like a part of Judah’s greatness and potential had died with him. Jotham, his son is a good man, but he certainly does not have the skills of his father. Isaiah is in his early 20’s. He is discouraged and concerned for his nation, so he goes to the temple courtyard to worship. As he is thinking about the future of his country, he is given a vision of the Lord. In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. 6:1 While Uzziah was living, Isaiah had been absorbed with the king and all the security, glory and prosperity he had brought to the nation of Judah. Now as Isaiah sees the Lord, it is God’s holiness that is emphasized to him. Notice, it is not God’s power; it is not God’s strength; it is God’s holiness that is pointed out. The nation does not need more power or wealth or another great leader with charisma. The nation’s greatest need is holiness. 2 When Isaiah sees the Lord on a throne and hears the angels proclaiming His holiness, his first response is not what we would expect. He does not say, what a wonderful experience. I feel so special. He says, Woe is me…for I am a man of unclean lips. Isaiah had gone to the Temple thinking about his nation’s political and economic problems. Now he sees the nation’s biggest problem is spiritual. And it begins with his life. He must deal with his unholiness. Only then can God use him. The concept of God’s holiness made such a difference in Isaiah’s life that it became his focus and message. Twenty-six times thruout the book he refers to God as The Holy One of Israel. THEME of his book - God’s holiness OUTLINE God’s holiness brings judgment – over Judah, the Gentile nations and the world. 1-39 God’s holiness brings comfort and deliverance thru His greatness, His servant and His challenge. 40-66 God will judge all the nations. But the nation of Judah has the most knowledge about God, so Isaiah starts with a message of God’s judgment on her. In chapter 1, he describes Judah’s spiritual condition of complete sinfulness and then presents God’s offer. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Tho your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 1:18 The problem is not with God. He is always ready to forgive. The problem is with God’s people. They are not interested in God’s forgiveness because they do not think they need it. They are completely blind to their sin. So Isaiah gets specific with the most obvious sins. The days of Jotham and Ahaz. Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and rob my oppressed people of justice, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 10:1. Injustice and greed - taking the family farms from widows and orphans. Micah also wrote about this. The Lord says, These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor me with the lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by people. 29:13 Hypocrisy and legalism. People made up all sorts of rules to create lots of religious activity. They had no problem with man-made rules, but they were unwilling to follow God’s rules. Ahaz dies and Hezekiah becomes king. As a teenager, Hezekiah had responded to Micah’s teaching and committed himself to follow God. Now at 25, he is named king. Over the next 14 years, he continues to obey God and leads the people to obey. As a result, God withholds His judgment on the nation. Then he becomes sick. When he begs God, to the point of insisting, that he not die, God heals him. But in the additional 15 years, he turns from God, wanting to do things his way. The son who is born during these years receives no spiritual training. When Hezekiah is attacked by an enemy nation, instead of asking God for instruction, he makes a treaty with Egypt. So in chapter 30 Isaiah goes to him with a message from God. Woe to the obstinate children, declares the Lord, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge. But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame, Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace. 30:1-3 God is not against military treaties. But Hezekiah is trusting in the treaty in place of trusting in God. He thinks he can handle things himself and does not need God. The people are also turning from God. These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction; they say to the seers, see no more visions and to the prophets, give us no more visions of what is right. Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel. 30:9-11 3 In the final days of Hezekiah, the people resent the message of God’s holiness. The people do not want to hear that God says this is right, this is wrong and He expects them to obey. What the people want to hear about is prosperity and peace. They want to know what God will give them and how He will make them feel good. IC IA EGYPT PH P ILI HO ST E IA N Because of these things, God has to send judgment on the nation of Judah. ASSYRIA SYRIA MOAB BABYLON EDOM DESERT He will also bring judgment on the Gentile nations around them. CUSH THE NATIONS GOD WILL JUDGE Over a series of chapters, Isaiah mentions the nations of Babylon, Moab, Syria, Cush, Egypt, Edom, Phoenicia, Philistia and Assyria. Because this is a survey we do not have time to look at the details. However I can tell you from history that what God said would happen up to this time in history, has happened. Within the chapters about the king of Babylon, there is information of special importance. Chapters 13-14 are about the defeat of Babylon. Some of the verses are about her defeats in the days of Isaiah. Other verses are about her defeat 200 years later, at the time of the Persians. Still other verses refer to her final defeat just before Jesus sets up His kingdom in the future. This tells us Iraq, which controls the area of Babylon, will have power and will be involved in future events in the Middle East. In other words, chapters 13 and 14 are about different kings, different battles and different time periods. It is referring to the literal city, nation and empire of Babylon. But in addition, Babel or Babylon thruout Scripture is picture language of any rebellion against God. The author and instigator of this rebellion has always been Satan. So a few verses in this section about Babylon give us important information about Satan. Unfortunately the Bible does not have one chapter giving us all the history about him. Instead, there are pieces of information scattered thruout the Bible. As we put them together, we get a more complete picture. Isaiah 14 has some of the pieces to the puzzle. Depending on your translation, verse 12 says, How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star/ morning star or Lucifer. The phrase shining, morning or day star is the literal Hebrew. It refers to a star that is unusually bright just before sunrise. The name Lucifer is the Latin translation of the Hebrew, day-star. It means one who bears light. Both phrases picture someone connected with light. In the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul refers to Satan as one who masquerades or disguises himself as an angel of light. We know that before God created humans, He created angels to be with Him, to worship Him and to serve Him. Bible scholars believe the highest angel - the angel in charge of all other angels was named Lucifer. He had more power and more beauty than all the rest. Isaiah 14:12 says that at some point Lucifer lost his position. The next verses explain why. Lucifer says, I will ascend to heaven – 14:13-14 This is the Jewish way to say that while the angels are in heaven, God is even higher. So in plain English, it means Lucifer wants to take over God’s place. I will raise my throne above the stars or angels of God. The word star in the Bible is used many times as picture language for an angel. Lucifer wants to be above or more than just an angel. I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, or on the sacred mountain. Sacred mountain means where God lived here on earth. Lucifer wants to have his kingdom on this earth and rule in place of Jesus. In the future, this is what he will do thru Anti-Christ (Satan’s man). I will ascend above the tops of the clouds - Lucifer wants glory greater than God’s. I will make myself like the most High - Lucifer wants to be God. After the angels were created, at some point, Lucifer put his will against God’s will. Five times he said, I will. With his rebellion, God threw him out of heaven. His name was changed from Lucifer - the one who bears light, to Satan which means adversary. He is now the one who opposes God and opposes God’s people. So Lucifer became Satan. 4 When Satan got kicked out of heaven, he invited the rest of the angels to join and follow him. According to picture language in Scripture, one third of the angels decided to work for Satan instead of God. (Rev. 12:4) These are now the evil angels, sometimes referred to as demons or evil spirits. This is where they came from and how they started. Isaiah is the one who gives us this information. Isaiah writes the first 39 chapters for the people of his generation during the time of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. This was a period of some 50 years. Isaiah warns the nation to repent or God will judge them for their disobedience. Under King Hezekiah the people do repent. From 726 to 712 BC, there were 14 years of reform. But it does not last. From 712 to 697 BC there were 15 years of rebellion. After Hezekiah’s death, Manasseh, his son who had no spiritual training, becomes king. Because he is only 12 years old, guardians rule for him. But then at 18, he takes over. The people go back into idolatry, far worse than ever. After several years things become so bad that those who still follow God are threatened with death. This forces Isaiah and all believing Jews to go underground - into hiding, in order to protect their lives. With the willful rebellion of the national leaders and the general population, the Jewish believers have every reason to despair. Surely God’s judgment will have to come. There is no hope and no future for their nation. Manasseh is king for 55 years – from 697 - 642 BC. It is during the years of hiding - that Isaiah writes his chapters of salvation and comfort - chapters 40-66. The very first words given to Isaiah for these people are: Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. After writing these chapters, Isaiah and the scribes who are with him, make copies for all the believing Jews in hiding. Over the next 10 years Isaiah uses these words to encourage the underground in their faith - from 691- 681 BC. Then in some way, king Manasseh finds Isaiah and has him put to death. Jewish tradition says he was put in a hollow log which was then sawed in half. This is supported in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 11 is about the Old Testament heroes of faith. Verse 37 tells about martyrs who were sawed in two. Since this was a means of death and Isaiah certainly was a hero of faith, this is most likely how he died. To see how God continued to use Isaiah’s book in very special ways, let me take you thru the next 145 years of Jewish history, from 681-536 BC. After Isaiah’s death, believing Jews remained in hiding for another 30 years. It is Isaiah’s book, the 2nd half, that gets them thru those terrible years. From these chapters they understand that when judgment and exile do come, God will give His people grace and strength to face it. They also know the Jews as a people will survive and after a time in exile, their nation will be restored. It is these promises that strengthen their faith. Believing Jews experience a total of 40 years in the underground – from 691 to 652 BC. At this point, in 652 BC, Manasseh has been king for 45 years. But then he is taken prisoner to Babylon by the Assyrian empire. The Assyria king had a 2nd palace there. With Manasseh gone, the believing Jews in the underground in Judah can finally come out of hiding. The scribes immediately take Isaiah’s book, the last half and combine it with the 1st half that he had written earlier. All 66 chapters are now in one scroll with no space between the 2 parts. It is put with the other sacred writings in the Temple. But most of the believing Jews have their own personal copies of the 2nd part from their days in the underground. ASSYRIA Nineveh Jerusalem JUDAH Babylon 650 BC In Assyria, during the 4 years that Manasseh is prisoner, 652 to 649 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE BC, he repents. In spite of his extreme and terrible sins, God forgives him. As evidence, God causes Assyria to set him free. Manasseh returns to Judah, is king for 6 more years and uses the time to get rid of idolatry thruout the nation of Judah, from 649 to 642 BC. He dies and 36 years later, the Assyrian empire falls. The Babylonian empire comes to power in 606 BC. Within a year the Babylonian king and army come to Jerusalem. They take young men of Jewish royalty to the palace in Babylon where they are trained for government service. After ruling for 20 years, the Babylonian king of that time requires everyone to bow down and worship an image he has just made. Anyone who refuses will be thrown into a flaming furnace. Three of the young Jewish royalty refuse, saying they believe their God will deliver them. But after living in a pagan land and working for a pagan government for 20 years, where did they get that kind of faith? 5 The answer is the book of Isaiah. His book had been in their homes in Judah thruout their childhood and teen years. They had heard it, read it and talked about it. They took copies with them when they went to Babylon and continued to read it. They believed God’s promise in that 2nd half - When you walk thru the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isa. 43:2 When the king threw them into the furnace, that is exactly what happened. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not burned. God thru Isaiah, provided exactly what they needed in order to remain strong in their faith. In that very same year, 586 BC, God uses the king of Babylon and his army to bring judgment on the nation of Judah. Jerusalem is destroyed and the Temple burned. The people are taken into exile in Babylonia. As they leave, the scribes make sure all Jewish sacred writings go with them. BABYLONIAN EMPIRE The Jews get resettled in the area of Babylon and some 20-30 years go by. Then c. 556 BC, both older Jews as well as a new generation of Jews, start asking questions. 586 BC Is Yahweh really God? If He is, why did He let this THE EXILE OF JUDAH TO BABYLON happen to us? Are we stuck in Babylon forever? Will we ever have our own nation again? Will we ever have a temple in Jerusalem where we can worship? Out of all their sacred writings, there is one book that gives them the most answers - the book of Isaiah, the 2nd half. The chapters describe the Jews’ past disobedience - what had happened and how bad it was. They can be sure it is accurate because it was written by a prophet who was there - telling about the conditions of his day. Their exile is the consequence of national disobedience. God had been fair to let it happen. These chapters also give them God’s promises. He will restore them to their land. Their cities and temple will be rebuilt. He will do it thru a man named Cyrus. These details are given in Isaiah 44 and 45 – the 2nd half of the book. Another 20 years go by as the Jews read and talk about these promises. Then one day in 539 BC, they are told the Babylonian empire has been overthrown. They are now part of the new Persian empire and there is a new king. His name is Cyrus! Within 3 years this king Cyrus tells them that all the Jews MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE who want to, can return to their own land. Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt and the Persian government will pay for everything. Think what this did for the faith of that generation. They would have said. Wow! Everything is happening exactly as God said it would. He does know the future. He has the power to make it happen. He keeps His promises. Yahweh really is God. 536 BC THE JEWS CAN RETURN TO THE LAND God had Isaiah write a book for 3 groups of people in 3 different time periods. Chapters 1-39 - for all the Jews in Judah in the 700’s BC. To rebuke and warn them of their disobedience Chapters 40-66 for believing Jews in Judah, in the mid 600’s BC, during the 40 years in the underground. To comfort and encourage their faith. for the Jews in exile in Babylon in the 500’s. To comfort and answer their questions. Only God could create a book that could do so much for so many. 6 The 2nd half of Isaiah had great importance in the lives of the Jews in the 600’s and 500’s BC. It still has importance for our lives today. Isaiah told his people and tells us that God wants to help, but there is one thing that holds Him back. Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. 59:1 God says He cannot and will not answer the prayers of His people when there is deliberate disobedience in their lives. This is talking about sin that we know is wrong but we continue in it month after month or even year after year. In these cases, God cannot answer our prayers. Isaiah comforted the next generation and comforts us by turning our focus to God - what He is like and what He can do. To whom will you compare Me? Or who is My equal? says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob and complain O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 40:25-29 Isaiah says God is holy, has all power, is eternal, is the creator and has all wisdom. It is because of this that He can make the promise of verse 31. But those who put their certainty in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Eagles glide at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet, which gives them a totally different and bigger perspective. Thru picture language, God says that when we put our faith and confidence in Him, He lifts us up to see things from His perspective. We can see, that yes, our problems are as big as ever, but God is far greater than any of our problems. We can also see that He will give us endurance whether we walk or run. Whether our life is fast paced or slow - whether we have full health or are limited - He will give us strength and endurance to do everything He gives us to do. This does not mean what others think we should do or what we want to do, but what God gives us to do. There is another promise that was originally written for the Jews when it seemed their situation was impossible; when there was no hope and no answers. It is a promise that we can take for our lives as well. At the moment, some of our lives may be going surprisingly well. But as we have discovered, we never know from one day to the next what might suddenly change our lives forever. Some have just been thru very difficult times. Others are just now facing times of sorrow, stress or great uncertainty and are feeling overwhelmed. It is in these situations that God reaches out with words of comfort to assure us He is adequate for the situation. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you pass thru the waters of uncertainty, I will be with you. When you pass thru the rivers of adversity, they will not sweep over you. When you walk thru the fire of trials, you will not be burned;... For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One…, your Savior...43:1-3. 7 ENDNOTES 1 New Testament Isaiah text from page 1 – Nine times New Testament authors quote from the 2nd half of Isaiah. In each case they write, Isaiah wrote or said. They never write, the other Isaiah … Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2 Luke 3:4; John 1:23 Matthew 8:17 Matthew 12:17 Luke 4:17 John 12:38 Acts 8:28, 32-33 Isaiah 53:4 Isaiah 42:1-3 Isaiah 61:1-2; 58:6 Isaiah 53:1 Isaiah 53:7-8 Romans 10:20 Isaiah 53:1 Isaiah 65:1 Romans 10:21 Isaiah 65:2 Romans 10:16 2 Isaiah 40:3 from page 2 – There are similarities between Isaiah and Micah. In fact there are a few verses that are almost identical, such as Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3. That raises the question, is one of them quoting the other or did they both get it from a common source? Isaiah may be quoting from Micah. However it much more likely and logical that both are writing what the Holy Spirit gives directly to them. Micah worked with the farming communities; Isaiah worked with the kings and leaders in Jerusalem. For Isaiah to have credibility and authority with the kings, they need to believe he is getting his words directly from God. Micah, in 4:1-3, is not quoting from Isaiah because the verses are not an added thought from someone else to bolster what he just said, (which is the purpose of a quote). Rather, the ideas are all one complete thought, united with what comes before and after, (which is the format when the material is coming from the author himself.) See Barnes Notes and Lange’s Commentary on Isaiah 2:2-4. EXTRA INFORMATION FOR THE STUDIOUS AND INQUISITIVE Explanation of Isaiah 7 - 8 King Ahaz - ruled alone from 736 – 726 BC He had rebelled against God. God allows Syria and the northern nation of Israel to threaten war in 734 BC. 7:1 Ahaz and the nation of Judah became terrified 7:2 God sends Isaiah to give Ahaz a message of encouragement that the two nations will not attack him 7:7 To assure Ahaz, God offers to give him a sign 7:11 Ahaz refuses to accept any sign 7:12 Ahaz sounds like his refusal is a spiritual answer, but in reality it is arrogance and sarcasm God responds by giving Ahaz 2 signs to show the certainty of Isaiah’s statements One sign will be in the family of Ahaz 7:14 A son will be born in 733 BC When he is older than 12, the nation of Judah will be devasted by Assyria 7:15, 17, 22 This happened in 701 BC - The boy was 32 Before he is 12, Syria in 732 BC Israel in 722 BC will be destroyed 7:16 The other sign will be in the family of Isaiah 8:18 Isaiah’s 2nd son, Maher-Shal-al-Hash-Baz, is born in 734 BC within 2 years, Syria will fall - in 732 BC 8:3-4 As we know from the New Testament, there was also a future meaning referring to the birth of the Messiah 7:14; Matt. 1:23 8 Chronology on King Manasseh He becomes king 16 years before Isaiah’s death – 697 BC (Isaiah dies in 681 BC) He continues to rule 39 years after Isaiah’s death – 642 BC Was taken prisoner after 45 years as king - 652 BC Was prisoner 4 years – 652 – 648 BC While prisoner, the king repents. God forgives his sin in spite of all he did He is restored in his 49th year Manasseh spent his last 6 years in Judah, rebuilding and getting rid of idols. 648-642 BC. Assyria God wanted to use Assyria to plunder, loot and defeat the nation Judah as judgment for her sin. 10:5-7 But Assyria wanted to use the power God gave her to annihilate Judah. She attacked with pride and arrogance. 10:12-14 Therefore God judged Assyria 10:25 9