I believe that understanding Isaiah is a very personal and individual journey. It's like a puzzle that has to be put together piece by piece until one day a beautiful picture has been completed. Understanding Isaiah takes faith, prayer and a little detective work! Following are ideas taken from the Old Testament Seminary Student Manual, plus various other articles on lds.org. to help you as you unlock the words of this great Prophet!
ISAIAH
ISAIAH……Prophet of
God, Seer, Revelator, Gifted Writer & Poet
·
The name Isaiah means ‘The Lord Is Salvation’ or
‘Jehovah saves’.
·
Prophet in Jerusalem during 40 years (740-701
BC)
·
As King Hezekiah’s Chief Advisor, Isaiah had
great religious & political influence.
·
Tradition states that he was “sawn asunder”
during the reign of Manasseh
·
Jesus quoted Isaiah more frequently than he
quoted any other prophet.
·
Isaiah is quoted more in the New Testament than
any other prophet. (Quoted at least 57 times)
·
There are 66 Chapters in the Book of Isaiah for
a total of 1,292 verses.
·
Nephite Prophets considered Isaiah’s words so
valuable they put 35 percent of it on the valuable space they had on the plates
as they quoted or paraphrased 468 verses of the Book of Isaiah.
·
The Doctrine & Covenants makes approximately
100 references to Isaiah by quoting, paraphrasing or interpreting its
teachings.
IMPORTANT BACKGROUND
TO ISAIAH
During the time that Isaiah prophesied, the Assyrians
conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah, where Isaiah lived, was under tribute to
Assyria and also faced destruction. They
were spared, however, because Judah’s King Hezekiah obeyed Isaiah’s
counsel.
WHAT TIME PERIOD ISAIAH
PROPHESIED ABOUT
·
Many of his prophecies apply not only to his
time, but to the time of Jesus, to our day & to the future. Sometimes even the same verse can apply to
more than one time period.
WHAT SUBJECTS ISAIAH
TAUGHT
·
First & Second Comings of Jesus Christ
·
The Scattering & Gathering Of Israel
·
The Millennium
·
Prophecies of Jesus Christ
·
A major theme is that God requires righteousness
of His people, & until they obey Him they will be smitten & scattered
by their enemies. But in the end, Israel
will be restored.
·
He proclaims the message of Jesus Christ and the
way of salvation Jesus provided through the atonement.
WHAT OTHERS IN THE
SCRIPTURES HAVE SAID ABOUT ISAIAH
v
Jesus Christ to the Nephites: 3 Nephi 20:11 & 23:1-3
v
Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith: Quoted Isaiah 11
(JS-H 1:40)
v
Nephi to his people: 2 Nephi 11:2, 8 and 25:1, 4,
7-8
v
Jacob to his people: 2 Nephi 6:5
KEYS TO UNLOCKING
THE WORDS OF ISAIAH
1.
As you SEEK
THE HELP OF THE HOLY GHOST, you will find that Isaiah will become one of
the most inspiring and powerful books of all Scripture.
2.
PAY THE
PRICE IN STUDY & EFFORT – Isaiah’s writings are an advanced level of
Scripture. He seldom explained his
doctrine but assumed that the reader already had a knowledge of the gospel and
the Lord’s plan of Salvation. Isaiah’s
book is written in a poetic, literary style that makes extensive use of
symbolism to communicate to those who are spiritually mature. Isaiah’s words are similar to the parables
that Jesus taught. Many of the people of
Jesus’ time were spiritually immature and unprepared to receive the doctrines
he taught. He was able to teach the more
spiritually mature and at the same time veil his teachings from those who were
not prepared to understand or follow them.
Isaiah also veiled his teachings in language that preserved his
teachings for those who would understand with their heart.
3.
HAVE THE
“SPIRIT OF PROPHECY” – Righteous people who are serving the Lord and
seeking to do His will can obtain the spirit of prophecy by searching the
scriptures diligently and giving themselves ‘to much prayer and fasting’ (Alma
17:3). The Lord will give knowledge to
those who prepare themselves and sincerely seek it.
4.
UNDERSTAND
THE MANNER OF PROPHESYING OF THE JEWS - One reason Nephi gave for his
people being unable to understand the writings of Isaiah was that they knew not
concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews (2 Nephi 25:1). This has several elements:
a)
Law of
Moses – The house of Israel in Old Testament times lived under the Law of
Moses, which is found in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. One of Isaiah’s main objectives in his writings
was to bring the people to a consciousness of and conformity to the covenants
of the law. The Law, in turn, was
designed to teach them of Christ, to keep them in remembrance of Him and bring
them to Him. The Law of Moses was the
root from which the prophesying of the Jews sprang.
b)
Familiarity
- Isaiah began his book with a quotation from the song of Moses, which is
contained in the Law. (Isaiah 1:2
compare with Deuteronomy 32:1) This song
was immediately recognizable to the Hebrew people, for it was very familiar to
them. A word or phrase from the law,
which was known by most Hebrews, brought to their minds much more than was on
the written page. Isaiah was able to communicate
very effectively with those who knew the law, for he didn’t need to explain in
detail what he meant in every word or phrase.
This is similar to our day as well. A majority of active members of the
Church could complete the statement by Pres. David O McKay, “No success can
compensate for….” Much of what Isaiah
wrote was familiar to his Hebrew audience and therefore much didn’t have to be
explained.
5.
Imagery
& figurative language: Isaiah extensively used images and symbols to
teach. He wrote about the moon being
ashamed, a land so joyful that the trees clap their hands & a book that
speaks from the dust. If you can read
beyond these and other images to understand the FEELINGS & PRINCIPLES
Isaiah wrote about, his words will take on much greater meaning. Isaiah used in his writings images and
figures of speech that were well understood by the Hebrew people. For those with other backgrounds,
understanding the Hebrew manner of writing is often difficult. Isaiah did not intend for every word he used
to be interpreted in its most literal sense.
He made constant use of metaphors, similes, analogies, parables, types
and shadows. In Isaiah 1:1 the prophecy
said he was speaking about Judah and Jerusalem, yet in Isaiah 1:10 he said
“Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; ye people of Gomorrah”. He could not literally be speaking to Sodom
and Gomorrah, for they were destroyed in the time of Abraham because of their
wickedness. Isaiah used the names Sodom
and Gomorrah to tell Judah even more forcefully that they were very wicked and
were very close to being destroyed, just as Sodom and Gomorrah had been.
Other examples:
‘Thy neck is an iron sinew’
representing the stubbornness of the people
‘Furnace of Affliction’ in which He
would purity and refine his people
‘Thy peace as a river’ to convey
the idea of peace of mind that comes to the righteous
6.
Learn of
the Judgments of God and the Fulfillment of His Prophecies: The Lord is consistent
in his dealings with his Children in all ages of the world. To understand Isaiah’s writings, one should
know of the Lord’s teachings and workings given thru other prophets. As one learns of the patterns of actions that
cause people to withdraw from God, the warnings of Isaiah can be better
understood. That which was condemned by
Isaiah is treated similarly by the Lord in all ages.
7.
Study all
Scriptures and Learn Them Thoroughly: Passages
from Isaiah are quoted and explained in all of the Scriptures. The more one knows of all the Scriptures, the
better one can understand Isaiah. All
elements of the gospel plan are interrelated.
As you learn more and more from the Scriptures, the pieces come together
as in a puzzle and begin to form one great and beautiful whole.
8.
Isaiah is
Understood Line Upon Line: The Lord
always provides a way for his children to fulfill His commandments (1 N.
3:7) When he gave instructions to study
the words of Isaiah, he fully intended that those who followed His instructions
would be able to understand Isaiah’s message and be positively affected by
it. To those who are willing to pay the
price, Isaiah can become an open book.
Its greatest message is for the Saints of today, who live in an era when
one can see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies. For all who seek, Isaiah provides
enlightenment that will be of great value in their efforts to perfect their
lives and to contribute to the building up of the Lord’s kingdom. Understanding will come, though not all at
once. It will come ‘line upon line,
precept upon precept’ (2 N. 28:30) according to the efforts of the seekers of
truth.
(Excerpts taken from LDS
Old Testament Student Manual, Understanding Isaiah and other resources from www.lds.org 2013)
Compiled for The Happiness Project
Scripture Study Group 10/22/13
