Introduction

            As a prophet, Isaiah’s purpose was to call God’s people back to the Lord. However, this return was not to take the form of the cultus; there is little evidence to suggest that Israel was deficient in this regard. Instead, this return was to take place within the will, mind, and hearts of the people—both the leaders and the commoners (Isa. 1:10). The Lord was calling out to His chosen people to reaffirm that which was established at the beginning. The Lord had promised to be their God (Ex. 6:7). To this regard, He commissioned their relationship and called them to three purposes: to be the Lord’s treasured possession; to be a nation of priests; and to be a holy people (Ex. 19:3-8). Theologically, God is speaking from the position of this covenant (Mosaic); it is the foundation of the book. To view Isaiah’s message apart from the covenant is to introduce arbitrariness. Therefore, the message of Isaiah is this: God will take a rebellious and adulterous child (Israel) and restore him to holiness through judgment. God’s covenant was an everlasting one, He intended to see it carried out in this people.

Theological Themes in Isaiah

            Throughout Isaiah, the Lord is the primary player on the stage. As a result, a number of theological themes can be found within the text of Isaiah: God’s holiness, the righteousness (or lack thereof) of Israel, judgment, and hope for redemption. In this section, each of these themes will be briefly discussed and defended from the text of Isaiah.

God’s Holiness

            Isaiah’s vision of the Lord (Isaiah 6) gives us an idea of how awesome and holy our God is. In the first verse of Isaiah 6, Isaiah reports that he witnessed a heavenly throne room scene. He saw the Lord and the picture that Isaiah provides for us of the greatness of this God is this, “his robe filled the temple” (Isa. 6:1). However, a better translation would render “robe” as, “hem” or “bottom edge of a robe”; שׁוּל implies the bottom edge of a cloth being worn. The Lord is so great that his throne room is barely large enough to contain the bottom edge of his robe—wow! However, what is also significant about this image is that Isaiah would, most likely, be positioned face-down.[1] One of the obvious implications is that the Lord’s holiness was so great that it rendered Isaiah, the chosen prophet of God, prostrate before Him. Perhaps, this is why Isaiah exclaimed, “Woe is me!” in verse 5, as he clearly recognizes, in the presence of God, just how sinful he is in light of God’s holiness.

Another image of God’s holiness in this scene is presented in the form of flying angels. Flying around this great God, Isaiah witnessed seraphim calling out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3). Images of seraphim have been described in Egyptian iconography; however, these seraphim used their wings to protect the deity that they are pictured serving.[2] In contrast, the seraphim serving the Lord are described as taking their wings to cover and protect themselves before the glory of God. Such is the power and holiness of the Lord that even the beings specifically created to serve before Him need to guard themselves against His consuming power.

The theme of God’s holiness is directly connected to the proposed message of Isaiah because Israel was called to reflect God’s holiness in the world. This was a part of the relationship that God, through Isaiah, was attempting to call His people back to. They were to be a nation of priests, “as a light for the nations, that (the Lord’s) salvation may reach to the end of the earth [sic]” (Isa. 49:6b).

Israel’s Lack of Holiness

            One of the clearest illustrations of how sinful Israel had become is this, “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged” (Isa. 1:4). This nation of priests, who were to reflect the holiness of God, were being compared to two cities of egregious sin—Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa. 1:10). Instead of calling the world to repent before the Lord and turn to Him, by their spiritual adultery, they were tempting the nations into sin. This was no small matter. So seriously does the Lord take the issue of tempting others to sin against Him that He commands death for it (Deut. 13). During the period of the conquest, this may be one of the reasons that God commanded Joshua to clear the land of the Canaanites.[3]

By now, Israel has only one way out of their predicament. God is calling them to repent and to return to their former relationship, one of mutual holiness. The degree to which God commands them to repent is inextricably linked to the depth of their sin and to the height of God’s holiness.[4] Furthermore, He is calling them to, “seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isa. 1:17). This language was designed to remind Israel of the requirements of the covenant (Lev. 19). Again, God was calling Israel back to where they started with the Lord.

Judgment

            Within Old Testament prophecy, judgment is a common theme,. The typical formula present within prophecy is: a.) you’ve sinned; b.) repent; c.) no repentance, then judgment; d.) a hope of restoration. Throughout Isaiah, this theme is ever present, as much of Isaiah’s discussion concerns Israel’s sin, spiritual adultery, and defiled worship. It is because of who they were called to be, and their failure to uphold this calling, that judgment was coming.[5] However, from the text, it seems as if Israel’s covenant position with the Lord, or their attitude concerning it, was a source of their problem. Just as John the Baptist warned those contemporary with his day, it seems that many were counting on the fact that they were a covenant people to be a protection against God’s judgment of sin (Isa. 56-57:13).[6]

God is calling for Israel’s repentance. If they do so, they will avoid the coming judgment. Although Isaiah is communicating this message of repentance to Israel, it seems that he had very little expectation that they will take his words seriously and do so (Isa. 6:11-13). Why was this call made, then? God’s grace is a wondrous thing. He offers the chance to avoid judgment out of His gracious love. However, God’s grace is also one of the sources for His judgment (a judgment that is not final, in the cosmic sense). We will see, in the next section, that it is through judgment that hope is found. Thus, judgment is one of the penalties for covenant abuses, etc.; therefore, it is connected to the central message of Isaiah.

Hope of Redemption

            Within Isaiah, there is a noticeable coupling of the theme of judgment with the theme of hope. Immediately for Israel, however, hope rested in avoiding potential future judgment. As previously mentioned, it seems as if many were hoping that their position as God’s chosen people would help them to avoid judgment. Instead, it was one of the reasons that judgment was necessary. However, if Israel really is God’s chosen people, then God must solve the problem of how to transform a defiled Israel into a holy Israel. A possible answer is found within the commissioning of Isaiah when fire (in the form of coals) was placed to the lips of Isaiah because he had “unclean lips.” The angel who performed this told Isaiah, “your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isa. 6:7b).[7] In other words, perhaps judgment was the source of hope for Israel. God would apply fire to His chosen people, in order to burn off the impurities, leaving a pure substance—a holy nation. Therefore, Isaiah seems to portray this period of repentance as an event in the eschaton.[8] In other words, God planned to use judgment to bring His people back to Him, standing holy, pure, and undefiled in a covenant relationship.

Conclusion

            In this essay, it was contended that the central message of Isaiah was that God would restore a defiled Israel into holy Israel through judgment. Four themes were also identified (God’s holiness; Israel’s lack of holiness; judgment; and hope), defended, and connected to the central message. Israel had been in a covenant relationship with the Holy One of Israel. Through this covenant relationship, they were to reflect God’s holiness into the world. However, they were spiritual adulterers; they had defiled themselves and reflected the values of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, God sent Isaiah to Israel to warn His people to repent and turn back to Him, or else judgment would befall them. It is through this judgment that a hope for a holy Israel is located. It is through judgment that God will ultimately restore Israel and bring them to repentance.

 

Bibliography

Dumbrell, William J. “The Purpose of the Book of Isaiah.” Tyndale Bulletin 36:1 (1985): 111-129.

Emadi, Samuel. “Repentance, Eschatology, and Prophetic Hope: Repentance in the Book of Isaiah.” Puritan Reformed Journal 5:2 (July 2013): 24-45.

Gentry, Peter J. “The Meaning of ‘Holy’ in the Old Testament.” Bibliotheca Sacra 170:680 (Oct-Dec 2013): 400-417.

LaSor, William Sanford, et. al. Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.

Oswalt, John. “Judgment and Hope: The Full-Orbed Gospel.” Trinity Journal 17:2 (1996): 191-202.

—. “The Book of Isaiah: A Short Course on Biblical Theology.” Calvin Theological Journal 39 (2004): 54-71.

Roberts, J. J. M. “Isaiah in Old Testament Theology.” Interpretation 36 (1982): 130-143.

 

Endnotes

               [1] Peter J. Gentry, “The Meaning of ‘Holy’ in the Old Testament.” Bibliotheca Sacra 170:680 (Oct-Dec 2013): 408.

               [2] J. J. M. Roberts, “Isaiah in Old Testament Theology.” Interpretation 36 (1982): 132.

               [3] William Sanford LaSor, et. al., Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 124.

               [4] Samuel Emadi, “Repentance, Eschatology, and Prophetic Hope: Repentance in the Book of Isaiah.” Puritan Reformed Journal 5:2 (July 2013): 28.

               [5] William J. Dumbrell, “The Purpose of the Book of Isaiah.” Tyndale Bulletin 36:1 (1985): 128.

               [6] John Oswalt, “Judgment and Hope: The Full-Orbed Gospel.” Trinity Journal 17:2 (1996): 196.

               [7] John Oswalt, “The Book of Isaiah: A Short Course on Biblical Theology.” Calvin Theological Journal 39 (2004): 61.

               [8] Emadi, Ibid., 43.