Study With Me: Introduction
Join me for a new series through the Book of Isaiah. One chapter at a time, one day at a time as we search for Messiah in the Old Testament.
Back in Action at the Paper Pulpit!
Welcome to a new series of posts that I hope will be beneficial for our readers. It has been a few months since The Paper Pulpit has been posting and creating regularly, and there are a few reasons for that. Well, I guess it isn’t really a few; it is just general busyness.
Both Dave and I have been busy. Me with life, ministry, and Masters classes, Dave with work, ministry, and planning for his wedding.
I kept trying to brainstorm helpful posts or new series that I could sneak away to write, but I kept losing focus or running out of time. So I took it to the LORD in prayer, and this is what He suggested and brought to my mind. Each morning, I like to get up and study my Bible. I have just started a new study within the book of Isaiah, and I thought it might be helpful for you to join in.
Introducing: Study With Me - The Book of Isaiah
Welcome to the new Paper Pulpit writing series: Study With Me - The Book of Isaiah.
What I am planning to do is simply write out the notes that I would normally take while working through a text in my own personal study time. They might be a bit disheveled at times, and there is a likelihood that they will not be in simple paragraph format, but perhaps it will be a blessing to you as you grow in your faith and seek the LORD.
A Bit of Background on the Prophet Isaiah
He prophesied in the kingly reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He was a contemporary of Jonah and has been sometimes referred to as the evangelical prophet because of the numerous full prophecies concerning the Messiah. We will see this in clear detail as we progress through the book.
It is important to understand his prophecies in light of Messiah because while he proclaims a nearer kind of rescue from the captivity in Babylon, it is always accompanied—and often overshadowed by—a proclamation of a greater future deliverance in Christ.
Setting the Stage: The Opening of Isaiah
The opening of the book gives us what we need to know about what follows.
THE INSCRIPTION:
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.THE WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF:
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken
It is clear that Isaiah will be a mouthpiece directly from the LORD, and the judgment and promises that come to the nation of Israel and her disobedience are considerable and important for us even today. The breakdown of right worship and the introduction of false and counterfeit religion are now going to yield a harvest of judgment. The LORD has been patient, and his people have rejected him.
Think about it:
Does this sound like our time? What do you notice within the church and Christendom at large that might be considered a rejection of God and his Word?
A Prayer for Our Study
Father, open our minds to study your Word in Isaiah. May the Words that you spoke to your people generations ago speak to us today and reveal patterns of sin, patterns of pride, and patterns of false teaching and idol worship within our own lives and within your church. May we trust you more having studied the past. May the past give us greater confidence in both the present and the future. We believe; help our unbelief.
Looking forward to going through the study together! I love the OT and God revealing himself through His word.