SS Overview: Fall Quarter: Judah, from Isaiah to Exile

By Rev Adrian Grubbs

Unit 1: Isaiah and the Renewal of the Temple

*Editor's Note: This submission was intended for publication on August 20th. However, due to an error, it did not post as planned in a timely fashion. However, Rev Grubbs offers good commentary on Unit 1 of the Fall Quarter. We don't want you to miss reading it.

For about a thousand years Israel was a united monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon. At the death of King Solomon around 922 BCE, the nation of Israel split into the northern kingdom, Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah. They occupied a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert, on the major trade route between north and south. Consequently, they were caught between much larger countries contending for world dominance: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Syria, and Rome. In 722 BCE Assyria seized Israel and scattered the people to other parts of the empire. In 586 Judah was defeated by Babylon, and the people and leaders in Jerusalem were exiled to Babylon. In 539 King Cyrus of Persia defeated Babylon and liberated the people in exile. With this historical sketch we turn now to the call of the prophet Isaiah (742) and the temple renovations by King Hezekiah (715) and King Josiah (622).

In 742 BCE, the last year of the reign of King Uzziah, Isaiah received the call of Yahweh to be His spokesman / messenger / prophet in Jerusalem. Isaiah envisioned the LORD sitting on His throne, the train of His robe filling the temple, and Seraphim at their posts on either side (Isaiah 6 is the only place seraphim are mentioned in the Bible). This setting is a vision, or dream, and images are sometimes magnified and distorted. For example, in the stone temple the ark of the covenant, which represented God’s throne, was in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Holy of Holies. Above the ark stood two cherubim; together their wingspan spread from one side to the other, and wings touching over the ark. But in his vision Isaiah saw seraphim with six wings, the throne enlarged and raised above the temple, and the LORD’s royal robe enveloping the temple. Anyway, the images in the dream were quite impressive, and in the mighty presence of the LORD Isaiah felt undone and unworthy. He was symbolically purified with a live coal from the altar, and he accepted the call to go and speak in the name of Yahweh. He was told that his message would not be well received by the people and leaders – they would not see with their eyes, or hear with their ears, or understand with their minds; and he was to preach to them, none-the-less, until the land was desolate and no one was left. Preachers would like to have some assurance that their messages would be received favorably, but how many would accept such a calling as that of Isaiah? Isaiah was a faithful prophet during the kingship of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

By the time Hezekiah came to the throne in 715 BCE, the temple had been neglected and abused for years by his father. So, as soon as he was crowned, he ordered that the house of Yahweh be restored; and during repairs a copy of the torah was discovered (2 Chronicles 30). Hezekiah called all the people together to celebrate Passover. He even sent special invitations to the people of Israel who remained after the fall of Samaria six years earlier, and some of them responded. Not enough priests had been purified, so Passover was observed a month later than prescribed in the torah, and Levites assisted in slaughtering the animals. In 2 Chronicles 33 his son and grandson who followed him on the throne were both described as evil kings.

Almost a hundred years after the temple was restored under King Hezekiah, it had again fallen into disrepair, and King Josiah in 622 BCE ordered renovations to the temple. And, again, the torah was discovered. Deeply concerned about what was said in the scroll about turning away from the LORD, the king consulted the prophet Huldah who confirmed that Judah would fall as Israel had fallen, but that Josiah would have a peaceful reign. As his great-grandfather had done, Josiah called for a celebration of Passover, but this time it was observed at the proper time. Then twenty-three years after the death of Josiah and the deaths or four successive kings, Jerusalem fell to the armies of Babylon.

Isaiah 53 comes from the fourth Song of the Suffering Servant (52:13-53:12) in Second Isaiah. The book of Isaiah can be divided into three eras: chapters 1-39 are from the time before the Babylonian exile; chapters 40-55 are during the exile; and chapters 56-66 are from the time after the exile and the return to Jerusalem. In the second part of Isaiah, “Judah has ceased to exist, Jerusalem is in ruins; Assyria has been replaced as the world empire by Babylon, and Babylon itself is on the point of being supplanted by the new power of Persia …” [Harpers Bible Commentary (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), p. 252]. This fourth Suffering Servant Song reminds us of the trials, suffering, and death of Jesus; or, rather, Jesus’ suffering reminds us of Isaiah 53!

The four Suffering Servant Songs in Isaiah describe the life of the Servant of the LORD. Question is, who is this Servant of the Lord? In the second song (49:1-6) the Servant is identified as the people of Israel. God’s people are to be the Servant of the LORD, even if it involves suffering because of it. The Servant of the LORD is called and anointed to represent God in the world, to work for peace and justice in the world, to be a light to the peoples of the world. Jesus was the epitome of what the Servant of the LORD should be. As God’s people, Christians are to change the world, not through politics and not by demonizing those who are not in agreement, but through love [agape] – as Jesus said and did. Love one another; love your neighbor, whoever it may be; and love even your enemy – that is what Jesus said, and that is what He did. We are to be like Him. The mission and character of the Servant of the LORD in Isaiah is the pattern Jesus followed, and Christians follow Jesus. And, remember from recent studies, Christians and God’s temples in the world.