Year in the Bible Week 30

The Prophet Isaiah by Lorenzo Monaco, (tempera and gold, c.1405-1410)

Isaiah’s final prophesies were truly amazing. As Judah was descending to the point where God would “turn away for a while,” Isaiah gave truth after truth about things nobody could have imagined, let alone predicted! I encourage you to read this great synopsis from Dr. Ken Rathbun at Faith Baptist Seminary. He really gets the surrealness of the words God gave us through Isaiah to give insight into events that wouldn’t happen for more than a century:

Isaiah also told us that God would gather all nations, not just Israel, to be his, and gave us our anchoring prophesy about Christ’s sacrifice during this time. He also continued to double down on God’s judgment against the idolatry and wickedness of the ruling class in Jerusalem, and that wouldn’t end well for him.

Next week we will se the end of Hezekiah’s reign, and Menasseh will be the next king, and he proves to be one of the most wicked and idolatrous ever. This would mean the end of Isaiah, who consistently spoke truth to the powerful until the end.

Tradition holds that Isaiah was sawn in half by Menassah, and although that story is not in the Bible, it is present in both the Talmud and the extrabiblical Ascension of the Isaiah, so we presume it to be accurate. I believe that it is not included in Kings or Chronicles because God wanted us to focus on the amazing prophesies instead of the drama of Isaiah’s life with evil men.

Next week we read of the evilness of Menassah. God’s story, told in real time, shows Judah turning completely away from God after a brief period of success under a devout Hezekiah. This is the beginning of the end.