Nick

Isaiah's message to king Ahaz is one of encouragement and hope, but also requires a huge amount of faith. I think that is probably the chief reason why Ahaz chooses to disregard the instruction. Essentially, Ahaz is doubting God's heart. There is also huge pressure considering that Aram and Ephraim are powerful leaders at this time. I would be scared too. Instead of trusting God, king Ahaz takes matters into his own hands by basically becoming a slave to Assyria and they become indebted to them. The consequence of his decision is that Judah becomes bare. Their resources are plundered and taken over; nothing is left. The Lord uses Assyria as a tool for judgement against Judah. This is a reflection of how we wrestle with God. Sometimes, God asks big things of us that are downright terrifying to do. And I also think that this goes back to the biggest lie of Satan which is that God is holding out on us. That we can have a better way of living if we eat the fruit for surely we can be like God if we do. I think that this is the core temptation that Satan has to offer us. This prophecy in Isaiah is a good reminder for me of these things.

Isaiah's mission is to solidify the hardening of hearts in Judah. It is not a light hearted mission but still it is from the Lord and therefore not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God. Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse? I read this with two ideas in mind simply because "worse" could be interpreted two ways. Concerning the view of Isaiah, having this prophecy will make the task worse for him because he knows that even though he will be preaching the truth, people's hearts will only be more hardened and turn more rebellious. That would be hard to live with, and would certainly not not feel very hopeful. The other view of this question concerns the people of Judah. In short, Isaiah's prophecy is intentioned for the purpose of quickening and supporting the rebellion and in in Judah. Therefore, the situation for Judah will worsen, but this is a part of God's redemptive plan for Israel. The Parable of the Sower Yes, I think Jesus is frustrated. He is frustrated by those who hear but do not hear, and those who see but do not see. It is not a angered frustration, but I think a more righteous frustration. At the same time, he knows that the prophecy in Isaiah must be fulfilled. Hope. Yes. There is always hope. Jesus shows that when he blesses his disciples for understanding and hearing. And that goes for all of us who hear and truly hear, and see and truly see. That is the hope.

At the holy sight of the Lord, Isaiah is paralyzed with fear, and rightfully so because he sees that he is unclean in the presence of the perfect and pure Almighty. God response to Isaiah's fear is a wonderful picture of His response to our sin. He cleanses Isaiah, just as our sins have been atoned for through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Fear is removed and instead of condemnation the Lord calls up Isaiah into mission. Isaiah is filled with passion and says, "Here am I. Send me!" Can you blame him? I think after seeing the holy presence of the Lord, there would be nothing more noble, serving and adventurous than following him into mission. When I read this passage I'm reminded that God is calling all of us believers into mission as well. Honestly, I get fired up when I think about this. What an incredible call in which we get to lay down our own life to serve a perfect and loving God until the day he calls us home to be with him forever. Sign me up! I'm in!

The vintner's vision for the vineyard was for it to be prosperous, healthy and bare good fruit. He went to great ends and had labor to produce and accomplish his mission. He cleared the soil of rocks and built a watch tower. That's a lot of work in itself. But when the crop came in, it yielded bad fruit. As a result of this, the vintner says he will let dissolution and distraction come about the vineyard. This parable is talking about Judah and their consequences for not following God.

Why do you think Yahweh revealed himself in this way to Isaiah? I think God revealed himself in this particular way to Isaiah as a reminder and comfort to God's rule and reign. In what ways does this vision reveal God's majesty? Isaiah's vision reveals an eternal perspective that is terrifying (v5) and yet breathtaking (v3). God's majesty is revealed throughs the serphaim's worship and shaking and smoke filling the temple. What do we learn about Yahweh from the serphaim's chant? The seraphim's chant examines three aspects of God's character: His holiness, Mighty and that creation exhibits his glory.

God is after unity and relationship. "Many peoples will come and say." This is a message of hope for the gentiles. This offer to follow the path of the Lord is not withheld to other nations. "He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." I love the imagery painted through this verse. It is a picture of closeness with God. There will be a spiritual vitality among the nations that will result in being so close with the Lord he will walk in his paths. This is awesome! I think there is powerful use of Hebrew poetry used in verse 4. Peace is a vividly explained through the way Isaiah couples war weapons with farming tools. It communicates more powerfully than simply saying there will be peace.

The people of Judah have forgotten who they belong to, and therefore, have forgotten who they are. The result of this identity confusion presents itself through corruption, guilt and rebellion. This is true of society today. Those who do not know who they are suffer as well. They chase the offers that the world deceivingly provides, which leads to a life of sin and emptiness. What is interesting is that verses 15-17 illustrate some detail of this rebellion through illuminating the issues of burnt and sacrifical offerings. The Lord is not happy with their hypocrisy. Verses 18-20 are my favorite because they bring back hope into the equation. Ultimately, the verses portray God's character as the perfect father, and I love this. What's startling is that Judah is blind to what God is offering them. He's giving them the chance to repent, and in doing so, is promising them the best food in the land (and probably more than just food). How could they not want this! For the first time, I see an aspect of God's loving fatherly heart in this chapter in Isaiah. He is simply being a wonderful father by offering them good and redemption, and yet at the same time, he warns them of their consequences if they continue in their rebellion. But I don't think this is "big" "mean" God speaking to Judah in Chapter one, I think it's "loving" "perfect" Father talking.