The Book of Isaiah: Part 1

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

November 11, 2021 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This message is Part 1 of many parts concerning the book of Isaiah, which contains at least four major themes: (1) the holiness of God; (2) the benefits of a righteous way of life; (3) a warning to man of God's justice and judgment; and (4) an unparalleled revelation concerning the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. His name means "the salvation of the Lord" or "the Lord saves." The book of Isaiah unveils the full dimensions both of God's judgment and His salvation. God's plan of salvation is so comprehensively revealed in Isaiah that Augustine called it the fifth Gospel. Although this book was written more than 2700 years ago, the lessons that Isaiah communicates are timeless. The heartless worship that he encountered in ancient Israel was no different in nature than when Jesus walked the face of the earth. Neither is it different from that which occurs today. Nothing is more unacceptable to God than heartless, insincere worship. If our praise is not birthed in spirit and in truth, it is strange fire or offensive to God.

That Isaiah was a writer and a true prophet is indisputable. Isaiah is often said to be the greatest of the writing prophets. He was also a statesman who had access to the ears of four different kings of Judah. Isaiah's home and the scene of his ministry was the Southern kingdom of Judah, particularly Jerusalem. His book is the first of the prophets in the English Bible. The authors of the New Testament quoted Isaiah more than any other Old Testament book except for the Psalms. The expression "the Holy One of Israel," a title for God, occurs 12 times in Chapters 1-39 and 13 times in Chapters 40-66. Outside of the book of Isaiah it occurs only 6 times. The book of Isaiah steadily moves toward the goal of the Lord's kingdom on earth, with its righteous Ruler and His righteous subjects.

The Old Testament contains 39 books. Thirty-nine is 3 times 13 or the perfect completion of the number thirteen, which in Scripture symbolizes rebellion. That speaks of the day of man. Those first 39 chapters could also be called "The Book of Judgment." The New Testament has 27 books, making a total of 66 books in the Bible. The book of Isaiah contains 66 chapters. Many years ago, the Holy Spirit quickened to me that the last 27 chapters of the Book of Isaiah speak prophetically of the day of the Lord. Those last 27 chapters also could be called "The Book of Comfort."

Many Christians are not exactly thrilled to listen to anyone talk about the judgment of God. As a result, few preachers ever talk about the judgment of God. We much prefer to hear about the comfort and the blessings of God. That is called human nature.

God's principles and His moral law never change. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. That is why we see a number of similar verses recorded in both the first 39 chapters and in the last 27 chapters. Three examples ...

Isaiah 11:1 (And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots) and 

Isaiah 53:2 (For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.)

Isaiah 11:12 (And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.) and

Isaiah 49:22 (Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.)

Isaiah 35:10 (And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.) and 

Isaiah 51:11 (Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.)

2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

As always, we should not be concerned simply with the meaning of Scripture. We should always be concerned with what Scripture says to us personally and how the Word of God wants to change us from glory to glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 

Paul said, "I die daily." In addition to being changed daily, we must, by our decisions and by our will, allow the word of God to dwell within us.

Colossians 3:16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah describe an overriding theme of the judgment of God, not only against Judah but generally upon all who do not obey Him. Isaiah begins (in Chapter 1) and ends (in Isaiah 66:24) with a judgment of those who rebel against God. The same fate may await His chosen people today unless we repent. God is no respecter of persons. From Isaiah 9:8 through Isaiah, Chapter 23, the Lord speaks of His judgment against 12 more nations: Israel, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Aram, Cush, Egypt, Babylon, Edom, Arabia, the Valley of Vision (or Jerusalem), and Tyre. We will not look in any detail at the judgments of God in those fifteen chapters. In addition, Isaiah, Chapter 24, speaks of the judgment of God for universal sin. Although the book of Isaiah speaks about conditions in natural Judah and Jerusalem from about 750 B.C. until 700 B.C., we are interested in the spiritual significance for us today because human nature has never changed.

Isaiah, Chapters 28 through 33 speak of six woes, which are to Ephraim (or Samaria), Jerusalem, those who rely on foreign alliances, the obstinate nation, those who rely on Egypt, and Assyria. A "woe" speaks of judgment. Isaiah 28:1, 3, "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:" The pride of man is perhaps the number one enemy of man... thinking I am something when I am nothing. Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." From that verse, pride seems to be what the Lord hates the most. We must love what the Lord loves and hate what the Lord hates.

Verses 9 and 10 of Isaiah 28 are also good to remember. 

"Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

Chapter 29 of Isaiah speaks of judgment upon Jerusalem. Verses 13 and 14 declare,

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."

Isaiah, Chapter 30, speaks of the woe to the obstinate and rebellious nation of Judah. However, a future hope for some in Judah is recorded in Verses 18-21. 

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

Isaiah, Chapters 31 and 32, describe the folly of reliance upon spiritual Egypt, which speaks of natural good food, education, military might, prosperity, etc. Verse 32:1 says, 

"Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!"

Isaiah, Chapter 33 speaks of the woe to spiritual Assyria. "Assyria" comes from a root word which means successful. Those who preach the prosperity message, but beg for money, are part of the religious system today that assumes, in error, that they are automatically blessed of the Lord, probably because of all of the money that pours in from Christians who have little discernment. The spiritual bondage for the Church today that is represented by Assyria includes success, money, power, the "good" religious system, and the idolization of a man, even a godly man. Some churches today almost idolize William Branham, who was indeed a great prophet of the Lord for a season. There are also groups today who almost idolize Witness Lee.

Isaiah 33 also speaks of true blessing, safety, and joy for God's chosen people who abide in the Lord. Verses 20-21 say, 

"Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby."

In addition, more prophecies of both judgment and promise are recorded in Isaiah, Chapters 34 and 35. Chapter 34 speaks of the destruction of the nations and the avenging of God's chosen people. Chapter 35 speaks of the future blessings of restored Zion. Isaiah 35:8-10, speaking of spiritual Zion, says 

"And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

Now let us turn to Isaiah, Chapter 1:1-4, 

"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. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward."

"The vision of Isaiah" is the title of this whole book of Isaiah. It is easy to read scripture from the wrong perspective ... from a "me-centered" perspective. For example, Verse 1 says, "the vision of Isaiah." In reality, of course, that was a vision which was given to Isaiah by the Lord.

Proverbs 29:18 says "where there is no vision the people perish." From 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, if our vision of the Lord is too small, the people are weak and sickly, and many sleep. Whatever your vision of the Lord is, it is too small. Whatever my vision of the Lord is, it is too small.

Many Christians seem to pursue lesser visions or lesser causes.

Habakkuk 2:2, "And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." 

The goal of any ministry should be the same ... write the vision and make it plain upon the tables of the hearts. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." It is impossible to say enough about The Vision, because The Vision is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. All of the books in the world would not be sufficient to tell of who He is and what He has done for us.

Back to Isaiah, Chapter 1.

5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Our country, the United States, is becoming desolate and is on the verge of total collapse. We have already seen many fires, both in our forests and in our cities. The word "stranger" means "one who turns aside." It specifically refers to commiting spiritual adultery. Like almost all of scripture, strangers should not be interpreted in the natural realm. Leviticus 10:1-2, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." A stranger is anyone, like Nadab and Abihu, who offers strange fire, or that whose origin comes from the flesh instead of true worship, which can only come from the Christ within us.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

The daughter of Zion is a personification of those who constitute spiritual Jerusalem. The cottage and lodge speak of temporary structures such as a shelter or hut used during harvest time but then abandoned and left to the weather at the close of harvest. Thus spiritual Jerusalem is not very defensible today.

9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

"Hear the word of the Lord" is stated as a commandment to all in leadership positions in the church today. "Give ear unto the law of our God" is a commandment to every professing Christian.

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

Verses 11 through 14 speak of those professing Christians today who are rigidly following a fixed routine, a fixed format, a fixed ritual, a repetitious set of actions during gatherings of His chosen people. The sincerity of the worshiper, not the number of our religious activities, is most important.

Galatians 4:9-11, "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."

Micah 6:6-8, "Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

1 Samuel 15:22, "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

Back to Isaiah 1:15 

And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

What does the Lord mean when He says "your hands are full of blood"? In those days the priests were slaying literally thousands of animals as part of the five major offerings. The amount of blood from those sacrifices must have been enormous. But what did those rituals do for the priests, other than occupy much of their daily routine? Likewise, when we "go to church" faithfully every Sunday, what does it cost us other than occupy an hour or two of our time once a week? What the Lord is really after is recorded in Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." The Lord is looking for those who will obey the greatest commandment of all, as recorded in ...

Deuteronomy 6:4-10, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Verses 16 and 17 are commandments of the Lord that represent what we Christians must "do." James 1:26-27, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless [or orphans] and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 

Isaiah 58:1-7.

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 

 

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

The phrase, "let us reason together" means "let us settle the matter." It means putting an end to all carnal reasoning on the part of man. It does not mean that man can "bargain" with God. This is a statement of God's intent... spiritual Israel will become righteous through repentance or God will achieve their purification through judgment. A similar New Testament verse is Luke 20:18, "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

Trees in the Bible speak of men. Oaks, which speak of the strength of man, are the trees resorted to for idolatrous worship. Idolatrous worship, by definition, is reducing anything that is designed to be in the spiritual realm down to the natural level. Jesus said, in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." 

The faithful are exhorted in Ezekiel 6:11-13 to lament their abominations and calamites, 

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols."

From Verse 30 in Isaiah, Chapter 1, a garden that has no water has no life and will soon fade away. The Bible speaks about three gardens... man's garden, the Garden of Eden, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Every person is in one of those three gardens at some point in his/her life.

First, consider man's garden. What happens in man's gardens? That is where man's will, our carnal will, is done. That is where man seeks to gratify himself in every way possible. We seek what we think will make us happy. I believe that part of the DNA that God has put within every living soul is man's longing for fulfillment or happiness ... what will make me happy. Unfortunately, man tries everything possible to try to achieve that happiness. Some men try alcohol, drugs, crime, promiscuity, money, and power. Although I never participated in any of those pursuits, my fleshly efforts to find happiness, although considered morally good by most folks, really were no better in God's sight than what many consider to be more evil. But when I was 36 years of age, the grace of God came to me and He sovereignly and dramatically moved me into the second garden ... the Garden of Eden. However, that is not the end of God's plan for man. God is looking for those chosen vessels who will do what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane ... namely to weep between the porch and the altar on behalf of the body of Christ (Joel 2:17).

31 And the strong shall be as tow [or refuse], and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

All of the verses in Isaiah that speak of the judgment of God may seem a little discouraging or not very edifying to man. Why, then, is the judgment of God spoken of so much in Isaiah? Only the Lord knows for a certainty. May I venture one possibility? Is it possible that we Christians tend to downplay the fear of God? One of the best scriptures which explains the scriptural fear of God is 1 Corinthians 9:16, when Paul said, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" 

We can generalize that for all of us by saying, "Woe is me if I do not fulfill the purpose for which the Lord apprehended me."

2 Corinthians 7:1, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 

Ephesians 5:21, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

It is rather interesting that in Old Testament days even the heathen nations knew the reality of the fear of God. 2 Chronicles 20:29, "And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel." 

The word "vanity" describing the natural man, appears 33 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 declares the chief antidote to vanity. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

The end of the matter as stated in the New Testament is Philippians 2:12-13. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Amen.