Isaiah 49 is stunning. It stuns Christians because they hear two of the persons of the Trinity talking back and forth, in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before the incarnation. …
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Isaiah 51:1-8 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.35
Obedience Not Ethnicity
The passage in Isaiah 51:1-8 narrows down to two people groups: those who follow God and those who do not. In these verses the emphasis falls on obedience, not ethnicity. God clearly elects to include the blessing of salvation to both the faithful of ethnic Israel and to the faithful among the Gentile nations. The two become one. This occurs within the context of God’s Servant. …
Isaiah 50:10-11 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.34
The book of Isaiah simultaneously prophesies the best news in the world and the worst news in the world. The best news is the Advent of God’s Servant, Messiah, the second Person of the Trinity. As God’s Servant, he comes to bring salvation to Israel and light to the whole Gentile world. The worst news is that death and sorrow will result for those who treat him poorly.
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Isaiah 50:4-9 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.33
Most commentators accept Isaiah 50:4-9 (ESV) as Isaiah’s third servant speech (see Septuagint translation here). This should have people jumping up and down. Christians everywhere know Jesus Christ God’s Son to be God’s Servant (John 5:30; 4:34; 6:38; 7:18; Matthew 26:39). To hear the preincarnate Christ speaking in the Old Testament is amazing. Don’t you find it so? …
Isaiah 50:1-3 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.32
Summarizing briefly, the Lord in the first three verses of chapter 50 continues to rebut Sion’s claim that he forgot and forsook them (Isaiah 49:14). Oh, but I did come, says the Lord in Isaiah 50:2. But there was no one to meet me. No one answered when I called. No one obeyed my command. The Lord states these claims as rhetorical questions. Then, in the latter portion of verse 2 and continuing in verse 3, the Lord names the three great salvation events in Israel’s history. Two are past and one remains future. These three great salvation events are 1) the parting of the Red Sea, led by Moses, 2) the parting of the Jordan River, led by Joshua, and 3) the parting of the barrier between death and life, sin and holiness, led by Jesus Christ through the cross. …
Isaiah 49:14-26 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.31
Human kind’s greatest enemy is sin. God’s greatest spiritual foe is Satan. Of course, Satan’s power as a created being is finite and limited. Christ conquered sin, death, and Satan by means of the cross. God’s stated purpose in restoring Israel to their own land, as well as his purpose in conquering sin and in defeating the strong man enemy Satan is to manifest his identity as Lord of all, “… and all flesh shall perceive that I am the Lord that delivers you, and that upholds the strength of Jacob” (Isaiah 49:26). …
Isaiah 49:9-13 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.30
Reading Isaiah’s text straight through from verse 1 through 13, the conclusion that makes most sense is that “people” refers both to God’s people of Israel and God’s people of the Gentile nations. Verse 13 seamlessly unites both groups without distinction. To claim that this verse refers exclusively to Israel does not make contextual sense. Indeed, the Apostle Paul’s message throughout the New Testament, and especially in Romans 9-11, is that Gentiles have been grafted in to God’s family. …
Septuagint a Powerful Translation: Isaiah Devotional 2.28
It is good for readers to be reminded that Septuagint Isaiah is a powerful translation. The Septuagint text does not shrink back from exulting Christ in the Old Testament. This is the translation that the biblical authors of the New Testament read, studied, and very often quoted. Septuagint Isaiah 49:7 is a good example of this translation’s unique characteristic of favor towards the deity of Christ. …