The changes which the Lord announces throughout this portion of Isaiah (and specifically in 56:2-8) are not easy changes. One might say that they are “mind-boggling” groundswells on the order of all the ice in the Arctic completely melting or the entire Rock of Gibraltar dissolving into the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus, the Lord’s Servant, understood the upsetting nature of his ministry and God’s plan and purpose from his incarnation forward. …
Big Picture and Details: Isaiah Devotional 2.13
he overarching theme of the second volume of Isaiah (chapters 40-66) is the advent of Messiah. Interwoven with the theme of Messiah as God’s true representative is the counter theme of the falsity of idols. The dividing line is between believers and non-believers, between God-followers and idol worshipers. There is no line between Gentiles and the sons of Jacob. God rejects the idol worshipers among his “own” people and from among the Gentiles. Conversely, God gives his singular Servant Messiah to believers from among his own people and to believers among the Gentiles. Thus speaks Isaiah, God’s prophet. …
Moab: Isaiah Devotional Journal 52
From the very beginning of the book, Isaiah mixes concrete-physical prophesies with spiritual. Chapter 1, for example, is largely concrete-physical. Isaiah seemed to be addressing the physical people who lived in Israel at the same time he did. On the other hand, Isaiah 2:1-4 appears to contain a more spiritual application. Christ is he who said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). That is not a matter of hermeneutics. Christ said, ” …true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). In other words, Christ took no offense at spiritual meanings in Isaiah, and neither should we. …