Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• An Amalekite's account of Saul and Jonathan's deaths 1:1-16
  The young Amalekite must have been a mercenary soldier who had joined Saul's army. It seems more likely that this man's account of Saul's death was not accurate rather than that he had had some hand in killing Saul in view of...
• Jeroboam's idolatry 12:25-33
  During its history the Northern Kingdom had three capitals: first Shechem (v. 25), then Tirzah (14:17; 15:33), and finally Samaria (16:23-24). Perhaps the king strengthened Penuel in west-central Gilead as a Transjordanian pr...
• L. Ahaz ch. 28
  With the reign of Ahaz the Chronicler introduced a new interest, the prospect of captivity for Judah, which he again called Israel, the true Israel, twice in this chapter (vv. 19, 23).Why did Israel go into captivity? Why did...
• 2. Zion's security 48:4-8
  48:4-6 Besieging armies could not prevail against God's stronghold. They turned away unsuccessful. It was as though the presence of God terrified them. The psalmist may have written these words shortly after an invading army,...
• Title and writer
  The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the other prophetical books, comes from its writer. The book claims to have come from Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 7:3; 13:1; 20:2; 37:2, 6, 21; 38:1, 4, 21; 39:3, 5, 8), and Jesus Chri...
• Structure
  Occasional time references scattered throughout the book indicate that Isaiah arranged his prophecies in a basically chronological order (cf. 6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1; 37:38). However, they are not completely chronological...
• Outline
  I. Introduction chs. 1-5A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 11. The title of the book 1:12. Israel's condition 1:2-93. God's solution 1:10-204. Israel's response 1:21-31B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-41. God's des...
• The effect of the problem: humiliation 2:10-21
  Verses 10-21 are a poem on the nature and results of divine judgment. Note the repetition of key words and phrases at the beginnings and ends of the sections and subsections. The section breaks down as follows.The Lord is exa...
• Dearth of leadership 3:1-15
  The emphasis in this pericope is on the lack of qualified leaders and the consequent collapse of society that would result because God's people put their trust in people rather than in Him. The name "the Lord [sovereign] God ...
• C. The analogy of wild grapes ch. 5
  This is the third and last of Isaiah's introductory oracles. The first one (ch. 1) introduced the book as a whole by presenting major themes with which the prophet proceeded to deal in chapters 2-66. The second chiastic one (...
• II. Isaiah's vision of God ch. 6
  Most serious students of Isaiah have believed that the record of Isaiah's call in this chapter occurred before he wrote any of the prophecies in this book. The title "holy one of Israel,"Isaiah's trademark name for God, conne...
• The sign of Immanuel 7:10-17
  Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
• The faithful king to come 9:2-7
  In contrast to Ahaz, who refused to listen to and obey God, the Lord would raise up a faithful king who would be born and reign in the future (the Millennium). This pericope climaxes the present section (7:1-9:7) dealing with...
• The instrument of destruction 10:5-11
  Assyria was simply an unwitting tool in Yahweh's hand that He would use to accomplish His purposes (cf. Hab. 1:12-17). This pericope is one of the greatest revelations of the relation between heaven and earth in the Bible.127...
• The object of destruction 10:12-19
  10:12 When God finished using Assyria as His rod to punish Mt. Zion and Jerusalem, He would punish Assyria too for her arrogance and haughtiness (not for her ignorance of God's sovereignty). The prose form of this verse, whic...
• The promise of restoration 10:20-27
  The focus of the prophecy shifts from Assyria to Israel.10:20 In some future day, the remnant (cf. 6:13; 7:3) who escaped annihilation by the Assyrians would no longer trust in man for deliverance, as Ahaz and Judah did befor...
• A description of Assyria's attack and judgment 10:28-34
  10:28-32 Isaiah foresaw the Assyrian army descending on Jerusalem from the north passing through various towns and finally arriving at Nob just north of Jerusalem. From that location, probably Mt. Scopus, which was somewhat h...
• Deliverance from Jesse's Shoot ch. 11
  This section gives the positive side of the deliverance of God's people that is to come in contrast to the negative side (10:5-34). God would put Assyria down, but the Messiah would lift Israel up by serving her ideally. The ...
• The rule of the Shoot 11:1-9
  Messiah would meet certain qualifications (vv. 2-3a) and would rule with absolute justice (vv. 3b-5) with the result that people would live in peace (vv. 6-9)11:1 The prophet had just described Assyria cut down like a forest ...
• The return under the Shoot 11:10-16
  The rebellion of one Davidic king, Ahaz, would result in the defeat and dispersion of God's people (8:6-8), but the righteousness of another Davidic king, Messiah, would result in their revival and return to God and the Promi...
• 4. Trust in God's favor ch. 12
  This paean of praise concludes the section dealing with Israel's choice between trusting God or Assyria (7:1-12:6). It expresses the trust in God that Isaiah's revelations in this section encouraged. This is a song of redempt...
• B. God's sovereignty over the nations chs. 13-35
  This major section of the book emphasizes the folly of trusting in the nations rather than in Yahweh. The section preceding it shows how King Ahaz trusted in Assyria and experienced destruction (chs. 7-12). The section follow...
• 1. Divine judgments on the nations chs. 13-23
  The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle"or "burden,"prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.140These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's ...
• The first oracle against Babylon 13:1-14:27
  The reader would expect that Isaiah would inveigh against Assyria since it was the most threatening enemy in his day and since he referred to it many times in earlier chapters. However, he did not mention Assyria in this sect...
• The oracle against Egypt chs. 19-20
  This oracle clarifies that God's purposes for Egypt, another nation the Judeans wanted to trust for help during this time of Assyrian expansion, would involve judgment followed by blessing. The passage consists of three palis...
• 2. Divine victory over the nations chs. 24-27
  This section of the text has similarities to the preceding oracles against the nations (chs. 13-23), but it is also different in certain respects. It is a third cycle, but not a cycle of oracles.221The content integrates with...
• The gathering of Jewish and Gentile believers 27:12-13
  27:12 The Lord would assemble the remnant of His people from the Promised Land as a farmer gathers up (gleans, cf. 24:13) his crops. Not only will He destroy His enemies then, but He will gather redeemed Israelites into His k...
• The woe against Ephraim and Judah ch. 28
  "The section begins (1-6) and ends (23-29) with double illustrations drawn from nature and agriculture. Between lies a meditation in eight broadly equal parts on how Jerusalem's leaders refused the word of invitation and inhe...
• Two woes against Jerusalem ch. 29
  There are two more "woes"that deal with Jerusalem in this chapter (vv. 1-14, 15-24) in addition to the one in chapter 28. The first of these is similar to the previous "woe"(cf. vv. 1-8 with 28:1-6, and vv. 9-14 with 28:7-13)...
• The woe against rejecters of God's help chs. 31-32
  Like the third "woe"(ch. 30), this fourth one deals with the folly of trusting in Egypt for security rather than the Lord. It applies particularly the principles set forth in the first part of the second "woe"(29:1-14), as is...
• Yahweh's day of blessing ch. 35
  In contrast to the preceding chapter, this one is full of joy and rejoicing. There God turned the world into a desert; here He transforms that desert into a garden.339References to "be glad"and "gladness"begin and end the poe...
• C. The tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39
  Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with the issue of trust by giving historical proof that Yahweh will protect those who trust in Him. In these chapters, King Hezekiah represents the people of Judah.344Th...
• The Rabshakeh's challenge 36:1-37:7
  This section demonstrates Hezekiah's commitment to God, but the next one (37:8-35) shows an even stronger commitment by the king to commit his own fate and the fate of his people to God. The present section stresses Assyrian ...
• An ultimatum 36:1-20
  36:1 The fourteenth year of Hezekiah was 701 B.C.350On an Assyrian record, Sennacherib claimed to have taken 46 cities of Judah during this campaign (cf. 2 Chron. 32:1).351"He went from the north along the coast defeating (am...
• The Babylonian embassy ch. 39
  39:1 The phrase "At that time"(cf. 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illn...
• IV. Israel's calling in the world chs. 40--55
  This part of Isaiah picks up a theme from chapters 1-39 and develops it further. That theme is God's faithfulness to His promises to give His people a glorious future after He disciplined them for their unfaithfulness. The Lo...
• 1. The Lord of the servant ch. 40
  Would the coming Babylonian exile prove that God could not deliver His people or that He would not because they had been so sinful? Isaiah's answer was a resounding no! The new historical situation did not signal a change in ...
• The comforting Lord 40:1-11
  The first strophe of this poem (vv. 1-2) sets the tone for the rest of the chapter and for the rest of the book. It is an introduction to an introduction. In spite of affliction that lay ahead for the Judahites, God's ultimat...
• 4. The servant's attention to her Lord ch. 48
  This chapter climaxes Isaiah's arguments for Yahweh's superiority over pagan idols. The prophet was led to use the Israelites' exile in Babylon to prove his point. Isaiah had demonstrated God's trustworthiness (chs. 7-39) and...
• The Servant's confidence 50:4-9
  This is the third Servant Song (cf. 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 52:13-53:12). Like the second song, this one is autobiographical, but unlike the first and second songs it contains no reference to the Servant. That it is the Servant who i...
• Free salvation 55:1-5
  The people would need to listen to and rely on God's unconditional promise, but their salvation would cost them nothing.55:1 "The introductory particle (hoi) is mainly an attention-getting device, but it expresses a slight to...
• 1. The need for humility and holiness chs. 56-57
  These chapters introduce the main subject of this section of the book, which grows out of what Isaiah revealed previously. If salvation depends on God's grace, do God's servants have any responsibility other than receiving th...
• The nations serving Israel 60:10-16
  Now the relationship of the nations to Israel becomes even clearer. The Gentiles will come to Israel because of her God, will submit themselves to Israel because of what the Lord will do for her, and will serve the Lord with ...
• The delayed salvation 63:7-64:12
  If the Lord was capable of defeating Israel's enemies, as the previous revelation of the Warrior claimed, why had He not acted for Israel already? This intercessory communal lament explains that delayed salvation was not beca...
• Bibliography
  Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. 1846, 1847. Revised ed. 2 vols. in 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971.Allen, Kenneth W. "The Rebuilding and Destruction of Babylon."Bibliotheca...
• I. The oracle against Babylon chs. 50-51
  Jeremiah wrote almost as much about Babylon's future as he did about the futures of all the other nations in his other oracles combined. The length of this oracle reflects the great importance of Babylon in his ministry as we...
• The interpretation of the riddle 17:11-21
  17:11-12 Ezekiel was now to tell his rebellious hearers what this story represented.250The first eagle stood for the king of Babylon (cf. Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Dan. 7:4). His invasion of Jerusalem (the specific identity of the L...
• The enemy of restored Israel 38:1-9
  38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
• 3. Nebuchadnezzar's account of his dream 4:10-18
  4:10-12 The king described what he had seen in poetic language. His words therefore appear as a prophetic oracle. The ancients frequently used trees to describe rulers of nations (cf. Isa. 2:12-13; 10:34; Ezek. 31:3-17).141Th...
• The coming ruler 11:36-39
  11:36 "Then"signals a leap in time to the distant future.The predicted king will have the power to do as he pleases; apparently he will not be subject to a higher human authority (cf. 7:23; Rev. 13:1-10; 17:12). He will exalt...
• Making treaties 8:8-10
  8:8 The prophet looked ahead to the time of Israel's judgment. The nation would be swallowed up, as when someone eats grain (v. 7). Israel would become a part of the nations having gone into captivity and lost its own soverei...
• The boastful complacency of Israel's leaders 6:1-3
  6:1 The prophet began this message by announcing coming woe (Heb. hoy, cf. 5:18). Those who felt at ease in Zion (Jerusalem) and secure in Samaria were the subjects of his message. Those who felt at ease in Samaria, partially...
• A. The Judgment of Edom and the Nations vv. 15-18
  References to the work and word of the Lord frame this section. Obadiah announced that a reversal of rolls was coming for Edom and all the nations.v. 15 "The day of the Lord"here is a future day in which God will reverse the ...
• 4. The fourth description of Nineveh's fall 3:8-19
  This section, evidently another message that Nahum delivered concerning Nineveh's fall, begins by comparing it to the fall of another great city. Nahum proceeded to use many figures of speech to describe how various segments ...
• 4. Judgment coming on Assyria 2:13-15
  2:13 Zephaniah also prophesied the destruction of Assyria to Judah's north (really northeast) and her capital Nineveh (cf. Isa. 13:1-14:27; 21:1-10; Jer. 50-51). Since Nineveh fell to the combined forces of Babylonia, Media, ...
• C. The Israelites' response 1:12-15
  1:12 Haggai's preaching moved Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of Israelites who had returned from captivity to obey the Lord. This demonstrated reverence for Him."Haggai referred to the people as a remnant(here and also i...
• III. The symbolic crowning of Joshua 6:9-15
  The visions ended and Zechariah awoke from his dream-like state. What follows is a symbolic act that took place in Jerusalem at the Lord's command."The position of this actual ceremony after the eight visions is significant. ...
• The announcement of doom 11:1-3
  11:1 The prophet announced in vigorous poetic language that Lebanon's famous cedars would perish. The Israelites referred to the royal palace in Jerusalem as Lebanon because it contained so much cedar from Lebanon (Jer. 22:23...
• The two claims 7:21-23 (cf. Luke 6:46)
  Verses 15-20 deal with false prophets, but verses 21-23 deal with false followers. The repeated cry of these false followers reveals their fervency."In Jesus' day it is doubtful whether Lord' when used to address him meant mo...
• The seriousness of impeding the progress of a disciple 18:5-14 (cf. Mark 9:37-50; Luke 9:48-50)
  The major sub-theme of this discourse is offenses (Gr. skandalon, stumbling blocks). The humble disciple will be careful not to put a stumbling block in the path of another disciple as that one proceeds toward the kingdom.18:...
• 4. God's mercy toward Israel 9:19-29
  Next Paul dealt with a question that rises out of what he had just argued for, namely God's freedom to extend mercy to whom He will. Is it not logical that if God is going to show mercy to whom He will in spite of human actio...
• 3. The dreadful alternative 6:4-8
  The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently.Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those who...
• The first trumpet 8:7
  The scene shifts again, this time from heaven to earth. This first trumpet blast signaled the beginning of a judgment that involved hail, fire (lightning?), and blood (bloodshed? cf. Exod. 9:23-26; Ezek. 38:22). This judgment...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• II. Now we are ready to ask, And who is to do all this?
  The guarantee for its accomplishment is the person of the conquering Messiah. The hopes of Israel did not, and those of the world do not, rest on tendencies, principles, laws of progress, advance of civilisation, or the like ...
• Light Or Fire?
  And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.'--Isaiah 10:17.WITH grand poetry the prophet pictures the Assyrian power as a fores...
• I. Notice some points about this closing metaphor.
  Mark its singular contrast to the tone of the rest of the prophecy. Note the lowliness, the suffering, the minor key of it all, and then, all at once, the leap up to rapture and triumph. The special form of the metaphor strik...