Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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...
• 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...
• III. Israel's crisis of faith chs. 7--39
  This long section of the book deals with Israel's major decision in Isaiah's day. Would she trust in Yahweh or in other nations? The decision was a matter of faith; who is more trustworthy, God or strong people? God promised ...
• 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...
• 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...
• 3. The folly of trusting the nations chs. 28-33
  Chapters 28-35 are somewhat similar to chapters 13-27 in content and form. The same general pattern of argument unfolds, but the historical context is generally later. The historical context of chapters 13-27 was mainly Ahaz'...
• 4. The consequences of Israel's trust chs. 34-35
  This section concludes the major section of Isaiah that deals with God's sovereignty over the nations of the world (chs. 13-35). Here the lessons stand out clearly. Pride leads to humiliation whereas trust in the Lord results...
• 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 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 ...
• 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...
• The restoration of Jacob 30:18-22
  30:18 Yahweh promised to restore Israel's tribal fortunes (cf. Num. 24:5-6), to have compassion on His peoples' towns and homes, and to rebuild Jerusalem and the royal palace there.30:19 Thanksgiving and merrymaking would mar...
• Israel's homecoming 31:7-14
  31:7 In the future the Israelites would sing joyfully among the chief nations where they dwelt. They would call on Yahweh to save the remaining remnant of His people. Calling on Him to do this would praise Him because He prom...
• The end of Rachel's mourning 31:15-22
  31:15 The Lord described the Israelite mothers, under the figure of Rachel, weeping for their children who had died because of the Assyrian invasion.404Rachel was the mother of Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and ...
• 1. Advice to the ungodly 7:8-13
  7:8 When Micah's enemies saw him experience some discouraging situation, they rejoiced. He told them not to rejoice, because though he fell God would raise him up. Though he appeared to be groping in the darkness (cf. Lam. 3:...
• 4. A summary of Jesus' ministry 4:23-25 (cf. Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44)
  This brief resumé (cf. 9:35-38) stresses the varied activities and the geographical and ethnic extent of Jesus' ministry then. It sets the stage for the discourse to follow (chs. 5-7) implying that this is but a sample o...
• Jesus' stilling of a storm 8:23-27 (cf. Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25)
  Even though Jesus enjoyed less shelter than the animals and birds (v. 20), He was not the subject of nature. It was subject to Him.8:23-25 It is difficult to know how much Matthew may have intended with his comment that the d...
• The healing of two blind men 9:27-31
  9:27-28 This is the first time in Matthew's Gospel that someone called Jesus the "Son of David"(cf. 1:1; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15). This was a messianic title, and the blind men's use of it undoubtedly expressed thei...
• The casting out of a spirit that caused dumbness 9:32-34
  9:32-33 The Greek word translated "dumb"(NASB, kophos) refers to deaf people, mutes, and people who were both deaf and dumb. This man's condition was the result of demonic influence, though that was not the cause in all such ...
• The confusion of the King's forerunner 11:2-6 (cf. Luke 7:18-23)
  Even John the Baptist had doubts about whether Jesus was really the promised Messiah."Matthew includes the record of this interrogation for at least two reasons. First, the questioning of Jesus by John, a representative of th...
• 6. The preliminary confession of faith 7:37 (cf. Matt. 15:29-31)
  Mark expressed the crowd's amazement with a strong word that appears only here in the New Testament, hyperperissos. It means "extremely overwhelmed"(cf. 1:22; 6:2; 10:26; 11:18). Their statement that Jesus did everything well...
• 5. The healing of a blind man near Bethsaida 8:22-26
  Mark is the only evangelist who recorded this miracle. It corresponds to the healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment (7:31-36), the only other miracle that Mark alone recorded. This is the only miracle in Mark that...
• Jesus' response to John the Baptist's inquiry 7:18-23 (cf. Matt. 11:2-6)
  7:18-20 "These things"probably include the activities of Jesus that Luke had recorded including the healing of the centurion's servant and the raising of the widow's son. John evidently had second thoughts about Jesus because...
• 1. The third sign: healing the paralytic 5:1-9
  This third sign in John's Gospel signaled Jesus' identity and created controversy that followed. Particularly it testified to Jesus' authority over time.2095:1 Some time later Jesus returned to Jerusalem to celebrate one of t...
• 6. The sixth sign: healing a man born blind ch. 9
  This chapter continues the theme of Jesus as the Light of the World (8:12; 9:5). When the Light shone, some received spiritual sight, as this blind man received physical and spiritual sight. However the Light blinded others (...
• The Pharisees' second interrogation 9:24-34
  The Pharisees, who considered themselves enlightened, now tried to badger the formerly blind man into denying that he saw the light.9:24 The Pharisees now questioned the healed man again. They had already decided that Jesus w...
• Paul's speech to the dignitaries 26:1-23
  Paul was not on trial here. When he had appealed to Caesar (25:11), he had guaranteed that his next trial would be before the emperor. This was just a hearing designed to acquaint Agrippa with Paul's case so Agrippa could giv...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Miracles Of Healing
  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.'--Isaiah 35:5-6.THEN '--when? The previous verse answers, Beho...
• I. The Message Of John Sent.
  We do not believe that this message of John's was sent for the sake of strengthening his disciples' faith in Jesus as Messiah, nor that it was merely meant as a hint to Jesus to declare Himself. The question is John's. The an...
• II. The Twofold Answer.
  Its first part was a repetition of the same kind of miracles, the news of which had evoked John's message; and its second part was simply the command to report these, with one additional fact--that good tidings were preached ...