There is a part of Isaiah that has been weighing on my mind.

Ch. 2-5 Explain the dire situation of the people, with Ch. 5 having the prophet say, I have done everything I can do! I give up!

Ch. 6-12 Begins with Isaiah’s Vision of the Divine Throne and the Lord, in the Temple, and ends (Ch. 12) with a Testimony of the Righteous Men and Women.

Ch. 13-27 The Fall/Collapse of Babylon

13-20 – Temporal Collapse
21-23 – Spiritual Collapse
24-27 – We see the world bifurcated – the wicked exist in a ruined state, where nothing is working, like they all just ran out of steam. And the righteous live in a strong city, with great blessings and glory

The situation is not merely apocalyptic. It is a collapsed society. Nobody has anything, nobody knows what to do, nothing works. This affects everyone from the top to the bottom. Every idea, philosophy and idol have been tried and found wanting. The people are out of ideas. And repentance… well, they simply are not going to think about that!

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Delving a little deeper, Isaiah 5 is about False Doctrine.

When we read Isaiah 5, we are prone to assume some very simplistic symbolism. But the Jews have a deeper symbolism that we have not always delved into. The Vineyard may be the Lord’s people, but what is wine? For the Jews, wine represents understanding or knowledge.

How does this illuminate the passage? This chapter starts off with the Parable of the Vineyard – a vineyard was planted but brings forth bad, perhaps even poisonous, grapes. So the Lord of the Vineyard will destroy it.

Thus, the vineyard is yielding corrupt understanding, or false doctrine.
But this is more interesting once you start looking at the Six Woes. At first, they appear to be six unrelated curses. But they all have a common theme, once you understand what wine is.

First: (5:8-10) Hording land -> hording vineyards: At the surface level, this doesn’t appear to have a connection to the parable, but what would this mean in terms of knowledge? Those who gatekeep knowledge, perhaps including schools.

Second: (5:11-12) Those who drink carelessly -> those who do not treat knowledge seriously. “they regard not the work of the Lord,”

Followed by two Therefores. Notice the theme is a lack of knowledge, that is equated with thirst and hunger.

Third: (5:18-19) Drawing vanity. -> In the context of knowledge, is this those who make rationalizations for sin?

Fourth: (5:20) Call evil good -> flat out falsehood

Fifth: (5:21) Wise in their own eyes -> proud

Sixth: (5:22-24) Mighty to drink wine. Why would alcohol lead to “Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”? Unless they are drinking knowledge, and using it for corrupt ends. It is knowledge and power they are drunk on.

Followed by two Therefores. Notice that their root and blossom, instead of growing the vineyard, are part of the vineyard becoming rotten and dust. In other words, the result of all this false doctrine, and misuse of knowledge, is destruction. Not merely for the ancient Jews, but for us as well. This pertains to us today.

And that is how the chapter ends, with the Lord promising to destroy them. The end of the chapter isn’t about missionary work. It is Isaiah showing just how dire things were, and just how apostate his people are.
Notice, that the Book of Isaiah does not start out with Isaiah’s vision and commission. We get the stage set first, with the Lord of the Vineyard saying, “what more could be done?” Nothing, except destruction. This is what makes chapter 6 powerful, because we now understand the stakes and the context that the vision happens in.

This is the beginning to two great sections.
44:24- ch.48  is our temporal deliverance / salvation
49-53 is our spiritual salvation

(A1) Cyrus: Rebuild Zion (44:24-28)

(A2) Cyrus: Irresistible Conqueror (45:1-8)

(B1) Israel: Despite complaints, Lord asserts his right to rule, has Cyrus as builder (45:9-13)

(B2) Israel still at center of Lord’s plans (45:14-25)

(B1′) Israel: Despite complaints, Lord asserts his constant care, Cyrus as Savior (46)

(A2′) Babylon: Conquered  (47)

(A1′) Babylon: Captives Liberated  (48)

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At first glance, this is a generic screed against idol worship. But the points he makes are deeper than you might initially realize. Every point he makes applies every bit as much to us as it did to people making idols from stones and stumps. If anything, it applies to us even more.

So, as you read this section, think about how this would apply to us.

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More Isaiah for the interested student!

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The previous section was the Gospel to the House of Israel.
This section is the Gospel to the Gentiles.
We also get to look at the first of the four Servant Songs.
But what I think is interesting is the identity of the Servant… there is more depth there than I originally supposed.

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After a lengthy delay, we return with more Isaiah!

As I mentioned in the previous post, chapters 40 & 41:1-20 are the gospel proclaimed, to Israel. In the next post, this will be extended to the Gentiles. But this has more depth than you might guess at first glance. The central part of this chiasmus askes the question, Do you really understand, or believe the Doctrine of the Creation? Then we look at future events (it would have been future events for the people of Isaiah’s time) and ask, Do you still believe God is in control? Let’s look at this in more detail.

Three Voices of Comfort (40:1-11)
* The Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness  (40:3-5)
* What shall I cry? All flesh is grass (40:6-8)
* O Zion that bringeth good tidings… say unto the cities of Judah, Behold! Your God!  (40:9-11)

The Lord is a Creator, who rules his Creation (40:12-31)
The Lord is the Ruler of history and of the world  (41:1-7)

Three Examples of Comfort (41:8-20)
* I will help thee (41:8-13)
* From worm to harvesting mountains (41:14-16)
* Needy sustained in the desert (41:17-20)

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The Servant Songs are well known passages in Isaiah in the middle third of the book (so called Second Isaiah). In Isaiah the Prophet, by J Alec Motyer, (perhaps the best book on Isaiah), he points out there are corresponding songs – poetic testimonies – in the latter third of the book (Third Isaiah). But that strongly suggests there should be corresponding songs/testimonies in the first third of the book (First Isaiah), following the Temporal/Spiritual/Synthesis pattern I have shown previously.

Please take a moment and read each of these. There is a reason Isaiah is called the 5th Gospel.

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In the chapters up until now, we have seen what was wrong with Jerusalem and all Israel and how God transformed them.

And in particular, we have seen the our enemy defeated. But were they the real enemy, or just an interim opponent, a temporary terror? But if Assyria is not the real enemy, who is? We did see in the text thus far, indications that the Lord has great plans for the latter-day Assyria. And like us, it will not be without pain. (more…)

Here, we are closing out the first section of Isaiah. The emphasis has been on Temporal Salvation, and the Messiah as the King of Jerusalem and all Israel. The primary antagonist and geo-political foe, was Assyria, even as the Prophet rebukes the Lord’s own people. But here we are at the end. The wicked have been destroyed, or carried away, and the Assyrian armies advance on Jerusalem itself.

But in spite of the fact the Lord called Assyria to punish the wicked, the Lord Jehovah, Jesus Christ, is the King of Jerusalem. And when Sennacherib challenges the Jerusalem, the Lord shows that he, indeed, is the actual king. Thus, this historical interlude is not placed at random. It is the capstone and the historical realization of everything before it. It is the Lord demonstrating his divine patience and ultimately, his power.

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These chapters end the current section (28-35) of the text.

The corresponding chapter (29:15-24) ends with the world turned upside down, as if Isaiah wanted to end with, “Cats and Dogs living together! Mass Hysteria!” And that is what we see here. But instead of cats and dogs, we see righteousness exalted and victorious, and the sinner sinking into destruction and ruin. The theme here and 29:15-24 is Transformation, both of Israel and of the World.

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These chapters are parallel with chapter 29, including the verse about ‘a marvelous work and a wonder’. Like Ch. 29, this shows that the Lord’s plans are unaffected by invaders, and that the Lord always has the last word. (31:1-8) The theme of ch. 29 is the need for and the work of divine transformation, the “Marvelous Work and a Wonder”, which is the doctrinal / spiritual perspective. Ch. 31-32 discuss the work of divine transformation from a temporal perspective.

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The Prophet Nephi applied this chapter to the Book of Mormon, and that is it’s best and most significant fulfillment. But I would also suggest a wider interpretation also. This chapter is about rediscovering the scriptures (v. 1-14), and how the Holy Scriptures will transform the world (v. 15-24).

Nephi expands on this chapter, in 2nd Nephi 27, but I will leave that alone for now. But this is important for understanding. I used the Book of Mormon text and JST here, with textual clarifications. Nephi’s recording should be used with caution, because his explanation is clearly interpolating. What he says is true and important, but not all of it is the original text.

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The previous section (ch. 13—27) was about the Fall of Babylon. But that is only important insomuch as there is something to replace it. Otherwise, Babylon would reestablish itself in short order.

This section is about how God will establish Zion and in particular, how the Word of God will transform the world. If I summarized this next section (28-35), it would be with this quote from Spencer W Kimball

“I am convinced that each of us, at some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves—and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again.” 
How Rare a Possession – The Scriptures! The Ensign Sept. 1976, 2, 4

And not merely learn the scriptures, but how they will transform society, individually and collectively. We must rediscover the power in the Word of God. Chapter 29 is attributed to the Book of Mormon, and this is true, but I wonder if it is broader than that. I suspect that when the Ten Tribes Return, they will see this as applicable to themselves as well.

Chapters 28 & 29 are the Doctrine and we see the Application in chapters 30-35.

Word of God Rejected, yet Taught: Doctrine (28), Application (30)

A Marvelous Work & a Wonder: Doctrine (29:1-14), Application (31-32)

Society Transformed: Doctrine (29:15-24), Application (33-35)

This part discusses a Strong City, as opposed fallen Babylon. This strong city is Zion.

Of course, this isn’t a particular geographical city, but the victory of the Kingdom of God, over the Church of the Devil, or the ways of the World.

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