The first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah were all about the fall of Israel and Judah. The prophet Isaiah watched as Assyria swept through Israel, conquering and deporting her people. Then he stood beside King Hezekiah and prayed for Jerusalem to be spared from Sennacherib.

God protected Jerusalem from Assyria, but Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would later fall to Babylon. His last prophecy in chapter 39 was,

“The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord.” Isaiah 39:6

That happened about a hundred years after Isaiah’s lifetime.

The Second Half of Isaiah

Isaiah didn’t live to see Babylon conquer Judah and he wasn’t alive when the people of Judah returned from exile after seventy years, but Isaiah 40-66 was written for that part of Israel’s history.

Since those chapters are about events that took place about two hundred years after Isaiah’s lifetime, no one knows exactly who wrote them. Maybe Isaiah wrote them in advance, with an incredible amount of God-given foresight, and they were stored away to be read later, or perhaps one or more of Isaiah’s disciples continued his work anonymously after the Exile.

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, a scroll with the entire book of Isaiah was found intact and only slightly damaged. All sixty-six chapters were recorded on 24 feet of 2,000-year-old parchment. When this ancient copy of Isaiah was compared to the Scriptures preserved by the Jews since that time, the content of the later manuscripts matched the content of the Dead Sea Isaiah Scroll. The Jews had excelled in accurately transmitting of the Word of God through their meticulous copying and careful preservation of manuscripts.

Keep in Mind . . .

Isaiah 40-66 was addressed to Post-Exilic Israel and we have not read about the Exile in our chronological reading yet, so these chapters of Isaiah apply to a part of Israel’s history that is still ahead of us.

Also, it’s not possible for me to write about everything in these magnificent passages. I will highlight some of the things that stand out to me, but I’m sure you will find many others that mean even more to you. Take your time as you read Isaiah; it’s an important book to get to know.

Isaiah 40

How did God feel about his people after they betrayed him so badly? What was his attitude to them after he gave them a seventy year time out in Babylon?

He wanted to comfort them.

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1-2

As the people came back home, God reminded them who they were and who he was.

“A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ and I said, ‘What shall I cry?’

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of God blows on them. Surely the people are like grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8

“To whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? . . . Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was formed? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.” Isaiah 40:18, 21-23

All of Isaiah 40 is God’s revelation of himself. He is exalted in every way, far above any god made of wood or metal and far above any earthly power.

Isaiah 41

God wanted his people to understand why he loved them. They belonged to him, they were his friends and he wanted to help them.

“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:8-10

Israel may have felt orphaned during the long decades in Babylon, but they remained God’s children and he had not rejected them. He welcomed them.

Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42:1-9 is the song of God’s Servant who would bring justice to the nations. He was going to delight his Father and bless the world, especially those who were suffering.

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.” Isaiah 42:1-3

Jesus Christ completely matches this description. He didn’t shout in the streets, he was gentle with those who needed him, and he demanded justice from the rulers of his day. He was the One who became “a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:6-7

God of Contrasts

While God promised light for those in the darkness and help for those who were suffering, he was also quick to point out that he could bring darkness and suffering. Israel languished for seventy years as captives of the Babylonians. Do you think they were surprised to hear that God took responsibility for that trial? He did it because they wouldn’t listen to him and turn from their sins.

“Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.” Isaiah 42:24-25

People want to receive God’s mercy and love, but Isaiah makes it clear that God is fierce in his anger against sin when they don’t repent. His anger reveals how serious sin is and we must take his wrath to heart, or we will never experience the forgiveness he offers to all who repent.

Isaiah 43

God was ready for a fresh start with his people so he encouraged them to forget the past and look forward to what lay ahead.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

God is so creative that he can take a broken, used up life and do something entirely new with it. He doesn’t dwell on our past; he’s always at work building our future. We are the ones who cling to the past and let it slow us down.

God who made us has a plan for us. He helps us get cleaned up and restored from our sins and he moves ahead with what he had in mind all along. Our God is the God of fresh starts.

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remember your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:35

As you read Isaiah, notice how much of it is a monologue spoken by God. Pay attention to what the Lord says about himself. Reading Isaiah is a great way to learn what the Lord God Almighty has on his mind.