Isa 1-4

Isaiah 1-4

Isaiah is a book of prophecy written by Isaiah who lived in 8th century BC. (copied from wikipedia) "The book has 66 chapters: the first 39 chapters prophesy doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God, while the last 27 prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel and a new creation in God's glorious future kingdom."
Isaiah 1

1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”

God is calling out to the Earth and his creation and is sadened because they have turned away from him.

4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.

It's talking about how deep the problem of sin runs in the people and how painful the consequences. And there can be no healing except by God himself through Jesus' death on the cross and his conquering of death in His ressurection.

7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the LORD Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 6:23). Sodom and Gomorrah were cities back in Genesis that were destroyed entirely because of how sinful the people were. Abraham asks God to spare the city if He would spare the cities from destruction if even 5 righteous people could be found in them and they were still burned with fire.

10 Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

He calls out to us who could be compared to the wicked because we have sinned as well. He does not desire sacrifices because the only sacrifice required has already been sacrificed. God has sent His own son to be the sacrificial Lamb paying for all our sins.
Also, it is saying that God doesn't care for 'religion' meaning all the rituals and stuff that people do to please God. (Titus 3:5) "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

If you do not accept the gift that God has given you, if you are trying by your own strength, you will fall short. If you don't accept Jesus' redemption, you are still covered in your sin.

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

God decided to take the matter of our sin into His hands because we could do nothing about it. Jesus took our sins and gave us his righteousness. He offers this gift to everyone. (Rom 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.

Those who appear mighty, without God are sinners and his work leads to his own destruction.

Isaiah 2

2 In the last days

the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

This is speaking about the end times. I don't know very much about the end times... (insert more info about end times)

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

This verse is saying that they will turn their weapons into tools for work and that there will be no more war in the land, in God's new kingdom.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Another call to righteousness, but not just to be better, but rather to walk in the light of the Lord. (1 John 1:7) "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

6 You, LORD, have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination like the Philistines
and embrace pagan customs.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.
9 So people will be brought low
and everyone humbled—
do not forgive them.

When man turned away from God, he gave them over to their sinful desires. In Romans there is a passage that speaks of what happened when sin entered the world and what happened to the people. (Rom 1:21-25) "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen." Having rejected the Lord, the people turned to idol worship, wether it be false gods, money, possesions, relationships. But these people will end up being judged as we all will except they will not have Jesus paying for their sins because they have rejected Him and gone their own way.

10 Go into the rocks, hide in the ground
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

Those who think of themselves to be great will be humbled when they see how great God really is.

12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship[d]
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.

God has a plan for everything and for everyone. He also has a punishment ready for those whom would prefer to pretend they were god or those idols who are worshiped falsely. When God comes to establish his kingdom, all other idols will fall.

19 People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.

It seems that people will be scared when God comes.

22 Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?

Humans were created by God, but are imperfect. Why should you worship the imperfect when the perfect God has already made everything so that you may come to know Him..?

Isaiah 3

1 See now, the Lord,
the LORD Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:
all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
2 the hero and the warrior,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,
the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.

When the day comes, God will no longer wait. He will judge and take away his support to those who have rejected him.

4 “I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.”

Their rulers will be poorly equiped to lead.

5 People will oppress each other—
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.
The young will rise up against the old,
the nobody against the honored.

There will be fighting between the people.

6 A man will seize one of his brothers
in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
take charge of this heap of ruins!”
7 But in that day he will cry out,
“I have no remedy.
I have no food or clothing in my house;
do not make me the leader of the people.”

They will look for leaders and even those people will not be confident or prepared. They will have no solution.

8 Jerusalem staggers,
Judah is falling;
their words and deeds are against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them;
they parade their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They have brought disaster upon themselves.

Those who are sinful will perish.

10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them,
for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked!
Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back
for what their hands have done.

In the end the righhteous will be saved and the wicked will perish.

12 Youths oppress my people,
women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;
they turn you from the path.

Relying in themselves, the people will go their own way.

13 The LORD takes his place in court;
he rises to judge the people.
14 The LORD enters into judgment
against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people
and grinding the faces of the poor?”
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

When He judges he will ask about the things you have done without Him.

16 The LORD says,
“The women of Zion are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
17 Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
the LORD will make their scalps bald.”

People will have placed much time and effort into material and will be proud and boasting about their possesions.

18 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.

God will take them away, all the idolized material possesions.

24 Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;
instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, branding.
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.
26 The gates of Zion will lament and mourn;
destitute, she will sit on the ground.

God will take away all good things from those who reject Him.

Isaiah 4

2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

Those who remained in the Lord will be justified and cleansed by God and He will protect them and give them a place to live.



D.Fa

Disclaimer: Isaiah is a book of prophecy. Prophecies can be interpreted in many different ways and many have not yet come to fruition, so it is harder to determine exactly what will happen. In any case, my opinion may not be the correct one. Also, I have not done years of study on these passages, these are just my thoughts on what some verses may mean.