Isaiah 1-39 - Lesson 10

By Harold Shank

Isaiah 28-33

How Firm the Foundation

Objectives:

  1. The student can explain how Isaiah both challenged and consoled the Jerusalem community and leadership during the Assyrian attack and siege in 701 BC.
  2. The student can describe the original setting of several well-known texts used in the New Testament.
  3. The student will reflect on what it means to have a firm foundation in God.

Preparation:

  1. A Bible for each student.
  2. There are several songs that use the words "firm foundation." Consider how they might be used during this lesson.
  3. A map of Hezekiah's Jerusalem shows the terrain and location of the siege. See, for example, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.blueletterbible.org/images/maps/Otes t/jerusalemanc2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.blueletterbible.org/images/maps/Otest/jerusale manc2.html&usg=__aJLp4- QjwEJrU7GNB5rhAOqhXdU=&h=751&w=576&sz=158&hl=en&start=2&sig2=pbq8dimI5aZZ 7wDXc88OJw&itbs=1&tbnid=KzNX6TKvXzyGM:& tbnh=141&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dancient%2Bmap%2Bof%2Bjerusale m%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den&ei=FddqS5bdJpP6Nd311OIE.

Theme:

During a time of crisis, the prophet Isaiah calls for the people to rest their security and future on the firm foundation of God's plans.

Setting the stage:

  1. Consult the previous review sections as preparation for summarizing the past classes.
  2. Historical settings for the book of Isaiah.
    1. Isa 1-12 takes place during Syro-Ephraimite War. Events during the war are summarized in Isa 7-8.
    2. Isa 13-23 is a bridge between Isa 1-12 and 24-39 and represents a wide range of historical settings.
    3. Isa 24-39 takes place during the Assyrian siege of 701 B.C. Some events during the siege are narrated in Isa 36-39.
      1. 24-27-Isaiah uses the end time events to give hope for their present.
      2. 28-33-Isaiah uses the fall of North Israel to warn about their present.
      3. 34-35-Isaiah uses Edom to warn about their present.
      4. 36-39-Isaiah narrates events at the end of the 8th century leading up to the Assyrian invasion in 701.
  3. Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C.
    1. Sennacherib (704-701 B.C.), the Assyrian ruler, invaded Judah in 701 B.C.
    2. He attacked and subdued 46 cities in the Judean countryside (according to the Sennacherib or Taylor Prism on which the king recorded his exploits).
    3. As the Assyrian army grew closer to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, Sennacherib sent emissaries calling for the surrender of Jerusalem (Isa 36-37).
    4. During this time Isaiah called for trust in God. Although there are other ways to understand Isa 24-35, these lessons see these sermons as being preached during Sennacherib's assault on Judea and finally during the siege of Jerusalem.

Learning Experiences

  1. Isa 28-33 represents the messages that Isaiah spoke in Jerusalem in the days leading up to and during the Assyrian siege.
  2. The repeated use of the word "woe" provides unity and structure to this section.
    1. General observations:
      1. Each "woe" introduces something which threatens Jerusalem or its attackers followed by God's promise of hope and salvation.
      2. The "woe" connotes a sense of sadness and grief at the current situation.
      3. In the woes, the prophet Isaiah does not play the role of a distant judge handing out rebuke, but rather is a man whose heart is broken over the situation facing the city. By taking this approach, Isaiah expresses solidarity with the people to whom he now shares both bad news and good news.
    2. The following lesson outlines the six woes.
  3. Woe #1: Isa 28:1-29-Build on the firm foundation of the Lord of hosts, not the drunken leaders of Jerusalem.
    1. Isa 28:1 pronounces a woe on Jerusalem's leaders who are in the process of making the same bad decisions made by the now deposed leaders of North Israel.
      1. Isa 28:1-6 reflects on the fall of North Israel in 721 which occurred about 20 years before the crisis of the Assyrian invasion of Jerusalem (701). Using a double metaphor, their leaders are compared to drunks and to fading flowers.
      2. In Isa 9:8-21 in the aftermath of the Syro-Ephraimite War (734-32), Isaiah predicted the fall of North Israel (721) and now (in 701) explains the fall of North Israel as the result of poor leadership.
    2. Instead Isaiah calls the people to rest on a "sure foundation" of trusting in God.
      1. Isa 28:7-29 applies the bad example of North Israel to the leaders (see prophets and priests in v 7) of Jerusalem (see the scoffers who rule in Jerusalem in v 14).
    3. Read Isa 28:9-13.
      1. Based on this study of Isaiah, what are the precious cornerstone and the sure foundation? The word for "sure" and "believes" is the same word (the same root as our word "amen") used in the discussion with Ahaz in Isa 7:9 from which we get the word faith.
      2. These lines (along with Isa 8:14) are quoted repeatedly in the NT. Note the new setting in which the words occur in Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom 9:33, 10:11; Eph 2:20; 1 Tim 1:16; 1 Pet 2:4-6.
  4. Woe #2: Isa 29:1-14-Draw near to God for complete protection.
    1. Isa 29:1 pronounces a woe on Jerusalem and announces the siege.
      1. Ariel is another name for Jerusalem where the temple was located and where the yearly feast days (29:1) were celebrated.
      2. God announced he would send a siege (29:3), forcing the people into a distressing situation compared to being buried alive in the earth (29:4).
    2. Instead Isaiah reminds the people of the marvelous things God will do for people who not only honor him with their lips but who give him their hearts.
    3. Read Isa 29:13-14.
      1. Isaiah accuses the people of Jerusalem and its leaders as having a shallow, legalistic faith. How does this accusation fit with his preaching about community in Isa 1, 2, 3 and 5? Reread the critique of their worship in Isa 1:10-17. The people (in Isa 1:10-17) honored God with their lips, but the people are critiqued for a faulty vertical relationship with God in 1:2-4 and faulty horizontal relationships in the community in 1:16-17.
      2. The Old Testament often refers to God doing wonderful and marvelous things. Use a concordance and make a list of some of those wonders.
      3. Jesus cites this passage in Mt 15:8-9 and Mk 7:6-7. Discuss how Jesus uses Isaiah's words.
  5. Woe #3: Isa 29:15-29-God is the potter, the people are the clay.
    1. Isa 29:15 pronounces a woe against those who counsel the king to trust in secret plans.
    2. Instead Isaiah reminds the people of what God will do with submissive followers. The devastation of war (17-21) will be reversed, and those who give bad advice and face shame will be changed (22-24).
    3. Read Isa 29:16.
      1. Compare this passage with Isa 45:9; 64:8 and Jer 18:1-6.
      2. In this comparison who in Jerusalem plays the role of the clay and who is the potter?
      3. Note the way in which Paul makes use of this illustration in Rom 9:19-21.
  6. Woe #4: Isa 30:1-26-Hear the instruction of the Lord.
    1. Isa 30:1 pronounces a woe on those who pursue plans that are not God's.
      1. Isaiah knows Hezekiah has sent ambassadors to Egypt seeking to rely on military help rather than God's protection. He critiques that action (30:1-7).
      2. He mockingly imagines the risky trip of the ambassador's party loaded with gifts for Egypt as they travel through the wilderness areas between Jerusalem and the Egyptian court (30:6).
    2. Instead Isaiah counsels the people to trust in God (30:8-33).
      1. This section of Isaiah lists many qualities of God.
      2. Make a list and discuss.
      3. Keep in mind that Isaiah is fundamentally a book about God.
    3. Read Isa 30:13 and 18.
      1. Isaiah puts the point of his book in succinct form.
      2. How do these verses clarify the message of the book of Isaiah?
      3. How do these verses describe the God-human relationship?
      4. How enduring is that description?
  7. Woe #5: Isa 31:1-32:20-Jerusalem receives God's spirit.
    1. Isa 31:1 pronounces a woe on those who trust Egypt to save them from Assyria.
      1. The "helpers" (31:1, 2, 3) refer to Egypt and those who "go down" to Egypt are Hezekiah's counselors.
      2. Isaiah again critiques the reliance on Egypt. See Isa 30:1-7.
    2. Instead Isaiah urges the people to look to the Holy One of Israel.
    3. Read Isa 32:15-20.
      1. This section is filled with theological words. Explore each one. Cite the earlier definitions of justice and righteousness. Explore the continual appearance of quietness, trust and peace.
      2. Note the images of this section: The coming of the spirit is compared to water being poured, the new community is compared to a forest and field, and the people's well-being is likened to animals in their natural state. How are these images helpful?
  8. Woe #6: Isa 33:1-24-The Lord is exalted for he dwells on high.
    1. Isa 33:1 pronounces a woe on Assyria.
      1. After five woes on his own people, Isaiah now turns to the enemy outside the walls.
      2. The nature of Assyrian treachery is unclear but may be related to the speeches of the Assyrian commander on the walls and the letter sent to Isaiah (see Isa 36-37) or the broken treaties (Isa 33:8).
      3. The point of Isa 33:1-9 is that those who destroy will be destroyed, but God will be gracious to those who wait and exalt him.
    2. Isaiah reminds the people that God will fight for them.
    3. This chapter contains many descriptions of God.
      1. Make a list and compare them to previous lists.
      2. Exalting God over the pride and self-sufficiency of the world is a major agenda in Isaiah especially in this chapter: 5, 10, 21-22.
    4. Read Isa 33:5-6.
      1. Compare this verse with Isa 29:14; 30:15, 18. What parallels exist? What differences?
      2. Compare the teaching of these two verses with Mt 6:33.
    5. Read Isa 33:13-16.
      1. This material is often called an "entrance liturgy," that is, the kind of qualities God expects of those who enter his presence.
      2. Compare with other such lists in Psa 15 and 24.

Continuities

  1. Think of several recent crises (the terrorist attacks on 9-11, Katrina, a local tragedy, a congregational event).
    1. How do the messages of Isaiah during the crisis of 701 inform contemporary situations?
    2. Make a list of things that Isaiah would say not to do during a crisis and things to do during a crisis.
    3. List some passages from Isaiah that might be helpful readings during a church service that comes immediately after a crisis.
  2. How does Isaiah describe God?
    1. Compare Isaiah's description of God with descriptions of God in the New Testament.
    2. How might Isaiah's descriptions of God be incorporated into worship?
  3. Discuss Isaiah's use of the word "woe."
    1. Recall speakers who are judgmental from a distance as opposed to those who critique while sharing the pain.
    2. What responses do people have to each kind of speaker?
  4. Imagine being among the crowds of Jerusalem who turned out to hear Isaiah speak.
    1. What are the reactions to Isaiah's words?
    2. What advice might Isaiah give to those who have to speak during a crisis?

Additional Study

  1. In Isa 28-33 the prophet occasionally refers to the crisis of the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem including these passages.
    1. Isa 28:11 may refer to the Assyrian generals and soldiers speaking different languages just outside the walls.
    2. Isa 28:15, 18 compares the Assyrian conquest of the Judean countryside and the siege on Jerusalem to an epidemic.
    3. Isa 29:2-3 may point to the Assyrian military equipment visible from the Jerusalem walls.
    4. Isa 29:5-8 may anticipate the way in which the siege will end, quickly and in an unmilitary fashion.
    5. Isa 30:1-7 implies that Judah has sent ambassadors and gifts to Egypt in a risky attempt to gain assistance.
    6. Isa 30:15-16 notes the military hope of using horses to defend the city, a possibility mentioned by the Assyrians in Isa 36:8-9.
    7. Isa 30:31-33 again anticipates the way in which the siege will end, quickly and in an unmilitary fashion.
    8. Isa 31:5 makes direct reference to God's protection of Jerusalem.
    9. Isa 31:8-9 again refers to the end of the siege including perhaps a veiled reference to the death of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib.
    10. Isa 32:9 makes a remarkable note about the unexpected complacency among the Jerusalem wealthy.
    11. Isa 33:7-9 describes the war-torn countryside.
    12. Isa 33:18-19 wonders what happened to the Assyrian military strategists.
  2. Here is a summary of the six "woes."
    1. Woe #1: Isa 28:1-29-Build on the firm foundation of the Lord of hosts, not the drunken leaders of Jerusalem.
      1. Isa 28:1 pronounces a woe on Jerusalem's leaders who are in the process of making the same bad decisions made by the now deposed leaders of North Israel.
      2. Instead Isaiah calls the people to rest on a "sure foundation" of trusting in God.
    2. Woe #2: Isa 29:1-14-Draw near to God for complete protection
      1. Isa 29:1 pronounces a woe on Jerusalem and announces a siege.
      2. Instead Isaiah reminds the people of the marvelous things God will do for people who not only honor him with their lips but who give him their hearts.
    3. Woe #3: Isa 29:15-29-God is the potter, the people are the clay.
      1. Isa 29:15 pronounces a woe against those who counsel the king to trust in secret plans.
      2. Instead Isaiah reminds the people of what God will do with submissive followers.
    4. Woe #4: Isa 30:1-26-Hear the instruction of the Lord.
      1. Isa 30:1 pronounces a woe on those who pursue plans that are not God's.
      2. Instead Isaiah counsels the people to follow God's plan.
    5. Woe #5: Isa 31:1-32:20-Jerusalem receives God's spirit.
      1. Isa 31:1 pronounces a woe on those who trust Egypt to save them from Assyria.
      2. Instead Isaiah urges the people to trust the Holy One of Israel.
    6. Woe #6: Isa 33:1-24-The Lord is exalted for he dwells on high.
      1. Isa 33:1 pronounces a woe on Assyria.
      2. Isaiah reminds the people that God will fight for them.
  3. The threefold division of woe #1
    1. Isa 28:7-13 is built around a nursery rhyme which appears twice (10, 13). There are a variety of ways to interpret this material. One way that reads the whole chapter in a consistent way is to understand Isaiah accusing Jerusalem's leaders of being drunk (7-8) due to their poor leadership (8) to which they protest that they understand God's will (9) which to them is as simple as a nursery rhyme (10). Since the people inside Jerusalem can hear the Assyrians speaking another language in the siege camp outside the wall (11), Isaiah predicts that they will be taken into exile (12) where God's word will be preached in a language they do not understand, making as much sense of reality as a nursery rhyme (13).
    2. 28:14-22 is built around two ways of preparing for the "overwhelming scourge" (vv 15, 18) which is the Assyrian siege.
      1. The drunk prophets and priests scoff at Isaiah (vv 14, 22) because they have a "covenant with death" (15, 18), which was based on their theology that since God's temple was in Jerusalem and since God lived in his temple, Jerusalem would never fall.
      2. Isaiah responds with a second way of dealing with the siege. He calls the people to build not on the presence of the temple, but on the sure foundation of belief in God. His plans for the Davidic house (see Isa 9:1-7; 11-9) were a more certain foundation.
    3. 28:23-29 uses a farming illustration (much like Isa 5 and 27) in which just as the farmer knows how to plant, harvest and process crops, so God knows how to lead Jerusalem. The implication is that just as harvest often involves some violent acts (beating dill with a stick, v 27), so God's plans for Jerusalem involve violent acts to discipline his people (siege of 701).
  4. Three additional issues raised in Woe #2 in Isa 29:1-14:
    1. Isaiah describes the status quo theology of the city as one based on "we are safe because this is God's city where the feast days are held" (29:1) which Isaiah compares to being drunk (9-10) and to not being able to read (11-12).
    2. Isaiah isolates the problem as the superficial nature of their faith (13).
    3. Isaiah promises that God will do wonderful and marvelous things (14) for those who dedicate their hearts to him (13) and briefly describes what marvels God will do to their enemies (5-8).
  5. Woe #3 (Isa 29:15) is against those who counsel the king to trust in secret plans.
    1. According to Isa 36:1-3, 11; 37:1-4, King Hezekiah had many advisors during the Assyrian siege. According to the Assyrian commander Hezekiah had asked Egypt for help (37:6). It appears that during the siege some advised Hezekiah to rely on Egypt while Isaiah called for reliance on God.
    2. This woe critiques those advisors who called Hezekiah to form foreign alliances as a way out of the siege.
    3. Isaiah compares the situation to a piece of pottery that tells the potter what to do (see the ax and saw that tell the carpenter what to do in Isa 10:15).
    4. Instead Isaiah counsels the people to trust in God (Isa 30:8-33).
  6. Woe #4 has three units:
    1. Isa 30:8-14 takes up God's reliability in contrast to the illusions of the false counselors.
      1. Isaiah seeks to have his words written down (v 8); much like he did in Isa 8:16, so future generations will see that God does what he said he will do.
      2. Isaiah critiques the false prophets who give bad advice and compares Jerusalem leadership to a wall about to collapse (13), a frightening image for a city under siege.
    2. Isa 30:15-17 explains Isaiah's counsel and the results of it being ignored.
      1. He calls for them to do four things (15):
        1. Return to God
        2. Rest in his salvation
        3. Be quiet in expectation
        4. Trust in God
      2. Isaiah indicates that military solutions will end in defeat (16-17).
      3. Isa 30:18-33 explains God's promises to the people.
        1. God promises grace to those who exalt him (18), calls them to listen to those who teach the law (20) and wants them to destroy their idols (22).
        2. Isa 30:23-26 outlines the results of God's grace.
        3. Isa 30:27-28 explains that God will deal with the nations.
        4. Isa 30:29-33 anticipates the rejoicing of God's people when he triumphs over their enemies.
  7. Woe #5 includes four units.
    1. Isa 31:4-9 points to God's deliverance of those who repent.
      1. God can be as powerful as a lion (4) and as attentive as a bird (5) to those who repent (6).
      2. Those who cast aside their idols (7) will be delivered from the Assyrians (8-9) and then God will defeat the Assyrians (8-9)
    2. Isa 32:1-8 describes God's coming king.
      1. Compare with Isa 9:1-6 and 11:1-6.
      2. Isaiah offers a civics course. Isaiah is in the midst of the indecision during the invasion of 701 B.C. Hezekiah has advisors that prompt him to send ambassadors to Egypt for help while Isaiah that calls him to trust God. Isaiah rehearses how God intends for the government to function. The king who does righteousness and justice will be protected by God and the people will live in integrity. Even the unwise will be drawn into the well-being of the community. Such a ruler will install the correct leaders and those with other less helpful skills and low motives will not be in seats of authority. Even in the midst of a siege, God continues his concern for the lowest members of the community.
    3. Isa 32:9-14 outlines the future.
      1. Before God's kingdom comes, there will be judgment and mourning.
      2. Those who even in the midst of siege (the complacent daughters) live in comfort will not escape God's judgment.
    4. Isa 32:15-20 tells of God's spirit at work.
      1. The spirit who made the first creation (Gen 1:2) will remake Jerusalem.
      2. God continues to imagine a community of peace (see 11:1-9).
  8. Woe 6 divides the future into four sections.
    1. Isa 33:10-12 describes the fate of the unfaithful idolaters in Jerusalem.
    2. Isa 33:13-16 addresses the fear of the survivors who in light of God's massive destruction seek to know what they must do to approach God. Isaiah summarizes it succinctly in language that reflects other such descriptions (compare with Psa 15, 24).
    3. Isa 33:17-19 assures the survivors that they will see God's king but will not see the insolent who opposed God.
    4. Isa 33:20-24 offers majestic metaphors to describe the new Jerusalem. There will be victory festivals, Jerusalem will be like a river in a dry land. Then dropping the metaphors, Jerusalem is described as a place of abundance, health and forgiveness.

Download Worksheets

Back to Isaiah 1-39

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.