From about 780 B.C. to about 730 B.C. The great prophet Isaiah

As we have read in the previous chapters of this website, the history of Israel and Judah clearly indicates that after their splitting up in 997 B.C., the situation in both countries quickly deteriorated. In the centuries following the year 997 B.C., practically all the inhabitants of the two nations forgot the covenant they had made with JHWH. They stopped worshipping their God and began to worship idols. The people who knew the Holy Hebrew Scriptures of those days, realized that the developments would result in the collapse of the two countries.

In the course of the centuries in which the two holy nations deteriorated further and further on their way to total collapse, a number of people, who knew the Scriptures well, received messages from JHWH which they could pass on to their countrymen and which they could put on paper. It was the intention of these prophets to put the horrible developments and events in a meaningful context which explained to the people how things could have gone so wrong. But it was also their intention to tell the people what would happen now with God’s people and God’s promises.

What could now become of God’s promise uttered towards Satan, Adam, and Eve after their Fall in paradise which meant that a descendant of the sinful couple would crush the devil in the head?

What could now become of God’s promise uttered towards Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which meant that they would be the ancestors of a huge and great nation, - a nation which would turn out to be a blessing for all the people of the earth?

What could now become of God’s promise that one day he would send His people a prophet who would be greater than Moses?

How could God ever fulfill His promise to King David that he would be the founder of a royal dynasty that would exist forever?

Isaiah was one of the first great prophets who were totally aware of the terrible state the people were in and who received messages from JHWH which told him how everything would eventually be all right. JHWH also told him how He intended to realize completely His intentions with the earth and with mankind. Isaiah acted as a prophet in Jerusalem between about 780 B.C. and 730 B.C. In those days, the threat from Assyria became worse and worse and made it increasingly doubtful whether Israel and Judah would be able to continue as independent nations. At the same time, there was a strong decrease in the interest of the people in the worship of JHWH. The people had completely forgotten the covenant with JHWH and practiced idol-worship on a massive scale.

In those circumstances, Isaiah could not do much more than constantly telling the people that only JHWH could help them to cope with the Assyrian threat. If the people would continue to be unfaithful towards their God, this could only lead to annihilation and exile.

Between 780 and 730 B.C., Isaiah did everything he could, though he was constantly aware of the fact that his preaching did not have any effect. In 740, he witnessed how the northern kingdom was conquered and destroyed by Assyria and how the surviving inhabitants were carried away as exiles. He also knew that the same fate would befall to Judah.

In his preaching and in his Bible book, he emphasizes the horror of the fact that Israel and Judah have left their God and have thus caused their own destruction Aside from that, both nations are destroyed and that the inhabitants are carried away as exiles. On the other hand, he demonstrates that JHWH is an almighty God who makes all His promises come true and who always achieves what He wants to achieve:

--- a descendant of God’s people, who will appear later in time, will crush Satan in the head and completely destroy his work

--- in spite of the destruction of Israel and Judah and in spite of the fact that the inhabitants of both countries will have to go into exile, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will become a great nation – a nation through which all the inhabitants of the earth will be blessed.

--- it is certain that in the future, a prophet will arise from the midst of God’s people who will be greater than Moses and who will bring about a greater salvation for his people

--- though there will no longer be a descendant of David who sits on the throne after the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C., God will eventually fulfill the promise He made to David with regard to an everlasting dynasty. In the future, God’s eternal kingdom will always have a son of David for its king.

--- God’s intention with His creation of the earth and of man in the sense of a paradise-earth inhabited by people who have voluntarily chosen for serving JHWH and who will live on this earth forever in a state of perfect happiness…… this intention will ultimately be completely realized by God.

No matter how unfaithful the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and how frightening the military power and threat of Assyria and Babylonia may have been … all these things mean nothing if you compare them to God’s limitless power and God’s unshakable faithfulness to His promises.