This week’s study on Isa 9:7 explores the government that the Child of v. 6 will establish. Each of the four names that the child carries corresponds to a different aspect of this platform, illustrating the Bible study principle, “Pay attention to repetition.”
Continue reading The Lord’s Everlasting Zeal…
The study for Feb 15 expounds the three reasons that Isaiah gives for the joy described in 9:3. Each is introduced by the conjunction “for,” at the start of verses 4, 5, and 6. The repetition of logical connectives like this is a key indicator of how the author is developing his argument, and merits careful attention.
Isaiah 7:1-8:10 is structured as a chiasm, with 7:17-25, the predicted coming of the nations against Israel, as its center and focal point. The encompassing material has three levels, organized as follows:
| Fear of the Syrian-Ephraimite Confederacy | 7:1-6 | 8:11-15 |
| Futility of Opposition to God’s People | 7:7-9 | 8:5-10 |
| Birth of a Symbolic Son | 7:10-16 | 8:1-4 |
| Center: Fulfillment of the Vineyard Prophecy from ch. 5 | 7:17-25 | |
This week’s message deals with the first (8:1-4) and second (8:5-10) of these levels as we work out way back out from the center. The first of these contains a promise of a symbolic son that balances, but does not fulfill, the Immanuel prophecy of 7:10-16, while the second, with two references to Immanuel, repeats the assurance of 7:7-9 that it is futile for the northern coalition to attack God’s people.
(This post was erroneously entered originally on 1/12/09 as a page.)
