The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 1

 

 

 

Isa 1:1 

THE vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

 

The first thing I want to do here is find out who some of these folks are, because this will indicate in part, if not entirely, why God brought the vision to Isaiah in the first place. It will also help explain the positioning of the nations or peoples named in the vision and why they are so positioned. Positioning is a very important thing…because what you receive as well as when you receive is based on it…and even…if you receive at all.

 

However, first things first.

 

1) vision

a) vision (in ecstatic state)

b) vision (in night)

c) vision, oracle, prophecy (divine communication)

d) vision (as title of book of prophecy)

 

Vision:

 

(Luk 1:22), a vivid apparition, not a dream (Luk 24:23; Act 26:19; 2Cr 12:1).

 

 

In looking up the word vision, I found several cross-references:

 

2Ch 32:32   Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

 

2Ch 32:33   So Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

 

So, we’ve found both Hezekiah, and Manasseh who killed Isaiah. I’ll get back to them.

 

However, on the subject of vision I found several things. First of all, there are several scriptures that speak of “no vision.” I can’t even imagine that. That’s really serious. Speaking as a person who gets visions…who dreams dreams, and gets oftentimes instructed through dreams…that boggles my mind.

 

Pro 29:18  Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.

 

Another version says it this way:

 

Pro 29:18   Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;

But happy is he who keeps the law.

 

I think that section on restraint is interesting and so true.

 

Jer. 14.14 and 23.16 speak of being aware of false prophets who speak not of God’s will but their own visions of their hearts and of deceit.

 

Num 12:6   Then He said,

“Hear now My words:

If there is a prophet among you,

I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision;

I speak to him in a dream.

Num 12:7   Not so with My servant Moses;

He is faithful in all My house.

Num 12:8   I speak with him face to face,

Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;

And he sees the form of the LORD.

Why then were you not afraid

To speak against My servant Moses?”

 

 

This kind of blows my mind because I’m remembering this:

 

Jhn 7:19   “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

 

Act 6:11   Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

Act 6:12   And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

Act 6:13   They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;

Act 6:14   “for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

 

This was about Stephen. People are so resistant to change, even if the status quo doesn’t benefit them in any way. They cling to ideologies that they don’t live and practice, but God help you or anyone who dares to challenge them.

 

Num 11:25   Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.

 

This was of interest because it demonstrates that the gifts can be passed to or shared with another.

 

Amoz = “strong”

 

Judah = “praised”

 

Jerusalem = “teaching of peace”

 

Jerusalem:

called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2Ch 25:28). This name is in the original in the dual form, and means “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.” The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, viz., Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the “upper” and the “lower city.” Jerusalem is a “mountain city enthroned on a mountain fastness” (Psa 68:15,16; 87:1; 125:2; 76:1,2; 122:3). It stands on the edge of one of the highest table-lands in Palestine, and is surrounded on the south-eastern, the southern, and the western sides by deep and precipitous ravines.

 

Ariel? Moriah? I already know I’m going to find a reference later to Ariel…so at least now, I know who she is. Moriah…just wondering but for Lord of the Rings fans…doesn’t that name ring a bell?