Isaiah

• THE IMMANUEL AND SUFFERING SERVANT
• FOURTH QUARTER
• DOCTRINE


  • DISCUSS THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH ABOUT THE IMMANUEL AND SUFFERING SERVANT
• MORALS


  • RESPOND TO GOD'S CALL TO HOLINESS LIKE THE PROPHET ISAIAH WHO SAID, "HERE I AM, SEND ME!"
• WORSHIP


  • CELEBRATE THE SACRAMENTS OF RECONCILIATION AND HOLY EUCHARIST FOR CONVERSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS
• IS GOD WITH US IN OUR SUFFERING?
• Life is a series of ups and downs that make us experience being fully human. Suffering is part of life. It may be necessary or unnecessary. Sometimes it is caused by people and circumstances. At other times we create our own suffering. Most often we blame others or even God for our suffering. The reality in life is that we cannot avoid suffering. It comes and goes. It brings pain, anxiety, and depression. It causes us to struggle, lose hope, and waver in our faith.
• Nonetheless, we can choose how to deal with suffering appropriately. As children of God, we can go through it with grace and meaning. Suffering can strengthen our character and faith. It can enable us to value prayer as our way of connecting with the Divine Presence. Through prayer, we can cry our hearts out to God in lamentation or complaint, in hope and in love, in total surrender to his will for our life.
• The God whom we cannot see appears to be distant or absent during our deepest sorrow. But when we let go of our suffering and let him take control of it, we can realize that there is a God who really suffers with us in silence.
• After all, he suffered and died for us. He never leaves or forsakes us. His presence becomes real to us. And when we have finally endured and overcome our suffering, we can encourage those in the same situation like us. We can be a channel of blessing to others and glorify God.
• BOOK OF ISAIAH
• Book of Major prophets

  • Isaiah
  • Jeremiah
  • Lamentations
  • Ezekiel
  • Daniel
• Books of Major prophets

  • Isaiah - 66 chapters
  • Jeremiah - 52 chapters
  • Lamentations - 5 chapters
  • Ezekiel - 48 chapters
  • Daniel - 12 chapters
• WHO IS ISAIAH?


  • Father: Amoz from Jerusalem (A city in Judah)
  • Place of residency: Judah
  • Job: Prophet, priest, and statesman
  • He lived during the reigns of the ff kings of Judah (in order) between the 7th and 8th centuries: King Uzziah, King Jotham, King Ahaz, King Hezekiah, King Manasseh
• ISAIAH'S FAMILY


  • Spouse: Unknown (Isaiah only addressed her in the book once as "prophetess")
  • Children: Shear-jashub - "a remnant will return", Maher-shalal-hash-baz - "quick to plunder, swift to spoil"
• THE CALLING OF ISAIAH

  1. Isaiah had a vision of God and his holiness at the temple after the death of King Uzziah (Isaiah 6:1-13)

  2. He wrote: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: ' Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.'

  3. Isaiah's Humility: With this vision, Isaiah was overwhelmed by God's glory and confessed his own unworthiness before the presence of a holy King.

  4. God's blessing: One of the seraphs then touched his lips with a live coal taken from the altar with a pair of tongs and cleansed him from guilt and sin. (Isaiah 6:5-7)

  5. Then the Lord said: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah responded enthusiastically: "HERE AM I; SEND ME!"

  
• Isaiah neither hesitated nor complained about being sent as a prophet in the midst of the social and political problems of the times.
• The Reign of King Ahaz


  • Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood..' (King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel)
  • But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."
  • In the 16 years of the reign of King Ahaz, Isaiah's words fell on deaf ears for the king "did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord… but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel"
• The Reign of King Hezekiah


  • Isaiah continued his prophetic mission for another 29 years during King Hezekiah' reign.
  • King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord the God of Israel. He listened to Isaiah and prayed to God to save Judah from the enemies. (Isaiah 37)
• The Reign of King Manasseh


  Isaiah died as a martyr during the reign of King Manasseh
• Book of Isaiah


  • First Isaiah: chapters 1-39
  • Second Isaiah: chapters 40-55
  • Third Isaiah: chapters 56-66
• PROTO-ISAIAH OR FIRST ISAIAH


  Isaiah prophesied during the reign of four Judean kings, probably between about 750 to 700 BC or a bit later.
• FIRST ISAIAH: PROPHECY OF THE IMMANUEL, THE MESSIAH -KING


  It contains the prophecies of Isaiah from the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

  
• SECOND ISAIAH


  He prophesied during the Babylonian exile, offering messages of comfort and hope to the exiled Israelites.
• THIRD ISAIAH


  It speaks about the return of the exiles from Babylon, addressing the community's need for spiritual renewal and social justice.