Sunday School Lesson, September 8, 2002

ISAIAH

I. Intro

We have studied a couple of the Wisdom books (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes). We continue our
survey of the Old Testament by turning to the Major Prophets. There are 5 books in all: Isaiah,
Jeremiah & Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Isaiah is the first of the 5 books and it follows
the Song of Solomon. Daniel marks the end of the books of the Major Prophets, and it is
followed by the 12 Minor Prophets, beginning with Hosea.

This Sunday we study Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet of the Lord who lived around 700 years
before Jesus. Before the days of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was
poured out upon the Church, God spoke to his people though prophets and priests. God used
Isaiah to speak to the people of Israel living in Judah.1 But he also used Isaiah to prophesy about
Jesus Christ—the Lamb who would take away the sins of Jews and non-Jews. Already, 700
years before Jesus, the Lord was preparing people for Jesus’ coming.

Isaiah prophesied in the time of King Ahaz, who was one of the worst, kings in all of Israel’s
history. He worshipped other gods besides the Lord. He sacrificed his own son to an idol and
practiced witchcraft (Isaiah 8:19; 2 Kings 23:12). Imagine, if the king himself was doing these
things, the people of Israel must have gone very far from the Lord, too. God used Isaiah to warn
the Israelites that God would use the country of Babylon to destroy Israel and take the people
into captivity, far from home.

Isaiah also lived in the time of King Hezekiah. He was not like Ahaz. He listened to the prophet
Isaiah, and longed to have the one true and living God speak to him and guide him. Hezekiah
listened to the Lord’s prophet and God heard Hezekiah’s prayers and gave him victory and
blessings while he was alive.

II. Isaiah Spoke about Jesus and Salvation

While much of Isaiah talks about judgment on Israel, much of it also speaks about a day when a
descendant of King David would come and establish an everlasting kingdom. This King of
Kings would bring light and salvation to Jews and Gentiles.2 And there will be a people and
place that is completely holy, where people love and worship the Lord only and do not stray
from God like the Israelites did.

1
If the children do not already know this, the teacher may want to explain that after King Solomon’s death, the
kingdom of Israel was divided into 2 kingdoms. The northern kingdom was known as Israel, and the southern
kingdom, which included Jerusalem, was known as Judah. Israel went further from the Lord sooner than did Judah,
and so it went into exile first under Assyria. But the Babylonian empired conquered Assyrian, and eventually Judah
as well, all as a part of God’s judgment on the wickedness of Israel and Judah.
2
The teacher may want to explain “Gentiles” to the kids, or just use an understandable phrase (e.g., “people who
were not born Jewish”).
Isaiah 42:1, 6-7:
1
"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit
on him and he will bring justice to the nations. . . . 6 "I, the Lord , have called you in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a
covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free
captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

This should sound familiar. We have 2 songs from this passage. Here the Lord is talking about
Jesus. These are the things he came to do. They are symbolic of what salvation does for the
sinner. Already we see that God’s plan was to include the Gentiles in the plan of salvation.
Praise the Lord that we can experience the Messiah, too!

Isaiah 52:7
7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your
God reigns!"

This one should also be familiar; we sing a song from this passage, as well. Remember Jesus’
words to John the Baptist’s disciples when John sent them to ask if Jesus was the Messiah? He
said, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Matt. 11:5). The good news is that
Jesus has come to take away our sins, to save us from death and to give those who ask for it,
eternal life.

Isaiah 52:
14
Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured
beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness- 15 so will he sprinkle
many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told,
they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

This is a description of the suffering the Jesus would endure on the cross for us. He was beaten
terribly and bruised so badly that he didn’t even look like a person anymore. But the result was
that his blood would cover people from many nations. Even today, this month of September as
we pray for the Work in other countries we see the results of Jesus’ blood, his pain and suffering.
He did it so that we in the United States could have salvation, and even people in China and
Uzbekistan.

Isaiah 53:
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should
desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him
not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him
stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned
to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah shows us that Jesus was not attractive. He is not the man that people like to make
paintings of and call “Jesus.” Even though Jesus was only 33 when he died, he looked like he
was fifty years old. (John 8:57). Jesus was worn and tired from walking many miles to preach
and to heal. His ministry was only 3 years, but you could almost say that even before he went to
the cross he was pouring out his life for his Father’s project.

Jesus was pierced in his hands, feet and side. This was so that our sins would be nailed down
forever, so that we could have his Holy Spirit and revelation flowing to us every day.

Isaiah 53:
9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Jesus was executed on a cross in between two criminals. It was a humiliating way to die. A rich
man, Joseph of Arimathea, donated his expensive tomb to hold Jesus’ body.

Isaiah gives many more revelations of what Jesus was going to be like, how he would die, and
why. The teacher can use others if she likes.

Next week we move on to Jeremiah.