THE FRIST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From the Captivity to the Return
Message Two—Isaiah (1)
Scripture Reading: Isa. 1:2, 4; 4:2; 6:1; 9:1-5; 12:2-3; 16:5; 55:1
I. The subject of the book of Isaiah is the salvation of Jehovah through the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, ascended, and coming Christ; this is full salvation, entire salvation:
A. The book of Isaiah, which has sixty-six chapters, is a representative of the entire Bible, which has sixty-six books—cf. Isa. 1:1; 2:1; 13:1; 15:1:
1. The first section (Isa. 1—39) concerns God’s governmental dealing with His beloved Israel and His punishing judgment on the nations so that Israel may be brought back to God and the all-inclusive Christ may be ushered in with the expected restoration of all things—11:6-9; 35:5-6; cf. Matt. 19:28; 10:1; Rom. 8:19-23.
2. The last section (Isa. 40—66) is the kind word of Jehovah spoken to the heart of Israel, His beloved people; this word unveils the prophet’s vision concerning the redeeming and saving Christ as the Servant of Jehovah and reveals the all-inclusive salvation brought in by Christ to Israel and the nations, with the full restoration of all things, consummating in the new heaven and new earth—Isa. 40—66.
B. The book of Isaiah may be considered as the “fifth gospel,” the gospel of God’s eternal economy with Christ as its centrality and universality.
II. The Revelation of the Lord Jehovah, the Eternal God—Isa. 1:2, 4; 25:8:
A. Jehovah means “I am who I am,” indicating that Jehovah is the self-existing and ever-existing eternal One, the One who was in the past, who is in the present, and who will be in the future forever—Exo. 3:14; Rev. 1:4.
B. The Lord Jehovah is the eternal God, indicates that the Lord Jehovah is the mysterious Mighty One in eternity—Isa. 40:28.
C. The Lord Jehovah is the only God—the majestic, exalted One, who inhabits eternity—44:6, 8, 24.
D. The Lord Jehovah is triune—the threefold yet one unique God—Matt. 28:19.
E. The Lord Jehovah is a God who hides Himself whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us—45:15.
F. As the I Am, He is the all-inclusive One, the reality of every positive thing and of whatever His people need—John 6:35; 8:12; 10:14; 11:25; 14:6:
1. The Lord Jehovah is our Husband, God’s chosen people as the wife—Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Hosea 2:16, 19.
2. The Lord Jehovah is our salvation, Christ is the God of our salvation—Isa. 12:2-3.
3. The Lord Jehovah has become the divine water for us to drink and enjoy—Isa. 55:1.
III. In 4:2 there is a pair of aspects of Christ—the Shoot of Jehovah and the Fruit of the earth—Isa. 4:2:
A. The Shoot of Jehovah refers to Christ’s deity, showing His divine nature—Isa. 4:2; John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5:
1. The Shoot of Jehovah typifies not only Christ’s divinity but also the sprouting and development of Christ’s divinity through the incarnation of God—John 1:1, 14; Heb. 1:1-3; 2:14.
2. In His incarnation Christ came from eternity into time; from ancient times, from the days of eternity, the Triune God was preparing to come forth out of eternity into time, to come with His divinity into humanity—Micah 5:2.
B. The Fruit of the earth refers to Christ’s humanity with His human nature—Isa. 4:2b; Luke 1:42:
1. Christ as the Fruit of the earth is for the multiplication and reproduction of the divine life in humanity—John 12:24:
a. God in Himself, in His divinity, has no way to be multiplied.
b. For His multiplication and reproduction, He needs humanity; humanity is the soil, the earth, for the Triune God to be multiplied and reproduced—20:17; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10.
2. As the Fruit of the earth, Christ, in His humanity, which expresses His divine beauty and glory, will be the excellence and splendor of God’s chosen people in the day of restoration—Isa. 4:2b:
a. Even today in the age of grace, we should live a life that expresses Christ’s beauty and glory in a divine way and that expresses Christ’s excellence and splendor in a human way—1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:11, 20.
b. A proper Christian is both divine and human, having the divine beauty and glory of Jesus and the human excellence and splendor of Jesus—vv. 8-9; 1 Pet. 2:12.
IV. “I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple”—Isa. 6:1:
A. The One who was seen by Isaiah was Christ as the Lord, the King, Jehovah of hosts—v. 5b.
B. The vision of Christ in glory was seen by Isaiah in his depression—Isa. 6:1, 5; cf. 22:1; 2 Chron. 26:3-5, 16-22:
1. On this earth everything changes and fluctuates, but Christ remains the same today and forever; hence, we should not look down at the situation on earth but should look up to Christ on the throne—Heb. 12:2; 13:8.
2. In order to see the vision of the glorious enthroned Christ, we need to take heed to Isaiah’s warning word (Isa. 6:9-10) by exercising our spirit to pray that the Lord would open our inner eyes, soften our heart, and keep our heart turned to Him so that we may receive His inner healing of our blindness and sickness —John 12:38-40; Matt. 13:14-17; Acts 28:25-27; Rev. 3:18; 4:2; 2 Cor. 3:16-18.
V. Regarding God’s economy, the intrinsic connection between the books of history in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament is in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6; these verses indicate that God would put humanity upon Himself, thereby mingling divinity with humanity—John 1:14; Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20:
A. In Isaiah 7:14 we have the sign of Christ’s incarnation—Isa. 7:
1. Isaiah prophesied that the very God of Israel would become a human child born of a virgin and that His name would be called Immanuel—v. 14.
2. The actual fulfillment of this sign was the birth of a son by Isaiah’s wife; the ultimate fulfillment was the incarnation, in which Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary as a child of a dual nature, the divine nature and the human nature, issuing in Immanuel, “God with us”—Isa. 8:3; Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:35.
3. The practical Immanuel, the presence of the Triune God, is the Spirit of reality—John 1:14; 14:16-20; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
B. In Isaiah 9:6-7 we have the unveiling of Christ as the wonderful One—Isa. 9:6-7:
1. This wonderful Son was born of the human source and given from the divine source; He is both human and divine—John 3:16; Gal. 4:4.
2. Christ is the Wonderful Counselor; our Counselor is the Mighty God, who gives us counsel and is the power and strength to carry out this counsel—Isa. 9:6.
VI. Christ is the great light for shining in darkness and for release from bondage—Isa. 9:1-5:
A. Christ is the great light with the power to attract people and capture them—Matt. 4:17-22:
1. Christ saves us by shining on us; His shining upon us as the great light is our salvation—Acts 9:3; 22:6; 26:13:
a. God has called us out of darkness—the expression and sphere of Satan in death—into His marvelous light—the expression and sphere of God in life—1 Pet. 2:9.
b. We were once darkness, but we are now light in the Lord, and we should walk as children of light—Eph. 5:8-9.
c. “Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah”—Isa. 2:5.
VII. We need to enjoy Christ as the sprout and the branch to grow in Christ and to propagate Christ in the principle of the restoration of life for a new revival—Isa. 11:1-9; Heb. 6:5:
A. Christ’s coming in incarnation as the sprout from the stump of Jesse was the revival of David’s deprived and “hewn down” royal family—Ruth 4:17b; cf. Isa. 10:32-34.
B. A sprout from the stump of Jesse indicates the restoring power of life in freshness—Isa. 11:1a; 7:14; 9:6; Exo. 13:4; Acts 3:19-21; Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; 5:26; 2 Cor. 4:16.
C. A branch from the roots of Jesse indicates the hidden deepening power of life with growing power and fruit-bearing power—Isa. 11:1b; cf. Phil. 4:12-13; Col. 1:9-11; 2:7; Matt. 6:6; Psa. 91:1; Luke 8:11-15; John 15:5; Jer. 17:8.
D. As the sprout from the stump of Jesse and the branch from the roots of Jesse, Christ carries out the administration of Jehovah—Isa. 11:3-5.
E. The administration of Jehovah brings in the restoration of life, where all have their nature changed through Christ as the indwelling, sevenfold intensified Spirit of life in His restoring, deepening, growing, and fruit-bearing power.
VIII. “Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing / From the springs of salvation”—Isa. 12:3:
A. God’s intention in His economy is to be the fountain, the source, of living waters for His chosen people’s satisfaction and enjoyment.
B. To receive the Lord as our salvation is to draw water from the springs of salvation; when this water enters into us, it permeates our entire being, it passes through our being, it is assimilated by us, and it even becomes us—Isa. 12:3; John 4:10, 14b.
C. The more we drink of God as the fountain of living waters, the more He is one with us and the more we are one with Him and constituted with Him in His life and nature—Isa. 6:17.
IX. It is crucial for us to see a vision concerning the all-inclusiveness of Christ, especially as He is revealed in Isaiah—4:2-6; 6:1-8; 7:14; 9:1-7; 12:2-3:
A. God’s intention in His economy is to work a wonderful person into our being; this person is the all-inclusive Christ, the One who is the reality of every positive thing in the universe—Eph. 3:17a; Gal. 4:19; Col. 2:16-17.
B. In Isaiah everything is “fired,” discharged by God, and then the discharging God comes in to replace everything with Christ—Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Col. 2:16-17; 3:10-11.
C. In these days we need to pay our full attention to the all-inclusive Christ, who is the centrality and universality of the great wheel of the move of the Divine Trinity for the divine dispensing of Himself into His elect—Col. 2:16-17:
1. We need to be infused, saturated, and permeated with the all-inclusive Christ until in our experience He is everything to us—Col. 2:16-17; 3:10-11.
2. The all-inclusive Christ is in us, but we need to see Him, know Him, be filled with Him, and become absolutely one with Him—1:27; 3:4.
X. Christ is a foundation, a tested stone, and a precious cornerstone for God’s building—Isa. 28:16; 1 Pet. 2:6-7:
A. On Christ as the unique foundation, God’s building is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, and we are being built into a dwelling place of God in spirit—Matt. 16:16-18; 1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:21-22.
B. Christ is the tested stone; from the time that He became a man, He was tested every day of His earthly life, and He had no failure—John 19:4-5; Heb. 4:15-16; cf. 2 Cor. 6:1; Phil. 4:11-13.
C. Christ as the cornerstone is the unique salvation to sinners, and it is in His unique name under heaven, a name despised and rejected by the Jewish leaders but honored and exalted by God, that sinners must be saved not only from sin but also to participate in God’s building—Acts 4:10-12; Phil. 2:9-11; Matt. 1:21; 21:42.
XI. The all-inclusive Christ is the King reigning in the tent of David—the kingdom of David, the Messianic kingdom—in the coming age during the restoration of Israel—Isa. 16:5; 24:23:
A. In the Old Testament, when the tent of David was set up and David’s kingdom was fully established, that was a great consolation and joy to the Israelites; in the coming age, when Christ reigns in the tent of David, that will be a greater consolation to Israel—1 Chron. 11:1-3; 12:38-40; 2 Sam. 8:15; Acts 15:16-18.
B. The Lord Jesus will have the house of Jacob—the nation of Israel—as the center of His reign, through which He will rule over the entire world as His kingdom, first in the millennium and then in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—Luke 1:32-33; Acts 1:6; Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6; 22:3, 5.
C. As our King, Christ reigns not only in our hearts but also in the tent of David:
1. As the King reigning in the tent of David, the Lord Jesus rules over us by feeding us with Himself as the all-inclusive bread—John 6:15, 27, 35; Matt. 15:26-27, 32-37.
2. The more we eat Christ as the all-inclusive bread, the more the royal ingredients are constituted into us to become the ruling element within us and to cause us to become the kingdom as the increase of Christ in His administration; this will prepare the way for Christ to come again as the real David to reign in the tent of David in the coming age, the age of restoration—Dan. 2:34, 35b, 44-45; Isa. 16:5; Amos 9:11-12.
XII. God’s loving chastisement on His beloved Israel and His righteous judgment on the nations, in order that His elect might turn to Him so that the created things might be restored and the all-inclusive Christ might be brought in; at this point, everyone and everything have been discharged by God, and Christ, the only One who is qualified, has come—Isa. 1:4; 22:25; 24:16a; John 12:31; 16:11; Heb. 12:10.
Ministry Excerpts:
THE CENTRAL THOUGHT OF ISAIAH
The central thought of Isaiah is: Christ is God incarnated in humanity to be the Savior of man, that all the God-created universe, which is fallen, might be restored and consummate in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. This book, like the New Testament, covers from beginning to end all the things God has ordained according to His economy. The beginning is the incarnation, and the end is the new heaven and new earth. The New Testament begins with Christ’s incarnation and birth and ends with the new heaven and new earth. Since Isaiah covers the same matters, we see once again that the book of Isaiah is the representative of the entire Bible, especially of the New Testament. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 1)
THE USHERING IN OF THE GOD-MAN, CHRIST,
ISSUING IN THE RESTORATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
The Shoot of Jehovah denotes that Christ is a new development of Jehovah God for the Triune God to branch out Himself in His divinity into humanity. This is for Jehovah God’s increase and spread in the universe. The Fruit of the earth denotes that Christ, as the divine Shoot of Jehovah, also becomes a man of flesh from the earth. This is for the Triune God to be multiplied and reproduced in humanity. As a man with the divine life, He is a seed, a grain of wheat, to produce many grains through His death and resurrection (John 12:24).
Such a God-man, Christ as the Shoot of Jehovah and the Fruit of the earth, is ushered in by God’s judgment. In particular, He is ushered in by war, which is used by God to judge the nations. The more war there is, the more Christ will be ushered in. Many believers can testify that they were saved during a time of war. Out of the Christ who is ushered in by judgment issues the restoration of the nation of Israel. Therefore, God’s judgment eventually results in Christ, the God-man, with restoration. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 4)
IN SPITE OF THE REBELLION, INIQUITIES,
AND CORRUPTIONS OF ISRAEL,
CHRIST STILL SITTING ON A HIGH AND LOFTY THRONE IN GLORY
When Isaiah looked at the situation among the children of Israel, he became very disappointed. For this reason, in the first five chapters of his prophecy, he had very little to say that was good about the children of Israel. It was at this point that the Lord brought him into a vision so that he could see the Lord of glory sitting on the throne (v. 1). The Lord seemed to say to Isaiah, “Don’t look down at the situation. If you look down, you will be disappointed. Look up at Me. I am still here. There may be nothing good there, but everything is good here. I am the unique good thing in the universe. Look at Me.”
At the beginning of your church life, you might have experienced a church “honeymoon.” But after a period of time, what was so sweet to you might have become bitter like vinegar. Then instead of a honeymoon you have a “vinegar moon.” In your disappointment with the church life, you may think that it would be better if you moved to another locality. However, I can assure you that you cannot find a church that experiences a continual honeymoon. In every church there is some vinegar. Therefore, in the church life, we need to learn not to look down at the situation but to look up to Christ. We should not look at anything or anyone other than Christ. The Christ whom we look up to is no longer on the cross; today Christ is on the throne. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 6)
SEEING THE RICH CHRIST IN ISAIAH
The Christ revealed in the book of Isaiah is exceedingly rich. We need to see this rich Christ and know Him as the Shoot of Jehovah, the Fruit of the earth, the canopy, and the tabernacle. Perhaps you have been a Christian for many years, but before now you had not seen Christ in these items of what He is to us. Had you ever seen that Christ, the God-man, is the Shoot of Jehovah in His divinity and the Fruit of the earth in His humanity? Had you ever heard that Christ is the canopy that covers all God’s interests on the earth and a tabernacle that overshadows God’s people from everything that could bother them? Christians know that because God loved the world He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16), but few, if any, see Christ and know Christ as He is revealed in Isaiah. Therefore, I urge you to spend your time, ability, and energy to study this book in order to see and know the wonderful Christ revealed in it. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 5)
A TWIG COMING FORTH FROM THE STEM OF JESSE,
AND A BRANCH FROM HIS ROOTS BEARING FRUIT
In the restoration, the coming Christ will be a twig that comes forth from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his roots (v. 1). Israel, especially the house of David, was like a tall tree. However, because of Israel’s degradation, that tree was cut down to the very root. This was the situation with the descendants of David. Both Mary and her engaged husband, Joseph, were descendants of David’s sons. They were part of the royal family, but they had become poor and were people of a low class, living in Nazareth, a despised city, in Galilee, a despised region. This shows that the house of David had been cut down to the root.
One day, a twig came forth from the remaining part. Christ as a twig came forth from the stem, the stump, above the earth, signifying that restoration is by life and of life. Also, Christ as a branch came forth from the root underneath the earth, signifying the depths of the restoring life, to branch out God and bear much fruit.
The branch and the twig are one. In His birth Christ was a twig. As He grew up, He was a branch. Because of His branching out, the whole world is filled with the fruit of this branch. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 11)
HE IS THE GREAT LIGHT—THE TRUE LIGHT, THE LIGHT OF LIFE
Christ is the great light—the true light, the light of life (Matt. 4:12-16; John 1:9, 4). Isaiah 9:1-5, referred to in Matthew 4, unveils Christ as the great light. Then verse 6 shows that He was a child born of a human virgin and a son given by the Eternal Father. Christ as the great light shines in darkness. When we have light, everything is in order. If I awake late at night, I dare not go into the kitchen if there is no light there. We cannot see in the darkness, and we do not know what lurks in the darkness. When we see everything, we have peace.
Darkness cannot overcome light. Wherever light goes, darkness flees. Light subdues, defeats, and overcomes darkness. A brother may be quarreling with his wife, but when the light shines within him, he stops quarreling. He exchanged words with his wife because he was in darkness. But when the light shines, darkness is gone, and he stops quarreling. When darkness is present, everything is in disorder. But when light is present, everything is in order, and everyone is at peace. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 37)
DRAWING WATER WITH REJOICING FROM THE SPRINGS OF SALVATION
And you will say in that day,/Praise Jehovah; call upon His name!” To receive the Lord as our salvation is to draw water from the springs of salvation. As our salvation the Lord is water to us. This is emphasized strongly in the New Testament, especially in John 4 and 7. In John 4:14 the Lord Jesus says, “The water that I shall give him shall become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life.” In John 7 this spring becomes rivers of living water (vv. 37-39). This indicates that for the Lord to be our salvation means that He is living water.
Even in the Old Testament time, Isaiah revealed to us that the way to take the Lord as our salvation is to call on His name with rejoicing and praising. Calling on His name is like deep breathing. If we call, “O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!” we will be refreshed and revived, and we will become very living. In order to enjoy salvation, we need to realize that the Lord Himself is our salvation, strength, and song and that by calling on His name we may draw water with rejoicing out of the springs of salvation. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 11)
A STONE AS A FOUNDATION, A TESTED STONE,
AND A PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE
According to Isaiah 28:16, he who believes in this tried and trustworthy stone “will not hasten away.” The King James Version renders this portion as “shall not make haste.” Darby says in a note that this can be translated as “shall not hasten with fear.” This can also mean “will not hurry in panic.” Christ is a trustworthy stone, and we believe in Him. Whatever happens to us, we do not need to be in haste or in panic. We can be at peace. The worldly people, even including Christians who do not trust the Lord so much, are always in haste, in panic, whenever something happens to them. In their haste they do not know what they should do.
This stone is also a precious cornerstone for the joint of God’s building. Whereas the foundation stone holds the entire building, the cornerstone joins two parts of the building. The New Testament tells us, based upon Psalm 118:22-24, that Christ is the chief cornerstone (Rom. 9:33; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11-12; Eph. 2:20). According to the New Testament, Christ as the cornerstone joins together the two walls, one of the Jewish believers and the other of the Gentile believers. Because Christ took the lead to join together the Jews and the Gentiles, He is the first cornerstone. Even today we are not only held by Him as our foundation stone but also joined together by Him as our cornerstone. I am joined to you, and you are joined to me. We are joined together by Christ. Without Him, we are separate and detached. Today’s Christianity is lacking in the experience of Christ as the joining cornerstone. We need to experience Christ as the tested, trustworthy stone to be the firmly established foundation holding us and the cornerstone joining us together. This issues in God’s building, the Body of Christ.
This item of Christ has been fulfilled as a foretaste in today’s age of grace. When Paul spoke of the righteousness of faith in Romans 9, he quoted Isaiah 28:16 by saying that whoever believes on this stone, Christ, will not be put to shame (v. 33). We can experience Christ as the stone today. He is our cornerstone, our foundation stone, our tested stone. In Him we trust. The complete fulfillment of Christ as the stone will be in the next age, the age of restoration. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 43)
THE KING REIGNING IN THE TENT OF DAVID
According to Isaiah 16:5, the all-inclusive Christ is the King reigning in the tent of David. We may wonder what this aspect of Christ has to do with us since Christ will reign as a king in the tent of David in the coming age during the restoration of the nation of Israel. We need to realize, however, that we can also enjoy Christ as the reigning One in the tent of David in the age of grace.
Today we have to realize that Christ is our King. He reigns not only in our hearts but also in the tent of David. In the Old Testament, when the tent of David was set up, when David’s kingdom was fully established, that was a great consolation and joy to the Israelites. In the coming age, when Christ reigns in the tent of David, that will be a greater consolation to Israel. Christ reigning in the tent of David signifies consolation, encouragement, and restoration. Today we are enjoying Christ as the King ruling not only in our heart but also in the tent of David. (Life-study of Isaiah, msg. 41)