Exegeting Prophets

ExegetingProphets

CourseName

ExegetingProphets

Amongthe Major Prophets in the Holy Bible is prophet Isaiah. Primarily,the Book of Isaiah is structured around the words spoken by theprophet in pursuit of delivering God`s message. As such, the prophecyis relatively God`s message to the believers and the world as awhole. Being the first book in the Major Prophet`s category, the Bookof Isaiah prophesies the birth of Jesus Christ as well as the detailsabout His future reign. In this case, the prophetic text enhanced byIsaiah is relatively significant as compared to the other prophesiesthus making the book to be one of the Major Prophetic books.Relatively, one of the prophesies enhanced by prophet Isaiah was theproclamation of the coming of a savior. The Savior shall be born of avirgin, and His name shall be Emmanuel which means guardian.

HistoricalContext

TheBook of Isaiah was comprehended during the time when immorality andpoor leadership skills were practiced. As such, the historicalbackground of this text is structured around the reigns of variouskings who independently had their achievements as well as setbacks.During this time, King Uzziah and King Jotham reigned the throne ofthe Israelites consecutively.¹As such, Judah flourished during this period following theenhancement of essential building practices that involves towers andfortifications. Moreover, the troops were in a stable conditionleading to the significant aspect of conquering numerous battles.Concurrently, after these two kings, King Ahaz took over the throne.²The reign of King Ahaz was characterized by considerable hostilitiesas well as idolatry. Starting from the King himself, the Israelitesbegan worshiping idols as Ahaz did sacrifice his son as a burntoffering. It was until the reign of King Hezekiah that the idols weredestroyed and the temple was cleansed. King Hezekiah alsoreintroduced liturgical music as well as forming allies with thepreviously defeated northern kingdom. All these historical events arebased on the historical context of the Book of Isaiah on top of beingfounded on the respective prophesies enhanced by prophet Isaiah.

LiteraryFeatures and Poetic Devices

Oneof the literary elements used in the Book of Isaiah is Chiasmus. Onthis note, the aspect of chiasmus entails the incorporation of two ormore clauses. These terms are related to each other to enhance alarger point or message in this case through reversing the lines ofthe dramatic structure. Technically, the phrases portray the invertedparallelism. The application of chiasmus is evident in the 6thchapter of the book of Isaiah in the 10th verse.³Also, the book of Isaiah induces the use of apostrophe as a literarydevice. In this case, the prophet incorporates an indirect type ofpersonification. This is achieved through addressing an inanimateobject or other people that are not in a position to respond. Forinstance, in Isaiah 44:23, the author uses apostrophe by personifyingthe heavens as well as the trees and the mountains through requestingthem to sing.⁴As for the poetic devices, the book of Isaiah involves the use ofacrostic. The acrostic is a poetic device that includes the use ofthe consecutive letters as defined by the Hebrew alphabet in thesuccessive units of the poem. Such units are either single lines orstanzas.

TheTheological Truth

Followinghis prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah imposed relevantimpacts to the whole structure of theology. As such, in the book,Isaiah prophesied the birth and life of the Son of God who was to benamed Jesus Christ. The Messiah was then to be born of a virgin, andhis life would rest on the salvation of humanity. On the aspect oftheology, such a prophecy is relatively significant since Christiansbelieve that it is through Jesus Christ that humankind is reconnectedby God. The reconnection emerges from the enhancement of numeroussinful activities that led to the existence of a rift between man andGod.⁵As such, through the sacrifice that Jesus made, of His life, theblood that was shed signifies the reconnection. Furthermore, the bookof Isaiah stipulates that one of the qualities of God is that He isforgiving and loving. Through His love for man and His forgivingtraits, God allowed His Son to die for the sins of humans so thatthere would exist a connection between man and God. Technically, thereligious importance and truth found in the Book of Isaiah rest onthe reconstruction of the relationship between God and man.

Applicationof the Prophesy

Isaiah`sprophesy relatively applies to a future time. On this note, theprophesy involving the coming of the Messiah would then come to passafter some time. This is as depicted by the Bible through thechronological order of events. In this case, the prophecy based onthe book of Isaiah is categorized under the Old Testament books.Subsequently, the prevalence of the prophesy, that is the birth andlife of the Savior, is depicted in the New Testament books. As such,God`s message through the prophet Isaiah would come to pass aftersome time and precisely long after Isaiah`s demise. This left themultitudes to relate the birth of Crist to Isaiah`s prophecy.

Applicationof the Text

TheBook of Isaiah, refer to the current church as well as the Christianleadership values at an important context. As such, in regards to thebook of Isaiah, the appropriate leadership skills are founded on theaspect of love and fairness. Most importantly, such leadership skillsrevolve around the adherence to God`s word and the enhancement ofGodly practices. On the other hand, a leader is selected by God,based on the book of Isaiah. As such, the people being led areobligated to obey to all the applicable legislations thus enhancingadequate cooperative measures. The church is also bound to thecooperation of relevant Christian doctrines as stipulated by theBible and especially the book of Isaiah. Failure to do so, there aresevere consequences to be faced.

Conclusion

Evidently,the book of Isaiah is one of the most relevant prophetic books. Thisis due to the prophecy enhanced by Isaiah of the coming Messiah whowould bear a significant impact on humankind through reconnecting manwith God. The historical context of this text is based on the reignof various kings who had their setbacks as well as achievements. Inthis case, the book depicts the practical leadership skills as wellas the enhancement of God`s will in the society. In today`s church,the book of Isaiah relatively applies based on the life and teachingof Jesus Christ that are to be adopted by each Christian.

Bibliography

Aberbach,David.&nbspImperialismand Biblical Prophecy: 750-500 BCE.Routledge, 2013.

Lods,Adolphe.&nbspTheprophets and the rise of Judaism.Routledge, 2013.

McConville,J. Gordon.&nbspExploringthe Old Testament: A guide to the prophets.Vol. 4. InterVarsity Press, 2014.

Schultz,Richard L.&nbspHowMany Isaiahs Were There and What Does It Matter?: PropheticInspiration in Recent Evangelical Scholarship.InterVarsity Press, 2012.

Stronstad,Roger.&nbspTheCharismatic Theology of St. Luke: Trajectories from the Old Testamentto Luke-Acts.Baker Books, 2012.

1^ Stronstad, Roger.&nbspThe Charismatic Theology of St. Luke: Trajectories from the Old Testament to Luke-Acts. Baker Books, 2012.

2^ Schultz, Richard L.&nbspHow Many Isaiahs Were There and What Does It Matter?: Prophetic Inspiration in Recent Evangelical Scholarship. InterVarsity Press, 2012.

3^ Aberbach, David.&nbspImperialism and Biblical Prophecy: 750-500 BCE. Routledge, 2013.

4^ Lods, Adolphe.&nbspThe prophets and the rise of Judaism. Routledge, 2013.

5^ McConville, J. Gordon.&nbspExploring the Old Testament: A guide to the prophets. Vol. 4. InterVarsity Press, 2014.