Prophets of the Bible

¶ … prophet Isaiah as he appears in the Old Testament of the Bible.

ISAIAH

Isaiah lived about 700 years before Jesus in Israel, during the reign of four different kings, and during a time of great unrest in the country. God sends him to help mend the Israelites ways, because they are facing a war with Assyria, and they have stopped worshipping God, they have become self-centered and preoccupied with their own lives, and they are sinners.

Throughout the book of Isaiah, God warns the Israelites to mend their ways, or they will face his wrath. "Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isaiah 1:18-20).

Isaiah was called to be a prophet by God in this passage: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke" (Isaiah 6:1-4).

Isaiah is a political prophet, and hoped that the rulers would take a passive approach to the violent Assyrians, who threatened to attack Israel. He often brought the words of God to the people, and warned them the Assyrians were the messengers of God, coming against Israel because of their worship of pagan gods, and their sins.

"Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River -- the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks" (Isaiah 8:6-7).

Eventually, the Israelites fall to Babylon, and Isaiah's prophecies come true. When the people return to their reverence of God, he releases them from their bondage and they return to their fulfilling way of life. The book of Isaiah shows the results of sin, and that God is merciful and forgiving.