Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom in Isaiah Part 1
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) NASB 95
This series of devotions will explore the wisdom theme throughout the Book of Isaiah. Patient Isaiah’s calling by God and a description of his wife and two sons are provided in Isaiah 6-8. Isaiah 20:1-3 later describes the Lord directing Isaiah to walk naked for three years. Isaiah served God throughout the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (1:1), for over 40 years. Isaiah’s interactions with King Hezekiah are provided in 2 Kings 19-20 and Isaiah 37-39. The late David Sanford pointed out that in Isaiah’s commissioning vision, he saw the Lord Jesus in all His heavenly majesty (Isaiah 6; cf. John 12:39-41), but in his later vision Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus laboring to carry a blood-stained Roman cross up the hill to Calvary (Isaiah 52:13-52:12).
Isaiah’s book is the most quoted Old Testament book by the writers of the New Testament.
The word “wisdom” (Hebrew root חכם [chakam “to be wise”]) only occurs 6 times in Isaiah’s writings. While the word may not occur in some of the passages we study, the concepts of wisdom are clearly present, especially:
- The fear (Hebrew yir’ah) of the Lord as the beginning and first principle of wisdom (Psalm 25:14, 86:11,111:10; Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Deut. 10:12)
- The walk (Hebrew halak “to walk”) with the Lord in daily living a moral character (Gen 5:22,24, 6:9, 17:1, Deut. 5:33, 8:6, 10:12, 11:22; Joshua 22:5;I Kings 8:23; Isa 2:5, 30:21)
- The way (Hebrew derek “way”) of the Lord as the path we follow in life in life (Genesis 18:18; Deut 8:6,10;12, 11:22; Psa 18:21, 25:9, 27:11, 86:11, 119:1)
Isaiah 1 introduces the general summary of the book of Isaiah’s visions – the description of a sinful nation that has abandoned and despised their Lord (1:4) and the response of God to their wickedness (Verses 10-17). Following God’s indictment, God offers repentance and redemption:
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land …” (Is 1:18–19)
As is repeated throughout Isaiah, the refusal to return to God will result in destruction:
“But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Is 1:20)
Chapter 2 records the word of the Lord that came to Isaiah regarding the ultimate redemptive outcome for God’s people (verses 2-11) after the day of judgment (Verses 12-22). Isaiah’s focus throughout the book is the coming of the Lord and in this chapter, the wisdom theme is evident in verse 3 (the key verse at the top of this section) that describes Isaiah’s vision of the “last days”:
- The house of the Lord (the temple, the presence of God on earth) will be established in Jerusalem.
- Many people (the gentile nations) will come to be taught.
- And they will be taught the wisdom of God:
- Concerning His ways – The way of the Lord
- That we may walk in His paths – To walk (live) in the specific direction the Lord leads.
- This, of course, implies that those who come will arrive in fear (reverence) of the Lord … this is a genuine reverence that is the beginning of wisdom.
This opening section of Isaiah begins the prophet’s emphasis throughout the book on rebuking sin, judgment, redemption, and a look to the future Messiah. And he recognizes the ultimate outcome will be restoration, seeking to be taught the wisdom and the ways of God. Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. God’s will is that we apply His wisdom, so we walk in His way. More practically, we might say – we must live in God’s will and way each day. Let us pray that He will reveal His will to us as he leads us each day.