Isaiah

"...it will suffice here merely to sketch the outlines in order to convey the sense of the point being made. The central theme of the book relates to the nature and destiny of the people of God. While this people is, on the one hand, destroyed and corrupted (ch. 1), it is called to be a manifestation of the glory of the only God in the world (2:1-5). This calling may be summed up in the word servanthood. The book then seeks to answer the question: How can a sinful, corrupt people become the servants of God? This theme is developed in the following way: Chs. 1-6 set forth the problem (chs. 1-5, sinful yet called) and the solution (ch. 6 , a vision of the Holy One). The rest of the book works out the ramifications and the implications of this introduction. Chs. 7-39 are unified by their recurring emphasis upon trust. They demonstrate that Israel's problems stem from her tendency to trust the nations instead of God. Furthermore, they show that God alone is trustworthy, and that Israel can only become God's servant, a light to the nations, if she comes to that place of radical trust. But it is not enough for God to be shown trustworthy. True enough, that trust is the essential basis for a person or a nation to lay aside pretensions to self-sufficiency and accept the servant's role. But what will actually motivate that person or nation to do so? For example, in Judah's case, although God had demonstrated his supreme trustworthiness in delivering Jerusalem from Sennacherib, Judah would still not relinquish her trust in the nations and their idols. The result was that God would not and could not defend her from Babylon.

The Judeans had encountered the truth of chs. 7-39, but they had not acted upon it in a long-term way. Why not? The problem was motivation. What could motivate the Judeans to trust God? The answer is found in chs. 40-48 and in the kind of vision of God given to Isaiah in ch. 6. When the nation as a whole, repining in exile in Babylon, can sense not only God's inestimable greatness but also his boundless love in continuing to chose them as his own despite their sin, then they will be motivated to trust him and join Isaiah in answering "Here am I."

But before that "Here am I," between motivating vision and willing response, must come another step. Can sinful Israel become servant Israel merely be choosing to do so? No, and neither could Isaiah of the unclean lips become Isaiah the messenger through mere choice. Put another way, the question is, by what means shall Israel's servanthood be achieved? The answer, as revealed in chs. 49-55, is the Servant. Here comes the rounding out of the vision of the Messiah as initially given in chs. 9 and 11. BY means of his self-giving and by means of his ideal servanthood, Israel's sins may be forgiven and the hopes of chs. 40-52 are able to give way to the realization and celebration of chs. 54-55.

Despite the joy of the realization that God has not only chose and redeemed, however, there remains the outworking of that servanthood. Here, as was revealed to Isaiah at the close of his vision, all is not gladness and light. Rather, the realities of human inability and divine ability must find a concrete meeting point. These realities are dealt with in chs. 56-66, coming to their climax with the revelation of God's glory through his people in ch. 66."

- John N. Oswalt