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'Covenant' In Isaiah
The first
A
24:5.
Covenant broken.
part of
B 28:15. Covenant with death.
Isaiah
Desolation
B 28:18. Covenant with death annulled.
(1 to 35)
A
33:8. Covenant broken.
Historic Interlude (36 to 39).
A
42:6; 49:8. Messiah given as Covenant.
The second
B
54:10. Covenant of My peace.
part of
C 55:3. I will make an
Isaiah
everlasting Covenant.
Restoration
A
56:4,6. Take hold of Covenant.
(40 to 66)
B
59:21. This is My Covenant.
C 61:8. I will make an
everlasting Covenant.
We have already observed that the Assyrian invasion casts its shadow
over the prophecy and occupies the central historic interlude. The
connection between this invasion and the covenant is made clear in 2 Kings
18:
'And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria ... because
they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His
covenant' (2 Kings 18:11,12).
We have sought to demonstrate something of the oneness of this great
prophecy of Isaiah, and in so doing have been led to see a little of the way
in which its glorious theme is unfolded.
(2)
The Structure of the Prophecy of Isaiah
Before we can hope to appreciate the teaching of a book of this length
(it has sixty -six chapters), it is incumbent upon us to discover its
structure. This is not an easy task, and yet our experience over the last
forty years and more compels us to attempt it, for we have so often in the
past been richly rewarded for the hours that the investigation has entailed.
Some readers may perhaps be inclined to ask 'why not accept the structure
already set out in The Companion Bible?' Our reply is that, valuable as
these structures undoubtedly are, we are under a self -imposed obligation to
live up to the title of a true Berean and 'search and see' for ourselves. In
the course of our studies we have obtained over a period of years, a few
helpful books on various parts of the Old Testament and among them one or two
commentaries on Isaiah. One of these was responsible for starting us off on
the present investigation, and although the author, the Rev. T. R. Birks,
does not carry his own suggestions to their conclusion, the hint that he
throws out with regard to the structure of Isaiah was enough to provide the
incentive and direction. The final result we present to the reader. A
detailed analysis of the sixty -six chapters of the book would obviously not
be practicable at this stage, and we must therefore ask the reader to be
satisfied with the following outline.