#Prophet Isaiah

[lionofchaeronea]

Isaiah, Master of Becerril, ca. 1525

[orthodoxadventure]

Prophet Isaiah

Commemorated on May 9

With a great voice like that of a trumpet, you proclaimed the coming of Christ to the world. You were revealed as a swiftly-writing scribe of the things to come; therefore, we acclaim you with hymns, most illustrious prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Christ, and was of royal lineage. Isaiah’s father Amos raised his son in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord. Having attained the age of maturity, the Prophet Isaiah entered into marriage with a pious prophetess (Is 8:3) and had a son Jashub (Is 8:18).

Saint Isaiah was called to prophetic service during the reign of Oziah [Uzziah], king of Judea, and he prophesied for 60 years during the reign of kings Joatham, Achaz [Ahaz], Hezekiah and Manasseh. The start of his service was marked by the following vision: he beheld the Lord God, sitting in a majestic heavenly temple upon a high throne. Six-winged Seraphim encircled Him. With two wings they covered their faces, and with two wings they covered their feet, and with two wings they flew about crying out one to another, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with His glory!” The pillars of the heavenly temple shook from their shouts, and in the temple arose the smoke of incense.

The prophet cried out in terror, “Oh, an accursed man am I, granted to behold the Lord Sabaoth, and having impure lips and living amidst an impure people!” Then was sent him one of the Seraphim, having in hand a red-hot coal, which he took with tongs from the altar of the Lord. He touched it to the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah and said, “Lo, this has touched thy lips, and will take away with thine iniquities, and will cleanse thy sins.” After this Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, directed towards him, “Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?” Isaiah answered, “Here am I, send me” (Is 6:1 ff). And the Lord sent him to the Jews to exhort them to turn from the ways of impiety and idol worship, and to offer repentance.

To those that repent and turn to the true God, the Lord promised mercy and forgiveness, but punishment and the judgment of God are appointed for the unrepentant. Then Isaiah asked the Lord, how long would the falling away of the Jewish nation from God continue. The Lord answered, “Until the cities be deserted, by reason of there being no people, and the land shall be made desolate. Just as when a tree be felled and from the stump come forth new shoots, so also from the destruction of the nation a holy remnant will remain, from which will emerge a new tribe.”

Isaiah left behind him a book of prophecy in which he denounces the Jews for their unfaithfulness to the God of their Fathers. He predicted the captivity of the Jews and their return from captivity during the time of the emperor Cyrus, the destruction and renewal of Jerusalem and of the Temple. Together with this he predicts the historical fate also of the other nations bordering the Jews. But what is most important of all for us, the Prophet Isaiah with particular clarity and detail prophesies about the coming of the Messiah, Christ the Savior. The prophet names the Messiah as God and Man, teacher of all the nations, founder of the Kingdom of peace and love.

The prophet foretells the birth of the Messiah from a Virgin, and with particular clarity he describes the Suffering of the Messiah for the sins of the world. He foresees His Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church. By his clear foretelling of Christ the Savior, the Prophet Isaiah deserves to be called an Old Testament Evangelist. To him belong the words, “He beareth our sins and is smitten for us.... He was wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions. The chastisement of our world was upon Him, and by His wounds we were healed....” (Is 53:4-5. Vide Isaiah: 7:14, 11:1, 9:6, 53:4, 60:13, etc.).

The holy Prophet Isaiah had also a gift of wonderworking. And so, when during the time of a siege of Jerusalem by enemies the besieged had become exhausted with thirst, he by his prayer drew out from beneath Mount Sion a spring of water, which was called Siloam, i.e. “sent from God.” It was to this spring afterwards that the Savior sent the man blind from birth to wash, and He restored his sight. By the prayer of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord prolonged the life of Hezekiah for 15 years.

The Prophet Isaiah died a martyr’s death. By order of the Jewish king Manasseh he was sawn through by a wood-saw. The prophet was buried not far from the Pool of Siloam. The relics of the holy Prophet Isaiah were afterwards transferred by the emperor Theodosius the Younger to Constantinople and installed in the church of Saint Laurence at Blachernae. At the present time part of the head of the Prophet Isaiah is preserved at Athos in the Hilandar monastery.

For the times and the events which occurred during the life of the Prophet Isaiah, see the 4th Book of Kings [alt. 2 Kings] (Ch 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, etc.), and likewise 2 Chr 26-32.

[Text from OCA]

Endowed with the gift of prophecy, prophet-martyr Isaiah, herald of God, you made clear to all the incarnation of Christ by proclaiming with a great voice: “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in her womb.”

[christliche-kunstwerke]

Prophet Jesaja von Fra Bartolommeo (Öl auf Leinwand)

[apenitentialprayer]

Top Left: Icon of the Prophet Isaiah Top Right: Icon of the Prophet Jeremiah Bottom: The Death of King Josiah

The person responsible for seven books of the Bible […] deliberately designed his history of the people to culminate in [King] Josiah. Josiah was not just good, and he was not just important. In the writer's picture, Josiah, in many ways, was someone to be compared to Moses himself. [... T]he Deuteronomistic historian paints Josiah in special colors - Mosaic colors. He is the culmination of that which began with Moses. His actions in his day emulate Moses' actions in his own day. He is the hope that the covenant that began with Moses will be fulfilled as never before. [...] All of the Deuteronomist's major themes —fidelity, torah, centralization, Davidic covenant— culminated in Josiah. And then Josiah died from an Egyptian arrow.

- Richard Elliot Friedman (Who Wrote the Bible?, pages 94-95, 97, 116). Bolded emphases added.

Psalm 72 gives a description of the perfect king of Israel. He would be someone who was filled with wisdom like Solomon, as well as being a great warrior who could enlarge the boundaries of Israel from sea to sea, one of David's accomplishments. He would also guarantee justice in the land, especially to the poor. [...] None of the kings of Israel would fulfill all of these expectations. Every time that the prophets spoke of a king whom they hoped would finally do the will of the LORD, they ended up being disillusioned. Thus, they began to speak about an anointed one in the future who would be unlike all the other kings of Israel.

- Rev. Jude Winkler, O.F.M. Conv.'s commentary on Psalm 72

In any case, we should still note that the years between 722 and 587 were not unceasingly bleak. These were times of powerful persons and great events, of the rise and fall of great empires. This period included times of hope and vision, especially, it appears, during Hezekiah's and Josiah's reigns. These times produced an Isaiah, a Jeremiah, and an Ezekiel. Precisely in this age of empires in conflict, of rebellions, of violence, and of cruelty, a man conceived of an era when They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks. A nation will not raise a sword against a nation, and they will not learn war anymore.

- Richard Elliot Friedman (Who Wrote the Bible?, pages 94-95, 97, 116). Bolded emphases added.

[burniture]

Drawing study of Prophet Isaiah by Marc Chagall, c.1968 (on dayglo-orange cardstock)

[xvermingirlx]

New parashat started this week - Va'etchanan.

However, I found something to think about more with this week's Haftarah.

This portion of Isaiah 40: 1-26 stuck out a lot to me, and I plan to revisit this.

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

[biblebloodhound]

The Mighty God (Isaiah 9:2-7)

For unto us a child is born...

The people walking in darkness    have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness    a light has dawned.You have enlarged the nation    and increased their joy;they rejoice before you    as people rejoice at the harvest,as warriors rejoice    when dividing the plunder.For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,    you have shatteredthe yoke that burdens them,    the bar across…

[sealofgod]

Seal of GOD by the Sealed Messenger 2000AD #VLOG

[underdoug]

God's Hand in History: Isaiah 45 and the Rise of Cyrus

God’s Hand in History. The Rise of Cyrus of Persia God’s Hand shaped the journey of Israel’s history. The rise of Cyrus of Persia puts a sharp focus on the remarkable impact on the world from God’s Hand in the history of humankind as well as the Nation of Israel. In the enigmatic landscape of biblical prophecy, few passages resonate with the clarity and precision found in Isaiah 45. Within its…

[christliche-kunstwerke]

Der Prophet Jesaja von Raffaello Sanzio Raphael (1512, Fresko)

[longfatbanana]

■ thank you JEHOVAH RAH the GREAT SHEPHERD ■

[twobrothersatwork]

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel."

Prophecy of Isaias (Isaiah) 7:14 Douay-Rheims Bible.

Artwork: Nöel Hallé (French, 1711-1781), St. Anne Revealing to the Virgin the Prophecy of Isaiah (circa 1749).

[joshagaba]

Woe Be Me

Woe be me,For my soul’s unnerving lament,Love unmet, my heart is rent.I’ve cherished what’s beyond my grasp,A love that in my hands won’t clasp. Oh, lament!For I reside amidstThose whose words are tarnished, unjust.Unclean lips that speak in vain,Yet in their midst, I must remain. Should I, who yearns for sacred light,Accept this plight, embrace the night?My heart longs for His brilliance…

[dwuerch-blog]

Good Friday -- His Words Were Few

That sounds almost impossible in an age when it’s all talk, talk, talk, giving opinions, and complaining about this and that. Passionate defenders of their opinions shout: “Speak up if you want your voice heard!” The prophet Isaiah gave us inside information about what this day would look like 700 years before Jesus’ birth. “He was as a sheep before the shearers Who opened not His mouth.”…