Prophet Isaiah who and when lived. Yeshayahu in world culture. Images, parallels, allusions. Prophecies are coming true

Isaiah (Isaiah, Heb. - Yeshayahu- “Salvation sent by (God) Yahweh”, Yeshayahu son of Amoz) - one of the great biblical prophets, comes from a noble Jewish priestly family, was born in Jerusalem around 765 BC. e. He prophesied in Hebrew. Isaiah is notable primarily for his prophecies about the Messiah.

Biography

His prophetic ministry began at the age of 20 with a vision of God on a high and exalted throne; the edges of his robe filled the whole temple, angels flew around Him and called to each other: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory."

The prophet Isaiah began prophesying in 747 BC. e., in the time of King Uzziah. The beginning of Isaiah's prophecies fell on the period of the reign of the kings of Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Isaiah's life ended as a martyr during the reign of King Manasseh of Judea, known for his violations of the Torah and persecution of the prophets.

Biblical tradition says that the Jews departed from God when idolatry spread throughout the kingdom of Judah. The ancient Jews had to withstand constant raids and attacks from the neighboring Kingdom of Israel and Syria. In order to secure the kingdom of Judah from the invasion of the Syrians, the kings of Judah entered into an alliance with the Assyrian king, imposing a burden of heavy tribute on the Jews.

Miracles

• According to legend, during the reign of Hezekiah, the Assyrian king Sennacherib attacked Judah. But through the prayer of Hezekiah, the enemy army was destroyed.
• However, Hezekiah himself fell seriously ill and was healed by God through the prayer of the prophet Isaiah.
• He returned the shadow ten steps back, giving a sign to King Hezekiah that he would recover (2 Kings 20:8-11).

Prophecies

• The famous phrase of Isaiah about the Kingdom of Heaven: “they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; the people will not lift up the sword against the people, and they will no longer learn to fight” (Is. 2:4).
• Isaiah denounces hypocrisy when a person honors God with the tongue but not with the heart (Isaiah 29:13).
• Isaiah speaks of the impossibility of replacing God with a man-made image of a deity (Isaiah 40:12-31):

• Denies the possibility of comprehending the mind of God: "His mind is unsearchable" (Is. 40:28).
• Isaiah defends the idea that every nation is worthy of the power that is over it, calling the Persian king Cyrus the Lord's anointed (Is. 45:1).
• Isaiah advocates the idea of ​​predestination. “The ancient predestinations are true” (Is. 25:1), but emphasizes that the fate of each person depends on him and is determined by his actions: “If you want and obey, you will eat the good of the earth; but if you deny and persist, the sword will devour you: for the mouth of the Lord speaks” (Isaiah 1:19).
• Damascus will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1).
• The book of the prophet Isaiah contains one of the first descriptions of the Heavenly Jerusalem - a symbol of the coming Kingdom of God - shown to Isaiah in a vision.

Messianic prophecies

In the eyes of Christians, the multiple prophecies of Isaiah about the coming Messiah are of particular value. The following prophecies are considered as prophecies about the Messiah:

• about the birth of the Messiah: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14), “for a child is born to us - a son is given to us; dominion on his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
• about the ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for the Lord hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to the captives the opening of prison” (Isaiah 61:1).

Prophecy about Egypt

"Prophecy about Egypt. - Behold, the Lord will sit on a light cloud and come to Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall shake at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in her. I will arm the Egyptians against the Egyptians; And brother will fight against brother and against each other, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. "And I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of a cruel ruler," and a fierce king will rule over them. The Lord speaks, the Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 19:1-4).

Prophecy about Israel (Jewish people)

Isaiah condemned the Jews for iniquity and prophesied to them that most of them would be rejected by God, and the believing pagan peoples of Egypt and Assyria (now Iraq) would take their place. "The Egyptians together with the Assyrians will serve the Lord" (Is. 19:23).

Part of the prophecy is seen as prophecy about the restoration of the State of Israel:

• “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your people from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the North: “Give it back”; and to the south: “do not hold back”; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, formed and organized” (Is. 43:5-7).
• “Who heard that? who saw something like this? did the country come into being on the same day? Was a people born at once, as Zion, as soon as she began to suffer in childbirth, gave birth to her sons? (Isaiah 66:8)

In Islam

Although Isaiah is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, Muslim sources refer to him as a prophet.

The book of the prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah)- part of the Bible, written by the prophet Yeshayahu. This book is number 23 in the canonical Bible.

The book covers time: ca. 778 - after 732 BC e. (the reign of the kings Uzziah and Cyrus), in connection with which its writing is dated to the period after 732 BC.

A complete manuscript (1st century BC) of the book of Isaiah and a manuscript (2nd century BC) containing the last third of the book were discovered in the caves of the Judean Desert. These manuscripts are kept in the Shrine of the Book of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Biography of Prophet Yeshayahu

According to Jewish tradition, the life of Isaiah ended as a martyr during the reign of the king of the Jews, Manasseh, known for his iniquities and persecution of the prophets.

Content and main ideas of the book

Raphael, "Yeshayahu"

Religious tradition regards the book of Isaiah as a collection of prophecies and sermons by a single author, although some biblical commentators, such as Avraham Ibn Ezra (12th century) and Yitzhak Abravanel (15th century), doubted the correctness of this view. In modern biblical studies, it is customary to divide the book into "First Isaiah" (ch. 1-39, "reproofs") and "Deutero-Isaiah" (Deutheroisaiah) (ch. 40-66, "consolations"); some also divide Deutero-Isaiah into two parts.

Isaiah develops and deepens the basic idea of ​​the prophet Amos about the primacy of morality over the cult. The future of the people of Israel depends on their ability to put into practice the ideals of justice and justice, for morality is more pleasing to God than formal worship and abundant sacrifices: “Why do I need your multitude of sacrifices? says the Lord. - I am satiated with burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle ... stop doing evil, learn to do good; seek the truth: save the oppressed; protect the orphan; intercede for the widow” (Isaiah 1:11, 16-17). From this angle, Isaiah scourged judges, courtiers, and the mighty of the world this, the rich, exploiting the poor, exposes their greed, depravity and cynicism and predicts inevitable punishment for them - their cities will be destroyed, their houses abandoned and the lands devastated (Is. 5: 8–30). The Lord will not leave even a tenth of the people of Israel mired in sin, those who remain will repent and turn to God and become the trunk of a tree from which a reborn people will grow and from where the reorganization of the world ordained by God will begin.

The Relevance of the Book of Isaiah

"Isaiah". Drawing by E. M. Lilien. Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1912)

Isaiah's activity took place during the years of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the exile of its population to the deep provinces of the Assyrian Empire. Isaiah sees this blow as a punishment sent down by God on His people for their sins. Isaiah sees in Assyria nothing more than an instrument with which the Lord carries out His providence: “O Ashur, the rod of My wrath! and the scourge in his hand is My indignation!” (Isaiah 10:5). Fearing that the fate of the northern kingdom may befall Judah as well, Isaiah warns King Khizkiyahu and his courtiers (Isaiah himself belonged to the palace aristocracy) against military adventures that could entail the wrath of a formidable empire that swallows up neighboring countries one after another and expels entire peoples from their homelands. Isaiah calls for humility before Assyria and opposes joining the anti-Assyrian coalition led by Egypt (Isaiah 18-19).

However, when in 701 BC. e. Assyrian forces led by Sancherib defeated the Egyptian troops, invaded Judea and, having devastated the country, laid siege to Jerusalem, Isaiah urged the king not to surrender the city to the enemy. The prophecy given by Isaiah in response to the request of the king is one of the most brilliant examples of prophetic literature. “This is the word that the Lord spoke about him: the virgin daughter of Zion will despise you, the virgin daughter of Zion will laugh at you, the daughter of Jerusalem will shake her head after you ... Because of your audacity against Me and because your arrogance has reached My ears, I will into your nostrils, and my bit into your mouth, and I will bring you back by the same road by which you came... Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: he will not enter this city, and he will not throw an arrow there, and he will not pour a rampart against him ... I will guard this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant” (Is. 37:22, 29, 33, 35). According to the biblical story, Isaiah's prophecy came true (II Ch. 19:35–36). Apparently, the epidemic broke out in the camp of the besiegers, and they left the country. The unexpected lifting of the siege and the return of Sancherib to Assyria is also attested in Assyrian sources. The majestic words of Isaiah about the invincibility of Jerusalem reflect the faith of all the prophets of the Kingdom of Judah: God made a covenant with David, according to which the Davidic dynasty will forever rule the people of Israel in the eternal capital - Jerusalem, the only abode of God Himself.

However, Isaiah is the first prophet for whom this idea becomes an eschatological vision that outgrows national boundaries and becomes the paradigm of messianism. Isaiah paints a picture of an ideal Jewish kingdom, headed by a descendant of David: “And the spirit of the Lord rests on it, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of advice and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety ... Then the wolf will live with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the goat; and the calf, and the young lion, and the ox will be together; and a little child shall lead them...for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:2, 6, 9). This ideal kingdom of goodness and justice, realized under the auspices of the God of Israel, who is the God of the Universe, will be realized at the "end of days", that is, as the result of a historical process during which all peoples must believe in one God and, as a result, a universal world. Isaiah, for the first time in history, put forward the idea of ​​universal peace - an ethical achievement that can only be truly appreciated against the backdrop of Isaiah's contemporary ideals of military might and the brute strength of vast empires. “And it shall come to pass after the days: the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established at the head of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations will flow to her, and say: Come, let us enter into the mountain of the Lord, into the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways; and we will walk in his paths. For the law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge the nations and reprove many peoples; And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; people will not lift swords against people, and they will no longer learn to fight” (Is. 2:2-4). Thus, the meaning and purpose of history is the implementation of the word of God and His commandments on a worldwide scale. To this day, this vision of Isaiah serves as the ideal of humanity.

Isaiah's prophecies about the invincibility of the eternal capital of Israel, Jerusalem, inspired the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces during the danger hanging over Jerusalem in the War of Independence, when the armies of six Arab countries invaded the boundaries of the revived Jewish state.

DeuteroIsaiah

DeuteroIsaiah is first and foremost a prophet of deliverance. Chapter 40 of the book of Isaiah, which opens the cycle of prophecies of Deutero-Isaiah, begins with verses foreshadowing the return of the Jewish exiles from the Babylonian captivity. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and declare to her ... that her guilt is forgiven, for she received from the hand of the Lord twice for all her sins ”(Is. 40: 1-2). Such prophecies-consolations abound in the chapters of Deutero-Isaiah, who, obviously, was one of the Jewish exiles in Babylonia during the years of conquest wars of the Persian king Cyrus, who captured Babylonia in 539 BC. e. Like Isaiah, who 200 years earlier saw in the king of Assyria the scourge of God to punish sinful Judea, Deutero-Isaiah sees in Cyrus the messenger and anointed of God (Is. 45:1), serving as an instrument of vengeance against Babylon for the destruction of Judea and called to return the exiles to their homeland and restore the glory of Jerusalem and its Temple. The God of Israel is not only the God of the universe, the creator of heaven and earth, light and darkness (Is. 45:7), but also the supreme judge of proud empires, and it was He who gave Cyrus his victory, making him an instrument for the implementation of historical justice and retribution. Living in exile among the pagan nations, the prophet sees in his contemporaries historical events direct proof of the omnipotence of the God of Israel. DeuteroIsaiah does not attack the idolaters with anger and indignation, but speaks with deadly sarcasm about those who consider as a deity "an idol that the master casts, and the smelter covers it with gold and attaches silver chains" (Is. 40:19).

The caustic and ironic satire of Deut. Isaiah (44:9-20) has become a model for imitation in the literatures of monotheistic peoples and is imitated in |apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. However, a time of great hopes and enthusiasm was followed by a time of disappointment: the aspirations of majestic revival scenes and grandiose events were replaced by reality: the return to Zion was slow, many exiles settled in a foreign land and did not intend to set off on their way to the ruins of Judea at all. The call to “prepare the way of the Lord,” the call to return, turned out to be “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3). The restoration of the Temple was accompanied by strife, the fight against the intrigues of the Samaritans, and was finally interrupted. Accordingly, the tone of the prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah changes: the place of prophecy-consolations is occupied by reproaches of sinfulness, and deliverance is increasingly colored in eschatological tones. The style is also changing, turning from enthusiastic to depressingly pessimistic. On this basis, some scholars conclude that only 9 (40-48) or 16 chapters (40-55) belong to DeuteroIsaiah, while all subsequent chapters are written by one or more of his followers.

A number of verses in Deut. Isaiah (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) are known as "The Song of the Servant of God." In these verses, the chosen one of the Lord is depicted, suffering persecution and humiliation from people, he is led to the slaughter in front of a mocking crowd; however, the suffering of the servant of God is a necessary stage of deliverance, and the day will come when the servant of God, punished for the sins of others, will be exalted and become a light for the peoples of the world. A huge exegetical literature, both religious and scientific, is devoted to the interpretation of this image. Most researchers see here an allegory of the historical fate of the Jewish people. Others believe that this is the image of a misunderstood prophet. There is also an opinion that we are talking about the righteous, who, for the sins of the whole people, were doomed to a suffering life in a foreign land, until the coming deliverance reveals to the whole world the correctness of their faith. Christian exegesis sees in the image of the servant of God a prophecy about the life and fate of Jesus.

The prophecies of DeuteroIsaiah are one of the artistic pinnacles of biblical poetry. The play on words, the widespread use of synonymy and homonymy, a clear rhythm corresponding to the content, figurative pictures of the renewed homeland, the lyrical reproduction of the awe and jubilation of the exiles in anticipation of their return, the enthusiastic elation of the style of the verses about deliverance turned the poetry of DeuteroIsaiah into an inexhaustible source of consolation and faith in the future of the Jewish people on during the two thousand years of dispersion and during the era of the national liberation movement in Eretz Israel, when many of the verses of DeuteroIsaiah were perceived as completely relevant and inspired the builders of the state.

Miracles of Yeshayahu

• According to legend, during the reign of Hezekiyahu, the Assyrian king Sennacherib attacked Judah. But through the prayer of Hezekiah, the enemy army was destroyed.
• However, Hizkiyahu himself fell seriously ill and was cured through the prayer of the prophet Isaiah.

Prophecies of Yeshayahu

• The famous phrase of Isaiah about the future society: "And the people will not raise a sword against the people and they will no longer know wars" Isaiah 2.4.
• Isaiah acts as a moral preacher and an opponent of formality in rituals. "Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool - where will you build a house for me?" (66:1). "The one who sacrifices a lamb is the same as the one who strangles a dog" (66:3). “I will look to the humble and contrite in spirit” (66:2).
• Isaiah denounces hypocrisy when a person honors God with the tongue but not with the heart (29:13)
• Isaiah denies the possibility of depicting God. "To whom will you liken God?" (40:18) and denies the possibility of comprehending God. "His mind is unsearchable" (40:28)
• Isaiah defends the idea of ​​a monarchy, calling the Persian king Cyrus the Lord's anointed (45:1).
• Isaiah advocates the idea of ​​predestination. "The decrees of old are true" (25:1)
• Isaiah condemned the Jews for iniquity and prophesied to them that the pagan nations would believe in God: "The Egyptians together with the Assyrians will serve the Lord" (19:23).
• It is Isaiah who describes the vision of the New Jerusalem - a symbol of the coming Kingdom of God.

Yeshayahu in world culture. Images, parallels, allusions

The power and elegance of the poetic style of Yeshayahu, his moral pathos and colorful style inspired many poets of the new Hebrew literature, especially Kh. N. Bialik. The description of Yeshayahu's initiation into the prophets (ch. 6) inspired Pushkin to create the image of a prophet in the poem of the same name:

Michelangelo "Yeshayahu"

Tormented by spiritual thirst, In the gloomy desert I dragged myself, - And the six-winged seraphim Appeared to me at the crossroads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And he clung to my lips And tore out my sinful tongue, Both idle-talking and crafty, And the sting of the wise snake In my frozen mouth He put it with a bloody right hand. And he cut my chest with his sword And took out my trembling heart, And put coal, blazing with fire, Into my open chest. Like a corpse, I lay in the desert, And God's voice called to me: "Arise, prophet, and see, and listen, Fulfill my will And, bypassing the seas and lands, Burn the hearts of people with a verb."

The title of Clifford Simak's famous book "All Flesh Is Grass" is a direct quote from the 40th chapter of the book of Yeshayahu, verse 6.

Notes

Links

• Book text (Hebrew)

The name Isaiah in Hebrew means "salvation of Yahweh."Jesus, the son of Sirach, in his praise of "glorious men" brings such praise to the prophet Isaiah (Sirach 48:25-26).The prophet Isaiah was the son of Amos. Blessed Augustine ("On the City of God", book XVIII, chapter 27) and Clement of Alexandria ("Stromati", book 1) believed that Isaiah's father was the prophet Amos from among the twelve. But both the origin of the prophet Amos and the depiction of his name in the original text do not allow us to consider him the father of Isaiah: “But this is not the Amos who is among the 12 minor prophets, for the pronunciation of their names is not the same (in the Jewish reading of them) and the signified they are not the same. It should be noted that some of the prophets indicate their fathers, while others do not. Perhaps the prophets, descended from ignorant parents, kept silent about their fathers” (St. Basil the Great).

Isaiah stands out among the first generation of prophetic writers. Isaiah belonged to an aristocratic family close to the court. He was born about 765 in Jerusalem and spent his entire life in that city. As young men, on the porch of the Jerusalem temple, he hears the fiery sermons of Amos, the courageous brilliant examples of divine inspiration of oratory. He is captivated by the lyrical power of his speech, the sophistication of the outline of his thoughts and the melody of the words that easily form in his mouth into a whimsical pattern. Isaiah will take a lot from Amos: he will take from him intransigence, add to it the elusive fragility of Hosea and give his style an unprecedented refinement. The Lord called him to the ministry at a young age; the time when the Assyrian Empire began to expand its borders to the west, threatening Israel, which Isaiah announced as God's warning. Most early event in his life - the call to prophecy - is described in the 6th chapter of the book of Isaiah. It happened around 740. The vision that made him a prophet (in the Jerusalem Temple) is described in the first person narrative. According to this description, Isaiah saw God and from meeting him was filled with divine glory and holiness. He began to painfully realize that God needed a messenger to the people of Israel, and although considering himself unworthy of such an honor, he offered himself to serve God: “Here I am, send me,” and was sent to proclaim the Divine word. That was not easy; he had to condemn his own people and watch the country crumble. Isaiah understood that by carrying the word God's people, will meet distrust on his way, and that he must be strong in spirit in order to resist such an attitude. God's vision became a sudden, firm, lifelong decision.

“Isaiah is a type of ardent religious genius and, at the same time, a sober, realistic political figure, who, with his word, with his influence, was decisive in the fate of Judea” (Archpriest Fr. Sergei Bulgakov). The southern kingdom in that era was smaller and weaker than Ephraim's. It faced a choice: either accept the inevitable domination of the great power of Assyria, or enter into an alliance against it. The coalition was led by the kings of Syria and Ephraim. The young king of Jerusalem, Ahaz, at first chose a reasonable path and tried to stay away from military-political conspiracies. But the leaders of the coalition decided to punish him for the adopted position of neutrality, their troops moved to Jerusalem (2 Kings 16; 2 Chr. 28). At this time, the prophet Isaiah first appeared before the king and promised him a sign from God. Ahaz must rely not on the power of arms, but on the help of God. The Lord grants salvation to the faithful. However, Ahaz showed cowardice and took a fatal step: he called on the Assyrians for help. Tiglath-Pileser III used this pretext and invaded Syria. He defeated the armies of the Syrians and occupied Galilee. As a result, Judea itself became completely dependent on Assyria. For political reasons, Ahaz began to introduce pagan customs and make sacrifices to the gods.

During these years, the main theme of Isaiah's preaching was the unfaithfulness of the people and their leaders to God. Even before the war with the Ephraim-Syria coalition, he spoke of the coming catastrophe that would befall the country in the event of betrayal of God. He wrote down his prophecies and gave the scrolls to his disciples for safekeeping. Isaiah had followers early. It was they who saved the teacher's writings for the future. Samaria fell in 722 after a long siege. According to the census of Ahab, in Samaria, not counting foreigners, there were 7,000 inhabitants. And a hundred and fifty years later, in 720, Sargon of Assyria (if you believe his inscriptions) deported 27,290 people from Samaria. However, it is not clear whether this figure refers to the captive inhabitants of one Samaria or its entire district. But one thing is known, the end of the Northern, Israeli, kingdom as an independent state came pretty quickly. The southern kingdom lasted much longer than the northern one. It also did not escape the Assyrian invasions of 732, 720 and 701, but these invasions were not as fatal for it as for Israel. The state retained its independence, and VII century was for him a time of relative stability and active construction. But the beginning of the independent existence of the kingdom was by no means calm: after the invasion of the pharaoh of the 22nd dynasty, Sheshenq I , who plundered Jerusalem and broke far to the north, was followed by a virtually constant confrontation with Israel and a chain of local wars. So, the only center of divinely revealed faith was now little Judea. The prophet Isaiah placed his hope in that "holy remnant" who would be converted and saved on the Day of the Lord. Then, at the end of the reign of Ahaz, he uttered his second messianic prophecy (9:2-7) about the birth of the Child from the line of David. In 715, Ahaz's son Hezekiah came to the throne. The pious king brought Isaiah closer to him and often used his advice. The prophet inspired him to reform the cult, which cleansed temple worship of remnants of paganism (2 Kings 18:1-8).

After the death of the Assyrian king Sargon (705), the kings subordinate to him began to prepare again for war against the empire. Egypt, the second great power, the rival of Assyria, was also interested in this. Hezekiah, despite the protests of the prophet Isaiah, joined in this dangerous game. At his court acquired big influence prince Shevna, who pushed the king to war, assuring him that the united coalition with the help of Egypt would defeat Assyria, especially since the king of Babylon Marduk-apluiddin began hostilities against it. In the end, Hezekiah agreed to lead the fight, gathering under his banner the kingdoms and principalities of Syria-Palestine. Meanwhile, the new king of Assyria, Sennacherib, was preparing for a retaliatory strike. He carried out a punitive expedition to Babylon and moved west. In 701 he occupied Judea and laid siege to Jerusalem. 2 Kings tells about this campaign briefly (18:13-16). The further narrative (18:17 - 19:37) refers to the second campaign of Sennacherib against Jerusalem (about 688). Hezekiah paid off with a huge indemnity. Part of its territory was taken away. The country plunged into mourning. Etc. Isaiah took advantage of this moment to call the people to repentance. His main accusatory speeches belong to this period (Chapter 1). Through the prayer of the prophet, the king was healed from deadly disease. Now he obeyed his mentor in everything.

Ten years later, Sennacherib decided to finally eradicate the centers of possible uprisings. He invaded Babylon (689), and the Assyrian soldiers completely destroyed the ancient capital of the East. Then came the hour of Judah. Having occupied Lachish, Sennacherib sent troops from there to besiege Jerusalem (Is. 36:2 - 37:37). This time Hezekiah was innocent in the eyes of the prophet Isaiah. The prophet sent disciples to the king to encourage him: the enemy will not enter the holy city. In vain the commander of the Assyrians "rabshak" negotiated the surrender, in vain Sennacherib boasted that he had slain all the gods and would slay Yahweh, Hezekiah held on with the courage of despair. Pharaoh tried to help Jerusalem, but his army was defeated. The only thing left was to trust in God. The prophet's prediction came true. The Assyrians suddenly lifted the siege and left Judea. In Is. 37:36 we read: “And the angel of the Lord went out and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of Assyria. And they arose in the morning, and behold, all the bodies were dead.” Flavius ​​Josephus points out that a “deadly plague” broke out in the Assyrian camp, and the Greek historian Herodotus (II, 141) believes that a horde of mice (a symbol of the plague) attacked the army of Sennacherib. To this last period of the ministry of the prophet Isaiah belongs his third messianic prophecy about the "Branch from the root of Jesse" (11:1-10). The exact date of the prophet's death is unknown. According to later legends, he survived King Hezekiah and died a martyr in the days of Manasseh, the persecutor of the prophets. The memory of St. Isaiah is celebrated by the Church on May 9th.

The legend of the martyrdom of the prophet Isaiah was already known to Christian writers of the first centuries (Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Epiphanius, Blessed Jerome). The text of the Apocrypha was first published at Oxford by Lawrence (1819) in Ethiopian. Greek and Latin translations also survive. According to most biblical scholars, the apocrypha arose in the Jewish environment of the 1st - 2nd centuries A.D. and subsequently underwent Christian treatment. It has no historical value, but gives an idea of ​​the legends that developed in antiquity around the personality of the great prophet. The apocrypha tells how, in the days of Manasseh, the royal servants seized Isaiah and tortured him, forcing him to recant the prophecies he had uttered. Because Isaiah remained firm, he was tortured and sawn in two with a wooden saw. Dying in agony, the prophet “did not cry or weep,” we read in the apocrypha, “for his mouth spoke with the Holy Spirit.”

See: Blessed Augustine of Hippo. About the City of God. – Minsk: Harvest, M.: AST, 2000.

See: Clement of Alexandria. Stromata. / Fathers and teachers of the Church of the 3rd century. Anthology. Comp. hierom. Hilarion (Alfeev). Volume 1st. - M., 1996.

Cit. By: Olesnitsky A. A. St. Petersburg, 1894, 11+224 p. / - 1 electron, disk (CD-ROM). S. 91.

Shuraki A. Daily life of people of the Bible / A. Shuraki; per. A. E. Vinnik. - M .: Young Guard, Palimpsest, 2004. S. 202 - 203.

World Encyclopedia: Mythology / Ch. ed. M. V. Adamchik; scientific ed. V. V. Adamchik. - Minsk: Modern writer, 2004. P. 363.

II. / A. Men. - M., 2000. / A. Men. - / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

Merpert N. Ya Essays on the archeology of biblical countries. / N. Ya. Merpert. - M .: Biblical and Theological Institute of the Holy Apostle Andrew, 2000. S. 285.

Merpert N. Ya Essays on the archeology of biblical countries. / N. Ya. Merpert. - M .: Biblical and Theological Institute of the Holy Apostle Andrew, 2000. S. 290.

See: Review of Prophetic Books Old Testament. / Comp. A. Herzogersky. M.: Sretensky Monastery, 1998. S. 14 - 58; Men A. Experience of the course on the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. - M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah - a prophet of holiness and messianism; Men A. O biblical prophets. / A. Men. - Riga: Christianos III, 1994, pp. 89 – 118; Men A. Isaiah. / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

See: Review of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. / Comp. A. Herzogersky. M.: Sretensky monastery, 1998. S. 14 - 58; Men A. Experience of the course on the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. - M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah - a prophet of holiness and messianism; Men A. About biblical prophets. / A. Men. - Riga: Christianos III, 1994, pp. 89 – 118; Men A. Isaiah. / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

See: Review of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. / Comp. A. Herzogersky. M.: Sretensky monastery, 1998. S. 14 - 58; Men A. Experience of the course on the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. - M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah - a prophet of holiness and messianism; Men A. About biblical prophets. / A. Men. - Riga: Christianos III, 1994, pp. 89 – 118; Men A. Isaiah. / A. Men // Symbol. –2000. – No. 43 (September).

Olesnitsky A. A.Guiding information about the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments from the works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church. St. Petersburg, 1894, 11+224 p. / Electron, text, graphic, sound Dan. and application software. (546 MB).M.: Ed. Design Bureau of MDA and the Seraphim Foundation, 2005.- 1 electron, disk (CD-ROM). S. 92.

Men A. Experience of the course on the study of the Holy Scriptures. Old Testament. T. II. / A. Men. - M., 2000. § 4. Isaiah - a prophet of holiness and messianism.; Men A. Bibliological Dictionary. T. I. / A. Men. - M .: Alexander Men Foundation, 2002. S. 79.

Spiritual educational institution"HVE Bible College"

Essay

THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH

Subject: Old Testament Prophetism

Completed by a student

3 VO courses

Tsybulenko Svetlana Stefanovna

Teacher:

Kalosha Pavel Alexandrovich (M. A.)

Minsk - 2010

The prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, was born in Jerusalem about 765 BC. The name of the prophet - jeschajehu in Hebrew means: salvation is done by the Almighty or the salvation of the Lord.

Isaiah belonged to the highest capital society and had free access to the royal house. The Prophet was married and had children, and he also had his own house. He calls his wife a prophetess (Is. 8.3). His children - sons - in their names symbolically predicted the judgment of God, which the Kingdom of Judah and Israel were to undergo (Is. 7.3; Is. 10.20; Is. 8.3.18), while the name of the prophet himself served as a symbol of salvation awaiting God's chosen ones.

Isaiah, being 20 years old, was called to his ministry in the year of the death of the Jewish king Uzziah, who reigned from 780 to 740 BC. The ministry of the prophet falls on the period of the reign of four Jewish kings: Uzziah (d. 740 BC), Jotham (750-735 BC), Ahaz (735-715 BC .) and Hezekiah (729-686 B.C.). He witnessed the invasion of the Syrian troops in alliance with the Ephraimites (Israelis) (734-732 BC - ch. 7-9); uprisings against Assyrian rule (713-711 BC - ch. 10-23); Assyrian invasion and siege of Jerusalem (705-701 BC - ch. 28-32, 36-39).

With God's help, King Uzzia managed to introduce good order in his small state. Prosperous rule led to the fact that the Kingdom of Judah became important among other states of Asia Minor, especially due to its success in wars with the Philistines, Arabs, and other peoples. The Jewish people under Uzziah lived almost as well as under Solomon, although, however, some misfortunes sometimes visited Judah at this time, such as an earthquake (Is 5.25) and although the king himself last years of his life was afflicted with a leprosy sent against him because he made claims to perform the priestly ministry. At the end of his reign, Uzziah made his son, Jotham, his co-ruler (2 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:21).

Jotham (according to 2 Kings 15.32-38 and 2 Chronicles 26.23) ruled the kingdom of Judah for 16 years - 11 years as a co-ruler of his father and more than 4 years - independently (740-736). He was a pious man and happy in his undertakings, although already under him the Syrians and Ephraimites began to plot against Judea. But the Jewish people under Jotham, by their deviations from the law of God, began to incur the wrath of God, and the prophet Isaiah began to announce to his fellow citizens about the punishment that awaited them from God (ch. 6). Obviously, the external successes achieved by Jotham not only did not contribute to the moral improvement of the people, but, on the contrary, as Moses predicted (Deut. ch. 32), inspired this people with a sense of pride and made it possible to lead a carefree and dissolute life.
The speeches of Isaiah contained in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 of his book date back to this time.

After Jotham, Ahaz came to the throne (2 Kings 16.1 and 2 Chronicles 28.1), who reigned for 10 years (736-727). In direction, he was not like his father and slid into idolatry. For this, the Lord, according to the writers of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, sent enemies against him, of which the most dangerous were the Syrians and Israelites, who formed an alliance between themselves, to which the Edomites also joined (2 Kings 16.5 et seq., 2 Chronicles 28.5 etc.). It came to the point that many Jews, subjects of Ahaz, were captured by enemies and moved to Samaria with their wives and children: only the prophet Oded persuaded the Israelites to free the Jews from captivity. In addition to the Edomites, Syrians and Israelites, the Philistines also attacked Judah during the reign of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28.18). While King Isaiah spoke the speeches contained in 7, 8, 9, 10 (vv. 1-4), 14 (vv. 28-32) and 17 ch. In these speeches, Isaiah condemned the policy of Ahaz, who turned to the Assyrian king Feglaffelassar (or Tiglath-Pileser III) for help against his enemies. He predicted that these Assyrians would finally plot to subjugate the kingdom of Judah and that only the Messiah - Immanuel would humiliate their pride and crush their strength. Referring to the internal life of the Jewish state under Ahaz, Isaiah denounced the lack of justice in the rulers of the people, and the increased licentiousness of morals among the people.

Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, (2 Kings 18.1 - 2 Kings 20.1 and 2 Chronicles 29.1 - 2 Chronicles 32.1), ruled the state of Judah for 29 years (from 727 to 698 BC). Hezekiah was a very pious and God-fearing sovereign (2 Kings 18:3,5,7) and took care of the restoration of true worship, according to the rules of Moses (2 Kings 18:4,22). Although at first he was surrounded by people who little understood the essence of the theocratic structure of the Jewish state and persuaded the king to conclude alliances with foreign sovereigns, but then, under the influence of the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah established himself in the idea that the only strong support for his state is the Almighty Himself. During Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah for advice, and the prophet consoles the king with the promise of divine help. At the time of Hezekiah, the speeches of Isaiah, contained in ch. 22, 28-33, as well as chapters 36-39, and finally, perhaps, the entire second section of the book of Isaiah (chap. 40-66). In addition, the prophecies against foreign nations in ch. 15, 16, 18-20, and perhaps in 21 (v. 11-17) and 23 ch. Toward the very end of the reign of Hezekiah are the speeches contained in ch. 13, 14, 21 (verses 1-10), 24-27, 34 and 35.

There were other peoples who had a greater influence on the life of the Jewish Israeli state in the days of Isaiah. In this regard, Assur stood in the first place. In the days of Uzziah, king of the Jews, the first king of the new dynasty, Ful, entered the Assyrian throne. This king devastated the kingdom of Israel. The powerful Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III attacked the same kingdom under Ahaz, and in the days of Hezekiah the Assyrian kingdom reached the highest degree of prosperity and King Salmonassar finally destroyed the kingdom of Israel, and his successor Sennacherib made attempts to subjugate the kingdom of Judah to himself. But already in the last years of Sennacherib, the strength of Assur began to disappear. True, Asar Gaddon managed to stifle the uprising in Babylon and subjugated Judea as well, taking her king, Manasseh, into captivity, but the days of the Assyrian monarchy, obviously, were already numbered, and around 630, Cyoksar of Media, in alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylon, took the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, and Assyria after that became the Median province.

As for the other great power of that time, Egypt, the Jews for the most part were in alliance with her and hoped for her help when they began to dream of liberation from subjection to the Assyrians, who for the most part bothered the Jewish kings by demanding tribute from them. Egypt, however, at that time was already outdated and exhausted. In those days, Egypt was weakened by internal strife. In the era of Isaiah's activity, three whole dynasties changed on the Egyptian throne - the 23rd, 24th and 25th. In their wars with Assyria over disputed Syrian possessions, the Egyptian kings of the so-called Ethiopian dynasty (from 725 to 605) were at first defeated. Then the powerful Egyptian king Tirgaka inflicted a severe defeat on Sennacherib and restored the greatness of Egypt, although not for long: the successor of Sennacherib, Asar Gaddon, entered Egypt with his troops, and then the Ethiopian dynasty was soon overthrown.

Quite an important value in the era of Isaiah was the kingdom of Syria with its main city, Damascus. This kingdom fought all the time with the kingdom of Assyria. The Assyrian kings, especially Tiglath-Pilezer III, severely punished the Syrian sovereigns, who gathered allies for themselves from among the Asia Minor states subject to the Assyrian state, but in 732 Syria was finally annexed to Assyria as its province. It is known that then there was the kingdom of the Chaldees with its capital, Babylon. This kingdom, in the era of Isaiah, was in vassal relations to Assyria and the kings of Babylon were considered only the governors of the king of Assyria. However, these kings constantly tried to restore the former independence of the Chaldean state and raised the banner of indignation against the Assyrian rule, attracting to this some other kings of Asia Minor, for example, the Jewish Hezekiah, and in the end still achieved their goal.

As for the other peoples who came into contact with the Jews in the days of Isaiah - the Tyrians, the Philistines, the Maovites, the Edomites, etc., they, due to their weakness, could not cause particularly serious harm to the Jews, but for that they provided them with little help, as allies against Assyria.

It should also be noted that in the era of Isaiah, the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were almost always at odds with each other. hostile relations and this, of course, could not but be reflected in the sad fate that first befell the kingdom of Israel, and then of Judah.

During the second half of the 8th c. BC the prophet denounced the hypocritical (1.10-15), greedy (5.18), self-indulgent (5.11), cynical (5.19) rulers, who by their depravity led the people into a state of moral decline. The prophet predicted God's judgment, which will finally decide both the fate of unworthy rulers (6:1-10) and the fate of the whole people (5:26-30). In 722 B.C. Israel was expelled from their land, and King Hezekiah barely escaped the Assyrian captivity (36:1 - 37:37). The tragic prediction of the prophet that the people of Israel with all their wealth at the time appointed by God would be taken to Babylon (39:6-7), became the basis for the further ministry of Isaiah, who was called to comfort and inspire the mourners in captivity (40:1). In a series of prophecies, both comprehensive and specific, Isaiah foretold the fall of pagan Babylon (46:1 - 47:15) and the salvation of the remnant of Israel. More than a hundred years before the reign of Cyrus, he announced that this Persian king would be God's anointed and messenger who would return the remnant of Israel to the promised land (44:26 - 45:13). Isaiah foretold the coming of a Servant-Savior greater than Cyrus. This nameless Servant will bring righteous judgment to the nations (42:1-4), establish a new covenant with the Lord (42:5-7), become a light for the Gentiles (49:1-7), take upon Himself the sins of the whole world and rise from the dead (52.13 - 53.12). The New Testament identifies the Servant-Savior with the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Lord Himself in the flesh.

The prophet urged the people of Israel, returning to their land, to remember their loyalty to the Lord; in the coming kingdom of God, the glory of the Lord will be manifested in those who are redeemed and saved by Him, and they will see the new heaven and new land (65,1-25) .

As for the spiritual appearance of the prophet, this appearance amazes us with its greatness. Isaiah is convinced that he was called to the service by the Lord Himself (ch. 6) and, by virtue of this consciousness, everywhere he reveals the most devoted obedience to the will of God and unconditional trust in the Existing One. Therefore, he is free from all influences of human fear and always puts the interests of people lower than the demands of the eternal truth of God. With great courage he condemns all his policies to Ahaz's face.
(ch. 7), sharply denounces the temporary minister Sevna (ch. 22, art. 15 et seq.), as well as other Jewish rulers, priests, prophets and the whole people (ch. 2, 3, 5, 28, etc. ). He openly and fearlessly condemns the policy of the Jewish government under King Hezekiah (ch. 30-32) and is not afraid to announce the approach of death to the king himself (ch. 38), and then to the same king who fell mortally ill, confidently foreshadows a speedy recovery. Not afraid of accusations of lack of patriotism, he predicts that Hezekiah will lead all his offspring into captivity in Babylon.
And his words, which in themselves breathed the power of persuasion, acquired more and more significance over time, because some of his prophecies were fulfilled while he continued his prophetic activity, and also because his words were accompanied by miraculous signs (chap. 38, v. 7).

The ministry of the prophet Isaiah was quite long - 60 years. Under Hezekiah's successor, King Manasseh, Isaiah suffered a martyr's death. He denounced the king and his nobles for their wickedness, for which Manasseh persecuted him. The prophet hid, according to legend, from the persecution of the king in the hollow of a large oak tree, but was discovered and, along with the oak tree, was cut with a wooden saw. Also, the martyrdom of the prophet Isaiah is mentioned in the New Testament, in the epistle to the Hebrews 11 ch. 37 art.

Bibliography

1. Nystrom E. Isaiah // bible dictionary. - St. Petersburg: Bible for everyone, 1994. - P. 503 - 517.

2. Shultz S.J. The Old Testament says. - M .: Association "Spiritual Revival", 2000. - S. 606.

3. http://www.isuspan.com/b/Commentaries/ngsb/Isa.htm.

4. http://www.reformed.org.ua/2/335/23/

See: Schulz S.J. The Old Testament says. - M., 2000. - S. 444.

See: http://www.isuspan.com/b/Commentaries/ngsb/Isa.htm

See: Nystrom E. Isaiah // Bible Dictionary. - SPb., 1994. - P.187.

As we have already said, the Old Testament prophets had a huge task to keep the Jewish people in faith in the One God and prepare the ground for faith in the coming Messiah, as a Person who, in addition to human, also has a Divine nature. The prophets had to speak about the Divinity of Christ in such a way that it would not be understood by the Jews in a pagan way, in the sense of polytheism. Therefore, the Old Testament prophets revealed the mystery of the Divinity of the Messiah gradually, as the faith in the One God was established in the Jewish people.

King David was the first to prophesy the deity of Christ. After him came a 250-year break in prophecy, and the prophet Isaiah, who lived seven centuries before the birth of Christ, began new series prophecies about Christ, in which His divinity is revealed more clearly.

Isaiah is an outstanding prophet of the Old Testament. The book he wrote contains such a large number of prophecies about Christ and about New Testament events that many call Isaiah the Old Testament Evangelist. Isaiah prophesied within Jerusalem during the reigns of the Jewish kings Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. Under Isaiah, the kingdom of Israel was defeated in 722 BC, when the Assyrian king Sargon took the Jewish people who inhabited Israel into captivity. The Kingdom of Judah lasted another 135 years after this tragedy. Etc. Isaiah ended his life as a martyr under Manasseh, being sawn up with a wooden saw. The book of the prophet Isaiah is distinguished by its graceful Hebrew and has high literary merit, which is felt even in translations of his book into different languages.

The prophet Isaiah wrote about human nature Christ, and from him we learn that Christ was to be born in a miraculous way from the Virgin: "The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the Virgin (alma) in the womb will receive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name: Emmanuel, which means: with us God" (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy was said to King Ahaz in order to assure the king that he and his house would not be destroyed by the Syrian and Israelite kings. On the contrary, the plan of his enemies will not come true, and one of the descendants of Ahaz will be the promised Messiah, who will be born miraculously from the Virgin. Since Ahaz was a descendant of King David, the present prophecy confirms the previous prophecies that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David.

In his next prophecies, Isaiah reveals new details about the miraculous Baby who will be born from the Virgin. So, in the 8th chapter, Isaiah writes that the people of God should not be afraid of the wiles of their enemies, because their plans will not come true: "Know peoples and submit: for God is with us (Immanuel)". In the next chapter, Isaiah speaks about the properties of the Baby Emmanuel "A baby is born to us - a Son is given to us; dominion is on His shoulder (shoulders), and His name will be called: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6 -7). Both the name Emmanuel and the other names given here to the Infant are, of course, not proper, but indicate the properties of His Divine nature.

Isaiah predicted the preaching of the Messiah in the northern part of St. The land, within the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, which was called Galilee: "The former time belittled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but the next will magnify the seaside way, the country beyond the Jordan, pagan Galilee. The people walking in darkness will see a great light, on those living in the country light will shine upon the shadow of death" (Isaiah 9:1-2). This prophecy is cited by the Evangelist Matthew when he describes the preaching of Jesus Christ in this part of St. A land that was especially religiously ignorant (Mt. 4:16). In Holy Scripture, light is a symbol of religious knowledge, truth.

In later prophecies, Isaiah often calls the Messiah by another name - Branch. This symbolic name confirms earlier prophecies about the miraculous and extraordinary birth of the Messiah, namely, that it will take place without the participation of a husband, just as a branch, without a seed, is born directly from the root of a plant. “And a branch will come from the root of Jesse (that was the name of the father of King David), and a branch will come from his root. And the Spirit of the Lord rests on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety” (Is. 11:1 ). Here Isaiah predicts the anointing of Christ with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, that is, with all the fullness of the grace of the Spirit, which took place on the day of His baptism in the Jordan River.

In other prophecies, Isaiah speaks of the works of Christ and His attributes, especially His mercy and meekness. The following prophecy cites the words of God the Father: “Behold, my servant, whom I hold by the hand, my chosen one, in whom my soul is well pleased. He will not break a bruised reed, nor quench a smoking flax" (Isaiah 42:1-4). These last words they speak of that great patience and condescension to human weakness, with which Christ will treat penitent and destitute people. Isaiah uttered a similar prophecy a little later, speaking on behalf of the Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to the captives the opening of the prison" (Isaiah 61:1-2). These words accurately define the purpose of the coming of the Messiah: to heal the mental illnesses of people.

In addition to mental illnesses, the Messiah had to heal physical infirmities, as Isaiah predicted: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be opened. Isaiah 35:5-6). This prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel, healed thousands of all kinds of sick, born blind and demon-possessed. By His miracles He testified to the truth of His teaching and His unity with God the Father.

According to God's plan, the salvation of people was to be carried out in the Kingdom of the Messiah. This grace-filled Kingdom of believers was sometimes likened by the prophets to a well-proportioned building (see in the appendix the prophecies about the Kingdom of the Messiah). The Messiah, being, on the one hand, the founder of the Kingdom of God, and, on the other hand, the foundation of the true faith, is called by the prophets the Stone, that is, the foundation on which the Kingdom of God is founded. We encounter such a figurative name of the Messiah in the following prophecy: "Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am laying for a foundation in Zion a stone, a tested, cornerstone, precious, firmly established: whoever believes in it will not be ashamed" (Is. 28:16). Zion was the name of the mountain (hill) on which the temple and the city of Jerusalem stood.

Remarkably, this prophecy emphasizes for the first time the importance of FAITH in the Messiah: "He who believes in Him shall not be put to shame!" In the 117th psalm, written after Isaiah, the same Stone is mentioned: "The stone, which the builders (in English - masons) rejected, has become the head of the corner (cornerstone). This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Ps. 117:22-23, see also Mt. 21:42). That is, despite the fact that the "builders" - the people standing at the helm of power - rejected this Stone, God nevertheless placed It at the foundation of a grace-filled building - the Church.

The following prophecy complements the previous prophecies, which speak of the Messiah as a Reconciler and a source of blessing not only for the Jews, but for all peoples: "Not only will You be My Servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to restore the remnants of Israel, but I I will make you a light of the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).

But no matter how great the spiritual light coming from the Messiah, Isaiah foresaw that not all Jews would see this light because of their spiritual coarsening. Here is what the prophet writes about this: “Hear with your ears, and you will not understand, and with your eyes you will look, and you will not see. they will hear with their ears, and will not understand with their hearts, and will not turn to me to heal them" (Isaiah 6:9-10). Due to their striving only for earthly well-being, not all Jews recognized in the Lord Jesus Christ their Savior, promised by the prophets. As if foreseeing the unbelief of the Jews, who lived before Isaiah, King David in one of his psalms called them with these words: "Oh, if you would now listen to His (Messiah's) voice: do not harden your hearts, as in Meribah, as in the day of temptation in wilderness" (Ps. 95:7-8). That is: when you hear the sermon of the Messiah, believe His word. Do not persist, as under Moses your ancestors in the wilderness, who tempted God and murmured against Him (see Exodus 17:1-7), "Meribah" means "reproach."