RBT – February
As a Church we read the Bible Together. We have a scheme that takes us right through the Bible in three years. Each month we start a new book and get together in Home Groups to share what we have learned.
For the Month of Fenruary we will be reading the first half of Isaiah. Below you will find an introduction and a reading guide to Isaiah prepapred by Robert Monckton one of our members. You can download the same information here.
Introduction to the Book of Isaiah
Isaiah prophesied, in Jerusalem, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah and possibly Manasseh. During this period the Assyrians were constantly threatening invasion. In fact during Hezekiah’s reign the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to them and her people were taken into exile. The Kings and political leaders of Judah tended to seek help through making alliances with the surrounding heathen nations, such as Egypt, rather than trusting in the Lord.
The prophet received his call and commission (described in chapter 6) from the Lord in the last year of Uzziah’s reign. Both the moral and spiritual state of the people were corrupt. Justice was bought and sold. The rich, while living in great luxury, oppressed the poor. When troubles came men looked to idols and the neighbouring heathen nations for deliverance. Isaiah urged a quiet trust in God alone together with a life of godliness as the path of true safety. When his counsel was followed by godly King Hezekiah in the siege of Jerusalem, the Assyrian army was destroyed and the city delivered. (Chapters 36-37). There is a Jewish tradition that Isaiah was killed by being sawn in half during the reign of the wicked King Manasseh. (Hebrews 11:37 may refer to this.)
For the purposes of our study I have divided the Book of Isaiah into three parts:-
- Chapters 1-35 Prophecies mainly concerning events which happened during Isaiah’s own time.
- Chapters 36-39 A narrative portion describing events in Hezekiah’s reign.
- Chapters 40-66 Prophecies concerning events that happened after Isaiah’s own time.
Isaiah says much about the coming judgements but he also predicts the coming of the Messiah and the establishing of the Kingdom. The last part of the book (Chapters 40-66) tells firstly how the Lord will deliver His people from the coming Babylonian captivity and secondly how He will deliver His people from spiritual captivity by the “Servant of the Lord” (the Messiah). His prediction and explanation of Christ’s substitutionary atoning death for sinners in chapter 53 must surely be the most well-known of Isaiah’s prophecies.
This month we are reading chapters 1-35 containing the prophecies from part 1 which mainly refer to events in Isaiah’s own time. (In April we will tackle parts 2 and 3.)
Outline of Isaiah 1-39
Salvation is of the Lord
| Chapters 1-5 | Judah’s departure from the Lord condemned |
| Chapters 6-12 | The Book of Immanuel, beginning with the prophet’s call and commission. Trust not in Assyria but in the Lord, who will provide salvation through His Immanuel. |
| Chapters 13-24 | Judgement on nations that are hostile to those trusting in the Lord |
| Chapters 25-26 | Hymns of trust |
| Chapters 27-35 | Trust in the Lord, not in the shadow of Egypt |
| Chapters 36-39 | Narrative account of events in Hezekiah’s reign. |
RBT Reading Plan for Isaiah part 1 Chapters 1-35 February 2021
| Date | Passage | Content |
| Mon Feb 1st | Isaiah 1:1-31 | Judah a rebellious nation |
| Tues Feb 2nd | Isaiah 2:1-22 | The mountain of the Lord |
| Wed Feb 3rd | Isaiah 3:1 – 4:6 | Judgement on Jerusalem and Judah but the Branch of the Lord glorified |
| Thurs Feb 4th | Isaiah 5 | Judgement of the Lord’s vineyard |
| Fri Feb 5th | Isaiah 6 | The Lord reveals Himself to Isaiah and commissions the prophet |
| Sat Feb 6th | Isaiah 7 | Isaiah sent to King Ahaz. The sign of Immanuel |
| Sun Feb 7th | Isaiah 8 | Assyria, God’s instrument in bringing judgement on Judah |
| Mon Feb 8th | Isaiah 9:1-7 | Unto us a child is born |
| Tues Feb 9th | Isaiah 9:8 – 10:19 | God’s anger against Judah’s arrogance and oppression |
| Wed Feb 10th | Isaiah !0:20 – 12:6 | The remnant of Israel and the Branch of Jesse |
| Thurs Feb 11th | Isaiah 13 | Prophecy concerning the judgement of Babylon |
| Fri Feb 12th | Isaiah 14 | The restored Israel taunts Babylon and prophecy against Assyria |
| Sat Feb 13th | Isaiah 15:1 – 16:14 | Prophecy against Moab |
| Sun Feb 14th | Isaiah 17 | Prophecy concerning Damascus |
| Mon Feb 15th | Isaiah 18:1 – 19:15 | Prophecies against Cush and Egypt |
| Tues Feb 16th | Isaiah 19:16 – 20:6 | Prophecies of blessing and judgement |
| Wed Feb 17th | Isaiah 21 | Prophecy about the fall of Babylon. Prophecies concerning Edom and Arabia |
| Thurs Feb 18th | Isaiah 22 | A Prophecy concerning Jerusalem |
| Fri Feb 19th | Isaiah 23 | Prophecy against Tyre and Sidon |
| Sat Feb 20th | Isaiah 24 | Prophecy concerning God’s coming devastating judgement of the whole Earth |
| Sun Feb 21st | Isaiah 25 | Praise the Lord for He will swallow up death forever |
| Mon Feb 22nd | Isaiah 26:1 -27:11 | The Lord, an everlasting rock, will preserve and then deliver His people |
| Tues Feb 23rd | Isaiah 28 | Judgement on Ephraim and Jerusalem |
| Wed Feb 24th | Isaiah 29 | The siege of Jerusalem |
| Thurs Feb 25th | Isaiah 30:1 -33 | Do not look to Egypt for help, but trust in the Lord |
| Fri Feb 26th | Isaiah 31:1 – 32:20 | Woe to those who rely on Egypt contrasted with the King who will reign in righteousness |
| Sat Feb 27th | Isaiah 33 | Calling on the gracious Lord in the day of trouble |
| Sun Feb 28th | Isaiah 34:1 -35:10 | The nations to be judged but the remnant shall be redeemed |