The Warning to the Nations

Isaiah 12-35
     
   The next 27 chapters of Isaiah are considered to be the actual words of warning made by the Prophet Isaiah to his people and the surrounding nations. It is widely believed that these chapters could contain the original material from the time of this prophet, but there is also evidence that it could have been added and edited before arriving (between the 1st and 3rd century B.C.E.) at the final version we have now.
     In the time that these chapters are set,  719-702 B.C.E., Israel is no longer the glorious kingdom it used to be. Not only had it fractured into two smaller kingdoms, but the northern half was obliterated by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom of Judah was still going strong. When it came to the concept of monotheism in the world at this time, Judah was still the only game in town. The Temple of Yahweh was still standing and the Kings of Judah still remembered the God of their ancestors. However, the people of Judah followed in the ways of their pagan neighbors and worshiped foreign gods alongside of Yahweh. Isaiah was there to remind the chosen people of Yahweh their role in this ancient world. The covenant made between them was slowly unraveling and the consequences of their broken promises are explained to them by the prophet Isaiah.
    The surrounding kingdoms are also warned. Just as the old Canaanites were given warning before the Israelites came to settle so to are the contemporary kingdoms of the time. Babylon, Moab, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Tyre are the surrounding empires and upcoming players in the political and military landscape. Each has their own special warnings. Some will suffer alongside Israel at the hands of invading armies. Others will rip themselves apart from internal civil war.
    Even though chapters 1-39 are believed to be the actual original account and recorded words of the 8th century prophet Isaiah ben Amoz there seems to be some disagreement about the chapters 24-27. This section of the Book of Isaiah is referred to as "Isaiah's Apocalypse" and concerns God's judgment on the entire world in punishment for it's sin. This judgment is supposed to take place long after the outcome of the other prophecy that Isaiah gives to Jerusalem and the surrounding nations in the following chapters. Some think these chapters may have been added at a later date, but others believe it to be part of the original message of the historical prophet and are the first use of Apocalyptic language and ideas. These ideas were of great importance to certain branches of 1st century Judaism like the Essenes and are believed to have influenced other apocalyptic works such as the Book of Enoch and the New Testament's book of Revelation.
     In the end the Prophet promises the punishment for Israel and the other nations will be complete and the throne of David will be restored to a man that will lead the nation back to Yahweh. Once again the Jews will be the example of man living with God in balance and evil will no longer dwell in the holy city of Jerusalem. Chapter 34 is a special message to the people of Edom pretty much condemning them to extinction. In chapter 35 there is the promise that new life will arise from the ashes and the Glory of Yahweh will reign again. This is supposed to be the comfort for the people of Judah who are about to go through some terrible times. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, Judah is now in the sights of the ever advancing Assyrian Empire.