The Establishment of Zion (part 1)
Introduction
Has someone ever recommended a book to you? Did it make any difference who recommended it? Did the recommendation influence your feelings toward the book? Ponder the following recommendation given the writings of Isaiah: “And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.” (
3 Nephi 23:1). This instruction was given by the Savior to the Nephites, but the commandment to “search these things diligently” forms a challenge that continues for us today. Isaiah had a wide perspective of God’s workings with His children. He understood the power and principles of the Zion society and saw their application for his day and for the future. While strengthening the spiritual of his own day, he prophesied of the establishment of Zion for those who would be called to carry it out. The first part of his writings contains many references to this great event.
The book of Isaiah is a compilation of the prophet’s writings, possibly even an abridgment of some of his work.
Chapters 1 through 39 deal with the ministry of Isaiah, and
chapters 40 through 66 with his visions and revelations of the future. Chronological order is not always adhered to; therefore each chapter should be examined carefully within its own historical context.
NOTES AND COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 1–12(part 1)
Isaiah 1:1. “The Vision of Isaiah”
Great prophetic insight to the problems of the world in which he lived and into the challenges of the future came about through the revelation (“vision”) the prophet Isaiah received. The kings, the times of these kings and their people, and the prophet Isaiah’s labor with them are discussed in
Enrichment F.
Isaiah 1:1–9. Rebellion against the Lord
“Israel’s rebellion is evidence of the highest degree of sin” (Sidney B. Sperry, The Spirit of the Old Testament, p. 175). Jehovah had nourished and brought them up as children (in Egypt and the wilderness), and now in their adulthood (in the promised land) they had turned against the Lord. Their affliction is like wounds or sores that have not healed. The totality of their rebellion is illustrated by the references to head and heart, to the whole person from foot to head. In other words, the spiritual cancer had infested the whole body of Israel. Little spiritual health was left in the nation. That was why the land would be left utterly desolate.
Isaiah 1:4. “Holy One of Israel”
This sacred title of the Savior appears about thirty times in the writings of Isaiah but only twice in Jeremiah, once in Ezekiel, and three times in Psalms. It is not used elsewhere in the Old Testament, except in
2 Kings 19:22, which is Isaiah speaking. The Book of Mormon prophets Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob used this expression thirty-nine times, only four of which are passages from Isaiah.
Isaiah 1:8. What Is a “Cottage in a Vineyard”?
When the vineyard and the cucumber crops were ready to harvest, small booths, or huts, were built in the fields so the owner or his servants could watch over the harvest and protect it from thieves or animals. These huts were generally crudely made and hastily erected. After the harvest, they were abandoned and quickly became dilapidated and forlorn relics of the harvest. Jerusalem was to be like that—once proud and useful, but now, through her own spiritual neglect, an empty and forlorn relic. (See Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 1:55–56.)
Isaiah 1:9. “Left unto Us a Very Small Remnant”
The prophetic declaration promises the preservation of the lineage of Judah for future time. Paul cited this passage in this same context (see
Romans 9:29;
Isaiah 10:22).
Isaiah 1:10–15. The Hypocrisy of Insincere Worship
These verses do not mean that the Lord rejected the law of Moses, particularly the performances and ordinances of the law. The condemnation here is of the hypocritical fulfillment of the Mosaic offerings and feasts. Israel misused these religious activities because they fulfilled only the outward requirements and did not worship with full purpose of heart, turning their worship toward the Savior. (See Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 58–59; Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:61–62). To refer to the people of Israel as Sodom and Gomorrah (
v. 10) vividly depicts how deeply the people had sunk into sin and depravity.
Isaiah 1:16–20. Call to Repentance, Promise of Forgiveness
In the midst of a scathing denunciation of the house of Israel, the Lord reminded them that they could be saved as a nation if they would truly repent. This scripture is often used to encourage individuals to repent and seek forgiveness, but it was originally given to a nation, not a person. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“This is not an individual promise, but one to a rebellious nation. No matter how many prophets the Lord sent to Israel and Judah, and how many times he pleaded with them, all through their history they were rebellious.
“Here we find a promise that if they would return to the Lord, their past sins would be forgotten, and he would again receive them as his people and bless them abundantly, and they should continue to be his covenant people.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:180.)
Nephi, however, said that he took the words of Isaiah and “did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (
1 Nephi 19:23). Certainly this beautiful promise, though originally given to Israel as a nation, can be “likened” to individuals. Elder Charles W. Penrose applied Isaiah’s promise from the Lord to all who meet certain requirements: “Now here is the pattern: Those who believe and repent must be taken down into the water and be buried from their old lives, must put off the old man with his deeds, must be buried in the likeness of Christ’s burial and raised up again in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection. Then, when they come forth from the water, if they have believed, repented, and been baptized by a man sent of God to baptize—then, ‘though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ They are cleansed, they come forth to a new birth, they are born of the water, and every time they partake of the holy sacrament they witness to God that they will continue in his ways, and walk in his paths, that they have put on Christ, and that they will remember him to keep his commandments in all things. Now when people are thus properly cleansed, and purified and made white, like unto newborn babes on entering into the world, without blemish or spot, then their tabernacles are fit to receive the Holy Ghost.” (In Journal of Discourses, 22:91.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith suggested that the washing mentioned in
verse 16 could be baptism (see Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:51). From the Book of Mormon it is known that Isaiah taught baptism at least one other time (see
1 Nephi 20:1).
Isaiah 1:19–20. A Blessing or a Curse
This same conditional promise and warning was given to the Saints of the latter days (see
D&C 64:34–35).
To be continued...
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