RENEW: Why RENEW?

This series is all about stretching us! We are asking that God would do a new thing in us (Is.43:19), moving us to share our faith with those who have great need for Jesus in their lives today, and forgiveness of sins for eternal life to come. We’ve already considered sharing our faith and the role of Missions, next we’ll consider Ministry Partnerships (5/20), Proclamation (5/27), and sharing our faith with those we know, (friendships, work relationships, family, etc), (6/3). Throughout the series we’ll also consider a few different methods or tools, (the Romans Road, the Bridge to Life), to share the Gospel message of new life in Christ. May this series challenge and grow you, as well as lead others to faith in Jesus! 


God Restoring the World: Extra Innings

This final section of Isaiah’s first 39 chapters serves as a transition to the latter third of the book. As previously noted, Isaiah mirrors the structure of the Bible, of which it is a part. The first 39 chapters, focus mainly on judgment, mirroring the larger Old Testament of the Bible, containing the same theme. While the latter 27 chapters of Isaiah are consumed primarily with the comfort and restoration of God’s people (the world), in much the same way that the 27 chapters of the New Testament cover the same general themes. This of course culminates in the redemptive work of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, (See 1 Corinthians 15:1–3), which in a cyclical way, fulfills all to which Isaiah points, alludes, foreshadows, and prophecies.

Here in this last section we see the move from the immediate Assyrian threat, to the eventual threat of the Babylonian empire- to which Judah will be exiled in a little more than 100 years after Isaiah’s writing.

Contained herein are the intimate prayers of a good king, who finishes poorly, and an opportunity for us to continue to learn of the greatness of God, the reliability of His Word, and exhortation to mind how we finish our time on this earth.

Main Point- There are both national and individual applications that can be drawn from this section of the book of Isaiah, we’ll focus mostly on the individual. Hezekiah provides both healthy and poor models for us to consider how we pray, praise, and put our house in order when facing the end of life, or even a major change or shift in our life situations.

(Parallel accounts in 2 Kings 20 & 2 Chronicles 32)