When God chose Israel as his own special people, they were supposed to proclaim him to the surrounding nations. They were supposed to live according to his precepts. Their godly lives would make the rest of the world want to live the same way.

Instead, they rebelled. They adopted the ways of the surrounding nations: the idolatry, the greed, the pride, and the tendency for the strong to oppress the weak. In Isaiah’s time, Assyria had destroyed the northern kingdom and deported its people. And it was knocking on Jerusalem’s doorstep.

Isaiah predicted that Assyria would not destroy the southern kingdom, but that later, Babylon would.… Read the rest