“Lesson 124: Isaiah 17–28,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018)
“Lesson 124,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material
Lesson 124
Isaiah 17–28
Introduction
Isaiah prophesied that the Israelites would be scattered because they had forgotten God. He also prophesied of the ensign raised up to gather scattered Israel to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Additionally, Isaiah testified of the future Davidic king, even the Messiah, and taught about Jesus Christ’s power to deliver the oppressed. Isaiah prophesied that the wicked will be destroyed and the righteous will receive great blessings at the Savior’s Second Coming. Isaiah also testified that the Savior is the only sure foundation on which to build our lives.
Suggestions for Teaching
Isaiah 17–21
Isaiah prophesies of the destruction of various nations and of the scattering and the latter-day gathering of Israel
Begin class by inviting students to guess the number of missionaries currently serving, the number of missions currently in operation, and the number of missionary training centers currently in operation. After students respond, share the actual numbers for these statistics (these can be found on the “Facts and Statistics” page of mormonnewsroom.org). Consider inviting students to share where any of their friends, siblings, or ward members are currently serving missions.
As students study Isaiah 17–21, invite them to look for how Isaiah prophesied of the great latter-day missionary effort of gathering.
Summarize Isaiah 17 by explaining that it was “a message of doom” (verse 1, footnote a) for Damascus, the capital city of Syria, and for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Explain that Isaiah then prophesied of a future time when several nations would turn to the Lord. Write the following words on the board: land, ambassadors, messengers, ensign, trumpet. Invite a student to read Isaiah 18:1–3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for how Isaiah used these words to teach about the future.
Point out the word woe in verse 1. Explain that in this context, rather than referring to suffering or affliction, the word woe is used as a greeting (see footnote a). President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) explained that one possible interpretation of the phrase “the land shadowing with wings” in Isaiah 18:1 is that it refers to the Americas (see The Signs of the Times [1952], 51).
-
How can each of the words listed on the board relate to the restored Church? (The land can refer to the Americas, where the Restoration of the Church began. Ambassadors and messengers can refer to Apostles and missionaries, who travel all over the world to spread the gospel. An ensign is a flag or banner around which armies gather for battle, and a trumpet can be used to call people together, so both an ensign and a trumpet can symbolize the latter-day call to gather to the restored Church of Jesus Christ.)
Summarize Isaiah 18:4–6 by explaining that the Lord used the imagery of a vineyard to describe the destruction of the wicked and the gathering of the righteous in the latter days.
Invite a student to read Isaiah 18:7 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the people will bring to the Lord.
-
What will the people bring to the Lord? (A “present.”)
-
Who or what does this present represent? (The Lord’s scattered people, who will be gathered to Zion.)
-
What truth can we learn from Isaiah 18? (Students may use different words to identify the following truth: In the last days, the Lord will send messengers to gather scattered Israel to His Church.)
-
How is gathering people to the Lord’s Church like giving Him a present?
-
In addition to serving full-time missions, how can we be messengers who help gather people to the Lord’s Church?
Summarize Isaiah 19 by explaining that Isaiah prophesied that because of Egypt’s idol worship and evil practices the Lord would smite Egypt. However, Isaiah also prophesied that the Egyptians would eventually recognize their need for the Lord and turn to Him. Summarize Isaiah 20–21 by explaining that Isaiah prophesied that other wicked nations would be destroyed.
Isaiah 22–23
Isaiah prophesies that Jerusalem will be attacked and scourged by Babylon
Remind students that Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be spared from the Assyrian army (see 2 Kings 19:32–35). However, in Isaiah 22:1–7 we read that Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would not be spared when the Babylonian army attacked more than a century later.
Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Isaiah 22:8–11. Ask the class to follow along and look for what the people in Jerusalem thought they could depend on for protection from the Babylonian army.
-
What did the people think they could depend on for protection from the Babylonian army? (Their supply of weapons; the fortifications that strengthened the city wall; and Hezekiah’s tunnel, which diverted water into the city from a spring outside the city wall.)
Explain that the people trusted that these preparations would save them because these were the same preparations that had been made when Jerusalem had been miraculously spared from the Assyrian army during the reign of Hezekiah. Isaiah warned that, unlike in Hezekiah’s day, the people would not turn to the Lord (see Isaiah 22:11, footnote b).
Summarize Isaiah 22:15–25 by explaining that Isaiah told a story about Shebna, the keeper of the treasury of Jerusalem. Shebna was prideful about Jerusalem’s wealth. Isaiah prophesied that Shebna would be carried away into captivity. Explain that Isaiah prophesied that a man named Eliakim, which means “God shall cause to arise” (see verse 20, footnote a), would replace Shebna. Eliakim was a person who loved and obeyed the Lord.
Explain that the name Eliakim has symbolic meaning because it points to Jesus Christ and His Atonement (see verse 20, footnote a).
Invite a student to read Isaiah 22:21–23 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Isaiah prophesied about Eliakim that points us to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Ask students to report what they find.
You may need to explain that the phrase “the key of the house of David” (verse 22) symbolizes the right to rule, which can be obtained only through the holy priesthood of God (see verse 22, footnote a). Jesus Christ holds all the keys of the priesthood and has power to “shut” and to “open” (verse 22), that is, to bind or loose, and no one can override that power.
Summarize Isaiah 23 by explaining that Isaiah prophesied that the coastal city of Tyre, located in modern-day Lebanon, would also be destroyed.
Isaiah 24–27
Isaiah describes the destruction of the wicked and praises the Lord for blessing the righteous
Display a picture of the Savior’s Second Coming.
Summarize Isaiah 24 by explaining that it records a prophecy of the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming. Then explain that Isaiah 25 contains a poetic celebration of the blessings the Lord will give to the righteous.
Invite a student to read Isaiah 25:6–8 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for what the Lord will do when He comes again. Invite students to report what they find.
Explain that the symbolic feast described in verse 6 represents the idea that people of all nations will be invited to partake of the blessings of the gospel.
-
In what ways is a feast a good representation of the blessings that people who accept the gospel can receive?
-
According to Isaiah 25:8, what will the Lord do for His people in the Millennium?
-
How did the Savior “swallow up death in victory” (verse 8)?
-
What do you think it means that the Lord “will wipe away tears from off all faces” (verse 8)?
Invite students to read Isaiah 25:9 silently, looking for what the Lord’s people will say in the Millennium.
-
What will the Lord’s people say in the Millennium?
-
What principle can we learn from verses 6–9? (As students respond, help them identify the following principle: If we wait for the Lord, then we can receive His salvation and rejoice.)
-
What does it mean for us to wait for the Lord?
To help students understand the word wait as it is used in verse 9, ask a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask the class to listen for what it means to wait for the Lord:
“In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end” (Robert D. Hales, “Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 72).
-
What are some ways we can hope, anticipate, and trust as we wait for the Lord?
-
What blessings have you received as you have trusted in or waited for the Lord?
Summarize Isaiah 26–27 by explaining that Isaiah testified that we can trust in the Lord forever and promised “perfect peace” to those who do (see Isaiah 26:3). Isaiah also used the imagery of a vineyard to show how the Lord cares for His people.
Isaiah 28
Isaiah prophesies of the destruction of Ephraim and testifies that Christ is the sure foundation
Summarize Isaiah 28:1–15 by explaining that Isaiah condemned “Ephraim” (verse 1), or the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, for their wickedness. He reminded them that the Lord teaches “precept upon precept; line upon line … ; here a little, and there a little” (verses 10, 13). The people did not think they needed the word of the Lord, because they believed other things would save them from the problems they would experience.
Show students a stone, or draw a picture of one on the board. Ask students why builders use stone in the foundations of buildings.
Invite a student to read Isaiah 28:16 aloud. Ask the class to follow along and look for how Isaiah described the stone that Zion, or the Church, would be built on.
-
How did Isaiah describe the stone?
-
In what ways is the stone a representation of the Savior? (After students respond, write the following truth on the board: The Savior is the only sure foundation upon which to build our lives.)
-
Why do you think the Savior is the only sure foundation upon which we can build our lives?
-
What are some ways we can daily build our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ?
-
How have you been blessed as you have tried to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ?
Summarize Isaiah 28:17–29 by explaining that the Lord told the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel that they would be swept away because they believed they could build on something other than the Savior.
Invite students to write in their study journals something they will do to build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ. You may want to ask a few students to share what they wrote.
Conclude by testifying of the Savior and one or more of the truths taught today.
Commentary and Background Information
Isaiah 18:7. “In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord”
Members of the early restored Church worked hard to gather Israel and prepare to bring the Lord the “present” mentioned in Isaiah 18:7. According to a statement by William W. Phelps and other early Church leaders, “The saints have labored, without pay, to instruct the people of the United States, that the gathering had commenced in the western boundaries of Missouri, to build a holy city, where, as may be seen, in the 18th chapter of Isaiah, ‘the present should be brought unto the Lord of hosts’” (“An Appeal,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1834, 184).
“Mount Zion is identified in modern revelation as the New Jerusalem (see D&C 84:2). Thus, once the Church is restored and Ephraim begins the work of gathering Israel from their scattered and peeled condition … , they can present a restored house of Jacob to the Lord as a gift that will delight Him” (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 156).
Isaiah 22:10–11. “The houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls”
The phrase “the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall” (Isaiah 22:10) refers to the houses that were destroyed to fortify the walls of the city during Hezekiah’s time.
The phrase “a ditch between the two walls” in verse 11 refers to Hezekiah’s tunnel (see 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:3–4). The people were proud of themselves for the engineering feat of diverting water into the city, but they did not even think about the Lord, who had created the spring from which the water came. One interpretation of verse 11 is that some of the people mistakenly assumed that the tunnel and other earlier physical preparations, not the Lord’s power, had saved Judah from the invading Assyrians. Thus, when the Babylonians attacked, they trusted that these preparations would save them once again. Isaiah taught the people that unless they trusted in the Lord these preparations would not save them.
Isaiah 22:20–25. “I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place”
The following resources provide some explanation for the phrase “I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place”:
“Isaiah made a symbol of Shebna’s replacement, Eliakim. His name means ‘God shall cause to arise,’ anticipating the Savior, who holds the ‘key of the house of David’ but was fastened ‘as a nail in a sure place’ until the burden of the Atonement was complete. Upon Him rests ‘all the glory of his father’s house.’ Isaiah recommended depending on Him for everlasting security (Isa. 22:20–25 and fn.)” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 517–18).
“The ‘nail in a sure place’ (Isaiah 22:23) is messianic and symbolizes the terrible reality of the cross, though only a part of the total suffering of the Lord that caused Him to ‘tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit’ (D&C 19:18). Just as the nail of the cross that was driven in the sure place secured the body of the one being crucified, so the Savior Himself is, to all who will, a nail in a sure place, for He has given them power so that none need be lost (see John 17:12). As Christ brings the redeemed to the Father, the glory becomes His own, and the redeemed and their offspring will become part of the family of heaven under the throne of Christ (see D&C 19:2; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:27–28; Philippians 2:5–11; 3:21)” (Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi, 3rd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2003], 159).
Isaiah 25:6. “A feast of wines on the lees”
Latter-day Saint scholars explained the phrase “wine on the lees”:
“The word lees in this passage refers to the sediments attending the preparation of wine; thus ‘wine on the lees’ implies a wine that has been preserved for some time and, less the sediments left on the bottom, is ‘well refined’—symbolic therefore of the harvest of abundant and supernal blessings awaiting the faithful and obedient” (Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, Unlocking the Old Testament: A Side-by-Side Commentary [2009], 331).
Isaiah 25:9. “We have waited for him”
Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following account of how President David O. McKay (1873–1970) had to wait upon the Lord:
“As a young man, President David O. McKay prayed for a witness of the truthfulness of the gospel. Many years later, while he was serving his mission in Scotland, that witness finally came. Later he wrote, ‘It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered “sometime, somewhere”’ [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay (2003), xviii].
“We may not know when or how the Lord’s answers will be given, but in His time and His way, I testify, His answers will come. For some answers we may have to wait until the hereafter. This may be true for some promises in our patriarchal blessings and for some blessings for family members. Let us not give up on the Lord. His blessings are eternal, not temporary” (Robert D. Hales, “Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 73).