Theme - Isaiah began his prophecies during the closing days of the reign of Uzziah and continued, over a period of more than sixty years, though the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah. He was a man of powerful intellect, great integrity, and remarkable force of character; he was a preacher of righteousness, a seer of superior insight, a statesman and patriot of superlative ability and loyalty, and, withal, one of the greatest men of Biblical history.

This remarkable man of God came upon the scene at a time when Judah was in a state of moral and religious decline; her downward course had been greatly accentuated by the powerful influence of the wicked Jezebel of the Northern Kingdom whose daughter, Athaliah, was married to Jehoshaphat's son and successor. During the reign of Ahaz, Judah sank into the lowest depths of apostasy and idolatry, out of which she was raised by Hezekiah, the pious son of Ahaz. Isaiah denounced the sins of his time, exposed the emptiness of religious formality and the perfunctoriness of sacrificial offerings and sacerdotal rites, and greatly aided the good king Hezekiah in his reforms.

The visions and prophesies of Isaiah may be summarized under seven great themes: (1) Warnings against the sins of his own people and the prediction of divine judgement in captivity. (2) Prophecies of the return of Israel from captivity. (3) Prophesies concerning the coming of the Messiah. (4) The blessings of the Messianic reign to extend to the Gentiles. (5) Judgments of God upon the nations with emphasis on certain judgments issuing from the Messianic reign. (6) The reign of the Messiah in his kingdom. (7) Prophesies of the new heavens and the new earth.

Outline - The prophesy of Isaiah falls into two main divisions: I. Teachings and Predictions Looking toward the Captivities (1:1-39:8) II. Teachings and Predictions Looking beyond the Captivities (40:1-66:24)

In the first division, there are five sections: I. Discourses Concerning Judah and Israel (1-12) II. Prophesies against Foreign Nations (13-23) III. Judgment of the World and the Triumph of God's People (24-27) IV. Judah's Relation to Egypt and Assyria (28-32) V. Great Deliverance of Jerusalem (33-39)

In the second division, there are three sections: I. God's Preparation for Certain Deliverances (40-48) II. Deliverance through Jehovah's Servant, the Messiah (49-57) III. Restoration of Zion and the Messianic Kingdom (58-66)