What do you make of Second Isaiah’s critique of idolatry? What is the problem with using concrete images and / idols to access the power of Heaven? What does this tell us about the author’s objectives?
The author describes new life growing from a dead stump, the lineage of David’s father Jesse. What is the significance of going past David and naming his father as the source of this blessed family line?
What is the author’s primary concern when condemning practices of idolatry? What other parts of the Hebrew Bible does this make you think of? To whom is the author directing this critique?
Applying the Text:
How would you explain the virtue of “reverence” to a modern, secular person? Why should modern people embrace a messianic vision of reverence? Would reverence add anything to our modern lives that we currently lack?
From their editorial additions, it seems clear that the Second Isaiah community saw Isaiah’s earlier prophecies as part of a long-range trajectory pointing to God’s future. Can you see yourself on that continuing trajectory? How about the church?
Several of the prophecies in this section of Isaiah sound rather sour to modern ears. Texts such as Isaiah 11:14-15 may even sound nationalistic and chauvinistic. Can, or should, Christians today appropriate such texts? Does the editing of the texts by the Second Isaiah circle provide any guidance?