Questions for Discussion
1. What do you make of Second Isaiah’s court-room language in this division of the book? Should Christians speak and debate about God in the public square after the fashion of this sort of language? Are the arguments of Second Isaiah appealing in our modern context?
2. Several of the prophecies in Second Isaiah appeal back to the eternal promises of God to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis. What is the spiritual power of these unilateral commitments of God? Do they appeal to your own spirituality?
3. What questions do you have about the identity and mission of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 42? What do you make of this figure’s lifestyle and its relevance for today? What are your suspicions and concerns about the Servant? Your hopes for what the Servant might do?
4. This section of Second Isaiah contains some biting satire and taunts aimed against idolatry. Should modern people view this as objectionable, or is it an appropriate spirituality? Is satire a sign of “irreverence,” or can we somehow envision it as a mark of reverence (defined as awe before the transcendent otherness of God)?