Bible Study Notes 9/30/2025

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(Much gratitude is given to Dr. Carol Kaminski for her Old Testament Survey course at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the study materials that accompany and inform this teaching.)

 

The Suffering Servant

 

Isaiah’s vision of the spiritual renewal of God’s people will ultimately be accomplished through the figure identified as God’s Servant (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:1-6).

He will suffer on Israel’s behalf (Isa. 52:13-53:12) and being Jacob back to God (Isa. 49:5-6).

He will be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6; cf. Luke 2:32; Acts 13:46-48; 26:17-23).

He will open blind eyes and give release to prisoners (Isa. 42:7; cf. Isa. 35:5-6; 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19; 7:18-22; Acts 26:18).

He will bring hope to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:1-7, cf. Matt. 12:17-21; Rom. 15:12), and justify many, bearing their iniquities (Isa. 53:11).

Hundreds of years later, Philip is led by the Spirit to draw near to the chariot where an Ethiopian court official, returning from his time of worship in Jerusalem (Acts 8:26-39), is reading from Isaiah.

- The man is reading about the Suffering Servant: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth” (Acts 8:32-33; cf Isa. 53:7-8; Phil. 2:8).

- Philip asks the man if he knows what he is reading and then proceeds to preach the good news about Jesus to him, beginning with the Servant in Isaiah 53.

The Ethiopian man confesses that Jesus is the Son of God and asks to be baptized, so Philip baptizes him (Acts 8:36-40).

Isaiah saw from afar that God’s Servant will not only bring back Jacob, but he will be a light to the Gentiles and enable those who are blind to see, the Ethiopian man being one of those Gentiles who put their hope in Jesus, God’s Servant.

- READ Jeremiah 30:18 – Meaning of bringing back Jacob - This verse from Jeremiah provides a powerful message of hope and restoration. God speaks to His people, assuring them that they will not be forgotten even in difficult times. The “captivity of Jacob’s tents” signifies the return of those who were taken away into exile. God has a plan to bring these people back to their homeland, showcasing His mercy and great compassion.

- The mention of restoring the “tents of Jacob” illustrates how God has not only a promise to restore positions but also the emotional and spiritual well-being of His people. It’s an assurance that even after suffering, there is a promise of rebuilding and renewal. When we reflect on our lives, we see times of hardship and loss, yet God reminds us that there remains a path toward healing. The “city being rebuilt” symbolizes hope not just for infrastructure but for spiritual restoration. God desires to bring us back to a place of safety, peace, and prosperity.

- The context of Jeremiah 30:18 is rooted deeply in the history of the Israelites. At the time of this prophecy, the people of Israel were in distress. They had faced defeat and exile, losing their homes and being uprooted from the land in which they had thrived. This chapter forms part of a message of hope from Jeremiah, who was often referred to as the ‘weeping prophet’. His teachings were driven by a desire to remind the people of God’s abiding presence and promises even in the lowest points in their lives.

God’s Blessing Will Extend to the Nations

 

One of God’s promises to Abraham is that many nations would become a part of the people of God (Gen. 12:3; 22: 18; 26:4; 28:14; cf. Acts 3:25-26).

Isaiah told us that God’s Servant will be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6; cf. Luke 2:32; Acts 13:45-47; 26:17-23) and READ Isaiah 49:6 and Isaiah 19:23-25 and Isa. 66:18).

Looking ahead about 700 years to the time when Jesus is dedicated in the temple, a man named Simeon prophesies about the child Jesus, saying that he will be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32).

- God’s plan to incorporate both Jews and Gentiles into the family of God, so that Abraham becomes the father of many nations, is being wonderfully fulfilled through Jesus!

The Apostle Paul continues this ministry to the Gentiles, quoting the prophet Isaiah when referring to his own ministry: “For so the LORD has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Acts 13:47; cf. Acts 9:15; 26:16-18).

- When foreigners hear the gospel, many believe and the word of God spreads – we too proclaim salvation in Christ to all nations, so that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).

- God’s plan of redemption through history will culminate in people from all nations worshiping before the throne of God, which is accomplished through the Messiah, God’s Servant, and remarkably, the prophet Isaiah saw His glory and spoke of Him (John 12:41)..

 

Zion’s Glorious Future

(Zion refers to the hill where the most ancient areas of Jerusalem stood;

the city of Jerusalem itself; or the dwelling place of God)

Restoration is a moving portion of the OT and Isaiah’s message: He combines several ideas to show that God alone will be exalted.

            - The LORD God will be known and worshiped by Israel and the nations.

            - The sins of his people will be forgiven.

            - This sense of freedom will be like a second Exodus from Egypt: out of slavery into freedom.

- God will clear the way for a new Exodus as he leads his people out of Babylonian captivity and back to Jerusalem (Isa. 40; 43:14-21; 44:24-28).

- God will enlarge Israel’s tents and multiply their descendants.

- The restoration of Zion will include foreigners becoming part of the people of God, for they will join Israel and worship at God’s holy mountain (Isa. 56:3-8).

- They will be drawn to God’s light that shines forth, and they will stream into Jerusalem with their gifts from afar (Isa. 60).

- Isaiah announces further that when Zion is restored to its full glory, “the sun shall no more be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light, but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isa. 60:19).

- The prophet sees the glorious restoration of Zion when God comes with salvation, which anticipates the new heavens and the new earth (Isa. 62).

- Isaiah describes the restoration of God’s new creation in this way: READ Isa. 65:17-18; cf. Rev. 21-22.

- The last chapters of the book of Isaiah show a vision of the restoration of the entire cosmos: READ Isa. 66:22.

- At this time, the whole earth will be filled with God’s glory – Isaiah had a vision of this when the seraphim had cried out: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa. 6:3) – This will be accomplished when God acts in history to restore all things.

During the time of TEMPLE, the restoration of God’s people from exile is initially brought about by the Persian king Cyrus, who is God’s shepherd, anointed by God to accomplish his plan (Isa. 44-45).

Fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecies, King Cyrus defeats Babylon in 539 BC.

- Under the edict of Cyrus, God’s people living in exile in Babylon begin to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (2 Chr. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4).

- The scope of Isaiah’s vision extends far beyond the return of 538 BC, for he sees the restoration of the entire cosmos, which is filled with God’s glory.

 

The Prophet Micah

(Ministry between 740-686 BC and contemporary of Isaiah)

 

Micah is an 8th C. BC southern prophet, during the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Mic. 1:1).

Micah’s message is for Samaria and Jerusalem (Mic. 1:1).

He announces that the northern city of Samaria will become a heap of ruins – God will smash their idols because they have played the harlot with them (Mic. 1:6-7).

- This judgment is fulfilled in 722 BC when God raises up the Assyrians to defeat the northern kingdom and Micah prophesies about this event.

- However, Micah’s message is primarily against the southern kingdom, which he refers to as Jerusalem and Judah.

Micah’s repeated pattern in his book is the announcement of judgment (Mic. 1:1-2:11; 3:1-12; 6:1-7:6) and restoration (Mic. 2:12-13; 4:1-5:15; 7:7-20).

 

Words of Judgment

 

In his words of judgment, Micah speaks in detail about the sins of Judah, beginning each section with a command to “hear” (Mic. 1:2; 3:1; 6:1).

Micah is called to make known to the people of Judah their transgressions and rebellious acts (Mic. 1:5, 13; 3:8; 6:7).

- Micah exposes their sins, which include injustice, bribery, false scales (Mic. 6:11), deception, and bloodshed, which are all contrary to God’s standards of righteousness, as delineated in his law.

- What God requires of his people is that they do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with their God (Mic. 6:8).

- When Micah looks at Judah, he sees that there is no upright person among them and that “the best of them is like a brier” and laments that “the most upright of them a thorn hedge” (Mic. 7:4).

            - This ungodliness is found among their leaders, among friends, and even in their own families.

- In spite of their sin, Judah has wrongly assumed that since God was in their midst, disaster would not come upon them (Mic. 3:11) – but Micah tells them that because of Judah’s sins and transgressions, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins (Mic. 3:12) and is prophesying about the fall of Jerusalem.

 

Words of Restoration

 

Regardless of Judah’s ongoing rebellion, Micah repeatedly speaks of the hope of restoration after the judgment.

A remnant, or small group of people within Israel will remain because God will not completely destroy his people (Mic. 2:12-13; cf. Rom. 9:27; 11:1-6).

Micah tells us that “in the latter days” the mountain of God will be established and many nations will stream to it (Mic. 4:1-5).

- God will redeem his people and establish Zion, and at the time of restoration, God will appoint a ruler, who will go forth from Bethlehem and reign over God’s people: READ Mic. 5:2-4.

- There are a lot of Davidic kings who will reign on the throne in Jerusalem, but the ruler depicted by Micah has not arrived by the time the OT draws to a close, but God’s people are waiting for him.

- In the NT when Herod hears of the birth of a child born in Bethlehem, he inquires of the chief priests and scribes, asking them where the Messiah is to be born, so they tell him that he is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea and they quote the prophet Micah (Mt. 2:5-6; cf. Mic. 5:2).

- The wise men travel to Bethlehem to see the child, and upon seeing him they fall down and worship and offer him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts fit for a king (Mt. 2:1-12).

Micah saw all this from afar – he concludes his oracles by reflecting upon the character of the LORD God.

- Micah’s name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” – He uses his own name to answer the question: “Who is a God like you?” READ Mic. 7:18-20.

The solution to the transgressions of God’s people is found in God’s covenantal love and mercy, which will be most profoundly demonstrated in the cross, for “while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The child born in Bethlehem will, after all, save us from our sins.