Isaiah 22-24

Ancient Jerusalem. Click to enlarge.

Isaiah 22-24 Study Guide – to be discussed January 5 Happy Holidays!
Day 1: Read Isaiah 22:1-7 (with footnotes 1a, 2a) and chapter heading
1. Read chapter heading and the footnote to Isaiah 22:1a. Against whom is the burden in Isaiah 22 directed? How is the place addressed by this burden described in Isaiah 22:1 and 22:5? What might this mean?


2. Which phrases in Isaiah 22:1-2 imply an unconcerned city, prone to party instead of prepare?



Note: Elam, current NW Iran, was famed for her archers (see also Jeremiah 49:34-39). Kir was a city on the main road between Elam and Babylon. Elam would eventually, with the Persians and the Medes, destroy Babylon. Cyrus was a king in Elam.
3. Isaiah 22:6 may indicate Judah was hopeful the invading Babylonians would be defeated by Elam and Kir before they reached Jerusalem. What did Isaiah say about these hopes? (Hint: See Isaiah 22:4-5 and 7.)



BONUS: From Isaiah 22:5, List three things it would be “a day of” when Babylon attacked.



Day 2: Read Isaiah 22:8-14 (with footnotes 8a, 9a, 11b, 12a, 13a), 2 Nephi 28:8
4. Which phrases from Isaiah 22:8-9 indicate the defenses of Jerusalem were weak and inadequate?



5. Did the Lord really want Judah to weep, morn, and go bald (v.12)? What does the Lord want from his people? (See also footnote 12a.)


6. Read 2 Nephi 28:8 with Isaiah 22:13-14. What was the problem with Judah?


Day 3: Read Isaiah 22:15-25 (with footnotes 15a, 18a, 20a), Revelation 3:7, Isaiah 9:6-7
7. What can we discern from these verses about the man Shebna, to whom Isaiah 22:15-19 was directed? What will happen to Shebna?


8. Eliakim was a real person in Jerusalem. According to the footnote to Isaiah 22:20a, who did Eliakim represent? What did his name mean?



9. Read Isaiah 22:21-25 with Revelation 3:7 and Isaiah 9:6-7. What does the “key of the house of David” represent?



BONUS: Why might the key be on Eliakim’s shoulder?



Day 4: Read Isaiah 23:1-9 (with footnotes 1a,c, 2a, 3a, 5a, 8b,c), Bible Dictionary entry, “Phoenicia”
10. Tyre was located within Asher territory in Israel, but was a Phoenician city. Read the Bible Dictionary entry, “Phoenicia.” List distinguishing characteristics of Phoenicians.



11. Why would Sidon (Zidon) and Egypt mourn the downfall of Tyre?


12. What do you think this phrase in Isaiah 23:7 means: “… her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn”? How do our own feet carry us afar off sometimes?



Day 5: Read Isaiah 23:10-18 (with footnotes 11a, 17a, 18a)
13. Isaiah 23:10-12 indicates Tyre, her citizens and merchants, are ruined. How does the Lord “shake” kingdoms of the world today that are materialistically corrupt?



14. Isaiah 23:13 offers the destruction of Babylon at the hands of the Assyrians as an example of what will happen in Tyre. Verses 15-16 call Tyre a “harlot.” Why might a consumer-driven society be compared to a harlot?


15. What dos the footnote to Isaiah 23:8a tell you about the future of Tyre?


Day 6: Read Isaiah 24:1-12 (with footnotes 1c, 2b, 4b, 8a), chapter heading, Alma 41:10
Note: This chapter emphasizes the consequences of wickedness.
16. Isaiah 24:1-3 offers an example of the Hebrew poetry form called “chiasmus” or inverted parallelism. “The Lord” and “empty”/”emptied” in verses 1 and 3 frame the central theme in Isaiah 24:2. According to verse 2, who is accountable to the Lord for their own wicked acts? Is anyone exempt?


17. Give three reasons for the decline and destruction of the world from Isaiah 24:5.


18. Isaiah paints a vivid picture of the results of wickedness in Isaiah 24:7-12. List the phrases from these verses that indicate “the party’s over.” (See also Alma 41:10.)



Day 7: Read Isaiah 24:13-23 (with footnotes 13a, 14a, 15a, 16a,b, 23c), D&C 49:23-28, D&C 88:86-87, D&C 133:49
19. Who will sing praises to the Lord after the devastations of the last days? (See footnotes 14a, 16b.)


20. Read Isaiah 24:19-20 with D&C 49:23-28 and D&C 88:86-87. Where can we find refuge in the last days?


21. Read D&C 133:49 with Isaiah 24:23. Why will the moon be “confounded” and the sun “ashamed” when the Lord reigns in his glory?

Isaiah 18-21

Isaiah 18-21 Study Guide – to be discussed December 8
Day 1: Read Isaiah 18:1-7 (with footnotes 1a,c, 2a,b), D&C 84:2, D&C 128:24
1. Joseph Fielding Smith said “… A correct translation [of Isaiah 18:1] would be, ‘Hail to the land in the shape of wings.’” What land might be described, and who are the “swift messengers” (v. 2)?


2. In reference to Isaiah 18:3, Victor Ludlow wrote, “Like the delicate balance of warmth and moisture needed to fully ripen grapes, God attends to the harvest of souls by providing the proper light (truth) and moisture (cleansing powers) to ensure the full development of each person.” Give one promise, one warning, and one command to the nations of the earth from Isaiah 18.



3. Read D&C 84:2 and D&C 128:24. What “present” (Isaiah 18:7) will be brought to the Lord in the latter days?


Day 2: Read Isaiah 19:1-19 (with footnotes 1a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 8a, 9a, 10a), Bible Dictionary entry, “Cloud”
4. Parley P. Pratt wrote in his popular hymn, “Once upon the cross he bowed; now his chariot is the cloud.” Isaiah 19:1 describes the Lord riding on a “swift cloud.” What does this tell you about the power of the Lord? (See also Bible Dictionary entry, “Cloud”)


5. List trials promised to the Egyptians in Isaiah 19:2-4. What is the common element in all these afflictions?


6. List trials promised in Isaiah 19:5-10. What do these problems have in common?



Day 3: Read Isaiah 19:11-17 (with footnotes 13b, 15a, 17a)
Note: “Zoan” was Tanis, Egypt’s capital 1100-600 BC. “Noph” was Memphis, an ancient capital of Northern Egypt. Therefore, Zoan and Noph both represent Egypt.
7. Why should government leaders be responsible for using wise counsel or making wise decisions? To whom should they look for direction if they have their constituents’ best interest at heart?


8. Use the footnote to Isaiah 19:15a to explain what the head, tail, branch and rush represent. What did Isaiah prophesy regarding the unemployment rate in Egypt?


9. According to footnote 17a, when will Judah be a terror to Egypt?


Day 4: Read Isaiah 19:18-25 (with footnotes 18a, 24a)
10. List promises to Egypt in Isaiah 19:18-22 that should give Egypt (and other nations of the world) hope.



11. According to the prophecy in Isaiah 19:24-25, what three countries will be allies “in that day”? Can you think of a time when this has been the case? How did the Lord describe his relationship with each country in Isaiah 19:25?


BONUS: How many times does the phrase, “in that day” appear in Isaiah 19:16-25? What day might be indicated?


12. How might Israel be a blessing to the nations around her?


Day 5: Read Isaiah 20:1-7 (with footnotes 1a, 2a, 5a)
Note: Isaiah 20 discusses events in ancient Egypt, not future events.
13. In what year was the prophecy recorded in chapter 20 given to Isaiah? (See footnote 1a.)


14. What phrase is repeated three times in Isaiah 20:2-4? What might this mean, physically and spiritually?



15. If Judah had hoped for military help from Egypt and Ethiopia during the Assyrian invasion, what was Isaiah’s bad news?


Day 6: Read Isaiah 21:1-10 (with footnotes 1a,b, 2b, 3a), Revelation 14:8-11
16. Read the chapter heading to Isaiah 21 and footnote 1a. Who or what did Isaiah describe as “the desert of the sea”?


17. List phrases in Isaiah 21:2-4 indicating the vision Isaiah saw was personally disturbing to him.



18. Jerusalem was finally destroyed by Babylon in 587 BC. Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in 539-538 BC – the event described in Isaiah 21. One year later, in 537, Cyrus issued the decree allowing the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and their temple. If Babylon represents the wicked world, how might the prophecy in Isaiah 21 apply to our day? (See also Revelation 14:8-11.)



Day 7: Read Isaiah 21:11-17 (with footnotes 11a,c, 12a 13a), Genesis 36:8
Notes: The word translated “prevented” in Isaiah 21:14 has the archaic meaning “met” or “went before.” In other words, Tema and Dedam would need to help refugees from Kedar. Seir is a mountain range southeast of the Dead Sea, associated with Edom, or Idumea. Mt. Seir usually represents worldliness, in contrast to Mt. Zion, which represents righteousness (see D&C 1:36). Darkness = sin, apostasy; morning = light, truth.
19. Read Genesis 36:8. From whom were the Edomites (Dumah) descended? About what were they warned in Isaiah 21:11-12? (See footnote 12a. Also, read Isaiah 21:11-12 as a dialogue between a man of Seir and Isaiah. Seir speaks in v. 11, Isaiah replies in v. 12.)


20. The burden against Arabia (Isaiah 21:13-17) includes messages to various tribes. From the institute manual: “Dedanim identifies the residents of Dedan, which is southeast of the gulf of Aqaba along the coast of the Red Sea; and Kedar is the region eastward from Mount Hermon that includes the area called Bashan...” How did the people of Tema and Dedan help the children of Kedar?


21. How can we prepare ourselves to give assistance to our neighbors, physically and spiritually?