Isaiah 48-50

Isaiah 48-50 Study Guide – to be discussed March 29
Day 1: Read Isaiah 48:1-8 (with footnotes 2b, 4a), 1 Nephi 20:1-8
1. To whom is Isaiah 48 addressed? Read Isaiah 48:1 with 1 Nephi 20:1. What phrase is added in 1 Nephi 20:1 that helps clarify the phrase “the waters of Judah” in Isaiah 48:1?


2. One way of viewing Isaiah 48 is as a contract between God and Israel. In this context, we can read Isaiah 48:1-2 as the “preamble” and Isaiah 48:3-8 as an “historical review” of God’s dealings with Israel. The “former things” (Isaiah 48:3) refer to ancient prophecies and/or miracles. From Isaiah 48:4-5, give two reasons the Lord sent Israel prophecies and showed them the fulfillment of these prophecies.


3. The phrase, “They are created now” means prophecies are being fulfilled now. What was the reaction of Isaiah’s people to the fulfillments of these prophecies?


Day 2: Read Isaiah 48:9-22 (with footnote 14a), 1 Nephi 20:9-22
4. If we are reading Isaiah 48 as a contract between God and Israel, Isaiah 48:14-15 outlines conditions of the contract. How will the Lord fulfill his part of the contract?


5. Isaiah 48:12-13 and Isaiah 48:16 list witnesses to the contract. What three witnesses are listed? Note: Read 1 Nephi 20:16 with Isaiah 48:16.


6. List the blessings which are the results of Israel’s righteous acts and the Lords mercy, as given in Isaiah 48:17-22.


BONUS: How might peace be like a river and righteousness like waves?


Day 3: Read Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Nephi 21:1-6, D&C 86:8-11, D&C 113:7-8
7. Wilford Woodruff said of Isaiah 49 that this prophetic vision of the last dispensation “is having its fulfillment.” Read Isaiah 49:2 with D&C 86:8-11. How has the Lord refined, protected, and prepared Israel? (Note: The pronoun “me” in v. 1 refers to Israel – see Isaiah 49:3.)


8. In Isaiah 49:4, the servant (broadly, Israel) laments the fact that no one seems to listen or heed his counsel. In this same verse, where does he find comfort?


9. Read Isaiah 49:5 with D&C 113:7-8. What is the strength of Israel?


Day 4: Read Isaiah 49:8-16, 1 Nephi 21:7-16, 1 Nephi 22:8-12, D&C 45:26
10. According to the chapter heading for Isaiah 49, who will be a light to the Gentiles? Is Israel also commissioned to be a light to the Gentiles?


11. From Isaiah 49:8-13, what has the Lord done for his people? (See also 1 Nephi 22:8-12, D&C 45:26.)

12. In Isaiah 49:14 we have the first excuse offered by Israel for her unfaithfulness. Here, Israel claims the Lord has forgotten her. What evidence does the Lord produce to the contrary? (Other excuses are in Isaiah 49:21 and 24.)


Day 5: Read Isaiah 49:17-26 (with footnote 20a), 1 Nephi 21:17-26 (with footnotes 24a, 25JST), 2 Nephi 6:16-18
13. A bride puts on her finest clothing for her wedding. With what will Israel adorn herself in the last days? Who is her Bridegroom?


14. What question will Israel ask, regarding the abundance of her children? (See Isaiah 49:21.) How does the Lord answer?


15. The third excuse from Israel comes in Isaiah 49:24. What question is asked, and how does the Lord answer? (See also the footnote to 1 Nephi 21:25, which gives the JST of this verse, and 2 Nephi 6:16-18.)


BONUS: How do you see the fulfillment of the prophecy that kings will be nursing fathers and queens nursing mothers to Israel in the last days?


Day 6: Read Isaiah 50:1-6, 2 Nephi 7:1-6, 1 Nephi 22:15-17
16. Read 1 Nephi 22:15-17. It has been suggested that these verses, in which Nephi quotes Isaiah, might originally have been in Isaiah’s record, between Isaiah 49 and Isaiah 50 (see OT Institute manual, 17-10). Why, ultimately, do the righteous have no need to fear?


17. Read Isaiah 50:1 with 2 Nephi 7:1. What extra information did Nephi include in his record? What is the message to Israel?* Read Isaiah 50:4 with 2 Nephi 7:4. Who gave the Lord “the tongue of the learned,” and how does he use that gift? (Note: Isaiah 50:4-9 is a “servant song.” In this case, the servant is Christ in the meridian of time.)


18. What proof do we have that the Lord is perfectly obedient to the Father?


Day 7: Read Isaiah 50:7-11, 2 Nephi 7:7-11
19. Compare Isaiah 50:8 with 2 Nephi 7:8. Who justifies, or approves of the Lord’s work?


20. The Lord asks a semi-rhetorical question in Isaiah 50:10. How would you answer this question?


21. What do we get when we try to navigate life without the light of Christ?


*From the Institute Manual, regarding Isaiah 50: “The Lord employed the figure of a divorce and the sale of a slave to teach that though Israel’s past apostasy scattered them among the nations, the Lord had not set aside the original covenant He made with His people. Chapter 50 continues the theme begun in chapters 48 and 49 that in the last days Israel would be gathered and established again. Under Mosaic law a man who divorced his wife was required to give her a written bill of divorce. She was then free to marry again (see Deuteronomy 24:1–4). Likewise, under the ancient laws, a man could sell himself or his children into slavery to satisfy his creditors.”