Isaiah 58-60

Isaiah 58-60 Study Guide – to be discussed April 26
Day 1: Read Isaiah 58:1-7 (with footnotes 1c, 2a, 3d, 4b, 7c), D&C 59:12-14
1. Chapter 58 begins with the Lord speaking to Isaiah, instructing him to warn Israel. From Isaiah 58:1-3, what seems to be the problem with Israel’s worship?


2. In the first part of Isaiah 58:3, Israel asks the Lord why she has not been adequately blessed for her fasting. List the Lord’s responses in Isaiah 58:3-5.


3. Give the true purpose of fasting, as identified by the Lord in Isaiah 58:6-7.


BONUS: Read D&C 59:12-14. How can we improve our fasting?



Day 2: Read Isaiah 58:8-14 (with footnotes 8c, 9b, 10b, 11c)
4. List blessings of sincere fasting from Isaiah 58:8-11.


5. According to Isaiah 58:12, by what two names might we be called if we are obedient to the letter and spirit of the fast?


6. What is the “if-then” promise in Isaiah 58:13-14, regarding Sabbath worship? Why do you think this promise is included in Isaiah’s discourse on fasting?


Day 3: Read Isaiah 59:1-8 (with footnotes 2c, 8b), Bible Dictionary entry, “Cockatrice”
7. Isaiah 59:1-8 describes how Israel has distanced herself from God. What caused the separation?


8. How many times is the word “iniquity” used in Isaiah 59:1-8? List some of the sins cited by Isaiah in these verses.


9. What is a “cockatrice”? (See Bible Dictionary entry, “Cockatrice.”) What was Israel really “hatching”?


Day 4: Read Isaiah 59:9-15 (with footnotes 9a, 14a)
10. In Isaiah 59:9-15, Israel begins to recognize and confess her sins. How is living a sinful life like walking in darkness?


11. How do our sins testify against us (Isaiah 59:12)?


12. Isaiah 59:14 states, “truth is fallen in the street, and equity [honesty] cannot enter.” What conditions might these phrases indicate? What kind of society allows this to happen? How does that society typically treat those who want to repent?


Day 5: Read Isaiah 59:16-21 (with footnotes 16a,d, 19a)
13. Beginning in the last half of Isaiah 59:15, the Lord responds to repentant Israel with merciful promises. List promises from Isaiah 59:16-18.


14. Why will people reverence the name of the Lord from east to west? When might this prophecy have fulfillment?


15. In Isaiah 59:21, the Lord speaks of his covenant with Israel. What will he do for his people, and for how long?


Day 6: Read Isaiah 60:1-9 (with footnotes 1a, 2a,c, 5a,b,c, 8a)
16. Read the chapter heading for Isaiah 60. When will the events described in this chapter have fulfillment?


17. According to the footnote to Isaiah 60:2a, what does the darkness in verse 2 represent? Whose light will draw Gentiles to Zion?


18. Midian, Ephah, Sheba, Kedar and Nebaloth represent countries historically considered enemies of Israel (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, etc.). What will these nations bring when they come to Zion?


Day 7: Read Isaiah 60:10-22 (with footnotes 11b, 13b, 21b, 22c)
19. What does it indicate when a city’s gates are “open continually” (Isaiah 60:11)? (See also Revelation 21:25)


20. According to Isaiah 60:14, how will Israel’s former enemies behave when they come to Zion?


21. List blessings to which we can look forward, as explained in Isaiah 60:18-22.



From the Institute manual: Isaiah 59:16–21 . What Time Periods Do These Verses Refer To?
Isaiah 59:16–21 refers to Jesus Christ, our intercessor with the Father. He came to earth because “there was no man” and “there was no intercessor” ( v. 16 ) for the people. If the Savior had not been sent, our state, because of iniquity, would have been grim indeed (see vv. 1–15 ; compare 2 Nephi 9:8–9 ). Therefore, Jesus was sent to earth. “His arm brought [man’s] salvation unto him,” which was possible because “his righteousness, it sustained him,” much as a breastplate protects a soldier in battle ( v. 16 ). On His head was a “helmet of salvation,” and He was clothed in “garments of vengeance,” for He deals with men “according to their deeds” ( vv. 17–18 ).
When the Savior comes again, He will “come to Zion,” and if Jacob, or the house of Israel, will “turn from transgression” ( v. 20 ) to the Lord, He will place His Spirit upon them. Elder Orson Pratt said of that promise: “Certainly Jesus, when he came eighteen centuries ago, did not turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for they then were filling up their cup with iniquity. They have remained in unbelief from that day to this; hence, there did not come a Deliverer out of Zion eighteen centuries ago. But the Zion of the last days, that Zion that is so frequently and so fully spoken of by the ancient prophets, especially by Isaiah, is the Church and kingdom of God; and out of that Church or kingdom or Zion is to come a Deliverer, who will turn away ungodliness from Jacob after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (In Journal of Discourses, 14:64.)