Why Isaiah?

The book of Isaiah has many wonderful and powerful things written on its pages. There are many reasons to read Isaiah, here are just three.

1. The Lord has commanded us to read it. This might seem like a shallow reason but it is the single most powerful endorsement a piece of writing can ever receive. The Lord commands us to do things in order to bring us happiness. These are things that help us learn and grow and keep us away from sorrow causing temptations.
2. It will come to pass. - We have been told that the things of Isaiah are true, his prophecies have and will continue to come to pass. These are not predictions, they are facts. It would behoove us to understand the signs of the times. Not only does this prepare us for the future but it provides proof of God and his teachings in modern events.
3. His words apply to all of us. - It might be easy to assume that Isaiah's words were written for ancient people in ancient times. This is simply not the case. His words were written for the Jews and the Gentiles and his prophecies applied from the moment Isaiah wrote them until the end of humanity.

Themes of Isaiah

• The main theme of Isaiah for me is this. "the fear of the the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"(1: 7;9: 10) This quote probably looks familiar from last week and it applies well in this post too. Fear as we discussed earlier is more of a respect and understanding. If you trust the Lord and choose to obey his commandments because of the deep respect you have for him you will find great wisdom.
•  The Love of God - This is surely a theme throughout all scripture and it applies greatly in Isaiah. The Lord has taken the time to share what will come, something we cannot do and in so doing has given us many signs of his great power. He also shared with us the coming of Christ and gave ancient people hope that there would someday be a savior. 2014 years after the Savior's birth we sometimes take his existence for granted, but the ancient people there had been no Christ. His teaches of Love were not yet ready to be heard. The Lord took the time help the people understand that their existence had purpose and hope. 

All of this information can be found in Isaiah itself and numerous other locations in the Bible but it was best exemplified in these verses from the Book of Mormon and the Bible Dictionary entry on Isaiah.

• 3 Nephi 23:1-3, 2 Nephi 25: 1-7, 3 Nephi 20:11, 1 Nephi 15:20;19:23, 2 Nephi 11:2-5; 25:4-8, 3 Nephi 20:11-13 Bible Dictionary "Isaiah" (pg. 707)