VERSES: Isaiah 1:1-66:24
MEMORY VERSE: Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Ephesians. Write "Ephesians" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class, so the students may take them home and memorize this book of the New Testament.
PRAYER: Thank God for providing for us each and every day.
SPECIAL SONG: Read, Read Every Day (see February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
LESSON POINTS:
- Prophets were messengers from God, reminding God's people of His laws and of His desires for the people to love and obey Him. God would talk to the prophet and then the prophet would tell the people what God wanted them to know. We have learned about many of these men already and how they helped God's people when the people would listen. Remember Samuel? Everyone in all Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20). Remember Nathan and how he explained to King David that the king had sinned concerning Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1, 7). Nathan was a prophet of God. Remember Elijah? Elijah was called a prophet of God in 1 Kings 18:36. Even Deborah was a woman prophet in Judges 4:4. Yes, we have studied about many good and bad kings and have mentioned some of these prophets of God who had messages from God for the kings.
- Not all the prophets wrote books, but some of the prophets did. Isaiah was a prophet who wrote a book! He is sometimes called a Major Prophet, not because he was more important than the other prophets, but that he just wrote more that the other prophets.
- Isaiah wrote a lot about salvation. In fact, "Isaiah" means "Jehovah Is Salvation." The main theme of the book of Isaiah is "The Messiah Is Coming," talking about Jesus, God's Son, who was the Messiah and was coming in the future to save all of the people from their sins, even you and me.
- Another important message that Isaiah told the Kingdom of Judah was that the people had committed many sins, and, instead of the people being pure and white as wool or snow, there sins had made them red as scarlet or crimson. God told Isaiah and Isaiah told the people that they should reason together. If the people would be willing and obedient to God, then they would be blessed, but if the people refused to obey God, then they would die by the sword of their enemies.
- Isaiah told the people that there would be a godly remnant or a leftover part of God's people who would listen, love, and obey God. Isaiah foretold the future and said that there would be a Messiah who would come to this earth to take away their sins. People would be attracted to Jesus for his message, how Jesus would suffer for us, and would die for our sins (Isaiah 53). The only thing which would separate the people from God would be their sins (Isaiah 59:1, 2). Isaiah warned the people over and over again to love God and to obey him.
- Isaiah was contemporary with Micah, Hosea and Amos which means they were all prophets at the same time.
- Isaiah foretells that God's people will be called by a new name in the future (Isaiah 62:2; 65:15). That new name would be the name, "Christians" (Acts 11:26).
ACTIVITY: Isaiah's Portrait
Materials needed: 9" x 12" brown construction paper, 9" x 6:" white bond paper, crayons, tape, glue, scissors.
- Hand out brown paper.
- Fold 2" edge all around brown paper to form a frame.
- Draw a picture of Isaiah.
- Color Isaiah.
- Write, "ISAIAH" and "Isaiah 53" at the top of Isaiah's picture.
- Write "The Messiah is coming!" beside Isaiah.
- Cut two slits on opposite sides.
- Fold to form a corner and tape to secure.
- Tape all four corners. This is the frame.
- Glue Isaiah's picture in frame.