Isaiah

Starting off with an overview chapter and then going into each specific chapter of Isaiah, this Lifechange Series study is worth your time. I'm using it in a small group Sunday School setting and it really works well in that environment where each individual can daily study on their own and then come in on Sunday for the group time and discussion. There are some thought provoking questions offered in each section and it does a good job of showing the relevance of Isaiah's message and times to today's world. Highly recommended.

I have found the LifeChange study guides, in general, and Isaiah, in particular, are faithful helps in exploring the text of Scripture. The authors have done their homework well and it shows. On one hand, this book avoids the pitfall of an individualistic, moralistic approach to studying the Bible. Instead, it begins with examining the biblical text in a very thorough manner. After exploring the structure of the book as a whole, it approaches large sections of the book of Isaiah in bite-sized pieces (approximately two chapters of Isaiah for each chapter of the study). A major feature that I found to quite successful was how well the editor tied Isaiah to Deuteronomy as well as the New Testament. Along with seeing Isaiah in the context of the whole Bible, the study also examines Israel and Judah's relationships to the surrounding kingdoms and cultures. All the while, the study avoids being overly technical or esoteric. On the other hand, this book avoids the source-critical school's approach to the Old Testament. Instead of compartmentalizing and dissecting who wrote what when and their motivations for doing so, the authors emphasize the unity of the book and its prophetic nature. A sad commentary on many so-called evangelical scholars is that they, too, have bought into a naturalistic and evolutionary approach to the development of Israel's religion. I'm glad to say that LifeChanges Isaiah does not drink from the same poisoned wells. If you desire to know your Bible well, from Genesis through Revelation, this book would be quite helpful in filling out the reasons why Israel and Judah went into Exile. Everyone from new Christians to seminary students can benefit from this particular study.

After searching for a companion book for the Book of Isaiah I found there are not very many to choose from. The choices are either a massive (400+ page) dissertation or this. I was looking for more of a history of the time period from Isaiah than this but this book isn't bad. It's meant to be a group based textbook but I'm learning a lot from it going through it myself. There are a few other books out there but be careful because they are Mormon based books. (I'm a Christian) Considering the lack of books available in this category I'm convinced this is the best you'll find. The best way it could be improved is to set much more of an historical background of what was going on politically in Isaiah's time.