1. Isaiah 1:7. When did this state of affairs come to pass?

Though some want to suggest that all this happened in the time before King Uzziah (767-740 B.C.), and that perhaps Israel has not received fully from it, most look to Ahaz’s time (732-716 B.C.), two kings later. The book itself, in chapter 7, tells of the menacing ways of the Syrians, and Isaiah’s dealings with their threats. 2 Chronicles 28 tells the story in some detail of the delivery of Ahaz into the hands of the Syrians. An awful period in Israel’s history.

2. Isaiah 1:10. Why the reference to Sodom and Gomorrah? Are they not long gone?

God is so angry with His people, from whom He has the right to expect more. Definitely more than old Sodom and Gomorrah, there perished under the direct judgment of God for their sin. Now Israel is committing the same sins that doomed those ancient towns, and so He addresses Israel as though they were Sodom and Gomorrah. A very shameful time for the people of God. The difference of course is that God has not totally given up on Israel, and there will be a remnant saved, per verse 9, quoted by the apostle Paul.

3. Isaiah 2:2ff. How do we know this prophecy is still future?

Many reasons. There is no elevated house of the Lord sitting now in the hills of old Judea. The world does not go to Jerusalem to hear the ways of God, but rather to fulfill a tourist itch to see the “Holy Land.” And of course, peace has not come to the planet. They still learn war here, in ever more brutal and savage combat.

4. Isaiah 3:12. How does God view the ruler-ship of a young person, or a woman, over His people?