Isaiah For You: Enlarging Your Vision of Who God Is

God's Word for You

by Tim Chester

Expository Bible-study guide to Isaiah.

Isaiah can seem intimidating. It’s a big book covering an extended timescale, full of unfamiliar names and places. You may be familiar with Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness in chapter 6 or his description of the cross in chapter 53. But large sections can feel like alien territory.

But the book of Isaiah is full of good news. Forming a kind of bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament, Isaiah enlarges our view of God, sharpens our understanding of salvation and illuminates our Bible reading. It points forward to Jesus and fuels our vision for the church and our mission. This is good news worth shouting about!

This expository guide by pastor and author Tim Chester takes you verse by verse through the text in a digestible and applied way. Each chapter focuses on a key text and shows how its themes play out in the surrounding passages, helping you to drill down into the details while also seeing the big picture. You’ll find ideas and challenges for application throughout, plus a helpful glossary at the back.

It is less academic than a traditional commentary and includes lots of application. It can be read from cover to cover, used in personal devotions, used to lead small group studies, or used for sermon preparation.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity

224 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2021

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the ‘For You’ series. It’s so clear, so thorough, so accessible. The approach is textual AND devotional, and I always come away with genuine prompts for my heart as well as a better handle on the text.

Isaiah is probably the meatiest and most complicated of the Bible books tackled in the series. Tim Chester does a great job, simplifying without patronising - though I feel there’s a lot more complexity and debate than we get to see. This volume is good one-stop-shop to start you off.

[DT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book that really made me fall in love with the book of Isaiah. It’s not exhaustive or very detailed, but that’s not the nature of this series (which is a con, because Chester explains things so well and keeps pointing back to Christ). I especially enjoyed the final two chapters. The book includes a helpful glossary of names of places mentioned in the book.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly can’t say enough about this book. I used it to guide me through the book of Isaiah and it was so helpful. Couldn’t recommend this more!

[Aidan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good

[Barbara Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isaiah is the OT book most quoted in the NT and foretells Christ’s first and second comings as well as His death for our sins.

Isaiah has some of the most well-known Bible passages.

Isaiah contains some of my own personal favorite verses.

But Isaiah is not the easiest book in the Bible to read. It shares prophecies and histories that are a little hard to decipher. An understanding of the historical context is needed to fully comprehend some of the book.

In Isaiah for You, Tim Chester wrote detailed commentary on some of the pivotal passages but briefly summarized the chapters in-between.

Before, when I’ve read Isaiah, I’ve gotten a lot out of key passages like chapters 9 and 40 and 53, but I’ve gotten a little lost in some of the details in-between. I found Chester’s short chapter summaries to be very helpful in keeping the narrative and timeline of Isaiah in view.

Chester perhaps emphasizes application a little more than Warren Wiersbe does in Be Satisfied, though Wiersbe brought out a lot of application as well. One point Chester brings out repeatedly is how these truths in Isaiah should inspire evangelism. God’s ministry with Israel was meant to be a light to other nations as well as their own, and the coming kingdom is one that will include every nation, tribe, and tongue.

They were to live under God’s rule expressed in the law in such a way that the nations would see that it is good to know God (Deuteronomy 4: 5-8). Isaiah himself uses this kind of language in Isaiah 2: 2-5: “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Why? So that “many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’”. The people of Israel were to attract the nations to God (Location 2321).

Chester also brings many parallels that I hadn’t previously seen before between the exodus of Israel from Egypt and our salvation. He includes Israel’s release from Babylonian captivity as another kind of exodus.

Isaiah doesn’t just deal with Israel’s problems current at the time. He tells them some of what’s coming in their future as well as ours.

And Isaiah lifts us out of the cares of this life to point us towards God and His glory.

And here is a glory that we do not have to earn or create or build. It is the glory of God, and he shares it with us. All we need to do is look! We simply contemplate God’s glory, and, as we contemplate it, we are glorified. So where do we look? God’s word continues: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4: 6). We look into the face of Christ. That is where you will see the glory of God, and that is the look that will transform you (Location 1001).

There’s so much more that could be shared, both from Isaiah and these two books. Let me encourage you not to be afraid of reading Isaiah. It provides a rich study, and both of these resources help us understand it.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does the book of Isaiah have to say to us today? In Isaiah For You, Tim Chester helps to enlarge your vision of who God is.

A Reader’s Guide to Isaiah

The latest in The Good Book Company’s God’s Word For You series, this is a must-have edition for the Christmas season. This expository Bible-study guide to Isaiah is informative, but also reads like a devotional. It will enrich your quiet times with quality Bible study, and give you plenty of application points to improve your walk with God.

What I most appreciated about this book was how Chester takes large chunks of Scripture and explains it in an easy-to-understand way. The “Reader’s Guide” sections distill chapters to their main points, helping you grasp the context of the book. It will be helpful for preachers and teachers, but is certainly suitable for personal and group devotions.

An Excellent Book to Revisit Every Christmas

By helping us understand the context, Chester allows some of Isaiah’s most famous passages come to life. For instance, giving context to King Uzziah in Isaiah 6 as well as what it means that “the government will be on his shoulders” in Isaiah 9 allows the verses to take their proper shape, and you can see how the background gives them deeper meaning.

While the focus is on Isaiah, Chester does not stay there for long. He is quick to bounce around the pages of Scripture, making note of references especially in the Gospels. I was able to see why Isaiah is an excellent book to revisit at Christmas, as it plays a key part in connecting prophecies and fulfillment in Jesus.

Light and Life to All He Brings

Amidst modern turmoil and political divides, the book of Isaiah remains relevant today. God remains a holy judge, but he offers us rest. Our King has come as a suffering servant. He brings light and life to all.

I received a media copy of Isaiah For You and this is my honest review.

[Phil Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some encouraging exposition of key chapters in Isaiah. Overall however, it'd been much better if they'd commissioned a 2 volume guide and spent more time in the book. It felt rushed, with too much packed in to too little space & ended up more disjointed. I didn't feel like I grew in my understanding of the book as a whole - unlike others in this series. I hope this isn't what's going to happen when they publish guides to other longer books.

[Douglas C. Butterworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isaiah accessible.

The author brings out the main points in Isaiah being fulfilled in Jesus in the New Testament. Read this and understand the importance of Jesus as the response of God the merciful Father to this fallen world. Christ being born didn't happen in a vacuum, this background prophetic book explains this.

[Ferry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revelation

The book helped me to realize how small my vision of God is. That made me so timid in my prayer. This book is an important read to grow in our journey of knowing and becoming like Jesus.

[Ryan J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for our young adult group

High lead a Bible study of college and career aged people at church, and we spent three months in Isaiah. This gave me plenty of material to create my lessons for them each week.

[Emmie Witham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful tool in studying Isaiah! This book gives overarching themes and summaries of different sections of the text. Would recommend to someone looking for an easy to read resource with extra information on Isaiah, but not a line by line commentary.

[Ryan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Isaiah For You commentary gives a very accessible overview of this rich book in the Old Testament. It emphasizes Christ at the center and our mission, as Christ’s church as a primary application. Wonderful read both for devotion and study to give greater insight and understanding to Isaiah.

[Mike Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightfully concise overview of structure and insights into Isaiah. Much clarity provided on specific passages that were particilalry wnkouab. Less delightful re: prophetic/fulfillment passages as too much is crammed into “the church” and not enough into “yet to come.”

[Bailey T. Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource in studying the book of Isaiah! He’s brought the story so much depth! Loved it!

[Ann-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 20%. It was fine, just not was I was looking for on Isaiah.

[Arvin Jay Sumalbag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful survey on Isaiah

I enjoyed the survey that Tim Chester did. Very insightful and helpful for my daily devotion. Would gladly recommend this to others.

[Sarah Tummey · Rating 5 out of 5]

You wouldn't think the whole of Isaiah could be covered in 13 chapters, but the author does a great job. It's given me a better understanding of Isaiah and I can't recommend this book enough.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Accessible enough that I can process in the early morning hours, scripture focused commentary with great application. Unwraps Isaiah really well.

[Erik Koster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me quite a while to get through but well worth the read. This is a great Bible study series and I'm going to keep going with it.

[Lorraine Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. This commentary series continues to be one of my favorites. It’s easy to read and understand and holds such rich biblical truths.

[Jeremy Landon Goertzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful for understanding the book of Isaiah

[Laura Bracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great commentary on Isaiah. Chester doesn’t go into detail for every chapter but gives a general overview of each chapter. Then hones in on specific chapters within larger segments of the book

[S C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the content & found it helpful, but wish he covered more chapters in depth

[Ruth Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una apuesta segura es leer un libro de Tim Chester de esta colección. Muy bueno.