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Learning to Love Isaiah
The words of Isaiah abound with prophecies for both his time and ours. With insights so important that the Savior Himself cited this holy book of scripture more than once during His ministry, Isaiah contains messages that are clearly vital to our understanding of the gospel. But with its notoriously complicated symbolism, how do we begin to decipher this sacred ancient text? The answer can be found in Learning to Love Isaiah , a practical guidebook from BYU Professor of Religion Kerry Muhlestein: we can deepen our comprehension by studying the scriptures chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Featuring a range of gospel resources as support, each point of doctrine in each individual verse of Isaiah is contextualized with clarity, simplifying the symbolism behind even the most enigmatic verses. This guide also provides tools and training to assist you in gaining more understanding on your own. By discerning the meaning of both past and future fulfillment of prophecy, readers will find plentiful personal applications of the prophet’s words as they journey through the impactful holy book of Isaiah.
552 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2021
104 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 13, 2022
This book is very enlightening but it is not the kind of book you sit down and read for enjoyment. If you are interested in an in depth study of Isaiah, this is the book for you.
October 15, 2022
What a work this book must’ve been. Every single verse has a commentary. I’m SO grateful. I went from knowing precious little about Isaiah except for how blurry my mind went when reading it, to really appreciating what he is describing. If I could sum up Isaiah in a few words: when you rely on anything or anyone more than the Lord, it will not be for your good and most of the time is even for your detriment. Trust in God; he loves you. There. All of Isaiah summed up. Professor Muhlstein excellently helps you appreciate his poetic and descriptive prose- best in the world, indeed. Remarkably well done.
October 12, 2022
I decided this year going into Isaiah, I was going to approach my reading with a better attitude towards the book than the typical dread I usually have. I wanted to “delight in the words” and do my best to understand. I decided to include this as a resource for my study and it quickly became invaluable. I went verse by verse side by side with my scriptures and experienced Isaiah in a way I never have before. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand deeper (or at all!). This book is a wealth of information, context, and spiritual insights in a way that is engaging and approachable for all striving to feast on the word.
October 8, 2022
Love Kerry Muhlestein and love this powerful resource. I came to understand Isaiah’s message much deeper. I love how the author emphasizes it’s not about judging the people during Isaiah’s time but asking how I do the same thing. So many principles—overall it’s about our covenant relationship with God and overcoming the influence and wisdom of the world. Powerful message of how God will rescue and pleads for us to turn and return to Him. That only God can redeem us. And our personal journey to Him.
Will definitely use this as a resource again and again.
This talk by Kerry Muhlestein really captures the essence of this book:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/kerry-...
Will definitely use this as a resource again and again.
This talk by Kerry Muhlestein really captures the essence of this book:
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/kerry-...
October 11, 2022
This book was a wonderfully helpful & insightful tool to enrich my study of Isaiah along with Come Follow Me. Highly recommend!
October 9, 2022
This book provided so much insight into the Old Testament Book of Isaiah. I loved the emphasis on how the prophecies of Isaiah could have multiple fulfillments in different times.
March 13, 2022
Most people who are familiar with the Bible are probably in agreement that Isaiah’s words and prophecies are difficult to understand and decipher. Kerry Muhlestein has written a book that is very helpful in to those trying to gain more insight and meaning from Isaiah’s words. Learning to Love Isaiah takes each verse and gives insight and help in this regard. At 553 pages, this book is pretty substantial. I had an e-reader copy, and I think for me a print copy would work better. I did check out a print copy at a bookstore, and I was impressed with it. I would recommend this book to those who wish to gain a better understanding of Isaiah’s words.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Covenant Communications. All opinions are my own.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Covenant Communications. All opinions are my own.
August 12, 2022
I love the commentary, the invitations, the Book of Mormon correlations, and the expertise of the author. It does exactly what it intends, to help the reader learn to love Isaiah.
August 25, 2023
In the conclusion, it says:
"It is hoped that this commentary has accomplished several things. Of course, it is designed to help you, the reader, better understand each verse of Isaiah. Hopefully, it has also helped you see how the different verses and chapters and chunks of chapters fit together to make a larger statement. Additionally, you have hopefully developed certain cultural understandings, skills in identifying and interpreting symbols, abilities in applying prophecies to more than one period of time, and tools that enable you to better apply Isaiah's teachings to your own life.... Hopefully, this commentary has also helped you personally "feel" and understand Isaiah more deeply as you have discovered new ways of looking at these scriptures and applying them to your life that go beyond what is in the text of this book."
Yes, to all of these things. This is what I experienced. I have long loved Isaiah, and read another commentary several years ago, but this guide helped me see and understand new things. I liked that it is more of a guide for how to read, rather than a one-and-done explanation from an expert. I probably won't ever read through all of this guide again, but I'm sure I will find myself consulting it over the coming years. The way I used it this first time through was that I read a chapter of Isaiah, then read each verse or section of verses and then the corresponding commentary. Essentially, in doing this, I read Isaiah twice. I suppose it would have been good to then read each chapter again after reading its commentary, but I didn't think of that until just now.
"It is hoped that this commentary has accomplished several things. Of course, it is designed to help you, the reader, better understand each verse of Isaiah. Hopefully, it has also helped you see how the different verses and chapters and chunks of chapters fit together to make a larger statement. Additionally, you have hopefully developed certain cultural understandings, skills in identifying and interpreting symbols, abilities in applying prophecies to more than one period of time, and tools that enable you to better apply Isaiah's teachings to your own life.... Hopefully, this commentary has also helped you personally "feel" and understand Isaiah more deeply as you have discovered new ways of looking at these scriptures and applying them to your life that go beyond what is in the text of this book."
Yes, to all of these things. This is what I experienced. I have long loved Isaiah, and read another commentary several years ago, but this guide helped me see and understand new things. I liked that it is more of a guide for how to read, rather than a one-and-done explanation from an expert. I probably won't ever read through all of this guide again, but I'm sure I will find myself consulting it over the coming years. The way I used it this first time through was that I read a chapter of Isaiah, then read each verse or section of verses and then the corresponding commentary. Essentially, in doing this, I read Isaiah twice. I suppose it would have been good to then read each chapter again after reading its commentary, but I didn't think of that until just now.
October 19, 2022
To say I've always struggled to understand Isaiah would be a gross understatement, so when I had the opportunity to read this book I didn't hesitate. I knew we would be studying Isaiah in our Sunday School class this year and I really wanted to try and understand it better.
This is not a read it once and done type of book. This book has so much information in it, I know I only absorbed a fraction of what it contains, but it helped me and my husband so much as we read Isaiah. I used this book along side by scriptures as we read so I could go verse by verse to better understand what we were reading. I really appreciate all the background information and insights into what was going on at the time which helped immensely. It also helped me understand how Isaiah's words applied to different periods of time, not just to the Israelites. If you need help understanding Isaiah I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary ecopy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, for review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
This is not a read it once and done type of book. This book has so much information in it, I know I only absorbed a fraction of what it contains, but it helped me and my husband so much as we read Isaiah. I used this book along side by scriptures as we read so I could go verse by verse to better understand what we were reading. I really appreciate all the background information and insights into what was going on at the time which helped immensely. It also helped me understand how Isaiah's words applied to different periods of time, not just to the Israelites. If you need help understanding Isaiah I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary ecopy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, for review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
November 6, 2022
This book makes me confident in understanding what Isaiah is trying to convey.
Muhlestein is a scholar who has done his research.
I like how he lays out the different themes to look for, focusing on the covenant of God with Israel, what the covenant blessings are and the covenant cursings (which are really just the denial of the blessings).
Took me about 9 months to get through, but a useful book that I will refer back to for years to deepen my understanding and comprehension.
Muhlestein is a scholar who has done his research.
I like how he lays out the different themes to look for, focusing on the covenant of God with Israel, what the covenant blessings are and the covenant cursings (which are really just the denial of the blessings).
Took me about 9 months to get through, but a useful book that I will refer back to for years to deepen my understanding and comprehension.
January 21, 2023
Kerry Muhlestein brings his scholarly expertise to commentary that helps clarify and contextualize the book of Isaiah. He helps readers to make sense of Isaiah's words, and when the translation is confusing, he points that out and offers possible explanations for what the intended message may be. A very interesting and helpful exploration of Isaiah and what his words meant for people in his day as well as what they can mean for us in our day.
December 10, 2024
I loved this book. It was long and took me quite awhile to get through it mainly because I wanted to really learn and understand Isaiah's writings. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels lost reading the words of this great Bible prophet. In fact I recommend reading other books by this author. He really has a good grasp of the Old Testament.
April 4, 2024
4.5 excellent insights and commentary on Isaiah's record from Dr. Muhlestein. I found both the structure of the volume and its content--including the indices--valuable in helping me study Isaiah more deeply. This is a resource I will continue to return to again and again.
July 22, 2024
A lot of information about ancient Israelite thought. Also some commentary about the multivalent meaning in the Book of Mormon and of how it might also apply to our day. Mostly focused on what it literally meant during Isaiah's time.
October 5, 2022
Great to read and to use as a reference. It expands your love of Isaiah
November 23, 2022
Fantastic commentary for a deep study of Isaiah. Highly recommend it.
January 6, 2023
Such a good book to better understand and love Isaiah.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews