Isaiah: An Exposition

by W.A. Criswell

A study of Isaiah from the late Dr. W.A. Criswell, who pastored First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, for nearly 50-years, and served twice as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Genres: Nonfiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

W. A. Criswell was born December 19, 1909 in Eldorado, Oklahoma. He received his B.A. from Baylor University, and his Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church Chickasha, Oklahoma and First Baptist Church Muskogee, Oklahoma prior to being called as pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas in October of 1944. He served for fifty years as senior pastor of First Baptist Church, for many years the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention, preaching more than five thousand sermons from its pulpit. He became the historic church's first Pastor Emeritus in 1995.

Dr. Criswell published fifty-four books and was awarded eight honorary doctorates. The Criswell College, First Baptist Academy, and KCBI Radio were started under his leadership. He served on the board of trustees of Baylor University, Baylor Health Care System, Dallas Baptist University, and The Baptist Standard. He also served as a member of the Annuity Board and as Chairman of the Trustees of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources). The Baptist Banner characterized his contribution to the Southern Baptist Convention as "historic":

He is known as the patriarch of the "conservative resurgence," returning the SBC to its Bible-believing roots. Twice elected president of the SBC, in 1968 and 1969, during the 20 years that followed he was perhaps the most popular preacher at evangelism and pastors' conferences in America, while also preaching extensively to mission fields worldwide.

As founder and chancellor of the Criswell College, Dr. Criswell gave his later years to preparing young preachers to preach the Word of God. He emphasized that a sermon should take God's truth and "make it flame, make it live!" "The word we preach from our pulpits," he declared, "ought to be like the Word of God itself--like a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces (Jer 23:29)."

W. A. Criswell went to be with the Lord January 10, 2002. His ministry continues through the messages he preached and the lives he touched during his seventy-five years of pastoral service.

Reviews

[Jack Vasen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am currently going through the book of Isaiah in the Bible. I gathered a couple of commentaries to enhance my journey.

I want a Bible commentary to tell me things I don't know. That includes context, history, customs, language, and in many cases meaning. In prophetic books. a commentator can rarely say dogmatically what the meaning is of the more difficult passages, but he/she can offer the most accepted theories and discuss pros and cons for each. Good commentators will also offer areas of application.

Criswell does some of what I'm looking for but what he adds can be annoying. First of all, the publication is 1977. I just went through chapter 5 where Criswell turns to America and the political. His pontification here is typical of a conservative Evangelical of his time. And it is dated. Not that there aren't aspects of what he says that are true, but since the 70's so much has happened. He talks about money and debt and the situation at that time was trivial compared to today. He talks about crime and not only has that issue become enormously complex, but many politicians promote an approach which many believe promotes crime. California basically legalized many crimes including thefts of under $900. And finally Communism. At this time one of the major parties has become so radically Socialist that it's policies border on Communism. Finally, he says nothing about Islam. Radical Islam (is the worst of it radical or mainstream?) Europe is being overrun by Radical Islam and their beliefs. Literally thousands demonstrate in major cities around the world in favor of Sharia, terrorism and destruction of Israel. They often physically attack bystanders.

Chapter 5 distracted me. Beyond that, I can already see that I am going to have trouble with his style. The title says an Exposition so I expect expository preaching. Even though this book is nominally expository, it wanders from that. While it's true that Scripture illuminates Scripture, there is such a thing as overwhelming the subject text with ancillary texts. And non-biblical anecdotes.

This book contains the things I desire in a commentary, but wading through all the other stuff is tiring.

I intend to continue to reference this book along with the others as I go, but that may change. Probably I will either cherry pick or scan in this book. I also intend to come back to this review and add or revise as necessary.