A B! True Biblical Story
Isaiah
Isaiah was born in the 8th century BC to a man named Amoz. We don't know anything else about his early life. It appears that Isaiah's family was familiar with palace politics and the royal family.
Sometime during his adult life, he married a woman known only as "the prophetess" (8:3). She bore Isaiah two sons, both of whom were given symbolic names: the eldest was named Shear-jashub (A Remnant Will Return [7:3, 8:18]). The second was named Maher-shalal-hash-baz (To Speed the Spoil He Hastens the Prey [8:1-4]).
Isaiah received his heavenly commission in the year that Judah's King Uzziah died (6.1). He relayed God's messages during the reigns of Uzziah (or Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1), all kings of Judah. His relationship with Judean royalty was a roller coaster of hope and disappointment. His relationships with Jotham and Ahaz were certainly causes of discouragement, since they were not very interested in listening to God. However, even King Hezekiah, considered to be a godly king, often acted out of political necessity rather than faith.
Isaiah's adult world was also one of war. Isaiah had already begun speaking God's word when Tiglath-Pileser and his Assyrian army invaded Israel a second time. This second invasion was caused by other kings in the area who threatened to invade Judah and remove Ahaz as king of Judah if he would not help them fight Assyria. Isaiah warned Ahaz not to appeal to Tiglath-Pilesar for help, but Ahaz ignored Isaiah and sent him money so Tiglath would come to his aid (2 Kgs 15:29; 16:9; 1 Chr 5:26). Tiglath warred victoriously, and Israel and Syria were forced into submission.
Ahaz obeyed Assyria and her kings so Judah was left alone, although Israel was destroyed by a final Assyrian invasion led by Shalmaneser V in 722 BC. However, Ahaz' son, Hezekiah, chafed under Assyrian rule and in spite of Isaiah's warnings, agreed to join an alliance with the kings of Egypt and Babylon. Now Assyrian armies led by the Emporer Sennacherib (701 BC) invaded Judah and conquered many of their cities. Sennacherib's army surrounded Jerusalem itself (Isa. 36:2-22; 37:8). Isaiah, on that occasion, encouraged Hezekiah to resist the Assyrians (37:1-7). Hezekiah did, and God wiped out the Assyrian army in one night. It was such a tremendous loss even the Greeks heard and wrote about it.
Isaiah lived in relative peace during the remaining years of Hezekiah's reign. However, things changed when Hezekiah's son Manasseh ascended the throne. Hezekiah respected God's word, but his son Manasseh did not; and Judah quickly reverted to paganism. There is no record of Isaiah's death in either the Bible or recorded history. There is a tradition that he suffered martyrdom during the reign of Manasseh by being sawn in half. Apparently he hid in a hollow tree, and Manasseh ordered it to be sawn down. Some interpreters believe that this is what the Hebrews writer referred to in Hebrews 11:37, which states that some prophets were "sawn in two".


~Shawn