Making Sense of Isaiah

I received the book Making Sense of Isaiah by Terry Ball and Nathan Winn as a prize for answering a question correctly at a work meeting. I finally decided to use it in my most recent study of Isaiah.

Each chapter is divided into three sections: First it gives a summary of the content in that chapter, Second it helps the reader liken the chapter unto him/herself, and Finally, it gives the reader some questions to ponder to further help them liken the scriptures to themselves, but requiring a great effort on the part of the reader.

While the organization for the book was appealing, I didn't find it too helpful in understanding Isaiah. Usually the authors would focus on just a select phrase or set of verses, isolate them from the rest of the chapter, and ignore the other material. While the connections were usually neat and interesting, sometimes I felt like they were too much of a stretch.

Overall, I would say that this is a good book if you want to understand basic concepts and principles taught by Isaiah, but if you want in-depth exploration, you're going to want to try something different. This is my second book on Isaiah that I have read, and I have a couple more on my shelf that I hope to still read this year. In the meantime, I'm taking a break from this profound prophet and focusing on other scripture topics.