Isaiah 65:17-25

“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered.” (Isaiah 65:17)

In these last two chapters of the book, once more we cannot discern an order or structure. The succession of phrases that look like introductions to prophecies (65:8, 13, 25; 66:1, 5, 12, 22) and the movement between verse and prose suggest that here it is not because a prophet let a stream of consciousness have its way. It is, rather, because a number of separate prophecies have been accumulated at the end of the book. These different prophecies have overlapping themes, and this has presumably contributed to the arrangement. The prophecies also have a number of points of contact with 56:1–59:8, and this may have contributed to their placement here in the chiasm that comprises chapters 56–66 as a whole. Further, the way they rework images such as heavens and earth and the servants of Yahweh may have contributed to their location at the close of the book. The chapters form a conclusion to the book as a whole.

From Sermons.com: Join Today to access the most scholarly & well written preaching resources anywhere.