CHAPTER 1
Isaiah hits the ground running. By the fourth verse, the calls the people of
Judah, “Ah! Sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil offspring,
corrupt children!” No, tell us what you
really think. Also: I really like the
“Ah!” at the beginning. It really helps
establish an exasperated tone.
This book isn’t going to waste time setting up characters or
the plot. Right into the main point – his prophesies. It’s like a TV show that doesn’t waste time
for establishing shots.
And Isaiah soon launches into a main theme – a theme that
not only is he famous for, but the prophets as a whole are famous for. He calls for justice and morality to be made
the center of the religion, and not just sacrifice and ritual. It was the sacrifice and ritual that gave the
priests their position. For priests –
like the author of Leviticus – these actions were the heart of religion. But Isaiah counters, speaking for God when he
proclaims: “What do I care for the multitudes of sacrifice? Says the Lord. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat
of fatlings. In the blood of calves,
lambs and goats, I find no pleasure.”
Want to know what you should do? “Put away your misdeeds from before my
eyes. Cease doing evil, learn to do
good. Make justice your aim: redress the
wronged.”
Now that is a wonderful statement, isn’t it? “Cease doing evil, learn to do good” has got
to be one of the best lines of the entire Bible.
Oh, there is also a line about “Your hands are full of
blood! Wash yourselves clean!” When I read it, I wondered if this is where
we get the notion of having blood on your hands, but then I remembered – no,
that’s the story of Pontius Pilate and the fructification of Christ. But this line in Isaiah really helps set up
that one. I doubt that’s a coincidence.
This is a weird start.
Most of the Bible tells a story.
Even things like the Torah law code are incorporated into the series of
books so it becomes part of a larger story.
A large part of the Bible’s appeal is that so much of it is framed as
stories so you can relate to and remember.
That goes out the window here.
OK, it went out the window in most of the wisdom books, but those are
just statements. You’d think you could
arrange the stories of a prophet in a chronological order – make it like a
biography. But the Bible opts not to do
that.
But if you are going to avoid the story method, this is a
really good way to begin with Isaiah.
You cut right to the chase and get at his central message. Nice start.
CHAPTER 2
There are two parts to this chapter – the sunny side and the
dark side.
Isaiah leads with the positive approach. He foresees a time when all will be right
with the world. God’s house will be on
high and all nations will stream to it.
God will sit and judge over nations, and set terms for many people – not
just Jews. It will be a time of great
peace, which allows Isaiah to unleash one of the most famous lines in the
Bible: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks.” The first part is the
famous part, of course.
It’s a great image; one people have always aspired to – a
time of peace and brotherhood. Isaiah
foresees it, and it’ll all be under God’s watch.
But that’s in the future.
The present sucks. Enter the dark
side of the chapter. Isaiah notes how
the people have forsaken their Lord. The
problems are the same things we saw back in the historical section of the Bible
– which makes sense, given that Isaiah lived near the end of it (and was even
mentioned during it). The Hebrew are
acting poorly.
Isaiah thunders against the sins and issues of his day, and
prophecies that God will have his say.
In fact, it’s some really riveting, eloquent stuff. Imagine this pouring out of the mouth of,
say, Martin Luther King Jr., or some other terrific speaker. Isaiah says:
“For the Lord of hosts will have
his day against all that is proud and arrogant, against all that is high and it
will be brought lot.
“Yes against the cedars of Lebanon
and against all the oaks of Bashan.
“Against all the lofty mountains
and all the high hills.
“Against every loft tower and every
fortified wall.
“Against all the ships of Tarshish
and all stately vessels.
“Then human pride shall be abased,
the arrogance of mortals brought law, and the Lord alone will be exalted on
that day.”
That is some damn fine stuff. I just had to break it up into paragraphs by
verse because I think the pauses help give it impact instead of making it a
simple list. The way Isaiah mentions all
of the various places remind me of the “I Have a Dream” speech. In fact, its passages like this that likely
helped King develop his craft. He was a
preacher, after all. He mentioned Isaiah
in some of his speeches.
Anyhow, while the future might look rosy, the present
isn’t. We’ll get there; but it’ll be a
period of harsh judgment by God that gets us there. Then we’ll reach the Promised Land. (Hey, that’s another famous King speech).
CHAPTER 3
Isaiah has a nice way of referring to the Lord as “The Lord,
the Lord of hosts.” Yeah, I like
that.
This chapter is a strong denouncing of the sins of the
Hebrew, and a promise to make them pay.
God will put boys as their princes, set the people against each other,
and have Judah fall. Really, this sounds
more like something I’d expect from Jeremiah, who is known for being a real
Debbie Downer.
He spends a special section denouncing the women. He says that when God rises up to punish
them, this will be in store for the women: “Instead of perfume there will be a
stench, instead of a girdle, a rope, and instead of elaborate coiffure, a
baldness, instead of a rich gown, a sackcloth.
Then, instead of beauty, shame.”
He really has a problem with the efforts women make on their
appearance. I’ll point out they do it in
response to male desires, but they’re the ones who get nailed for it by Isaiah.
CHAPTER 4
A short chapter – just six verses. It summarizes what’s come before. In short, life we be wonderful and glorious
and puppies and unicorns and rainbows – but first we gotta purify
everything. First it’ll be hellish, but
then “for the survivors” it will be “honor and splendor.” So the destination is great, but the journey
a nightmare.
CHAPTER 5
Parable time! Isaiah
tells us of a wonderful vineyard planted.
It was perfectly spaded and cleared and cared for – but all it provided
was rotten grapes and garbage. So what’s
the parable – can you guess?
Yup, “The vineyard of thee Lord of hosts is the house of
Israel, the people of Judah his cherished plant. So the Hebrew are rotten grapes. And the point is simple: if God has done such
a great job caring for the vineyard, and you grapes are so lousy, which
shouldn’t he plow it under and start a new batch? He won’t wipe them out, but he’ll teach ‘em
but good. They’ll go into exile, many
will go down into Sheol. In the Promised
Land, “young goats shall eat the ruins of the rich.”
Isaiah takes a big picture view and decries the people for
their sins. Again, this guy has a way
with words. Imagine this spoken by someone
who knows how to give a sermon. Martin
Luther King Jr. is my default guy: “Ah!
Those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness to light,
and light into darkness, who change bitter to sweet, and sweet into
bitter! Ah! Those who are wise in their own eyes, prudent
in their own view” – I just love Isaiah’s use of “Ah!” to punctuate his
point. It just lies there on the page,
but that’s why you imagine someone saying it.
Well, what about those guys, “Their root shall rot and their
blossom scatter like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord
of hosts.” So they’re in for it. And the
reason their in for it is they’ve acted poorly.
With the prophets, ethical conduct plays a big role in religion. This is an evolution. Earlier, it was just obedience to the Lord
and following rituals. Now it’s being a
moral individual.
I think it makes sense that the prophets come after the
wisdom books. The centrality those books
place on wisdom serves as a bridge to the evolution theology of the Bible given
by the prophets.
CHAPTER 6
This takes us back a bit.
Again, the prophet books aren’t necessarily written in chronological
order, and this book gives us the early info on Isaiah. God called him around the year 742 BC, and he
initially couldn’t believe his ears.
Like Moses, he’s at first overwhelmed by the call, shouting, “Woe is me,
I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean
lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king,
the Lord of hosts!” Well, an angel purifies him and tells Isaiah to get
prophesizing.
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