Isaiah 1:1-3

I've decided I need to take this on in bite-sized chunks. I obviously missed my Thursday deadline (big work project - trying to get a mail server to relay and send email for a ticketing system we're trying out. My advice - if you've got a Solaris server, Postfix is way easier than Sendmail)

Anyway, enough of my excuses. I'll jump right in:

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. (v.1)

It seems to me that the word "vision" should be expanded beyond seeing something otherworldly, or representative, like John's Revelation. As we'll see below it is much more as if Isaiah is relaying a dictation. There are certainly metaphorical elements, but compared to, say, chapter 6, this reads as much more of a declaration.

The vision pertains to the entirety of Israel - both Judah and Jerusalem - none of God's chosen people escaped judgment. Isaiah continued to speak prophetically over the reigns of four kings, which tells me that they were "ever hearing, never understanding". The message and themes are repeated over and over again, yet either in arrogance or ignorance each king ignored the prophetic words except, perhaps, Hezekiah who tends to be portrayed in a much more positive light.

Why mention Isaiah's relentless prophesying? To me it represents hope. Isaiah did not give up on the truth, but continued to proclaim it loudly and boldly, despite seeing little progress. He had one mission and he would continue to pursue it until it was done, regardless of whether or not his words were effective. This example also says to me that Isaiah didn't feel responsible for the outcome of his words. His job was to communicate the truth so that it would be known. He could not make a king or commoner change their ways, but he could speak God's word to them and allow the Holy Spirit interact with their own free wills.

When we are called to do something by God, we must be confident in doing it without looking towards the outcome. First, unless explicitly told the outcome, we do not know it. Secondly, we are not commanded to get "results", we are commanded to obey. The results are up to God. Think about one of Isaiah's contemporaries, Jonah. Here's a guy who thought he new the results of his (eventual) obedience. When the outcome was different than expected, he didn't rejoice in the repentance of Ninevah, but sulked that they weren't destroyed. Had Jonah understood what Isaiah did, that he was simply called to do what God asked, we may have heard more from him. I think the fact that Jonah misunderstood his mission is reflected in the truncated nature of his book.

Verses 2 and 3

Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.

³ The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."

Isaiah proclaims to the universe (heavens and earth) that the LORD is speaking to the nation Israel. The fatherly nature of God comes out as both lament and rebuke as He proclaims, "they have rebelled against me." God's guiding hand on the children of Abraham, the rituals and remembrances (e.g. Passover, Mosaic Law) have been either rejected or perverted so that they are forms without meaning, actions without passion. The people of God had rejected him and either followed other gods or simply relegated Him to lip service. The relationship had been broken as they had chosen to do their own thing rather than participate as children of God.

Verse three continues with this theme, noting that even animals are aware of their caretakers and homes. Israel has gone so far astray, however, that they don't even have the understanding of common pack animals. Though they are children of God, they neither acknowledge their parentage, nor honor Him from whom they owe their existence.

This message is not only a message to Israel, but holds truth for us today. God continues to be our father. He hasn't changed, He has neither forsaken us or left us. Yet we, both believers and unbelievers alike find ourselves at times far away from the Father's voice. I think Isaiah speaks particularly to believers, though, as we have acknowledged and professed our love for Him, yet remain distant , conforming to the world and not knowing our master. Do we really know our master's voice? Do we really understand where our true home lies? I believe that Isaiah speaks to us as a warning as well. The father is constantly calling out "come!" and we do a poor job of responding.

I speak for myself, here, especially. I long to know the father, long to hear his voice, but sometimes the journey to His house seems a long one. Many years of American culture have imbued me with habits and ideas that belong far more to the world, than to God. I am not condemning who I am, nor am I suggesting that intimacy with God isn't something that can be achieved (even quickly), but I am saying that it takes dedication and work, as all relationships do.

In a literary sense, Isaiah drops us right into the conflict. He immediately points out the actors and we have a sense of the plot - God has reared up children whom He loves, but they have rebelled against Him and lost their way. This is just the beginning of the story, though, and there are many more chapters before the end. Next time: the plot thickens.

Wednesday's Big Idea: The Heart is the Wellspring of Life

The idea for today comes from Proverbs 4:23 which says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Our discussion centered on what is "your heart" and what comes from it. The "heart" reference is not to the physical thing beating in our chests but to that inner part of us which is eternal, that is our "being".

We could certainly spin this out and complicate it by contrasting soul, spirit and mind with the heart, but I think the basic idea is the same. When we love God with all of our hearts, we are doing so with all that we have and so I think it is not useful to pursue semantic nuances and apply theological weight to what is, mostly, a literary device used by various authors to convey the same idea. Can we not also say "Guard your inmost being, for it is the wellspring of life"? Indeed, I think both "heart" and "spirit" can be used as shorthand for this idea and may really be shorthand for the same thing - one a more corporeal manifestation of who we are, the other more ethereal.

Regardless, our actions are the same: Guard these things, for from them come life - but that is not all. What else comes from the heart? Here is some of what we came up with: Compassion, connection with others, discernment, faith, purity, holiness and creativity. A host of other things wells up from the heart as well and I think the more we meditate upon this, the more we will find that the heart is something well worth guarding. Who, after all, wants to muddy up the spring from which bubbles joy or faith or hope or compassion? Who would desire the hardening of that thing which drives our love for one another? No one, I would hope. Isn't our prayer for a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone?

And so we must guard our hearts and not allow them to be corrupted or hardened by the world around us. This is not an admonition to retreat from the world, but simply to move through it with caution. What we allow in is just as import as what we pour out and both are necessary.

Isaiah - An Introduction

Before I jump into a chapter by chapter analysis of the prophet Isaiah, I want to do a brief introduction and overview. There is plenty to be found on the internet about Isaiah and a Google search reveals some interesting results. The folks over at e-Word have classic commentaries from Calvin, Darby, Luther, Spurgeon and others, so that is a good resource to hear what they have to say about Isaiah - no doubt I will rely upon many different sources as I get into some of the more obscure socio-political prophecies, particularly those starting around chapter 8.

Isaiah, to me, is very much a representation of what Christ was 700 years later. Isaiah spoke the truth to those powerful people around him and defended those without defense. He revealed the truths of God and attempted to preach repentance and redemption while condemning those who had turned from God and become corrupted by greed, power, wealth and hedonism.

Isaiah begins by outlining the current state of Israel, which isn't good, but calling the nation into repentance which will manifest itself in blessing from God. Isaiah easily switches from the two inseparable ideas of the judgment and promise of God. God judges the nation and having proclaimed His judgment delivers redemptive promise.

It isn't until the 6th chapter that Isaiah receives his mission from God after He reveals Himself in splendor. It is this personal encounter which reflects the judgment and promise on a personal level that prepares Isaiah to fully engage Israel and the surrounding nations with God's prophetic vision:

Woe to me!" [Isaiah] cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

The prophet Isaiah could not stand in the presence of a holy God, but he was cleansed and his station as prophet was affirmed as God asked the critical question "Whom shall I send?" (At this point I can't help thinking about David in Psalm 51 or Peter in John 21 ) I will get to chapter 6 soon enough, but this is a pivotal point in Isaiah's journey and it is where I think we see God's anointing and Isaiah's mission come upon him very clearly. Chapter 7 tells of the birth of Christ, Chapter 53, the death. Isaiah's gift and the visions given him stretch well beyond his current circumstances and extend to the end of all things, which makes for a very compelling read.

From this point on, Isaiah declares prophecies and judgments to Israel and the surrounding nations, ever repeating the themes of God's justice, redemption for Israel and the promise of a glorious future (or "last days") Isaiah spanned the reigns of 4 kings, almost 60 years, and it appears that he was a contemporary of Micah, Jonah, Amos and Hosea, although he was likely younger than the latter three. Micah, in particular, sounds some of Isaiah themes in his writings sometimes word for word (compare Isaiah 2 with Micah 4 )

Isaiah demonstrates to us the role of the prophet and the judge: to speak the unwavering truth of God to those who need to hear it. Isaiah confronted the rulers of his day with their sin and prophesied the results of both continuing in it and repenting from it. Isaiah also prophesied in the sense of seeing the future and so we are given glimpses of what was to come (Christ) and what is still to come. When Paul speaks of prophecy in his New Testament epistles, I think he is thinking of Isaiah, whose gift was both in speaking truth and in speaking vision. We ought not limit our concept of prophecy to the future, but remember that it is also speaking God's truth now that is prophetic.

Next time I will jump into chapter 1, although I don't know how far I'll get because this book is very dense. Before that, however, will be Wednesday's Big Idea, so hopefully Thursday will bring our first real foray into the text.

New Series: Isaiah - Introduction

I think the writer's block I experienced earlier has finally begun to lift and I'm going to start a new series working through the book of Isaiah. Why Isaiah? Isaiah was one of the most prolific prophets in the Hebrew scriptures, not only writing much content, but also covering a wide swath of topics - even while maintaining constant themes of justice, hope and redemption. Isaiah is unwavering in his critique and God's judgment of Israel (particularly the ruling class) while delivering at the same time the promise of restoration for those who repent. I've also never read Isaiah from beginning to end in a concerted effort to study the book and this seems like a good way to do it.

Further, when reading the New Testament, one will find many references to Isaiah. It is clear that Paul relied heavily on the Psalms and Isaiah and continually refers back to them as does Jesus himself. While I think it is important to read and study the entirety of scripture, aside from the Pentateuch, the Psalms and Isaiah seem to hold particular relevance to understanding the words of Christ and New testament writers.

I haven't decided how I will go about the survey, but right now I think I will do a quick overview and then go chapter by chapter from the beginning commenting and expanding on Isaiah's prophecies and judgments. One thing that I've found is that Isaiah speaks directly to us now as he did to Israel (and others at the time) This is both heartening and terrifying which will become apparent as we look into even the first chapter of Isaiah.

I'm pretty excited about writing about this and I hope it will be both enjoyable and enlightening as Isaiah illuminates from the 8th century BC truths that are relevant to the 21st century AD