Gene M. Tucker wrote the Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections on the Book of Isaiah 1-39 for The New Interpreter’s Bible. He wrote about interpretation of scripture when he said, “Anyone who reads creates meaning. If a significant text—such as one in these chapters of Isaiah—is to have meaning and life, it will be only in the minds and hearts of its readers, each of whom will encounter something different based on various factors, including experience, culture, and their goals in reading. Moreover, the meaning of this text from antiquity seldom is self-evident; nor can it be taken for granted… the goal of commentary is to open up the text, to encourage an encounter with it, to make it more accessible. Disciplined interpretation wants to engage the text and not a preconceived notion about its meaning.”

I invite you to come to your reading of Isaiah, and any other scripture, with curiosity. Not as an end to conversation, but as the beginning to conversation.

Isaiah is the longest prophetic book in the Bible. The commentary in the Wesleyan Study Bible (WSB) says, “In part, this is because the tradition associated with Isaiah continued to grow over several generations.” Isaiah is really three parts.

Part 1 is chapters 1-39.  These chapters are associated with Isaiah ben Amoz. He received his call in chapter 6 around 742 BCE, the year King Uzziah died. He preached to the southern kingdom, Judah, to the city of Jerusalem, and the kings of Judah. The WSB says, “He was married and had sons, and he seems to have been born into a high social station judging from his easy access to kings and leaders in Jerusalem.”

Part 2 can be found in chapters 40-55.  This section is often called Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah. This section takes place during the Babylonian exile. The Babylonians made everyone leave and they burned down the Temple.  When we read Nehemiah in March we learned that when the Persians defeated Babylon they let the people come back and rebuild the Temple.  Second Isaiah is written when Cyrus of Persia is beginning to take control of Babylon’s empire, probably 545-539 BCE.  WSB says, “the emphasis in this section is entirely on hope and renewal in spite of exile. The God of Israelite tradition is still firmly in control and will redeem God’s people.”

Part 3 is chapters 56-66. The conditions reflected here are those after the return of the exiles.  They’ve returned but have not yet rebuilt the temple. WSB says, “the tone of joy and hope of Second Isaiah is sober and more subdued here.”

Tucker writes, “It is not easy to read a prophetic book. The subject, style, genre, and mood keep changing, often without warning. Readers attempting to follow the train of thought frequently find themselves derailed or at least shifted to a different track… doubtless some of this challenge and disorientation are by design, especially in the individual prophetic accusations and announcements, and sometimes also in the way the book has been put together. But some of the difficulties in following the book arise from its complicated history of composition as well as our unfamiliarity with ancient conventions of speech and literature.”

So that’s why we’re reading it together with the help of the Holy Spirit!

Most prophetic books (except for Jonah) begin with a superscription written by someone other than the prophet, since both the prophet and the book are referred to in third person. This tells us when Isaiah was an active prophet and to whom he spoke- he speaks to Judah and Jerusalem in the days of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

Verses 2-20 could be entitled, “A Lawsuit Against Israel.”
Isaiah calls the people together and gives them a message that God gave him to disseminate. The listeners are the children of God who do not know God. A theme develops that we see throughout Isaiah and other prophets- that celebrating festivals and making sacrifices are not the only things God desires.  God spells out what is desired in verse 16 and 17.  God wants piety and social action.

Verse 21-23 are a lament over sinful Israel. Verse 24 is what is expected—the punishment of God. But not how the people expect.  Tucker writes, “the proclamation of judgment takes a surprising turn. Yahweh will indeed strike (‘turn my hand against you’) the city and people of Jerusalem, but God’s wrath (v. 24) will purify and renew rather than destroy. Then where one would expect the announcement of judgment, instead the Lord proclaims salvation.”

The last few verses of chapter 1 are confusing until we, as modern readers, learn what the “oaks” and “gardens” are. These are the sacred groves of the Canaanite fertility cult.  So delighting in these oaks and choosing these gardens means participating in worship of something other than Yahweh.  But we are to worship God alone. Tucker writes, “although there is no specific accusation of idolatry, ‘those who forsake the LORD’ are the ones who have participated in non-Yahwistic worship. To ‘be ashamed’ and to ‘blush’ are not the same as being guilty; it is to have one’s guilt exposed.”  These verses call us to consider who and what we worship.

In these chapters we get a lot of prophetic material, assembled from various periods, all about the “day of the Lord.” 
“The day of the Lord” is often used throughout the prophets, to describe destruction.

As we read these chapters it’s important as modern readers to remember the ancient writers and ancient audience, their culture, their symbolic worldview, etc.  Theirs was a patriarchal society. Tucker writes that the meaning of 3:17 is uncertain. The NRSV translates “lay bare their secret parts” while the NIV says, “make their scalps bald.”  The NIV translation is the most accurate reading.

Throughout scripture the way women are treated in a society is a marker of how well that society is doing on a scale of righteousness to sinfulness.  For example, as you read the Book of Judges the treatment of women gets worse and worse which tells the reader that society is going downhill fast.  Isaiah 3:16-4:1 describes the women of Jerusalem and how their status and position will get worse, rather than better.  Tucker writes, “all the images correspond to what is known to happen to women of cities defeated in warfare: the ‘stench’ of death, the ‘rope’ of captivity, the ‘baldness’ already promised. The ‘sackcloth’ that will replace the ‘rich robe’ refers either to poverty or to mourning or to both… the image of the women of Isaiah’s Jerusalem are wealthy and pretentious, and soon to lose all reasons for conceit.”

Isaiah 4:2-6 sees beyond the judgment described in earlier verses.  Tucker writes, “in effect, [these verses] affirm that the prophecies—as the creative word of God—have been effective and that their goal was the purification of the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.”

Chapter 5 consists of three parts: 1-7 a song of the vineyard, 8-24 a series of accusations in the form of seven woe speeches, and 25-30 an announcement of judgment.

Song of the Vineyard – Isaiah is the “friend of the bridegroom” and sings a song on behalf of his friend. The vineyard represents the bride. It was common in Hebrew poetry for a vineyard to represent the beloved. In the book Interpretation: Isaiah 1-39 Christopher R. Seitz writes, “Did God not do enough for his vineyard? We expect the listeners to indict the vineyard when instead God himself speaks the harsh sentence of judgment… The final verse includes the listeners again. They are the vineyard about to be destroyed! God looked for justice (mispat) but found bloodshed (mispah); for righteousness (sedaqah) but instead found a cry (seaqah). A similar contrast was set forth in chapter 1 where we heard of justice turned into harlotry and of righteousness into murder.”

Woes- what do you think of these woes? Are you surprised by any of them? Why or why not?

Judgment Announcement- verse 25 describes past punishment and the rest of the verses announce future punishment.  Verse 26 says that God will whistle for an invading army to conquer Israel.  This is how the exile was interpreted, that God let the exile happen as a way to punish the people for their idolatry. What do you make of that interpretation?

Chapter 6 is a well known section of Isaiah, sometimes referred to as Isaiah’s call story. Instead of trying to dissect this section of scripture, I invite you to read it and think about what it must have been like to experience what Isaiah describes.

What are seraphim?
Tucker writes, “the seraphim who attended the Lord must cover both their ‘feet’ (a euphemism for their nakedness) and their faces; no one can appear naked before the Lord, and no one can see God directly and live, not even the supernatural beings that guard the throne. Seraphim (literally, ‘fiery ones’; the English simply transliterates the Hebrew) elsewhere are serpents, but here they have six wings. Whatever their form, their function is clear. Like the cherubim in Ezekiel 1, they are attendants around the divine throne, and they praise the Lord.”

In verse 11 Isaiah asks, “How long?” this is a common question in individual complaint psalms, usually the beginning of a petition.  See Psalms 13, 74, 75, 80, 89, 90.  Turner writes, “In the Old Testament, one is allowed to resist, to disagree with, and to challenge even the God whose glory fills the whole earth. Questions are always allowed.”
 
Chapter 7 is made up of two units involving the prophet’s sons and King Ahaz. The second unit is quoted in Matthew chapter 1. Do you recognize the quotation? How does knowing this story illuminate your understanding of Matthew 1?

According to chapter 8 what ought we to do when we are afraid?

What do you think of those names?  What do you think about naming children symbolically? Names like “A Remnant Shall Return” were unusual in Isaiah’s time.
 
When you think about prophets, what do you imagine?  Tucker writes, “most modern readers, in an age of individualism, tend to think of the prophets as solitary individuals, independent thinkers working outside of and mainly against the established institutions. The allusions to Isaiah’s disciples (8:16) is just one of the many indications that this image misses the mark….one could even call prophecy itself an institution…From the time of David, prophets were mentioned alongside generals and priests as more or less officials of the king.”

What does 9:1-7 remind you of? Are you familiar with this section?

We begin our section today with a refrain- “for all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.” You get the sense that this refrain helps the people to interpret things that have gone bad for them as the effects of divine intervention. The people want to make sense of the senseless things that have happened to them.  Where do you see the desire to make sense out of the senseless playing out today?

In the middle of our chapters today is a section of judgment against Assyria in chapter 10:5-19. Remember, the Assyrians are the ones who exiled the northern kingdom of Israel (the Babylonians exiled the southern kingdom of Judah).

We finish chapter 10 with a section about what will happen to a remnant of Israel and Judah.  “Remnant” is used throughout Isaiah to refer to the people who, after the exile, come back to the Promised Land.  We read about them in Ezra and Nehemiah. The fact that a remnant exists is a sign that God did not completely abandon the people.

You may recognize the beginning of Chapter 11 from Advent.  We read a lot of Isaiah during the season of Advent as we await the birth of Jesus and his second coming.  Turner writes, “Few texts in all of biblical literature are better known or loved than this one—and for good reason. For all who read or hear them read aloud, these verses articulate the deep and persistent human hope for justice and peace, and within the Christian church, this text expresses the promise of a Messiah who would establish peace on earth.”

Jesse was David’s father. God made a covenant with David, found in 2 Samuel 7:8-16.  We call this the Davidic Covenant.  God says to David, “your throne shall be established forever.” As people waited for the Messiah to come and save them, they read this part of 2 Samuel to mean that the Messiah would be descended from David. So, when we read that a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, we remember the Davidic Covenant and the varied hopes for the Messiah.

The beginning of Chapter 11 is all about the coming reign of God - the first verses are about a “new and ideal king from the line of David.  The second element (v. 6-9) promises, “the reign of God in the order of creation with the establishment of peace and tranquility among all creatures, including predators and their prey.”

Turner writes, “As a consequence of the rule of justice and the transformation of nature, ‘the earth will be full of knowledge of the LORD’ (v. 9). Or is it the reverse, that because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the LORD, justice and peace reign?”  Which do you think it is? Why?

The second half of Chapter 11 is about the Return of the Exiles. Turner writes, “in this vision of the future, the Lord not only returns the remnant of Judah and Israel to their land but also gives them political independence and military power. This is achieved first through the reconciliation of the two kingdoms (v. 13) and then through victories over their enemies (v. 14).”

Chapter 12 is a song of thanksgiving. It serves as a liturgical conclusion to the first section of Isaiah (Chapters 1-12). Tomorrow we’ll read Chapter 13, which begins a section of oracles concerning foreign nations, whereas 1-12 mostly concern Judah and Jerusalem. Turner writes, “it is very unlikely that the prophet Isaiah wrote Chapter 12. It was added as the sayings of the prophet were being collected, edited, and saved as a book. The chapter serves as a fitting response on the part of the community of faith to the reading of the promises of salvation.”
 

These are oracles against foreign nations. They are very, very harsh.  It helps to think about this from the hearer’s perspective. If you are oppressed and suffering because of a tyrant who does whatever they want, without care or concern for anyone else, then Verse 11, for example, sounds good: “I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and lay low the insolence of tyrants.”

Chapter 13:1-14:27 are oracles against Babylon. There is a lot of war imagery used, and we see a list of the horrible consequences of war in 13:14-18.  These verses are very hard to read. These are the hideous acts people suffered and still suffer because of war.

Turner writes, “this text, like most of the oracles against the foreign nations, cannot be worked easily into a theological scheme or brought into line with conventional understandings of the world or of God. It is troubling and therefore, provocative. Like so many prophetic texts, it cannot be domesticated or brought under our control.”

These verses remind us of Psalm 137 which concerns Babylon and is equally graphic and cruel.

Turner writes, “Context and perspective are everything here.  This poetry, comes from the time of the Babylonian exile and later, expresses the point of view of those oppressed by the superior power of Babylon. An important function of the text is to enable its readers to identify with the oppressed… especially those who are comfortable and have lived their lives in powerful nations, may come to learn something of the feeling of living under the thumb of aggressive forces over which they have no control. Secondly, the Lord’s judgment against Babylon sounds like a cry for revenge, especially insofar as it seems also to entail salvation for Israel… before we rush to condemn such feelings out of hand, it is valuable for us to acknowledge that such emotions are deeply embedded in the human experience and that they may be related to the cry for justice… moreover, these texts enable us to recognize such vengeance within ourselves, to put us in touch with our own heart of darkness. To be sure, the desire for revenge is nothing to be proud of, but the reality must be acknowledged, else it cannot be exorcised. Feelings of hatred need to be confessed in order to be forgiven.”

The end of Chapter 14 is an oracle concerning the Philistines. This is the only one of the proclamations with a date, “in the year that King Ahaz died.” This is addressed to Philistia, but the real audience is Judah. Turner tells us that the Philistines are “occupants of five coastal cities and have been enemies of Israel since before the time of David.”
 

Turner writes, “The themes of death and destruction continue, as do the notes of lamentation and the tone of mourning heard in the previous proclamations of Chapters 13-14.”

These chapters are proclamations against Moab. We learned a bit about Moab when we read Ruth in June. Ruth was a Moabite.

Turner writes, “These chapters are filled with cries of grief, descriptions of suffering, and images of mourning rituals. Since this is not the grief or suffering of an individual, the chapters call attention to the communal, corporate dimension of suffering and the response to it... First, people work through grief in part by expressing it, by acknowledging loss instead of denying it. Second, just because conventional and perhaps even cliché language is used does not mean that the expression of grief is not genuine… Third, in addition to the support given by stable words and actions, one is enabled to work through grief with the support of the community, whether of the nation, the neighborhood, or the family… The notion that there is such a thing as private grief is a price we pay for the modern understanding of individuality. As personal and as painful as it may be, grief is experienced in and with communities. If there is a lesson here it is a call to bear one another’s burdens and to rely upon our communities when we grieve.”

Turner writes, “The theological theme that runs through these chapters is a broad one: the affirmation of the Lord’s authority over the nations. Somewhat more specifically, the dominant and unifying message is that Judah is to beware of entangling foreign alliances, whether with Damascus (Syria), Israel, or whatever power rules in Egypt. Instead, they should trust in the Lord alone.”

17:1-6 is about Damascus, although 4-6 concerns “Jacob” or the northern kingdom of Israel.
17:7-11 is all about the effect of idolatry.
17:12-14 is an announcement of judgement against the unidentified enemies of Jerusalem. Chapter 18 is a proclamation concerning Ethiopia (Cush).

The Ten Commandments forbit idolatry. Exodus 20 begins, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” Turner writes of Isaiah 17, “this text sets against idolatry and magical practices a call for people to remember the God of their salvation. Thus it concerns habits of the heart and an understanding of faith as commitment by recalling the God who is their refuge. Faith certainly entails ritual practices and the expression of ideas, but fundamentally it is the decision about whom—or what—to trust.”

Now we have proclamations against Egypt.  Tuner writes, “Why will the Lord bring such troubles upon Egypt? Verses 11-15 answer that question, providing the reasons for punishment. The indictment cites the ‘princes of Zoan’ for their arrogance, for their claim to wisdom, and especially for their reliance on ‘sages’ who have no idea of the plans of the Lord of hosts against Egypt.”

The Five Cities
Turner writes, “the five cities in Egypt will speak ‘the language of Cannan’ and ‘swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts’ probably refers to the presence of Jews who had brought Egyptians into their faith. There is good evidence from papyri discovered at Elephantine near Asswan that this was in fact the case in the fifth century BCE, if not earlier. Hebrew is one of the Canaanite dialects.”

Poor Isaiah having to walk around naked and barefoot for three years! Turner writes, “it is easy for modern readers to miss the power attributed to prophetic symbolic actions in antiquity. Isaiah’s strange public nakedness does not simply dramatize something, although it does do that. It is more than a visual device to communicate a message; it is a ‘sign and a portent’ (v. 3). In the prophets’ understanding, as well as that of their contemporaries, such acts set events into motion… the act can embody and even set the future into motion. Examples can be found in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. By entering a schoolhouse and sitting in a formerly all-white classroom, a young woman in Arkansas performed a genuinely prophetic symbolic action. She changed the future, and the future was like her act. Through peaceful civil disobedience, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others embodied their dream for a new world and started it on its way.”

There are three separate units in Chapter 21 concerning the wilderness of the seas, Dumah, and the desert plain.

Turner writes, “Isaiah 21:1-10 is one of the more difficult passages to understand in the book, and thus it has produced quite diverse interpretations. Speakers, addressees, scenes, topics, and moods shift so quickly that the reader becomes dizzy.”

What we do know is this passage (21:1-10) concerns the fall of Babylon. This is a vision, which is common in prophetic works (think Ezekiel and the valley of dried bones, and many more passages from Ezekiel). Isaiah and Jeremiah have few visions.

In the proclamation concerning Dumah (verses 11-12) the question is asked, “What of the night?”  This is better translated, “What is left of the night?” The one who asks is wondering what time it is. The sentinel responds with a nonanswer—that morning came and so will the night. Turner writes, “the message could be this: Since morning came, and so did the night, be aware of the cycle of good times and bad and keep on asking which is which; keep inquiring.”

The desert plain referred to in verses 13-17 is the northern Arabian desert. These verses express concern for an Arab group that was attacked while announcing judgement on another Arabian group, the people of Kedar. Turner writes, “the announcement of verses 16-17 advances the leading theme of the oracles concerning the foreign nations in Isaiah 13-23, as expressed in 23:9 (concerning Tyre): “The LORD of hosts has planned it—to defile the pride of all glory, to shame all the honored of the earth.” Yahweh is over all nations and peoples. Although reasons for the Lord’s intervention against Kedar are not spelled out, they are implied in the judgement against its ‘glory.’”

It is not obvious why Chapter 22 is in this section of Isaiah, as this chapter has two distinct parts (verses 1-14 and 15-25). Both sections deal with people and events in and around Jerusalem. But Chapter 22 is stuck in the middle of chapters that are all oracles against foreign nations.

The leading motif of the first section (verses 1-14) is the Day of the Lord. Turner writes, “As in other prophetic allusions to the theme, this one concerns the day when the Lord will intervene in human affairs, ordinarily by means of a holy war against the Lord’s enemies. As Amos made clear, however, those enemies could turn out to be the Lords’s own people (see Amos 5:18-20) … Usually the Day of the Lord is seen in the future, but here it concerns the past.”

The second section has two prophecies concerning officials in the royal household, Shebna and Eliakim. It seems like Shebna has constructed an impressive grave for himself. Shebna has no relatives there, so he’s an outsider, an interloper, he doesn’t belong. Turner writes, “When the prophet calls him a ‘mighty man’ or ‘my fellow’, his tone is ironic and contemptuous. Shebna has taken advantage of his position and misused his office.”
 
The whirling him around and throwing him far away is an allusion to the exile into Assyria.  Plus, he’ll be removed from office (steward and master of the house), and his position will be given to Eliakim. But eventually they will all fall – for the peg will “give way,” “be cut down and fall.”

Chapter 23 ends the section of the oracles concerning foreign nations. This one is about Tyre. It would be helpful for us, in the interpretation of this chapter, to know who wrote it and when, but that is not clear.  Turner writes, “Virtually all interpreters agree that it could not originate in the eighth century BCE at the hands of Isaiah of Jerusalem. Moreover, the chapter would have developed over several centuries, with the first part (verses 1-14) earlier than the second (15-18).”

We see in Chapter 23, like in other places in scripture, the dangers of pride.  What do you think about pride? Why is it dangerous?

Chapters 24-27 make up a section of Isaiah in both form and content.  The section could be called “The Isaiah Apocalypse.” When you hear the word apocalypse, what do you think of? Is it positive or negative? Threatening and scary or comforting and something you long for?

Turner refers to these chapters when he says, “the announcements in chapters 24-27 encompass the whole earth and all who live in it. Moreover, it appears to proclaim the final drama of history rather than a startling and significant turning point for particular peoples; that is, its ideas are eschatological, dealing with the last things. Furthermore, specific motifs or ideas appear that are generally found in apocalyptic literature, including the resurrection of the dead (26:19), divine judgment on the angels (‘heavenly host,’ 24:21-22), and their imprisonment, the trumpet of the Lord calling for the elect (27:13), an eschatological banquet of the nations on Mt. Zion (25:6-8), the Lord’s defeat of Leviathan (27:1), the darkening of the sun and moon (24:23), and others.”

Chapter 24 is all about the Day of the Lord, when God will destroy the earth and reign on Mt. Zion. Turner writes, “the chapter’s conclusion indicates that the goal of the destruction of the earth is the reign of the Lord and the manifestation of the Lord’s glory. This glory will be recognized and praised throughout the earth.”

Chapter 24 uses the word “pollution” many times.  We think about air pollution, water pollution, noise and light pollution.  The author and original audience would have thought of pollution as a moral and religious concept. We see throughout the Bible the dichotomy of clean and unclean. When something is polluted in this sense, it becomes unclean, no longer pure.

We begin Chapter 25 with joy. Chapter 24 promised the Lord’s reign, and in Chapter 25 we celebrate it.  Chapter 25 ends with judgement, but not for the whole earth like in Chapter 24, just for Moab.

The best-known lines in this chapter are verses 7-8.  Turner writes, “they express the deepest human hopes for an end to mourning, to death itself, and to all grief, and they do so in highly evocative images and poetic cadences.”  Paul paraphrased these lines in 1 Corinthians 15:26,54-55 when he wrote, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death ... When this perishable body puts on imperishability and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

What do these verses from Isaiah and 1 Corinthians mean to you? Are they familiar?

Chapter 26 is made up of three parts. Verses 1-6 announce that one day the inhabitants of Judah will sing a song thanking the Lord for victory. Verses 7-19 “contain prayers for help, meditations on the travail of the Lord’s righteous ones, and expressions of hope.” Verses 20-21 contain “an unidentified voice [that] calls people to seek cover, for the Lord is coming in wrath to exercise judgment on the earth.” Turner writes, “Only the last lines of this chapter contain strong apocalyptic images and motifs. The remainder blends the moods and languages from the life of communal prayer with reflective meditation on the ways of God, the latter reminiscent of wisdom literature.”

Verse 19, “Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise…” is often thought of as ‘proof’ of the resurrection that we look forward to.  But this is similar to the valley of the dried bones (in Ezekiel 37), it’s a comforting statement that means their nation will live again. Turner writes that it “most likely announces the rebirth of the nation that considers itself to be dead.”

Where do you see rebirth in your life? In society? In the world?

Last week we read most of the chapters that make up “The Isaiah Apocalypse.” It ends with Chapter 27. These chapters are about God’s intervention in the world – to judge and to save.

What is Leviathan?
Leviathan is mentioned in Job 41, here in Isaiah 27, and Psalm 71 and 104. Leviathan is a dragon of chaos that lives in the sea. This is a fitting place for it to live because large bodies of water were thought to represent forces of chaos. Leviathan features in ancient Near Eastern religions of Mesopotamia and Syria-Palestine. In these stories Leviathan usually opposed the creator god.  Tucker writes, “When Leviathan and other versions of the dragon of chaos appear in the Hebrew Bible, they may indeed stand in in opposition to Yahweh, but their power is never to be compared with that of the Lord God.”

In the next verses we have a description of the relationship between God and the vineyard.  This reminds us of Isaiah 5. The section ends with salvation in the future, but judgment in the present, referring to the Babylonian exile. Remember, the people interpreted the exile as God letting Israel and Judah’s enemies prevail against them because of the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah. They understand the exile as their punishment. This section doesn’t stop there though, it ends with hopeful messages of future salvation.

Today through Tuesday of next week we’ll be in the fourth major distinctive block of literature in Isaiah—Chapters 28-33.

We’ve finished with the long series of oracles concerning the nations in Chapters 13-23 and the Isaiah Apocalypse in Chapters 24-27. Now we’re back to topics and language familiar from the beginning of Isaiah, Chapters 1-12. We’re back to prophetic addresses to and concerning Jerusalem and Judah. Turner writes, here “the old familiar figure of Assyria rears its head again, as do the dominant themes of the centrality of Zion, the responsibilities of that nations’ leaders, and trust in the Lord rather than political forces or alliances.”

Chapter 28 starts with an announcement of judgment against Ephriam—part of the northern kingdom of Israel. This section especially implicates the leaders of Ephraim.  

The lines in verses 10 and 13, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little,” have an unclear meaning in the Hebrew. Turner writes, “the lines are designed to ridicule the mutterings of the drunken priests and prophets as something like baby talk, making light of the word of the Lord. Those responsible for the interpretation of the word of God only mutter and stammer, preventing the people from hearing the message of rest to the weary, transmitted through Isaiah.”

We end chapter 28 with a parable about a famer. The first part of the parable is how the wisdom to know what to do and when to do it comes from God.  The second part is about the wisdom of how to deal with the harvest after sowing and growth.  It requires violence, but not enough violence to hurt the fruit. Turner writes, “in the context, between prophecies against Jerusalem, the parable responds, enigmatically to be sure, to the readers’ questions concerning the Lord’s ways. In effect, the parable becomes a commentary on the Lord’s ‘strange’ deed, ‘alien’ work (28:21). In this literary setting, the wise farmer stands for Yahweh, and the crop for Judah and Jerusalem. The parable allows the reader to conclude that the Lord has a time for judgment and a time for salvation, that the violence of judgement is or will be limited to separating the grain from the chaff.  Judah and Jerusalem may be crushed, but not destroyed.”

In John 15 Jesus talks to his disciples after washing their feet, during his last supper.  He talks about vines and branches and the vine-grower.  Compare this to the parable of the farmer in Isaiah 28.  What is similar? What is different? How do they strike you?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Ariel is another word for Jerusalem. First the prophet talks to the city and then about it. The city will be besieged and then delivered from its enemies. Then we shift to the prophet addressing other prophets and seers.  Then we shift again, and the prophet speaks directly to the people about their superficial worship.

What do you make of the part about superficial worship in verses 13 and 14?  “The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote. So I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden”  What does this look like today? This passage is cited in Matthew 15:7-8 and Mark 7:6-7 when Jesus addresses the Pharisees and scribes, calling them hypocrites. It’s not that the Lord is against tradition or ritual, but about how an individual or group uses tradition or ritual. Turner writes, “All religion, even the most spontaneous and personal, is shaped by tradition and ritual…it would be inappropriate to use these lines to criticize the practices of others, but appropriate to use them to challenge one’s own devotion.”

How does your understanding of verse 13 change when you read it with verse 14?

Starting in verse 15 we hear about the leaders of the people thinking they can keep their plans from God. Turner writes, “the prophetic voice accuses those leaders of the highest form of deception. They think they can plan in the dark and thus hide their schemes from the Lord. Obviously, one problem is that those plans run against what the Lord has designed for the city and its people. Even more fundamental, however, is the delusion that any human activities could be concealed from the creator of all life… God may be experienced as the one who knows our very hearts, who understands our thoughts and feelings even before we express them. Conversely, such all-encompassing knowledge may be experienced as threats to our own identity and integrity. If one is guided by the biblical images, the tension between divine knowledge and authority on the one hand and human autonomy on the other is never fully resolved.”

The rest of the chapter describes many reversals of circumstance. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the neediest people will be provided for. Turner writes, “Anyone who listens for the word of God, whether through prophetic voices or in any possible way, should be prepared for surprises.”  He references Mark 10:31  “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” and Luke 13:30, “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” when he says, “many of those surprises will turn out to be reversals of expectation.  I’d add in Luke 1:46-55.

The part that stood out to me in Chapter 30 is verses 10 and 11—"who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things; prophesy illusions; leave the way; turn aside from the path; let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Where do you see, in our society, people who say, “Speak to us smooth things.”  Do you ever find yourself desiring to hear ‘smooth things’ instead of hard truths? How do you keep yourself accountable to focus on the truth?

Verses 18-20 and verse 26 could be interpreted in a way that assumes the Lord is responsible for suffering.  Turner writes, “clearly these lines were composed at a time when the people of the Lord were in trouble, suffering either during the Babylonian exile or later. It was not, however, just the expectation of better days ahead that enabled them to endure such distress, although such anticipation would have been comforting, empowering the people with hope.  Even more important, grounds for confidence can be recognized in the very lines that may seem most troubling, the affirmations that the Lord was the author of the trouble.  That would have enabled the faithful to affirm that their God was over events, and that their history, including times when they were punished for their sins, had meaning. Thus, the faithful could see a direct connection between the justice and the mercy of God.”  What do you make of that? Is it helpful for you to believe that God plans everything?

Should we trust in God or in powerful allies? That’s what the issues is that Isaiah raises in Chapter 31—trust. Will we trust in horses and chariots or God? What is the modern equivalent of horses and chariots?

We get the image of a lion in Chapter 31. Usually in prophetic literature the lion is a metaphor representing disaster. But here the lion protecting its prey is God fighting for Jerusalem. We see this in Hosea 11:10-11 when God roars like a lion calling the children of God home. God is also like birds hovering overhead, watching over the city. This reminds us of Deuteronomy 32:11-12, “As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him.”

Chapter 32 is made up of three sections. The first section, verses 1-8, is a look to the future when the leaders will take care of the people as God desires. It will be comforting and pleasant experience for everyone.

The second section, verses 9-14, is a series of instruction for ‘complacent’ women. These sound a lot like Proverbs 1:8-9, 3:1-2, 3:11-12. Turner writes, “at first the tone is that of reproof, criticizing ‘ease’ and complacency because trouble lies ahead in the form of the failure of the vintage and the ‘fruit harvest’…The tone soon turns to one of sorrow, and the women are called to perform the rituals of mourning. They are asked to grieve for the loss, not of the harvest itself, but of the ‘vine,’ the ‘soil,’ and even all the ‘joyous houses in the jubilant city.’ The references to the ‘thorns and briers’ recalls the song of the vineyard that functioned to proclaim judgment (Isaiah 5). This section is probably addressed to women because they had a special role in mourning rituals.

The third section, verses 15-20 is a lovely description of justice and peace. Here we see another example of the reversal of circumstance. In verse 15 it says, “the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,” which is the opposite of what was said earlier about the failed vineyard.

Isaiah 49-53, what we’ll ready today through Wednesday, is a section in Isaiah. Christopher Seitz writes, “this discourse is above all an interrelated one… attention must be given to following the argument carefully from chapter to chapter and not isolating a section or playing one off against another. To do so would be to miss the flow—‘dramatic’ is not a bad term—that characterizes the composition of the chapters in their present arrangement.”

The beginning of Chapter 49 is spoken by a servant of the Lord. In this chapter and following the people are referred to as “Zion.”  Zion is personified and functions as a character in a narrative.

We see the renewal of the people when the personified Zion sees all the children that were born during the exile.  She is shocked at the renewal of the people.  There are so many people that soon they’ll have to start thinking about how crowded things will get. How could this be that there were so many people that the personified Zion didn’t know about?  The answer comes that kings and queens were foster parents.  This reminds us of Exodus, how Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter.

Seitz writes, “The final verses of this address to Zion reassure her that, no matter how harsh the oppressors of her children are, they shall be rescued.”

The beginning of Chapter 50 reiterates the common understanding and message about the exile- that it happened as a consequence of Israel/Judah’s unfaithfulness to God. The Wesley Study Bible commentary says, “God has not divorced Israel or sold them for debt. Israel has suffered for its own sins but is not beyond God’s power to redeem.”
 
Which verses in these two chapters are your favorite?  Verses 2-3 in Chapter 50 remind me a lot of God’s speech from the whirlwind in Job, highlighting the power of God and the fact that God’s perspective is much different than ours.

In these chapters we read a lot about “waste places” or places of destruction in Zion.  When you read about these, do you think of places in your own life that could be called waste places? As we see at the beginning of Chapter 51 God makes the waste places or desert and parched places into a lush garden, like the Garden of Eden.  What areas of your life can you invite God to transform?

Verse 9 of Chapter 51 one is confusing.  Rahab is a “chaos monster” as Seitz puts it, another name for the Leviathan. See notes on Isaiah 27 for more information.  This “dragon” shows up in other places in scripture- Job 26, Isaiah 27, Psalms 74, 89.

We see God’s love of joy and gladness and God’s desire to bring that to the people.  The Exodus is remembered once again- how God parted the sea to bring the people to freedom.

God asks the people why they are afraid if God is their redeemer.  What are you afraid of? How does knowing God is your redeemer affect your experience of fear?  Take a moment to read Psalm 46 and compare it to this section of Isaiah.

In 50:9 and 51:8 the garments of adversaries are consumed by moth and worm.  Here Zion is told to put on beautiful garments and shake off the dust of the past.  Then we see God’s priorities: peace, joy, salvation, rejoicing, etc.

Verses 11 and 12 pick up a previous theme about the uncircumcised and unclean not entering God’s sanctuary, basically those who are not part of the community of Zion. This is why there is an emphasis on not touching things that are unclean.

Who first comes to mind when reading this section of Isaiah? For many, throughout the ages, the answer to that question is Jesus. When reading the Passion narratives in the Gospels our minds are brought to these words in Isaiah and visa versa.  Just like reading Psalm 22 brings our minds to the foot of the cross, so these verses from Isaiah bring our minds to Jesus. This section is given richer meaning when read with the Gospels in mind, even though this was written years and years before Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.

Seitz writes, “the chief reason for confusion in interpreting the final suffering servant poem is the failure properly to appreciate how many distinct concerns and prior contexts have been creatively merged here, to the point of overflow and seeming paradox. These include, chiefly (a) the servant as one like Moses in suffering and expiatory death on behalf of a new generation of the people Israel; (b) the servants as acknowledgers of the work of the servant for Israel’s collective redemption, as this has found specific expression earlier in the discourse; and (c) the portrayal by the servants of the acknowledgement of the nations, also as this has been anticipated within the discourse.”

What parts of this section stand out to you most? Do you recognize any verses? This poem is traditionally read on Good Friday.

Here we see the renewal of the people.  Those who have no children will give birth to many.  The tents will have to be enlarged to fit all the new babies and children.  The promise to Abraham and Sarah, that they would have more descendants than there are stars in the sky, will continue, even after the exile.

Again we get a personified Zion, a figure representing the people whose faithful husband is God. The exile is described as a momentary abandonment by God, a brief moment of wrath.  But that is now over and God will remain faithful. This helps us to understand how the people interpreted the exile. God is writing a new story, one of faithfulness, safely, and provision for the people and their children.

Seitz writes, “All that Zion has lost is returned…Whatever judgment was endured is now over—for good….Not all are prepared to accept God’s previous sentence of judgment and to see it as an act of cleansing, necessary for full life in God’s future plans. In those who repent, we are told in 1:27, who will see God’s justice and righteousness anew and will move gladly in this direction. All has been stripped away. New vision is thereby granted. But to rebel against God’s judgment is to miss its redemptive purpose. It is a holding on to the status quo as bearable, even justifiable, instead of accepting the darkness of God’s justice as the only path leading to God’s light and truth. So, rebellion is not quashed by God. There can be judgment, but there cannot be forced repentance…Yet notice that this reality in no way diminishes God’s gracious action toward Zion and her taught children. The persistence of sin and rebellion does not need to be intellectually squared with God’s free gift of redemption and new life. God takes another tack on this matter. God promises that such persistent rebellion will not gain the victory over these lavishly restored people. There is no diminishment of God’s mighty power to redeem by the existence of forces to the contrary.”

That is good news!

This is the last chapter of Second Isaiah (which is chapters 40-55).

Seitz gives this chapter the title “The Reversal Continues.” Now all creation is being renewed and restored. Thorns and briars are being removed, making Israel that ‘pleasant vineyard’ we talked about in the notes for Chapter 27. Briars and thorns are characteristic of waste places, not gardens of abundance as described here. Seitz writes, “in the lavish promises of God, the people will come and go from Zion in joy and peace, as all nature salutes God’s dramatic turning of fortunes. This will constitute an everlasting memorial on precisely those terms—that God has wiped out the days of judgment and given those who repent a fully new lease on life.” 

Today we start Third Isaiah. What a beautiful way to start this section! What good news from verse one—“for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.”  These are welcome words to people who are living in situations that are not conducive to flourishing.

Later in these chapters we get a lot of adultery language.  As we’ve seen earlier in Isaiah God points out how useless idols are. The wind can blow them away. They offer no real help. The people are personified as an unfaithful wife. Seitz writes, “the foundational sin is not failing to do our best in and with God’s world but is, rather, deserting God. It is leaving God for some other god and some other form of devotion.”

The last section of Chapter 57 (v. 14-21) is addressed to the righteous. Seitz writes, “it is not the case that God’s righteous ones have no record of sin. Quite the contrary. God has seen their ways, their backsliding and self-centered ways, betraying God and bringing forth God’s righteous anger.” They go through a time of disorientation as God replaces patterns of self-centeredness and rejection of God and the kingdom of God.

Some theologians call this sort of thing a “dark night of the soul.”  Have you ever experienced anything like that? A season when God felt distant, when things felt dark, when it felt like your spiritual life collapsed, and then gradually was rebuilt into something deeper, more meaningful, more fruitful?  

In Chapter 58 the prophet paints a picture of true righteousness.  It is NOT fasting and humbling oneself all the while serving their own interests while oppressing workers.  God offers another way—a way that leads to life. That way is relationship with God and right relationship with neighbors.

What do you think of being called “repairers of the breach, restorers of streets to live in?” This section of Isaiah is post-exilic, meaning it is written when the people have returned to the land after the exile.  How does knowing that context layer on the meaning of what God promises them here?

Seitz writes of 59:9-15a, “…truth is also lacking in the public square. There is a dimension of the perversion of God’s will that is so overwhelming, as related in 59:1-8, that the entire community suffers, over and above what their own transgressions have brought upon them. This reading explains the combination of confession and complaint that characterize the speech.”

In Chapter 58 we see wrongly motivated religion. And then in Chapter 59 we get a confession.  The prophet’s rebuke leads to confession.  Have you ever been rebuked? Have you ever rebuked someone else? Did the rebuke make you (or the other person) reevaluate and confess? Have you ever received correction that did not motivate you to repentance? Why or why not?

Seitz writes, “Often there is more to our anguish than the selfish assaults of others on us. There is a deeper reality that God seeks to get at first, involving our own dishonestly and transgressions. Here we may even get more than we bargained for out of a sense that what needed remedy was God or the evil around us.”

What good and beautiful news we have in these chapters.  What a joy to the people who returned to the Promised Land after the exile to hear that their children will return, that God would provide for them, that they’d be able to harvest and eat the food they planted, that they’d be called by a new name, new names—“My Delight Is in Her” and “The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord,” and “Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.”

We read Chapter 60 on Epiphany, the Sunday we celebrate the Magi visiting Jesus. Verses 19-20 remind us of Revelation 21:24-25 when we will have no need of the moon or sun for light.

Chapter 61 includes the section Jesus reads in his hometown synagogue—see Luke 4.

Overall, the covenant relationship between God and the people is renewed.

Chapter 63:1-6 describes the anger of God. God is personified as a person trampling grapes to make wine. This section refers to how the people interpreted the exile. The rest of the chapter and into Chapter 64 is the prophet looking back at the faithfulness of God.  The Exodus is remembered, the crossing of the Red Sea, the promise to Abraham and Sarah, all remembered and celebrated.

The last bit of Chapter 64 describes the overwhelm of the people—returned from the exile, looking around and seeing all the work there is to do.  The people call on God to do something, anything! Because, as it says in verses 10-12 of Chapter 65, “Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.  Our holy and beautiful house, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. After all this, will you restrain yourself, O Lord? Will you keep silent and punish us so severely?”

We experience whiplash in Chapter 65.  It starts with God’s distress over the unfaithfulness of the people, God calling to the people and getting no answer, with the people choosing what is evil in God’s sight.  These are the unrighteous, who practice religion that is not what God desires or as Seitz puts it, “false religion parading as true.”  They are contrasted with the righteous who are faithful to God.

Verse 3 of Chapter 66 is confusing unless you understand that Isaiah is describing sacrificial worship.  They would sacrifice ox and lamb and offer grain and frankincense.  God is saying that this is not what God desires. What God desires is relationship with the people.  This is highlighted in verse 4, “when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen.”

The book ends with a solemn warning to those who rebel against God.  This reminds us again that what God desires most is relationship with us.  Just as it says at the beginning of Chapter 65, “I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name. I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people.”  God is ready and willing and wants, above all else, to be in relationship with us.