May 2017 – Page 3 – The Raynville Rambler

The Bible in a Year – 8 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

8 May. Isaiah chapters 42-44

This section of Isaiah is particularly complicated, continually switching as it does from condemnation of Israel’s past sins, to encouragement for those now in exile, to predictions of the return to the promised land, and then the Servant Songs of which the first starts this passage (42:1-9). It may have been intended to refer to Cyrus, the Persian king who released the captives, but in that case why portray him in such meek terms (“ He will not cry or lift up his voice … a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench”) while at eh same time declaring his mission to bring justice, not just to Israel but the whole earth? For that reason, Christians have traditionally seen this as one of the genuine prophecies of the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Throughout these chapters God reminds his hearers of his own power and glory (the creator of all things, 42:5; the one who saves, comforts and protects (43:1-3); their father (43:6); the only real God (43:10-13); the King who brought his people out of Egypt (43:15-21); the one who forgives sins (43:25); the one who knows us before we are born (45:1-2); “the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, the first and the last” (43:6, echoed by Jesus’ words in the book of Revelation). Yes, they would be rescued, but that rescue would only flourish into a revived nation of Israel if they never again forgot that they were God’s chosen people, and who it was that saved them. In our own lives it is the same: there is always the promise of forgiveness, healing and restoration from whatever afflicts us, but it can only bear fruit if we honour the one who brings it about.

The Bible in a Year – 7 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

7 May. Isaiah chapters 36-41

To repeat the last paragraph of yesterday’s post: the commentary I am following suggests that the natural break in the book of Isaiah between the prophecies of exile and of return, usually understood as being between chapters 39 and 40, could equally well be between 33/34 or 35/36, depending how you look at it. So today’s six chapters most likely cover that turning point.

Chapters 36 to 39 (apart from the “writing of King Hezekiah after he had recovered from his illness” in 38:9-20) are history rather than prophecy, and are a slightly abridged version of 2 Kings 18-20. So for comment on that, see my earlier blog post http://www.pilgrims.org.uk/the-bible-in-a-year-26-27-april/

Chapters 40 and 41 on the other hand are a return to prophesy, addressed to Israel as a whole. For all their sins and the punishment that God has brought by destroying their temple and their way of life, he will not destroy them completely. As with Noah, as with the people of the Exodus, enough will survive to return and revive the worship of God in Jerusalem again.

This prophecy comes, however, not after the story of the exile to Babylon – we are not there yet – but after the first invasion of Judah by Sennacherib in 701BC. The final capture of Jerusalem was not to be for over a hundred years yet; Hezekiah would live longer but not see it, as Isaiah prophesied.

At one of the low points in my life, when I seemed to have lost the sense of God’s presence, he gave me a sign: that of the turning of the tide. Those who watch the tide cannot easily tell the moment it is at its lowest point. It is enough to know that, when things seem to have got as low as they can get, there will be a turning, an increase, a returning of the waters. And in God’s time things would, and did, get better.

If we maintain the metaphor of the turning tide, Chapter 40 is like the Severn Bore roaring upstream, leaving its watchers in no doubt what is on its way. Many of the words are familiar from the opening aria of Handel’s “Messiah”, as John the Baptist who came as a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus was understood to be fulfilling the role of “one in the desert calling, prepare the way of the Lord”. It seems the terror to be wrought on the people of Judah was such that God had to promise them the happy ending even before the worst had come.

The Bible in a Year – 6 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

6 May. Isaiah chapters 32-35

Chapters 32 and 33 are once again reference to particular political circumstances – King Hezekiah’s desperate and ultimately pointless attempt to appease the Assyrians by giving away all the treasures of Jerusalem. Isaiah calls on the people to look beyond the immediate threat and to trust God who would eventually vindicate them and rule peacefully over them – but only when God’s Spirit descends (32:15) – a verse that some see as pointing towards the day of Pentecost rather than events in Isaiah’s own time.

But once again, that salvation from God can only come when the people truly turn to him in the midst of disaster: “‘Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames? Those who walk righteously and speak uprightly, who despise the gain of oppression, who wave away a bribe instead of accepting it, who stop their ears from hearing of bloodshed and shut their eyes from looking on evil” (33:14-15).

In chapter 34 the Lord’s destruction turns from Jerusalem to “all the nations” and particularly to Edom (one of their traditional enemies). Some Christian interpretations of chapters 34-35 see them as referring to the “last days”, the period before Jesus returns at the end of time. Maybe so, but the primary historical meaning must be that all the empires of the Ancient Near East (from Egypt to Babylon) would fall one by one over the coming centuries.

Chapter 35 offsets the dystopian horror of 34 by presenting a vision of the return of God’s people to Zion. Again it has a double meaning (as ‘Zion’ often does), both for the literal return of the remnant of Israel to Jerusalem from exile, and for the entry of God’s faithful people into paradise after the final judgement. When John the Baptist asked how he was to know whether Jesus was the Messiah, the answer Jesus gave was that he performed miracles of healing for the blind, deaf, dumb and lame (35:5-6), clearly showing that he understood this passage in Messianic terms. But the way to paradise is not for everyone: only for God’s people, who are the “redeemed” (in Christian understanding, those who have put their faith in Jesus), and not for ‘fools’ (those who ignore God’s instruction) or the ‘unclean’ (those who refuse to repent of their sin) (35:8).

The commentary I am following suggests that the natural break in the book of Isaiah between the prophecies of exile and of return, usually understood as being between chapters 39 and 40, could equally well be between 33/34 or 35/36, depending how you look at it.

The Bible in a Year – 5 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

5 May. Isaiah chapters 28-31.

Isaiah’s prophecies in chapter 28 condemn not only the political leaders of Israel and Judah but also their priests, who all alike are pictured as being drunk and out of control. The priests teach the law by rote, as if that is what matters in itself, rather than striving for the ‘rest’ (fellowship with God) to which to law is meant to lead us. Because of this, and the lies and falsehoods that the leaders resort to in an effort to preserve at least themselves from danger in a time of war, God’s judgement will come.

The parable of the farmer at the end of the chapter compares those who continually beat others down with religious rules to someone who ploughs the field constantly without ever actually sowing crops, and uses heavy equipment to crush the most delicate herbs. This temptations to resort to legalism (applying rules rather than compassion and common sense) and to make tradition more important that relevance, is ever present in any religion. Rules are to lead us to love of God and neighbour, never ends in themselves, and tradition should be a living thing, not a fixed way of doing things that can never change. When Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) he may have had passages like this in mind, as well as the many uses in the Old Testament of a yoke as the symbol of oppression.

In chapter 29 the focus turns to Jerusalem itself, whose eventual destruction is again prophesied. But throughout these passages are hints of the “remnant” of which Isaiah writes elsewhere, the faithful few believers who will carry on the true faith following the devastation of cities and peoples. As with the story of the destruction of Sodom, it only takes a few people who hang on to faith in bad times in order for it to flourish again in better times.

Chapters 30 and 31 are a polemic aimed at the leaders in Jerusalem who thought that a military alliance with Egypt would enable them to resist the Assyrian empire. But Isaiah’s consistent message is that God had appointed the Assyrians to carry out his judgement, and resistance was futile. It was too late now for the nation as a whole to turn back to God, although some individuals might. But as so often in the prophets, images of judgement and destruction are interspersed with reminders that God is still the merciful parent (the leaders of Judah are his ‘rebellious children’) who will always, eventually, have compassion and bring his people back. But it will only be when they cast away all their idols that the Assyrians themselves will be defeated, and then by God and not by swords.

The Bible in a Year – 4 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

4 May. Isaiah chapters 23-27

These oracles of woe, interspersed with songs of praise, make strange reading. Webb’s commentary that I am following makes sense of them by explaining them as predictions, not of actual historical events (except the oracle against Tyre in chapter 23, which could refer to one of several invasions), but of the final judgement of God against human sin and the establishment of his ultimate reign from Jerusalem with any who would come to him. The oracles therefore belong more in the New Testament tradition of the Revelation to St John, than in Old Testament style prophecy. Those who reign from Jerusalem are those who turn to God through Christ, since there is no temple any more and God’s grace has been shown to all people.

If I am to pick out any particular passage it would be the start of chapter 24, headed (in the NRSV) “Impending judgement on the earth”. The images are of both economic and environmental disaster, all because people have broken God’s laws and covenant. Again, Webb is helpful here is suggesting that the reference is not to the Abrahamic covenant but that with Noah. God promised never again to destroy mankind (at least by a flood), so why does he reveal to Isaiah that he will destroy civilisation? Because once again people have ceased to be what it is to be human. Long before Abraham or Moses, God put humanity on the earth to be stewards of it and to care for and support each other.

When societies break down so that people are neglected and abused, and the earth robbed for its riches at the expense of the poor, then the most basic of God’s covenants is broken and the consequences are inevitable. In our day with inequalities rising, hatred and suspicion growing and climate change destroying livelihoods across the world, we need more than ever to understand this and turn back to basics and to God in repentance.

The Bible in a Year – 3 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

3 May. Isaiah chapter 18-22

These chapters continue the series of political oracles of previous ones, and as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it really needs a proper commentary to understand them. But the gist of them is that Judah should not rely on any of these foreign nations, even Egypt, for protection against Assyria, for all of them would fall to Assyria in due course. Judah was better being independent.

In this ‘Brexit era’ in Britain it would be easy to see in this a message that we should be proud to be self-reliant (“strong and stable” in our Prime Minister’s words). But time and again God warns his people that self-reliance, even reliance on the gifts that God has given, are actually a recipe for disaster just as much as relying on others for help. The Lord alone is our refuge, strength rock and so on. If Britain has a prosperous future then, just as for Judah in Isaiah’s day, it will only be if we turn to God. That does not mean declaring ourselves a “Christian country” in some neo-Crusader sense and tearing down mosques. Rather it means being continuing to be open, tolerant, generous in foreign aid, welcoming of strangers (especially those in need such as refugees), and committed to trade justice rather than “free trade” or damaging trade barriers.

The last of these oracles in chapter 22 is directed at two particular government ministers – the commentary explains that these were real men. One of them was self-seeking and corrupt, and would be deposed and replaced by the other who was God-fearing and like a father to his people. Nevertheless he too would be brought down by the unrealistic expectations placed upon him. Neither should we expect too much from our own leaders at this politically difficult time. But as an election looms we should ask ourselves, “who would lead this country in the most unselfish, generous ways?”

The Bible in a Year – 2 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

2 May. Isaiah chapters 13-17

These prophecies take poetic form, and like all poetry are to be taken symbolically more than literally. I had to turn to a commentary to even begin to understand these (and other parts of Isaiah) – for the record, it’s Barry Webb’s book in the “Bible Speaks Today” series.

According to Webb, what is important is not the specific prophecies against specific political units of the 8^th century BC (Babylon, Assyria, Edom, Philistia and Egypt). Indeed he thinks “Babylon” stands for any empire that opposes God. Rather the overall thrust of the whole of chapters 12-27 is a reminder that however chaotic, destructive and frightening world events may seem to be (in the course of about 200 years, first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians would first conquer and then be conquered), the will of God is supreme. God can use and then cast aside any earthly power in the course of bringing his ultimate plan (redemption of the world) to fruition. Along the way there will be casualties, innocent as well as guilty. Only in the world to come will all of earthly history make sense and God’s righteous judgment be given.

We need to bear this in mind at a time when the “powers that be” are being shaken up again. The near east (and especially Syria) ravaged by conflicting powers, each apparently as bad as the others; the European Union looking increasingly unstable; Russia back in the hands of an autocrat and even the USA with a president who plays loosely with democracy; and North Korea threatening nuclear war. We can only pray with increasing urgency “God’s will be done”.

The Bible in a Year – 1 May

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

1 May. Isaiah chapters 9-12

At least two passages here have been much used in Christian thought as prophecies of Jesus Christ: the beginning of chapter 9 (“The people who walked in darkness…”) with its reference to the child from Galilee who will be called “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”; and the start of chapter 11, the “shoot of the stock of Jesse” (i.e. a descendant of King David) who would rule Israel in peace for ever. These certainly tie in with what we know or believe about Jesus.

The danger, of course, lies in quoting isolated verses: these short passages are set within larger passages of verse that clearly relate to the politics of Isaiah’s time. More objective commentators consider that the prophecies of a saviour or messiah in this book are really pointing to King Cyrus of Persia under whose rule the Jews eventually returned to Jerusalem.

This, however, is no reason why these prophecies could not have had a deeper meaning as well. And the opening verse of chapter 9 – “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a land of deep darkness, light has shined” – is true whenever anyone turns to God in faith.