Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1

It is difficult to pin down with certainty the historical context of the Book of Isaiah. Certainly, some clues are given to us in the text itself (1:1, 6:1), but some words are addressed to the people of Israel about to go into exile (first to Assyrian and then Babylon), some to the people of Israel during their sojourn in exile, and some to the exiles returning home to the ruins of Jerusalem. Certainly the reality of exile is deeply formative for Isaiah’s hearers.

The book begins with an ominous note: the LORD has given his diagnosis of his people and they are thoroughly sick from head to toe, inside and out (1:5-6). Judah has forsaken (asav) the LORD, despised (na’ats) the Holy One of Israel (kadosh Yisrael). Perhaps God’s people might be compared to the beaten one on the roadside in the Parable of the Good Samaritan before his rescuer comes.

The body of the people of God is sick, through and though, so much so that even Israel’s worship is abhorrent to God (1:11-15). Worship, it seems, is empty, when not coupled with amendment of heart and life, in particular the call to stop doing evil (1:16) and to do good, in particular to “seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (1:17). The word for “orphan” (yatom) appears here and in 1:23, 9:16 and 10:2; the word for “widow” (almanah) appears here and in 1:23, 9:16, 10:2 and 47:8). What is at stake is the purification of the people (1:25-26). Isaiah himself becomes representative of this in chapter 6.

Chapter 2

We heard the first part of chapter 2 in worship on the first Sunday of Advent. We will hear from chapter 11 (vv.1-10) on the Second Sunday of Advent. Chapter 2 begins with an invitation: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,” (2:3), echoing the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 122. The phrase “and the word of the Lord [shall go forth] from Jerusalem” (2:3) always calls to mind the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts. The “streaming of the nations” to Jerusalem echoes deeply the last chapters of the Book of Revelation with the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.

The vision truly is a wonderful one: weapons of warfare are beaten into farming implements (2:4). A friend told me Eugene Peterson in The Message translation renders these verses: “and all the bombs will be turned into tractors.” What a magnificent vision!

The pattern of God casting down the haughty is not unique to Isaiah. See Mary’s song, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and the Beatitudes in Luke. The casting down of the arrogant is contrasted with the raising up the LORD himself (2:11-17).

Chapter 3

Things get pretty bleak in chapter 3, as God’s punishment is visited upon the people. Times will indeed be desperate (3:6). The LORD stands as judge and indicts his people for their actions (3:13-15). The “socialites” and those living in excess are not spared from this judgment (3:16-26).

I would imagine that for many of us, passages concerning God’s judgment are not the most comfortable parts of the Bible. We like hearing the words of grace, love and mercy (and assume they are directed at us) and cringe and wince a bit at the words of purgation, punishment and judgment (and often assume they are not directed at us). But what if we considered things differently? What if we heard all the words as words directed squarely to us and lived accordingly? And what if we saw these words as not in two categories (judgment = bad; mercy = good), but rather two aspects of the one Word of God reaching down from heaven, judging us AND saving us.

Truth be told, we don’t want a god who does not judge us. For the worst god I can imagine is a god who lets us do whatever we wants, a god who gives up on us, a god who is content to let us wallow in our sin. Instead, the one true God, the God of the Bible, judges us so that He might save us.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 begins on a note of hope: the branch (tsemah) of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious (4:2). Who is this branch? We will hear more about this branch as we journey through Isaiah.

We are told the daughters of Zion will be cleansed and purified and that the presence of the LORD will again dwell on Mount Zion. Where does this cleansing come but through the crucifixion of Christ, whose blood purifies, whose presence “settles” upon Jerusalem.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 begins with words that echo those of the Song of Songs (5:1) and casts the scene in terms of a vineyard. Vineyards are ripe images in the Bible (cf. Matthew 21:33-46). The house of Israel and the people of Judah/Jerusalem are told that they will be like a vineyard that will be trampled down and overgrown. And this is indeed what happened to the holy city during the exile. Extravagant houses will be left empty (5:9) and the haughty will be brought low (5:15); God alone stands exalted (5:16).

EXCURSUS: Kadosh Yisrael
Commentators on Isaiah have drawn attention to the fact that one of the unifying elements of the book as a whole is in its designation of God as the “Holy One of Israel.” God is referred by this description several times in the book.