I can already see how this method…will open up Isaiah in fresh new ways that reading through as if it were a story simply cannot do.
One of the reasons I read the prophets in the Bible less than I should is that I expect a narrative about the particular prophet, but find, instead, the text jumping dramatically from one proclamation to another. Isaiah chapter 2 is a perfect example.
Isaiah chapter 1 begins with a disconcerting description of God’s dismay at rearing children who have, in turn, rebelled against him. The chapter is filled with powerful descriptions of God’s rejection of their religious habits and traditions, accusations of their prostitution, warnings of wrath sprinkled with calls to repentance and assurance that after the wrath will come something beautiful. Chapter 2 begins on a better note, beautifully describing a world we all long for:
Many peoples will come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.’
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war any more. -Isaiah 2:4 (See also Micah 4:3)
Even the Soviets were inspired by this passage, as seen in a sculpture they gifted to the UN in 1959 known as "Swords into ploughshares.”
The first half of Isaiah 2 ends with the call for us to live according to this vision: “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:5
Yet if we continue reading Isaiah, as if it were a unified story, the beauty quicky falls away with the next sentence:
You, Lord, have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practise divination like the Philistines
and embrace pagan customs. -Isaiah 2:6
The rest of the chapter describes the destruction of the wealth, buildings, and homes of the people of Jacob who have trusted in the impermanent rather than in God and so will suffer the consequences. If this section were a song, the chorus, repeated 3 times in different variation, would be:
People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the speldnor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth. -Isaiah 2:19
Once I finish the chapter, the vision of the first chapter has been obliterated by the second. All I see are people running into caves to save their lives, not humanity uniting in the ways of the Lord. So, how do we read the prophets more fruitfully?
Buy a journal (a large one!)
Take time each morning (after your ACTS prayer workout) to write out a portion of Isaiah, not according to chapter or verse, but until the subject or tone seems to shift. (For example: Isaiah 2:1-5 one day and then Isaiah 2:6-22 on day two)
On the right page, write the text, leaving the left page for any questions, comments, or thoughts that come to mind as you write.
Once finished, take a moment and add to the left-hand page at least one “aha” or “application” for your day. This doesn’t have to be profound, but just something you noticed that you think could help you. (Isaiah has done some of the work for you in chapter 2. Verse 5 reads “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Verse 22 encourages us to “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” Which one strikes you as more applicable to your life right now?
Ask the Lord to use this insight in your life and get on with your day.
Some have called the book of Isaiah the 5th gospel. This is because Jesus himself, not to mention all of the writers of the New Testament, was deeply influenced by Isaiah. I want my faith to be equally influenced and I can already see how this method will open up Isaiah in fresh new ways that reading through as if it were a story simply cannot do.
On to writing out chapter 3!
