Reading the Prophets.
A New Commentary on Isaiah 66
I had walked in on a family argument. They were shouting at each other with words of accusation and blame. I overheard at least four groups involved in the battle; the Lord, the prophet who speaks for the Lord, and the people who are divided into two different factions. Their argument continued:
Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word;
‘Your own people who hate you,
and exclude you because of my name…
Why should I read on? I turn to the Bible for inspiration and encouragement. If I want an argument I go to the headline news or social media who are always eager to oblige. But as I turn to the next page of the Biblical book of Isaiah, a memory pops into my mind of an argument of my own many years ago.
My own family had argued while staying at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother, who had never re-married after a contentious relationship with my grandfather, had nothing to do with the argument except it was taking place in her home. Her condominium was her castle and she wanted peace and calm restored. In response to our weaponized words she interjected, “Let’s all sing like the birdies sing!” Her counsel, well-known to family and friends through frequent use, was deeply irritating to everyone. We simply couldn’t sweep the issues that had surfaced back under the rug.
This family memory keeps me reading Isaiah. Arguments, I tell myself, are a necessary part of life. They are an opportunity to work honestly, sincerely, and passionately, toward a solution to problems that, for whatever reason, have not been solved in peace and calm. The issues described in Isaiah’s argument were different than my family’s. But they were just as important to them as ours were to us. I started to read the passage over again to see if I could figure out what their problems were.
Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word;
‘Your own people who hate you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
“Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!”
Yet they will be put to shame.
Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his enemies all they deserve.1
It’s a pretty intense argument. I hesitate to go deeper. I want to tell the prophet, “Let’s all sing like the birdies sing!” And then turn to a passage like, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
Like most arguments, the issues behind this passage are difficult for outsiders to make out. The Lord, speaking through the prophet, is on the side of one of the factions. That’s clear enough. But then the faction that the Lord stands against is quoted as saying, “Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy!” The only way this makes any sense is if they are saying this out of sarcasm; something like, “Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy!” They don’t mean what they’re saying. They want the others to fall on their face. This quote highlights their contempt. The passage tells me that the sarcastic haters are going to be put to shame as enemies of the Lord.
It’s a pretty intense argument. I hesitate to go deeper. I want to tell the prophet, “Let’s all sing like the birdies sing!” And then turn to a passage like, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
Of course, there is another part of me, the part that keeps me checking and re-checking the headline news of my day, that wants to continue reading. My culture has trained to take an interest in everyone else’s arguments, to approach them critically, and to make judgments about them. Granted, I don’t know what is behind their argument, but I’ve been taught that I don’t need context. I just look for the side with power and stand with the other side. They are the vulnerable ones. They are being bullied. They need our support. In this passage, I am for those being addressed. I should applaud their punishment.
Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his enemies all they deserve.2
…we aren’t comfortable entrusting anyone one person or institution with enough power to mete out that justice. So justice doesn’t happen.
But as I read those words I don’t feel like justice is being done. I’m uncomfortable with the harsh tone of these words of judgment. It sounds too much like someone powering up over somebody else. Now I feel sorry for the sarcastic faction. My modern, Western, interpretation of this ancient conflict reveals a serious inconsistency. We want justice for the oppressed. We are inspired by grassroots marches calling for justice. But we aren’t comfortable entrusting anyone one person or institution with enough power to mete out that justice. So justice doesn’t happen.
Our inconsistencies, however, don’t affect the argument in Isaiah. Their quarrel doesn’t concern us directly. None of the participants are listening to our critique. Their battle has been over for thousands of years.
We aren’t being invited to read the prophets as judge or jury. So why read the prophets at all? There must be a reason that the Israelite people wrote down their personal arguments, preserved them, and included them in their holy writ. There must be a reason that their arguments have been translated into English and included in the Christian Bible. What effect is it meant to have on us? Sticking my nose into their business with my two cents on who is right and who is wrong does nothing useful for them or me. I am reading the Scriptures, not to harden my prejudices, but to find fresh wisdom on how to make good happen in my life, my relationships and my community.
I go back to the passage before the one I just read to pick up some more context. I begin to write the passage as well. Somehow writing it helps me get more deeply into the meaning of the words. I write:
‘These are the ones I look on with favour:3
Yes, that’s the real reason I’m reading the Bible. I want to know the kind of people that God and his prophet are taking up for so I can be that kind of person. I want God to take up for me. Do the people he favors resemble me? Do I resemble them? I continue writing:
…those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word. 4
Well, this is a problem. These aren’t the virtues I was thinking of. I want to be heroic. But these are weak words, almost antonyms for the virtues I’ve been seeking. I want to be noble and proud, not humble. I want to be defiant in the face of opposition, not contrite. I want to be steady, confident, and unwavering, not trembling. Why would God desire such seemingly un-heroic characteristics?
I continue writing as their argument starts to heat up. The language becomes intense, almost surreal.
But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.5
This is another description of the sarcastic faction. They are performing the required religious duties nevertheless, their acts have become an abomination rather than a blessing to God. “They have chosen their own ways…” it says. I think I see the problem and the words of the next sentence confirms it.
God has been calling out but his people didn’t respond. They did their religious duties, checked them off of their to-do list, and continued on their own way.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.’6
God has been calling out but his people didn’t respond. They did their religious duties, checked them off of their to-do list, and continued on their own way. Everyone, that is, except the humble and contrite. It is the humble and contrite who are responding to God's call. It’s those who tremble at his word who are correcting their ways.
The prophets are full of arguments between God and God’s people, not because God is an especially angry God, but because things have surfaced that need to be discussed for the relationship between humans and God to continue. Whenever these issues are not resolved in peace and calm, God is very willing to enter into an argument with his people to restore the relationship.
When I read the prophets, I am being invited to reflect on any resemblances between the issues in Israel’s relationship with God and the issues in my own relationship with God. I read, not as a distant outsider taking a position in an argument long since over, but as one whose heart is humbly seeking to grow closer to God in my place and in my time. In a passage just after the one I have been reading, with images that are so intimate and so sweet, the prophet Isaiah assures Israel that this is exactly the result that God desires from this argument as well:
“For this is what the Lord says:
‘I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will feed and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.’
When you see this, your heart will rejoice…”7
I set down my pen to consider how I will apply what I have read. The path to a full-hearted rendition of bird song, that my grandmother so desired, is found not by running away from arguments but by engaging them. In our relationship with God, and with others, the painful work of confession is necessary to increase our closeness and our joy. So, I will commit to doing two things:
(1) I will show my courage by owning my shortcomings, being humble and contrite in front of those who have something against me; even if it makes me tremble.
(2) I will keep reading and reflecting on the family arguments of the people of Israel in the knowledge that amid quarrels, in the Bible and in life, the most hopeful and beautiful relationships are developed and strengthened.
Isaiah 66:5-6
Isaiah 66:6
Isaiah 66:2b
Isaiah 66:2c
Isaiah 66:3-4a
Isaiah 66:4b
Isaiah 66:12-14a
I remember that saying! Lets all sing…
Great application!