Please read again the Amos and Isaiah study questions , and then Chapters 1-11 of Isaiah. What do you find here that suggest that Isaiah's message was a burden? Is there a passage here that particularly well reflects hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Isaiah I
Please read again the Amos and Isaiah study questions , and then Chapters 1-11 of Isaiah. What do you find here that suggest that Isaiah's message was a burden? Is there a passage here that particularly well reflects hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?
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There are many things in the first 11 chapters of Isaiah that point to this burden. “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them (1:14). We see this constant burden in Isaiah where he has to keep telling his peoples the bad things they have done and what will become of them. “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah has fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory” (3:8). His prophecy does not seem to get much better. “And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth” (10:17&18). However, there are glimpses of hope, beauty, faith, and justice in his messages. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (1:19). Some of the other great messages concern abolishing war and the birth of Immanuel. While this seems like a tough burden to bear, it is definitely worth bearing. Happy Blogging!!!
I think that there are many passages that reflect the burden of Isaiah’s message. One of them that I found very powerful is Chapter 6 verse 11 & 12. “ Then I said, “Lord how long?” and He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.” This tells us how serious God was. This isn’t a joke and he really wants everything and everyone gone. He is obviously very upset.
A passage I find uplifting is 6:6. Here a coal from heaven’s altar touches Isaiah’s lips and he is cleaned from all sin. This is a more subtle message but it speaks to everyone the power of God. This is Isaiah’s faith in God working.
Isaiah is greatly burdened because the Lord chose him to confront the evil doings of the Lord's People. People have a hard time being told that they are doing wrong. Especially when they enjoy their deeds. Isaiah knows that he has to confront these people and that they will be punished. It seems to be a prelude to Revelations. The Lord will come down and punish the evil. 3:24-25 says " Instedad of fragrance there will be a stench insead of a sash, a rope, instead of well-dressed hair, baldness.... (25) Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle."
The Lord was angry and his wrath would come down upon his people. But it would be difficult for Isaiah to get them to listen.
There was hope though for those who would listen and who followed they Lord's will and word. 4:2-3 "In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the and will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those wor are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy." If you follow the Lord you will reap his benefits in the end. You will be spared his wrath and have true happiness.
The burdens Isaiah has to bear appear throughout the first 11 chapters of the book. I thought Chapter 1 laid out some interesting points in Isaiah's message. He has the burden of telling the people of Israel they are corrupt, in chapter 1 v 4 he talks of Israel being a sinful nation and the seed of evildoers, and how they have provoked the Lord to anger. If a man was alive now and told this message to America there would be significant outrage. People never like to the hear the truth on the state of their heart. I am sure Isaiah had to deal with the burden of many people not liking his message. In chapter 1 v 11, it seems Isaiah points out that the people of Israel are concerned with the externals of religion and not the state of heart in a man. Verse 11 talks of how the people are sacrificing and following the rituals of religion, but of course Isaiah sees though the image the people of Israel are trying to put out, and sees the truth of their corruption. Isaiah’s message is a burden worth bearing since it leads to the redemption of a people. I like the beginning of chapter 3 and how it talks of humbling the prestigious members of society, v 4 of chapter 3 says babies and children will become rulers over mighty and distinguished men of society.
As was mentioned by others, telling people of their wrongdoings is never an easy task. No one wants to hear their faults or that the things they are doing are evil and upsetting to the LORD. This burden seems to be more than most people would be able to bear. God must have given Isaiah an extraordinary amount of strength and courage…’God never gives us more than we can handle’, right? It seems to be a burden worth bearing when you look beyond the ‘here and now’. Yes, destruction is upon the people of that time, but with that same destruction will come a cleansing carrying with it a message of hope for the future of God’s people. Chapter 6 shows Isaiah’s willingness to do what it is God is asking of him even though it is so very difficult. “Here I am;” “send me!”
Several things through out the book of Isaiah look like burdens. It is interesting to see the story unfold through Isaiah because towards the end there is hope and it becomes apparent. In Chapter 10 verses 20-21 it says "And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped the house of Jacob, Will never depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God." I find hope in this verse for the people that remained faithful to God despite the burdens in Isaiah were rewarded. This verse shows that faith is and should be the center of our lives, not religious practices, heritage, or rituals.
Isaiah's message is a burden; 1:10, he refers the rulers to Sodom and the people to Gomorah. This had to have been a great burden knowing they were carrying on just like in previous days.
The hope is 9:6; ... The Prince of Peace.
One of the burdens that Isaiah had to bear is found in chapter three. In chapter three Isaiah describes the judgment that will come to Judah and Jerusalem. He explains how their supply and support will be taken from them and how they will be led by the inferior such as children. I can't imagine how hard it would be to tell a nation that they will be judged for their wickedness let only explain how they will be judged. However there is some hope found in the following chapter. Starting with verse two, Isaiah explains that after the judgment there will be a glorious time. Those that are left in will be holy and God with make them safe.
The burden that is found here is that Israel is in trouble, and bad things are coming. Isaiah is to deliver this bad news, but the people are in prosperity, and don't want to listen. It's hard to deliver this message with no one wanting to listen:
"Woe to those who tug at guilt with cords of perversity, and at sin as if with cart ropes! To those who say, Let him make haste and speed his work, that we may see it;....
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who cahnge darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!" (4:18-20)
This is one heck of a message to deliver to the people, as many of the things they do in Judah are wrong.
There are two examples of hope: in 7:14, the Lords will give a sign, "the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel."
Later, we learn more in 9:5--
"For a child is born to us, a son is given; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace."
With hope coming, this is definitely a burden worth bearing.
Isaiah has a particularly hard job ahead of him because he has to deal with all the evil people. This proves to be particularly challenging since the people don’t seem to regret any of their actions. We are able to see Isaiah’s burden very early in the first chapter. In chapter one Isaiah blatantly says, “your new moon ad your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.”
The verse that I thought was particularly uplifting with faith and hope was Isaiah 4:2, “On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel.” It shows us that with a little faith, hope, and action that one day the people will be favorable in the eyes of the Lord. Despite the burden, Isaiah knows its still worth bearing to one day see the positive outcome.
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