Unit 10: ISAIAH AND PROPHECY

Unit 10:  ISAIAH AND PROPHECY

Introduction:

With the Book of Isaiah we move into the Biblical era of the "Latter Prophets," and introduce the distinctive Biblical genre of prophecy--a combination of preaching, poetry, and politics. The style of Isaiah may initially be difficult to fol­low because it is not organized as a narrative or linear argument, but rather builds by variously combining several oratorical topics, including the prospect of destruction in war, and the promise of divine restoration. The Book of Isaiah is further complicated by including three different authors or "Isaiahs" from three dif­ferent eras of Judean history.

Isaiah and Prophecy

I. Whereas Ecclesiastes was a critic of conventional values with a moderate hedonist agenda, Isaiah-and the other "Later Prophets" (chiefly Jeremiah and Ezekiel)-were critics of Israelite society with reformist religious and political agendas. They denounced the rich and powerful.

A. William Blake in his “Marriage of Heaven and Hell” particularly identified with the work of Isaiah. In fact he gives him the following words in that work: "The voice of honest indignation is the voice of God. I cared not for consequences but wrote."

B. Prophecy is not only an act of foretelling. The later prophets, in Blake's words, were "honest men.” This is Blake on what a prophet is: "Every honest man is a prophet; he utters his opinions both of private and of public matters, thus, 'if you go on so, the result is so.' He never says 'such a thing shall happen let you do what you will.' A prophet is a seer, not an arbitrary dictator."

C. The later prophets were simply stating what would happen if things continued on their current path. This stream of prophecy can be com­pared to 1960s folk singers like Bob Dylan.

D. This distinctive genre of written prophecy was revived in the Romantic period and later in the folk movement of the 1960s. It is a combination of preaching, politics and poetry.

II. A close reading of Isaiah 1-2 reveals four central themes.

A.  Calling  the people to repentance.

            1. Isaiah begins with this call to the people in chapter 1:

Hear, 0 heavens, and give ear, o earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my peo­ple doth not consider.

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildo­ers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. (Isaiah 1:2-4, KJV)

Here we see a passage specifically assigning corrup­tion to the people and calling for repentance.

B. Denouncing bad religion and social injustices.

Moving down we see this second oratorical topic: God is denouncing religion comprised of just ritual.

To what purpose is the multi­tude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or he goats.

When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. (Isaiah 1: 11­13, KJV)

Here God seems to frown on orga­nized religion, including sacrifice, and instead prefers social morality as we see in the subsequent verses:

           

16. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17. Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:16-17, KJV)

C. Announcing coming destruction. Then God warns in 1 :28,

"And thedestruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. "

God pronounces his judgment upon the nation.

D. Promising future restoration, a new era of peace that will follow.

Almost immediately we move into the next chapter and God's promise of future restoration:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be estab­lished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah 2:2, KJV)

and

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4, KJV)

III. Scholars now universally agree that the Book of Isaiah as a whole comprises the writings of three different men whose lives spanned a roughly 300 year period. These three different "Isaiahs" are known as:

A. Isaiah (c. 780-692 B.C.): Chapters 1-39.

This portion is actually attributed to the prophet Isaiah. He is one of four eighth century prophets. Some of these chapters were added at a later date, including chap­ters 13-14, the Burden of Babylon, and chapters 24-27, the Apocalypse of Isaiah.

B. Deutero-Isaiah (second half of 6th century B.C.): Chapters 40-55. 

This portion speaks of a new exodus (similar to the one Moses led).  For example, in Isaiah 40:3, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilder­ness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

C. Trito-Isaiah (5th century B.C.): Chapters 56-66.

This "Isaiah" addresses the Jews who have returned to Judea. He concludes with

a glorious vision in which God will "create new heavens and a new earth." (Isaiah 65:17, KJV)

From this third Isaiah we see Jerusalem personified as a woman and God as a bridegroom:

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as bright­ness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy

land shall be married. (Isaiah 62:1-4, KJV)

D. What unites all three Isaiahs is their shared belief in a relatively simple cycle of history in which the people of Israel enjoy God's favor as long as they heed the prophets and act justly and piously; conversely, injustice and religious laxity cause the people to be defeated and enslaved until, in their anguish, they turn back to God and He raises up a leader to deliver a remnant of his people.  History proceeds cyclically, so that the proud will be humbled, and the  humble exalted. The first Isaiah denounces the stratification of society and the forcing out of smaller farmers. This is shown in Isaiah 5:8,

"Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth.”

            1. A famous Illustration of the humbling of the proud comes in Isaiah 14

            with the anticipated fall of "Lucifer" (the king of Babylon).

           

            That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say,    How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!  (Isaiah 14:4,             KJV)

           

            2. The writer then addresses the king:

            Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols:   the       worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

            How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning!  how art     thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

            For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my    throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the       congregation, in the sides of the north:

            I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

            Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

            (Isaiah 14:11-15, KJV)

           

            3. Later tradition will equate this "Lucifer" with Satan, the cast out angel who

            led a rebellion in heaven. This tradition culminates in John Milton's

            Paradise Lost.

E. Isaiah anticipates the future restoration of Judah, most famously in his image of the peaceable kingdom:

            The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down        with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and         a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11 :6, KJV) 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11 :9, KJV)

F. Trito-Isaiah foretells not only the restored kingdom of Judah, but the future

renovation of the cosmos in a vision of "new heavens and a new earth: and the

former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" (Isaiah 65:17, KJV).

Edward Hicks (1780-1849)—The Peaceable Kingdom

           

           

THE HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS

The role of the Old Testament prophets was not primarily to foretell the future but rather to manifest God's will through preaching--an activity that might include anticipating future events. The prophet is called by God and is assumed to be divinely inspired.

Moses, as lawgiver and leader of the Exodus, is a prototypical prophet, the Old Testament prophet with the highest authori­ty. His work is continued by those prophets who held power during the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land and

served as the consciences of Israel's and Judah's earliest kings. These are figures whose actions are related in those biblical books sometimes termed "the former prophets," the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. They include Deborah, who offers prophecy concerning war (Judges 4-5); Samuel, who oversees the transition to monarchy and anoints kings; Nathan, who advises David and criticizes his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12); and Elijah and his disciple Elisha, who both combat the worship of foreign gods. Elijah is noted for having been taken to heaven in a fiery chariot, Elisha for picking up his mantel (2 Kings 2).  The "latter prophets" are those whose writings, or writings attributed to them, are included in the canon of scripture. Of these--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel--are considered major because of the length of their work, and twelve are considered minor because of their brevi­ty. But the historical context for all is the same: all urge Israel to remain true to Yahweh in the face of foreign invasions and

the attendant temptation to idolatry. The rise of Assyria and its attack on the northern kingdom of Israel furnished the context for the writings of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah; Jeremiah and Ezekiel are the prophets of the Babylonian Exile. Daniel is also depicted as living during the Babylonian Exile, but his prophecies in fact concern the fate of the Jews during their persecution by the idolater Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175­-164 B.C.E.). What unites all the prophets is their zeal in speaking the word of God.

The Prophet Isaiah

The Era of Isaiah: History from a Biblical Perspective

Isaiah, usually considered the greatest Old Testament prophet, exercised his prophetic ministry in the kingdom of Judah for 60 years. He served from about 740 B.C. until the last years of Hezekiah or early years of Manassah. Isaiah was a prophet during the time when the original nation of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms--Israel in the north and Judah in the south. He was primarily a prophet to Judah, speaking and writing mainly in Jerusalem. Isaiah was a contem­porary of Amos and Hosea in Israel and Micah in Judah. He lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Israel in 722 B.C.

During this period Israel had sinned greatly, and Judah was headed in the same direction. Judah perverted justice, oppressed the poor, turned from God to idols, and looked to pagan nations rather than God for military aid. It was the prophet's role to speak for God and confront the people and leaders.  Isaiah spoke forcefully and candidly and was not popular. 

With the exception of Hezekiah, the kings of Judah and Israel during Isaiah's ministry were wicked and evil. In Israel, Menahem (752-732 B.C.) imposed heavy taxes and oppressed the people. Pehahiah (742-732 B.C.) continued idol wor­ship. And Hoshea (732-721 B.C.) was taxed heavily by Assyria and was eventually conquered, bringing about Israelite captivity and the resettlement of foreigners in Israel. Israel was more tied into interna­tional politics than was Judah because it was traversed by the pri­mary east-west trade route and was larger and more populous. Therefore, it was destined to fall more quickly than did Judah. Still, Judah was tottering, both morally and politically. Ahaz (735-697 B.C.) sacrificed his own son and nailed the temple doors shut. Hezekiah (715-697 B.C.) was the exception to the rule and brought about religious reform to Judah. However, he fool­ishly showed messengers the wealth of his kingdom.  Manassah’s reign (697 – 642 B.C.) was known as one of unfaithfulness to God. 

Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were the other key players during the years of Isaiah's prophecy. Assyria in northwest Mesopotamia was founded by the energetic monarch Tiglath-pileser III who ruled from 745-727 B.C. He was succeeded by Shalmaneser V (726-722 B.C.) and Sargon II (721-705) in Isaiah's peri­od. The nation was powerful until Asshurbanipal's reign (668-627 B.C.) when it began to crumble; the capital, Nineveh, fell to the Babylonians in 612 B.C. 

Babylon was a city-state in south­ern Mesopotamia and eventually became a large empire that absorbed the nations of Judah and destroyed Jerusalem.  During the period of the Assyrian Empire, this war­like neighbor to the north dominated Babylon. A dynastic dispute in 851 B.C. brought the interven­tion of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. Though Babylonian kings remained nominally independent, they were subject to

Assyrian "protection." A series of coups in Babylon prompted Assyrian Tiglath­pileser III to enter Babylon in 728 B.C. and proclaim himself king under the throne name of Pulu.

During this same period Egypt experienced a resur­gence of power in the 24th Dynasty (725-709), and there was occasional inter­national intrigue among the Palestinian states to over­throw Assyria. The so­-called petty states of Palestine--Syria, Philistia, Moab, Edom, Ammon, Arabia, Tyre, Israel and Judah were ultimately conquered or made tributary to Assyria. Because these petty states had strong feelings of nationalism, they acted duplicitously and fomented rebellion against Assyria. It was a world of intrigue born of political and economic frustrations. It was in this era that Isaiah exercised his prophetic ministry.

John Milton

JOHN MILTON PARADISE LOST

Arguably the finest poem in the English language, Paradise Lost narrates the falls of Satan and of Adam and Eve with all of the machinery of classical epic: it casts the story as a momentous battle between the forces of good and evil. The poem begins in Hell with Satan, the fallen angel, act­ing as prince and general, mar­shalling his troops to take vengeance against God for cast­ing them out of heaven. Satan is clearly evil but magnificently so, energetically charismatic, and his underdog stance wins the read­er's sympathy. He is far more intriguing than his divine foe, God the Father, whom Milton depicts as a crotchety, verbose, and dis­tant disciplinarian. While readers may begin rooting for Satan, they later come to recognize his hatred for humanity because it contrasts with the profound love that God the Son shows when he under­takes to save human beings from their fallen state. Most of Paradise Lost, however, deals not with the heroic supernatural fig­ures but with the recognizably human characters of Adam and Eve. We witness their creation, envy their domestic happiness in Eden, watch with bated breath as they fail to overcome temptation, and finally admire their courage as they prepare to struggle with  the burdens of a fallen world.

Summary:

For all its historical complexities, the Book of Isaiah is united around a central axis of foretold destruction and anticipated restoration. The destruction and restoration prophesied by the Isaiahs is, chiefly, ethnic and national--it con­cerns the Jews and Judea--but it expands, by the final chapters of the Trito­Isaiah, to encompass the destruction and ideal recreation of the entire cosmos.

Suggested Reading

Blake, William. “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” Geoffrey Keynes, ed. New

            York: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. New York: Penguin Classics, Penguin USA, 2000.

Other Books of Interest

Finkelstein, Israel, et. al. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York: The Free Press, 2000.

Gaines, Janet Howe. Music in the Old Bones: Jezebel Through the Ages.  Southern Illinois University Press, 2000.

Saggs, Henry W.F. Babylonians (Peoples of the Past). California: University of California Press, 2000.

Sawyer, John F. Isaiah. Louisville: Westminister John Knox Press, 1984.

Way, Warren. The Pride of Babylon: The Story of Nebuchadnezzar. Xlibris

            Corporation, 2001.