Isaiah: A view to the future

Finally catching up on my Read Through The Bible (RTTB) in one year, alphabetically. I've been staying current with my schedule, but lagging in writing the blog. Sigh. I finished Isaiah more than a week ago. Here are some of the notes I made to myself as I read it.

For starters, Isaiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It is one of the most-quoted in the New Testament, so those writers must have read and re-read it, too. I love its poetry and its scope. I actually read through it slowly last year along with a 700-page commentary. I also have fond memories of studying it in Hebrew while I was in seminary.

So many passages of Isaiah are stunning and memorable. Chapter 6, Isaiah's call, is way up there. I also love chapter 7, where the arrogant King Ahaz refuses to accept God's offered sign. Ahaz intimates that he's too pious to want a sign from God; in truth, he had made up his mind to do what he wanted (forge an alliance with Assyria) rather than trust in God for deliverance. He gets his sign anyway, "The virgin shall conceive..." I wonder if he'd been more humble, would God have changed the history of Judah by not allowing Assyria to conquer Israel and then oppress Judah?

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14) is one of numerous passages that are viewed as Messianic prophecies, foretelling Jesus Christ. I wish I had a Jewish commentary on Isaiah--and on other OT texts that Christians see as prophecies about Jesus. The "suffering servant" passages in particular are intriguing. I wish I knew how ancient Jews viewed these passages. And how have Jewish scholarly views evolved on these passages, in the time of Jesus, in modern times?

Here's another example of wondering what the timeframe of the prophecy might be: On the day that I read Isaiah 19, a prophecy about Egypt, the nation of Egypt was holding a democratic election following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak (who is dying at the time that I write this). Mostly, the passage talks about disaster for Egypt, but it ends with a promise of restoration. "The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying 'Blessed by Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork and Israel my inheritance.'"

I was once told that these ancient biblical prophecies could be compared to someone looking at a range of mountains. Some mountains appear closer, but there can be peaks farther away. It's difficult to judge how far they are; similarly, it's difficult to judge when the prophecies would take place.

In Isaiah and elsewhere, the image of a prostitute is used to portray the wicked ways of Israel and Judah as they turned away from Yahweh to foreign gods. Prostitution is universally condemned in the Bible. But in these days, we are realizing that many, if not most, prostitutes are forced into their circumstances. I guess we need to be more careful in our use of language. Perhaps instead of "prostitute," we should use a term like "adulteress" or "harlot," a woman who deliberately chooses to be unfaithful.

Two last thoughts on Isaiah.
1. I'm so glad I have a good study Bible, and that it has subheads. Otherwise, I'd be completely confused on the beautiful poetry in Isaiah (and elsewhere).

2. I never noticed this little passage before: Isaiah 28:8. "All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth." I fear he was prophesying about my house that has three cats that barf all over the place.