Chapters
28-33: An Introduction
We are about enter a new
section of the Prophesy of Isaiah, chapters 28-33.
The New American Bible names these verses: "The Lord
Alone, Israel's and Judah's Salvation." This article
will take a general look at this section in an attempt to see the
overall themes and highlight some special aspects these chapters.
According to scholars, this
portion of the Book of Isaiah was written in two different
time periods. Chapters 28-31 are rooted in the words of Isaiah in
the eighth century. Chapters 32-33, which most scholars regard
as later materials, are filled with hopeful assertions, tending
toward apocalyptic imagination.
Taken together, these six chapters express a two-stage view of salvation
history. Jerusalem and Judah will be subjected to a severe
judgment that will be seen in military invasion leading to nullification;
but then Jerusalem and Judah will be restored to full well-being
by the glorious return of the rule of God as seen in the peaceful
kingdom. These two stages are sequential, that is, first comes
judgement and then restoration. But they are to be understood
also one expression of God's judgment and grace.
Chapters 28-31 are very
complex poems which for the most part articulate the coming judgment
upon Jerusalem. Each of the four chapters begins with a "woe"
which serves as a rhetorical signal of judgment and coming nullification.
But, as we have seen elsewhere
in the Isaian tradition, judgment is not and cannot be God's last
word. For that reason, even in these harsh utterances, one
can notice traces of hope and new possibilities offered by God and
given expression in chapters 32-33.
Within this general framework
of judgment and hope, there are two noteworthy thematic lines.
The first is the use of the images of "ears and eyes,"
which symbolize the capacity to perceive, notice and respond.
There is a parallel in 6:9-10 where God speaks of Judah being smitten
with blindness and deafness, and thus unable to respond to Yahweh
in obedience. In 29:9-10, this sensory perception is lost,
"but not from wine." Rather it is because "the
LORD has shut your eyes." Finally, 29:18 anticipates
that, in the future well-being brought about by God, the deaf will
hear and the blind will see.
A second theme focuses in
on Jerusalem's readiness for obedience to God. Isaiah
28:7-9 subtly indicates resistance to the LORD's teaching and instruction
on the part of the leaders of the community. The "wise
and discerning" are to be incapable of discernment (29:14),
but in God's new time will be blessed with understanding and acceptance
(29:24). In 30:9, a rebellious people is resistant to instruction;
but in 30:20-21 this same people, in the midst of adversity, will
accept the teaching of the Torah and will return to the obedience
they previously rejected. In this new obedience, Jerusalem
gives up idolatry and the arrogance of autonomy (30:22; 31:6), and
returns to her proper status as obedient before God.
In these chapters, there
are powerful images carrying a rhetorical artistry that matches
the rich theology of the text. One of them is "a precious
cornerstone," a metaphor that Jesus himself will use. "Therefore,
thus says the LORD God: See I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone
that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;
those who put their faith in it shall not be shaken" (Is 28:16).
"Jesus said to them: Did you never read in the scriptures,
'The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone;
by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'"
(Mt 21:42).
Another such image is the
use of the symbol of potter and clay: "Your perversity is as
though the potter were taken to be the clay; as though what is made
should say of its maker, 'He made me not!' Or the vessel should
say of the potter, 'He does not understand'" (Is 29:16).
Such powerful rhetoric and
artistry of articulation is required to grab attention to the role
of God in the life of the people and their attentiveness to God.
What was Isaiah's primary
objective in these chapters? His attitude toward the political
and religious leadership is overwhelmingly negative in this section
because their policies were dangerous, misguided, and foolish.
Isaiah's description of the ideal government under a righteous king
in chapters 32-33 was designed to put an end to these foolish endeavors.
The tension, conflict, and
turbulence throughout these chapters comes down to a struggle for
the God-centered political agenda of prophets such as Isaiah against
the secular politics of the Judean state in the late eighth century
BC. On the rise were urbanization, centralization of political
power, along with growth in trade, industrial activity, and availability
of foreign goods and luxury items. These trends were seen
by the prophet as leading to arrogant self confidence and independence
of God.
On the other hand, the political
elite regarded Isaiah's message regarding foreign policy as naive
and simplistic, and they attempted to silence him by the time-honored
method of ridicule (28:9-10; 30:10-11).
For his part, Isaiah continued
to expound what he considered the divine plan or agenda (28:29;
29:15; 30:1), and railed against the willful obtuseness of his hearers;
Their very rejection of his message showed that they were drunk,
blind, deaf, and spiritually comatose (29:10).
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