From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 01:42:14 +0000
Subject: The Prophet Isaiah
>From JUICE Administration juice at INTERNET
juice@jer1.co.il
To: prophecy at INTERNET
prophecy@jer1.co.il
Subject: JUICE Prophecy 11
Sender owner-prophecy@jer1.co.il
========================================================================
WZO Student and Academic Department
Jewish University In CyberspacE (JUICE)
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
========================================================================
Course: Of Prophecy and Prophets
Lecture: 11/12
Lecturer: Ruth Walfish
email: walfish@shani.net
Four prohets spoke in the same time period: Hosea,
Amos, Micah and Isaiah. The first two primarily
addressed the northern kingdom; the latter two
emphasized primarily the southern kingdom. In this
lecture, we will study the prophet Isaiah,
concentrating on several oracles in the first quarter
of the book of Isaiah.
Let's begin our study with a look at Isaiah`s
consecration as prophet. In chapter 6, we read that
Isaiah has a vision, in which he sees the Lord sitting
on a high throne, apparently above the Temple,
surrounded by angels. The latter call out "Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord of Hosts; The whole earth is full of
His glory," whereupon the doorposts shake, and the
house fills with smoke. Seeing this, Isaiah responds
with dismay, for he feels that he is unclean, and so
are the people. One of the angels then touches his
lips with a glowing stone from the altar, informing
him that he is now cleansed of sin. God then ponders
who will accept the divine commission, and Isaiah
volunteers. Thereupon the Lord warns him that his task
will be to prevent the people from repenting, so that
they may be punished. A tenth of them will ultimately
survive, who will be the holy remnant.
It is our contention that the consecration oracle is a
key to Isaiah's future prophecies and activities.
Therefore, we will begin with an analysis of its
components, which are: first a vision, then a reaction
by Isaiah, next a purification of the prophet, and
finally his commissioning. Let us note that these
components, or some of them, appear in other
consecration oracles, such as those of Moses,
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. In the case of Moses, for
example, he saw the vision of the burning bush, was
quite astonished by the vision, and fearful of it, and
then was told by God what his mission would be.
Isaiah's vision takes place in or above the Temple.
The Temple doors shake, and the building fills with
smoke. These are ominous signs, hinting at some
future disaster regarding the Temple. Isaiah is awed
by the vision and sounds of the angels, who sing God's
praise, and especially emphasize His holiness. God
surrounded by the angels conjures up the association
of the Heavenly court sitting in judgment and
determining the course of human history (see II Kings
22; Job 1), and Isaiah realizes that he is about to
take an active part in that history. Unlike all other
prophets, he volunteers to undertake the task
thrusted upon him, while conscious of its gravity.
Emotionally, however, he reacts to the vision with
despair; he is only too aware of the gap between the
moral and spiritual level of the heavenly body, and
that of its counterpart on earth. Interestingly,
Isaiah speaks in terms of the uncleanness of his lips,
hinting at the perception that he will be called upon
to use those lips for some future task. And it is his
lips that are purified, a metonymy for Isaiah himself.
Though purification of lips makes sense as a
preparation for the task of prophecy in general, the
sages suggested that Isaiah is being cleansed of a
particular sin, namely, of slandering the children of
Israel. For Isaiah had not only called attention to
his own shortcoming, but had also declared, "And I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."
Surely as a prophet, say the rabbis, he must emphasize
the positive aspects of bnei yisrael, and not draw
attention to their failings. Therefore, he is punished
immediately, by the glowing stone which burns his
lips. In any event, Isaiah undergoes a procedure that
is meant to prepare him for his future functions.
What is to be the content of Isaiah's prophecy? For
one thing, it would seem to be connected to the
Temple. All is not well there, and Isaiah must make
the people cognizant of that. In addition, he is to
stress to the nation that their spiritual and moral
level falls far below the divine expectation of them.
The phrase "the Holy One of Israel" as a term for
Hashem is more prevalent in the prophecies of Isaiah
than in any other book of the Bible, intimating that
the people are to sanctify the Lord, and to grapple
with their own lack of holiness. But most unusual is
God's forthright directive to "make the heart of the
people fat, make their ears heavy, and shut their
eyes" so that they will not understand and be healed.
What sense can we make of this? Isn't it a prophet's
job to do the very opposite? These baffling
instructions have generated much exegesis. It has
generally been accepted by modern scholars that God is
speaking ironically: no matter what you do, Isaiah,
you will in effect be hardening their hearts, for
their perceptions are all wrong, and nothing will
change them.
It is interesting to compare this message to those
given to other prophets in their consecration oracles.
On the one hand, one is reminded, for example, of
God's statement to Moses that He will harden Pharoah's
heart. However, God promises that ultimately, the
Egyptians will actually chase bnei yisrael out of
Egypt, which is a very different message from the kind
that Isaiah receives. What we might infer from this
discrepancy in approach is that since all of the other
prophets try to escape from the task foisted on them,
God responds by promising to be with them, and help
them perform their duties. Isaiah, on the other hand,
willingly embraces his new task, and therefore it
would seem that God wishes to cool his ardor, by
painting in bleak colors the situation that he is to
face. He must be prepared for the worst possible
scenario. Nevertheless, there is a promise of
salvation: there will be a "holy" remnant (note the
use of "holy," consonant with the initiation oracle;
the nation of unclean lips will evolve into a holy
remnant). Even as God communicates a pessimistic
message, He still holds out hope for the survival, both
physical and spiritual, of the nation.
Isaiah, not surprisingly, does not try to blind the
eyes of the nation, but rather appeals to their
hearts and minds. This strengthens our contention that
God did not mean for Isaiah to take His words
literally, but to internalize the seriousness of the
situation, and to incorporate the themes of the oracle
into his speeches to the people. Let's look at how the
Temple, a central image in Isaiah's first vision,
figures in chapters one and two.
The words Temple or house are not mentioned explicitly
in chapter one, but it is abundantly clear that this
is what Isaiah is talking about in 1, 11-15. He
berates the people for bringing sacrifices of all
kinds, for assembling on the Sabbath and on the
holidays, even for praying, in the Temple. These acts
are abominations in God's eyes, for "Your hands are
full of blood." He continues the metaphor by telling
the people to "Wash... make you clean." The way to
cleanse themselves is by seeking justice: "Judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow." Isaiah is adopting a
position that is similar to that of Amos, though the
latter does not relate directly to the Temple in
Jerusalem (see Amos 5, 21-25). Both prophets declare
that the ritual ceremonies of sacrifice are
meaningless, for they are not preceded or accompanied
by acts of justice and concern for the downtrodden.
The Temple is also the seat of the high court (see
Deuteronomy 17, 8-11); it would be inappropriate for
one wing of the Temple to fail in its mission, while
the other proceeds as if all is well. Isaiah then
expands his diatribe to include all of Jerusalem (vrs.
21-27). Zion has become a city of "harlotry," and only
the reinstitution of justice will restore it to its
previous glory. What we have seen, then, is the
centrality of the Temple and Jerusalem, and how they
symbolize the level of degradation to which the people
have fallen. Perhaps the smoke that filled the house
in Isaiah's vision in chapter 6 is the smoke of the
sacrifices, or, alternately, the smoky fires that
will burn in Jerusalem if the people do not mend their
ways (cf. 1, 31).
Chapter 2 contains one of the most famous of Isaiah's
oracles, that of the "end of days," at which time,
"the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established
as the top of the mountains," and the nations of the
world will go up to the house, "For out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations ..
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and
their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more." The house of the Lord in Jerusalem will be
a magnet for the nations, who wish to learn the ways
of God. Interestingly, the house is a seat of justice;
no mention is made of ritual or ceremony. Instead of
individuals, nations as a whole are judged before God.
What is the connection between chapters 1 and 2? It
would seem that before the nations come up for
judgment in Zion, the nation of Israel must repair its
own judicial inequities. It must cleanse itself of
sin. If the people do so, the prophet promises them
that they "shall eat the good of the land" (1, 19).
But if they refuse, and rebel, they will be "devoured
by the sword" (1, 20). Once Jerusalem is "redeemed
with justice," the way is made clear for all the
nations to benefit from divine justice. No longer will
the sword determine who is to gain and who is to lose.
Just as bnei yisrael will be free of the threat of war
and famine, so will the world at large enjoy the
fruits of its labors, and desist from fighting. The
instruments of destruction will be turned into means
of production. It would seem that in Isaiah's vision,
the nation of Israel is a kind of catalyst for the
rest of the world. The latter will observe the process
that the nation of Israel has undergone, and will wish
to take part in that process, absorbing the principles
and values of the Jewish people. This is not to say
that Isaiah predicts, or even desires, mass conversion
to Judaism. What he does desire is that there be a
universal appreciation of the contribution that
Judaism can make to the world, and a perception of
Jerusalem as the seat of wisdom, justice, and peace.
Isaiah is not a prophet who speaks only in ideal,
universalistic, terms. He is very much aware of the
geopolitical situation of his time. We find several
oracles in which he addresses those pressing issues.
Assyria poses a grave military threat to Judea, and
both kings, Ahaz and Hezekiah respectively, are
confounded as to how to act. In chapters 7 and 8,
Isaiah warns Ahaz to desist from taking any action:
"Keep calm and be quiet" (7, 4). Ahaz should not fear
the imminent attack of Aram and Ephraim, who have
forged an alliance against him, for they will not
succeed in defeating Judea. Alternately, he should not
join them in their rebellion against Assyria, nor
should he make a treaty with Assyria against them. He
should sit tight, and the Lord will aid him.
Admittedly, Assyria will wage a campaign against
Judea, but ultimately, they will retreat without
having conquered Jerusalem. Isaiah reiterates the
prophecy of the remnant, in which he predicts that the
land will become covered with briers and thorns, but
there will be enough sustenance for the populace to
survive.
Was Isaiah's approach a realistic one? Can a leader
sit idly by, while political events of such magnitude
are taking place? Is Isaiah relating only to moral and
religious issues? Prof. Binyamin Uffenheimer suggests
that Isaiah was quite realistic. He realized that
Israel ("Ephraim") and Aram were on the wane, and
therefore posed no real security threat to Judea.
There certainly was no point in joining up with them
against Assyria. However, contracting a treaty with
Assyria could mean total subservience to them, both
politically and morally. This, in turn, could involve
Judea, as a vassal state, in wars against foreign
entities, that were not in their best interests. What
Isaiah is probably saying is that when there are no
good alternatives, the wisest course of action is to
remain calm, and demonstrate self-confidence and cool
judgment. On a religious level, of course, the message
is to maintain faith in God. This faith will
strengthen the resolve of the people, and prevent rash
and foolhardy actions. As Isaiah put it, "If you will
not have faith, surely you will not be established"
(7, 9).
Isaiah gives similar counsel in chapter 30, chastising
the powers that be, among them King Hezekiah, for
relying on Epgyt as a bulwark against the Assyrian
foe. He repeats his earlier message: ""For thus said
the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In sitting still
and rest shall you be saved, in quietness and in
confidence shall be your strength; and you would not"
(30, 15). The prophet promises in the name of Hashem
that Jerusalem will be saved from the Assyrian
assault. Indeed, in the year 701 B.C.E., Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, who intended to conquer Jerusalem,
inexplicably retreated and left the city intact. This
was his only failure in an otherwise successful
campaign against Judea. Historians have no rational
explanation for this event. Thus, Isaiah's promise
regarding Jerusalem was miraculously fulfilled.
Clearly, it is impossible to touch upon all the themes
in the prophecies of Isaiah. We have had to restrict
ourselves to the following topics: Isaiah's initiatory
revelation, its structure and contents; the themes of
that revelation that are enlarged upon in other
prophecies, particularly, the theme of Jerusalem; the
connection between the particularistic oracle to
Israel, and the universalistic oracle to the nations
at large; and the attitude of Isaiah to current,
pressing political and security issues. Isaiah saw in
the events of his day the hand of God, who used the
nations of the world to carry out his plan.
Ultimately, however, there will come a time of
universal recognition of the ways of the God of Jacob.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hosted by Virtual Jerusalem (www.virtual.co.il). The Jewish SuperSite
with 8+ million hits monthly, 150+ email lists and 180,000 subscribers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------