His Majesty's Loyal Opposition

For weeks now, I have been returning to the Book of Isaiah, reading and re-reading.  I have no idea at all why I should suddenly find this book so fascinating, but today I even pulled out my old textbook on Reading the Old Testament and started studying the background to the book. 

Most of us are familiar with passages from Isaiah that we have heard for years, especially around Christmas time, with the prophecies regarding the Messiah.  But the book itself is somewhat complex and confusing if we do not understand its context.

I doubt that many people are too concerned one way or another with the Book of Isaiah, so I am hesitant to even begin commenting on it --- except that for some unknown reason, I cannot seem to think about commenting on anything else.  And, as I continue to read Isaiah, I cannot help but see connections with our world today.  As flighty as I am, I cannot promise to continue the entire journey through Isaiah, but at least I will give it a beginning:

To understand Isaiah at all, it is helpful to know something of the history of Israel.  Most people know something about the unified kingdom under David, and the building of the Temple under the direction of King Solomon, David's son.  However, despite all his great wisdom, Solomon achieved his glory through heavy taxation and conscription of labor on his subjects.  After his death, the northern kingdom asked Rehoboam, Solomon's son, if he planned to continue Solomon's policies.  Afraid to appear weak, Rehoboam's reply was that he would "scourge the people with thorns" if they rebelled against his rule. 

With that, the northern kingdom (Israel) broke from the southern one (Judah).  However, the northern kingdom never had a stable monarchy; it wavered continually between independence and submission (paying tribute in exchange for peace) to its stronger neighbors, especially Assyria, right at its border. And most of its kings rose to power by assassinating both their rivals and the current ruler.

The politics of the time inspired the classical prophets, who could be either pro-or anti- monarchy, but who always looked at the moral climate as the determining factor in human affairs.  In the northern kingdom, Amos addressed issues of social justice, and Hosea exposed Israel's religious complacency.   Both prophets warned Israel's kings of impending disaster if they did not address the moral issues of the day. 

In the meantime, Israel was trying to grow strong enough to resist the pressure of its northern neighbor, Assyria.  Assyria really wanted to advance to Egypt, by going through Israel and Judah.  This required Israel's submission and non-resistance to Assyria, the bully.    Israel, however, was trying to force its sister Judah into armed resistance against Assyria.  The king of Israel had already made an alliance with Syria, but he still needed Judah in the picture.

While the kings of Judah were weighing their options, Isaiah appeared on the scene.  He seems to have been well-respected by the court and could have been the son of the high priest in Jerusalem at the time.  However, he opposed the priestly and prophetic spokespersons who stood in the service of the court and its policies.  He frequently equated them with the "smooth talkers" of the foreign nations, the diviners, soothsayers, and necromancers.  He saw himself not so much as a "prophet,"  but more of a teacher of Torah. 

Isaiah was fiercely loyal to the Davidic dynasty, but he opposed the official policies of Ahaz.  His message to the king called for trust in God rather than in political alliances.  (Imagine if someone told our President to "trust in God" today rather than to forge political alliances.)  King Ahaz simply did not want to trust that policy and continued to forge political alliances with Syria, Egypt, and Babylon in his efforts to resist Assyria.

The Book that we know today as "Isaiah" is divided into three sub-sections, ranging over a period of 200 years.  Even after the death of Isaiah, his prophetic "school" or "disciples" continued, those who held fast to his message, and they continued to prophesy at critical moments in the history of the southern kingdom:

Chapters 1-39 is called "First Isaiah," the collection of prophecies given by Isaiah of Jerusalem during the Assyrian period (742-701).

Chapters 40-55 is known as "Second Isaiah," written or spoken by Isaiah of the Exile during the period of Judah's exile in Babylon (546-538).

Chapters 56-66 is "Third Isaiah," written or spoken by Isaiah of the Restoration, during the period of return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the city and temple (538-520).  It was meant as an encouragement to those returning to find their city walls crumbling and their city in ruins -- kind of what we experienced after Katrina.

Tomorrow we will look at First Isaiah.