Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Third Week of Advent
December 11, 2005
I approach these verses wondering just exactly what we’re supposed to intuit here. So many proclamations broadcasted; so many promises made; so many injunctions delivered; so many commands shouted out. We are faced with a series of verses in this passages that could receive many divergent interpretations. These verses could contain prophecies concerning John the Baptist’s message, the good news in the message that Jesus would bring to the world, or maybe the kind of life that we as believers in Jesus should live in front of and proclaim to others.
What I am most reluctant to do, however, is to declare that these verses are exclusively referencing some sort of social gospel that we as humans are supposed to enact, through our own efforts. I am most reluctant to do so because it is my first reaction. I do not want to read prophecies here; I want to read verses that compel humans to treat other humans better. Verses about prophecies worry me because they can be so over-blown and over-analyzed that their message is disregarded. Unfortunately though, when I choose to ignore the fact that these verses could be prophetic, I have chosen to not receive the beautiful promises contained in those possible prophecies. Thus, I seek to enter into these verses by allowing them to speak to me, allowing them to examine me, as opposed to my standard tactic of looking for concepts & ideas that are outside the norm, simply because they are outside the norm.
Isaiah begins by stating explicitly that God is with him, that the Holy Spirit is upon him. By and through no other means is Isaiah able to speak forth in the following verses: “… the Lord has anointed me …” (Isaiah 61:1b) We then read through a litany and laundry list of blessings, deliverances, protections, and redemptions that could have only come from God. Verse one has us seeing that the emotionally distraught are comforted, the political prisoners are freed, and those trapped in prisons are let loose. In verse two, Isaiah declares that Lord will be coming to punish those who have caused people to mourn, while seeking to comfort and console those mourners.
We continue on in verse three with God assists His children who have been grieving during the dark times. Since they have been laden with grief (a very appropriate reaction during times when wrong beliefs and wrong actions violently oppress a population, God decides to give those who have been sad a crown of beauty, removing them from their lives filled the sackcloth & ashes befitting a mourner. Their lives will be filled with joy, as opposed to the sadness of a mourner and they will exchange all of the tears of lament and despair for a spirit that seeks to praise and exalt God for everything. And because they mourned to God for their lost country, these people will be counted by God to be wonderful and blessed examples of God’s provision. “They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:4ff, TNIV)
And to complete this passage, Isaiah states boldly that these people, planted as the new growth in a new country of God’s, will be called upon to rebuild & restore the cities of the country. These are cities that have long sat demolished & destroyed by invaders and oppressors. These are their cities, homes, synagogues, marketplaces, and safe environments. God, through the oracle of Isaiah, is speaking forth a promise and responsibility to His faithful children: he will restore them because of their faithfulness and they will restore their nation as a testimony of who God really is.
Verses 8 & 9 have God speaking out directly through Isaiah: “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” (Isaiah 61:8a, TNIV) Because Israel has been robbed and exploited (and though the nations who did so were sent by God to judge and purify Israel), God asserts that the faithful will receive their due rewards and that He will create a new covenant with them, coupled with the Davidic covenant. The covenant will state that nations will know exactly who God’s children are, that all who see these people will know that they are blessed by God in all that they do.
Isaiah then responds in verses 10 & 11 to this covenant, these promises by praising God for all of it. His words, full of superlatives, imply that the promised transformation and provision have already come to his life. His clothing (spirit) has changed as he puts on garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. His status in the world (countenance/self-image) has become as though he compares himself to a royal bride and priestly bridegroom preparing for their wedding.
After everything has been knocked down and desecrated, God is coming to restore his people. And it’s more than just God giving His children back what they had lost (or “deserved” to lose through their disobedience) – God is making Himself known through His children. They will (and have historically served) as the best possible example of God’s grace, provision, and blessing. Isaiah, in conclusion, uses the metaphor of organic, long-term, quality plant growth – the praise and adoration God will receive results from starting from scratch, as people grow & emerge out of a laborious planting, watering, fertilizing, tending, and sowing process. God deserves more than trite, empty, obvious, and over-the-top praise; He is worthy of praise that reflects the true depth and breadth of the promises He fulfills in the lives of His people.
In conclusion though, I do not seek nor wish to interpret these verses to be specifically for Israel & the Jews in a historic sense. By choosing to embrace these verses fully and not shying away from them prophesying in the traditional context, I feel that God can prophesy to us in an everyday context with Isaiah’s words here. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we are anointed of God to preach the good news through the lives we lead and the words we speak. We, as Christians, as followers of Christ are able to bring into action & into practice everything that God promises here through the voice of Isaiah.
“They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:4ff, TNIV) “All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” (Isaiah 61:9ff, TNIV) We too are these people, as followers of Christ; we too can proclaim the good news that will set free those in emotional and spiritual chains. As we continue through Advent, we should expect and anticipate, with the coming of Christ as THE good news, that we are both the recipients of the fulfilled promises and the means & mediums through with God can fulfill his promises.
December 11, 2005
I approach these verses wondering just exactly what we’re supposed to intuit here. So many proclamations broadcasted; so many promises made; so many injunctions delivered; so many commands shouted out. We are faced with a series of verses in this passages that could receive many divergent interpretations. These verses could contain prophecies concerning John the Baptist’s message, the good news in the message that Jesus would bring to the world, or maybe the kind of life that we as believers in Jesus should live in front of and proclaim to others.
What I am most reluctant to do, however, is to declare that these verses are exclusively referencing some sort of social gospel that we as humans are supposed to enact, through our own efforts. I am most reluctant to do so because it is my first reaction. I do not want to read prophecies here; I want to read verses that compel humans to treat other humans better. Verses about prophecies worry me because they can be so over-blown and over-analyzed that their message is disregarded. Unfortunately though, when I choose to ignore the fact that these verses could be prophetic, I have chosen to not receive the beautiful promises contained in those possible prophecies. Thus, I seek to enter into these verses by allowing them to speak to me, allowing them to examine me, as opposed to my standard tactic of looking for concepts & ideas that are outside the norm, simply because they are outside the norm.
Isaiah begins by stating explicitly that God is with him, that the Holy Spirit is upon him. By and through no other means is Isaiah able to speak forth in the following verses: “… the Lord has anointed me …” (Isaiah 61:1b) We then read through a litany and laundry list of blessings, deliverances, protections, and redemptions that could have only come from God. Verse one has us seeing that the emotionally distraught are comforted, the political prisoners are freed, and those trapped in prisons are let loose. In verse two, Isaiah declares that Lord will be coming to punish those who have caused people to mourn, while seeking to comfort and console those mourners.
We continue on in verse three with God assists His children who have been grieving during the dark times. Since they have been laden with grief (a very appropriate reaction during times when wrong beliefs and wrong actions violently oppress a population, God decides to give those who have been sad a crown of beauty, removing them from their lives filled the sackcloth & ashes befitting a mourner. Their lives will be filled with joy, as opposed to the sadness of a mourner and they will exchange all of the tears of lament and despair for a spirit that seeks to praise and exalt God for everything. And because they mourned to God for their lost country, these people will be counted by God to be wonderful and blessed examples of God’s provision. “They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:4ff, TNIV)
And to complete this passage, Isaiah states boldly that these people, planted as the new growth in a new country of God’s, will be called upon to rebuild & restore the cities of the country. These are cities that have long sat demolished & destroyed by invaders and oppressors. These are their cities, homes, synagogues, marketplaces, and safe environments. God, through the oracle of Isaiah, is speaking forth a promise and responsibility to His faithful children: he will restore them because of their faithfulness and they will restore their nation as a testimony of who God really is.
Verses 8 & 9 have God speaking out directly through Isaiah: “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” (Isaiah 61:8a, TNIV) Because Israel has been robbed and exploited (and though the nations who did so were sent by God to judge and purify Israel), God asserts that the faithful will receive their due rewards and that He will create a new covenant with them, coupled with the Davidic covenant. The covenant will state that nations will know exactly who God’s children are, that all who see these people will know that they are blessed by God in all that they do.
Isaiah then responds in verses 10 & 11 to this covenant, these promises by praising God for all of it. His words, full of superlatives, imply that the promised transformation and provision have already come to his life. His clothing (spirit) has changed as he puts on garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. His status in the world (countenance/self-image) has become as though he compares himself to a royal bride and priestly bridegroom preparing for their wedding.
After everything has been knocked down and desecrated, God is coming to restore his people. And it’s more than just God giving His children back what they had lost (or “deserved” to lose through their disobedience) – God is making Himself known through His children. They will (and have historically served) as the best possible example of God’s grace, provision, and blessing. Isaiah, in conclusion, uses the metaphor of organic, long-term, quality plant growth – the praise and adoration God will receive results from starting from scratch, as people grow & emerge out of a laborious planting, watering, fertilizing, tending, and sowing process. God deserves more than trite, empty, obvious, and over-the-top praise; He is worthy of praise that reflects the true depth and breadth of the promises He fulfills in the lives of His people.
In conclusion though, I do not seek nor wish to interpret these verses to be specifically for Israel & the Jews in a historic sense. By choosing to embrace these verses fully and not shying away from them prophesying in the traditional context, I feel that God can prophesy to us in an everyday context with Isaiah’s words here. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we are anointed of God to preach the good news through the lives we lead and the words we speak. We, as Christians, as followers of Christ are able to bring into action & into practice everything that God promises here through the voice of Isaiah.
“They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:4ff, TNIV) “All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” (Isaiah 61:9ff, TNIV) We too are these people, as followers of Christ; we too can proclaim the good news that will set free those in emotional and spiritual chains. As we continue through Advent, we should expect and anticipate, with the coming of Christ as THE good news, that we are both the recipients of the fulfilled promises and the means & mediums through with God can fulfill his promises.
posted by APN | 8:34 PM
1 Comments:
When Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue as recorded in Luke 4, he adds the words "give sight to the blind." I wonder about the significance of that improvisation.
I love prophecy because it always has that immediate social application that you referred to, but it also contains an element of uncomfortable mystery. Both Isaiah and Jesus have the Spirit of God on them at the time they speak these powerful words, and that is the Comforter that is with us now! We are part of quite a family...
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