Hope Begins -- a preview of hopeful and inspirational themes

     Hope begins.  The words are strange, "The seed is in its stump."  Picture a tree stump.  The tree is gone, destroyed, used up.  But it is not dead.  Within the stump is the seed of life.  It will spout up with new shoots.

    What stumps are in your life?       

              The shoots of the new tree will look different -- small branches growing out of a stump -- than the tree that was before.  Can you accept that a stump could come back for you, but in somewhat different form?

      Note:  Many people give up in despair, because they demand that God restore things in the same form that it use to be.  Be open for God to bless you in different style.

    So Isaiah foresees that the nation though soon to be destroyed, will not die.  It lives and the living seed is in the stump.  While this is a very small image of hope,  Isaiah will become more and more hopeful, inspiring for us and the ancient Hebrews that he ministered to.

     Here is how hope builds in the book of Isaiah.

•    Chapter 9 - the great Christmas prophecy - "to us a child is born

• Chapter 10 and 11 - a portion or remnant of the people with return to Judah

  • Chapter 12  Joy, salvation and thanksgiving in the Lord.

  • Chapter 40 - The mission and message change to comfort.  Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength . . . mount up on Eagle's wings.

  • Chapters 43 -44 Hope is in the one living God.

  • Chapter 52 -53  Atonement for sin is made by God's special suffering servant.

  •    [This is a great prophecy of the coming messiah, and is fullfilled by Jesus.]  

    There are more passages and themes of hope, but that is enough for now.  Do take the time to read the passages listed above. 
    
    
    Dear reader,  Do not give up on studying Isaiah.  He will sound remarkably like the
    New Testament, especially after chapter 54.  

    Question:  What Scripture in Isaiah do you find the most hopeful and inspiring? 

    
    

Great themes in Isaiah 6 Spirituality of the Prophet Isaiah

Holiness of God

Guilt and removal of guilt

Call of the Prophet -- Volunteers in service

Unsuccessful ministry -- How long?

and the note of hope -- "The seed is in its stump."

    Try to fix these themes in your mind as you read.  Imagine them as Isaiah may have seen them in his vision.  Strange heavenly beings with six wings are flying about.  Smoke is filling the temple.  And the song of the seraphim is  "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty,

                    heaven and earth are full of his glory."

   And when one of these seraphim finishes his song, the other begins and sings it again. "Holy, Holy, HOLY is the Lord Almighty, heaven and earth are full of his glory."

    This is the faith of a transendent God who is above and beyond us.  The Creator does not play little games.  The Eternal Sacred Presence is beyond corruption.  With so much about bribery and social injustice in Isaiah, we should probably imagine first that to say God is holy is to say the Owner and Creator of the Universe is not bought off with cash, or the blood of bulls.   

   If we then being flawed and fractured in our humanity, that is, guilty of sin before a holy Creator, our cleansing, acceptance must then come from an act of divine grace.  This is symbolized by the hot coal touching the lips of Isaiah.  

     [ Remember:  It is a vision/dream/mystical encounter with the Sacred that is being described. No brutality or pain is here.  The vivid image means that God takes care of his and our guilt.]

Personal Question about Spirituality:  

            

                      Have you encountered the forgiveness of guilt?

                     What does guilt do to people?

                     What can forgiveness and acceptance by a holy God do for you?

Next Post:   Are we there yet?  How long?     Spirituality of the Prophet Isaiah

Super Power Empire

    The background in geo-politics is the aggressive expansion of the Assyrian Empire.  It is the rise of this power that threatens and in the end will destroys Judah.  The prophets of the 8th Century B.C. see this as the judgement of God upon the wayward nation. 

      In a parable of sorts, Isaiah in chapter 5 speaks of the Lord developing a vineyard.  Wall and guard tower are there to protect the vineyard.  But the Lord will take away the protection, even the rain will stop.  The parable speaks of the destructive force of Assyrian military power.  This ancient history may have little interest for us.

     Let us move on to chapter 6.

     The themes are now timeless.  What does it mean for God to be holy?   How is Isaiah changed by his encounter with God?   How does Isaiah realize his guilt and unholiness?  What changes in a person when guilt is gone and forgiven?

   We study both Scripture text and the life of faith.  Neither you nor I can escape these human questions.  In what ways has knowledge of our wounds, scars, shortcomings, yes even guilt shaped who we are. ?  Are we in denial about the humanity in which we live?  And can we have an experience with God that removes guilt and makes our past failures irrelevant ?  These are the eternal human questions to which the Prophet Isaiah speaks. 

      So, let us be honest.  The rise and fall of ancient super-powers matters little to us.  But the rising, or decline of our own inward spiritual life counts for much.  It is for insight into the life of faith that we study the ancient text.

For Deep Thought:  

           What matters most to you in your spiritual life? 

           What do you seek in worship, prayer and the pages of Holy Scripture?

Isaiah as Mystic. The call of the prophet is in Ch. 6.

    The book began with "The vision of Isaiah son of Amos,  which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."
So I understand Isaiah as a mystic - one who sees visions, and reports his impressions of God's intentions to the people he lived with in ancient Judah. 

    So while you and I may be less comfortable with the mystical, the truth is that the Bible has plenty of mystical material within it.  To fully engage and gain from study of the Holy Bible, we will need to allow ourselves to engage with biblical material that is in dreams, visions, and a holy imagination.  As people in a secular and rationalistic culture we can find this a different or an odd thing to do.  Still it is worth the effort.

   Chapter 6 is an account of Isaiah's vision of the Lord within the temple. The feelings of grief and the memory of the death of King Uzziah are foremost on Isaiah's mind.  Perhaps, it is a special memorial service that Isaiah is attending.  Since a funeral in our sense of the word are prohibited under Old Testament law, it was not a funeral service.  Perhaps, it is a memorial service a year after the King's death. 

   Does your mind wander in church?  Does your mind wander in funeral services?  Well, it is quite common.
But what Isaiah experienced is uncommon.  He saw the Lord, high and lifted up.  The two seraphim probably carved in stone on either side, Isaiah sees as flying.  Each has six wings and they start calling out one at a time,

      "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."  And then the other seraphim repeated the call. And the fire of the burning sacrifice on the alter is filling the temple with smoke.  The elements of Temple worship are being incorporated into his dream/vision of God, high and lifted up. 

     Upon seeing and hearing all this, Isaiah remembers his trash mouth.  He remembers that no one can see God and live.  Feeling that he is undone, he is rescued by the seraphim who pick up a hot coal from the alter and touch his lips.  All of this is happening within the vision. 

      Guilt then is gone and forgiveness comes to Isaiah.  Then he overhears God speaking, "Who will go for us?"  Is this the royal we?  Or is the Lord speaking to a heavenly group of angels, and seraphim ?  We do not know.  But what we do know is that Isaiah decides to volunteer.  He will go.

     Isaiah then wants to know how long this mission will take that he has volunteered for?  That is verses 11 and 12. 

Isaiah Confronts Same Sins as Amos and Hosea

     Isaiah, like Amos and Hosea confronts the same sins, although Isaiah is in Judah the southern kingdom and Amos and Hosea are speaking to the northern kingdom.

      Both societies consider themselves religious, upright people.  Neither society sees what the prophets see.  A large undercurrent of crude paganism is present in both.  A fertility cult (essentially a religion of sex and spring time) has a large following.  The Baal gods male and female are worshiped in sexual orgies.  At the same time, justice has declined in both nations.  The courts aid in the oppressing the poor, the widows and the orphans.  The ancient hospitality code of loving neighbor and caring for each other in community has been forgotten.

     So both societies north and south are drifting away from God's vision of justice, community and care for each other.  In place of this ethical life and in someways as a substitute for it, official public worship is popular and supported by the royal houses of both Kingdoms.

  
    The prophets do not accept this as an acceptable substitute.  They voice harsh words at organized religion.

    Consider Isaiah 1: 11.

           "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord:
             I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts;
             I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats."

Wow!   Those sacrifices they felt were at the heart of their religion.  Were they wrong?

    Isaiah, along with Amos, Hosea and Micah, say, "Yes, they are completely wrong.  And that what they need to do is get their ethics right."  God, claims Isaiah and the other prophets, is deeply concerned
about ethics, social justice, and acts of compassion toward the needy and hurting.  But killing more bulls and goats upon the alter is not winning God's favor.

For Greater Learning:  Read Isaiah chapter 1 and 5.

Questions for thought and discussion:

      Do you think God cares about ethics, social justice and acts of compassion toward the needy and hurting?

         How could a society consider itself religious/Christian/righteous, when it is not?  

         Do you think Isaiah was a popular man?  Would his message help him make friends?

----------------please blog in comments --- I hope the technical bugs that keep the comments from showing will soon be solved.   ..... Please comment . .. .. .. .. .. .. . .

 

Isaiah Chapter 1

Isaiah chapter 1  

   Note:  It is called a vision.  The prophet's message came to him by way of a vision. 

    Have you ever had a vision of any kind?  Did it show you something that you need to know?  Was your vision from God? 

The vision is about the southern Kingdom.  The nation of ancient Israel had already divided into two parts: one north and one south.  The southern Kingdom is identified by name Judah, by its capital Jerusalem, and by the kings named.

   Unlike Amos and Hosea, Isaiah is speaking into the life of the southern Kingdom.  Amos and Hosea spoke to the northern kingdom that was then called Israel.  The situation is essentially the same in terms of decline in faithfulness to God, social injustice, and that organized religious activities were popular.  These folks thought they were on good terms with the Lord.

   Special Note:  A major shift in tone and attitude occurs at chapter 4o.  Isaiah will become much more hopeful, positive, and inspirational after that.  But for now, the notes of judgement will be much like what we read in Amos and Hosea. 

    Verses 11 through 15 are against their organized worship.  I think to say that their practices are "empty rituals" misses the point.  It was the moral and spiritual condition of their lives that they brought to worship that was the problem.  See verse 15.  God refuses to hear their prayers, because their hands are covered in blood.  The violence that they practice is hindering God's attending to their prayers.  They needed better lives and hearts, not better rituals, certainly not more rituals. 

       What rituals do we have in our church?

    What rituals have you seen in worship that you felt worked well and were worth doing again?

Can you think of any rituals that are not working for worship today?  


What about Joel Osteen holding the Bible above his head and reciting their ritual at Lakewood Church?  Can you recite it?  Do you think this is a good ritual?


                               The Parable of Football and the Invention of Rituals

  My pet frog, Sapo Guapo del Rio says rituals were invented by football coaches.  Once upon a time a coach sent in a play, the team gained 27 yards. So the coach sent in the same play again.  This time they gained 18 yards. He kept doing the same thing, until the other team made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.  Then he started mixing up the plays a few times.  They he went back to original play and it gained 19 yards.  AND a ritual was born, since the coach, team and fans all liked to win the game, it became a tradition to call that winning play again and again.  Other coaches soon started running plays that worked also.  That's how ritual was invented, so says my High IQ frog, Sapo Guapo.

      Moral:  Ritual was invented because people wanted to be sloppy and lazy in worship.  Rather, worship leaders found some things that worked well, and then repeated those 'plays' again and again.  

---------- so much for that frog, does anyone have a comment to share?  Remember a blog study works best with comments.  Please comment.

Again and Again, let us ask ourselves these questions about each passage in Isaiah.

• What New Testament Scripture does this remind you of?
• What lessons are here for ancient Israel?
• What lessons are here for us today?
• What is your general impression of the Scripture?
  

  • Yes, please blog your answer to any of these questions at anytime. It is our mutual sharing of insights that make a blog study work.

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Introduction -- Isaiah the prophet --study blog

Isaiah study blog --- Welcome to our expanded study of the Prophet Isaiah. Our BaptistWay Press study guide covers only 5 chapters in the whole book of Isaiah -------- so we are adding to our study with this Isaiah study blog.

Invite your cousin in Cancun and your in-laws in Indiana and India, to join us in this blog study. Distance makes no difference on the internet. Invite folks from everywhere to join us. Folks that work the graveyard shift can join the study. Sailors on the sea can join in this study. People with personalities like porcupines can join in --- but please, no flaming. Watch your internet manners.


Getting Started with the Poet Prophet, Isaiah

Isaiah is a great and wonderful book. It is easier to understand than many other Old Testament books. And it is full of inspiring passages of great spiritual depth. It requires less knowledge of history to appreciate and understand.

For you folks, allergic to the O.T. or afraid of the Old Testament, Isaiah is the book for you. In some passages it reads so much like the New Testament, you will have to check the page numbers to know that you are in the Old Testament.

Overview: We will cover part or all of the following chapters. I've included a title for each chapter as an aid to memory. And for those of you that want to zero in on your favorite topics. Chapters listed below are the chapters in the book of Isaiah in your Bible.

1. Chapter 1 -- Full forgiveness
2. Chapter 6 -- The Call of the Prophet
3. Chapter 9 -- The Great Christmas Prophecy
4. Chapter 11 -- Hope and the Returning Remnant
   
5. Chapter 11 -- Hope and the Returning Remnant
6. Chapter 40 -- Life is fragile . . . on eagle"s wings
7. chapter 43 -- Hope in the One God
8. Chapter 44 and in 45: 14 -25 -- Only One God
9. Chapter 52 - 53 -- The Suffering Servant Makes Atonement **
   
10. Chapter 55 -- The Great Invitation - Is this the greatest evangelistic chapter in the O.T.?
11. Chapter 56 -- The Open Door of Welcome
12. Chapter 58 -- The Fast of the Lord (a great and wonderful and inspiring poem )*
13. Chapter 61 -- Yes, this is Jesus' announcement to his home town.
14. Chapter 63 -- God's Steadfast Love: God as Father

* "The Fast of the Lord" is so wonderful that I wish every believer would memorize this great passage.

** Do you already know this passage? It is about the servant of the Lord, Jesus suffering. It is a great and moving passage.

Learning Activity: Open your Bible and find Isaiah. Notice how long it is. Read one or more of the passages listed above.


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