BIBLE STUDY: November 18th

The meeting opened with prayer

In the Scriptures, by the Spirit,
   May we see the Saviour's face,
Hear His word and heed His calling -
   Know His will and grow in grace.
Amen
 

After briefly recalling what we had done last week, we proceeded to read and reflect on the next two chapters of Isaiah.

Isaiah 2: 1 to 5

1

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2

In days to come, The mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it;

3

many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the LORD'S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4

He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

5

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!
 

This second chapter of Isaiah opens with a Messianic prophecy: a prophecy of restoration and renewal, not only of the Israelites but of all natiions; a prophecy of a time when there will be no more war and all nations will live in peace among themselves and in harmony with the word of the LORD. This time has not yet come to pass, though it has begun with the coming of Christ; and we look to its fulfilment with Christ's second coming.

We are not to imagine that the small hill upon which Solomon's temple was built is to physically rise up and become higher than all other mountains on earth. The language is metaphorical, as we might expect in verse. Also we are to understand Zion and Jerusalem to be 'types' of the centre of the Messianic Kingdom in the new creation when there is "a new heaven and a new earth" and "the holy city, the new Jerusalem" will come "down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:1 & 2).

We noticed that the word translated as 'instruction' in the version above (as 'the Teaching' in the Christian Community Bible, and as 'the Law'' in the Jerusalem Bible and the Revised Version) is the Hebrew word Torah (תורה); but we are not to understantd Torah in the narrow sense of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) nor of the whole tradition of rules and regulations that has grown up among the Jews, but rather of the teaching of God made manifest in His living Word.
 

Isaiah 2: 6 to 22

6

You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with fortunetellers and soothsayers, like the Philistines; they covenant with strangers.

7

Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; Their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots.

8

Their land is full of idols; they worship the works of their hands, that which their fingers have made.

9

But man is abased, each one brought low. (Do not pardon them!)

10

Get behind the rocks, hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!

11

The haughty eyes of man will be lowered, the arrogance of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will be exalted, on that day.

12

For the LORD of hosts will have his day against all that is proud and arrogant, all that is high, and it will be brought low;

13

Yes, against all the cedars of Lebanon and all the oaks of Bashan,

14

Against all the lofty mountains and all the high hills,

15

Against every lofty tower and every fortified wall,

16

Against all the ships of Tarshish and all stately vessels.

17

Human pride will be abased, the arrogance of men brought low, And the LORD alone will be exalted, on that day.

18

The idols will perish forever.

19

Men will go into caves in the rocks and into holes in the earth, From the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to overawe the earth.

20

On that day men will throw to the moles and the bats the idols of silver and gold which they made for worship.

21

They go into caverns in the rocks and into crevices in the cliffs, From the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to overawe the earth.

22

As for you, let man alone, in whose nostrils is but a breath; for what is he worth?
 

In this section Isaiah continues with the theme of the coming of the LORD and points up the sharp contrast with the contemporary sorry state of his people, the people of Israel. But we saw clear parallels between the situation among the Israelites of the mid 8th century BC and of our own 21st century western society.

In verses 6 to 8 we are told that the land is full of fortune-tellers and soothsayers; we see the accumulation wealth and of military might; we see people who ignore God and make their lives centred around material objects. We noticed the rise in interest in the occult and 'magic' in our society; just as the Israelites had more and more negleted the worship of God and turned to pagan superstitions, so in our own society we see how people have more and more turned away from their Christian inheritance and have developed interest in horoscopes, the occult and neo-paganism. We see in our own society a concern with making wealth at the expense of others, the concern with material possessions and the idolization of vacuous celebrities. But all this, far from being enobling, actually degrades us as humans; it is our own selfish behaviour that abases us (verse 9).

We noticed how the words "From the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his Majesty" ring out three times as a repeated refrain. It is because of the pure, uncorrupted splendour of God that corrupted man will feel terror. Isaiah is sounding a warning: if we persist in our own selfish and arrogant complacency then the coming of the LORD will be terrible.

The phrase "LORD of hosts" appears in some translations as "Lord Sabaoth" (or even 'Yahweh Sabaoth'); 'Sabaoth' is the Latin form of the Hebrew word meaning '(of) armies'. The early Hebrews do seem to have regarded the LORD as a warrior god who aided their own armies against the armies and gods of their enemies. But they came to learn that the LORD is the only true God, the God of the universe, the God who will restore peace to our troubled world; His 'armies', the 'Sabaoth', are the seraphim, cherubim, archangels and angels and all the other heavenly powers - ie. the heavenly hosts. The title, 'LORD of hosts' or 'LORD Sabaoth', affirms that God is the Lord of all creation, the Lord of the universe.

Before the splendour of the LORD of hosts, human pride will be abased and human arrogance will be brought low. We were reminded of the words of Our Lady's Magnificat: "He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:51 & 52).

Mount Lebanon was famed for its cedars and oaks came from the wooded uplands of Bashan, east of the River Jordan. In verses 13 to16, Isaiah is citing examples of human extravagance and luxury; all will be abased, even their idols of gold and silver will be worthless. We are reminded of human transience. What is really important is what lasts for ever: the splendour and majesty of the LORD.
 

Isaiah 3: 1 to 15

1

The Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall take away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and prop (all supplies of bread and water):

2

Hero and warrior, judge and prophet, fortune-teller and elder,

3

The captain of fifty and the nobleman, counselor, skilled magician, and expert charmer.

4

I will make striplings their princes; the fickle shall govern them,

5

And the people shall oppress one another, yes, every man his neighbor. The child shall be bold toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable.

6

When a man seizes his brother in his father's house, saying, "You have clothes! Be our ruler, and take in hand this ruin!"--

7

Then shall he answer in that day: "I will not undertake to cure this, when in my own house there is no bread or clothing! You shall not make me ruler of the people."

8

Jerusalem is crumbling, Judah is falling; for their speech and their deeds are before the LORD, a provocation in the sight of his majesty.

9

Their very look bears witness against them; their sin like Sodom they vaunt, They hide it not. Woe to them! they deal out evil to themselves.

10

Happy the just, for it will be well with them, the fruit of their works they will eat.

11

Woe to the wicked man! All goes ill, with the work of his hands he will be repaid.

12

My people--a babe in arms will be their tyrant, and women will rule them! O my people, your leaders mislead, they destroy the paths you should follow.

13

The LORD rises to accuse, standing to try his people.

14

The Lord enters into judgment with his people's elders and princes: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the loot wrested from the poor is in your houses.

15

What do you mean by crushing my people, and grinding down the poor when they look to you? says the Lord, the GOD of hosts.
 

Isaiah turns his attention more closely to Judah and Jerusalem and foresees that if the people carry on in their selfish and arrogant complacency, indulging themselves in whatever pleases them, society will break down; anarchy will reign. We notice again among the rulers (the judges and so-called prophets), the war leaders, noblemen and councillors, are listed also fortune-tellers, magicians and charmers, reminding us once again that their selfiishness grows as they turn away from God and adopt false practices and ideas. People oppressing one another, children being disrespectful and people behaving basely reminded us too clearly of what we see in our own society. We think Isaiah's warning of the collapse of society, as people turn from God and abandon former moral standards, to be as relevant today as it ever was in Isaiah's own time.

The reason for the collapse is clear: "their deeds are before the LORD, a provocation in the sight of his majesty." They vaunt their sins, as the people of Sodom did, and make no attempt to hide them. We were reminded that Ezekiel said of the people of Sodom that they were "proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy. Rather, they became haughty and committed abominable crimes in [God's] presence" (Ezekiel 16:44-50). We felt Ezekiel could have said this about our own materialist western society. We need to heed Isaiah's warning!

The just person will find happiness, but the unjust bring about their own doom. Their crime is that they sated and indulged themselves, making others poor and took no notice when those whom they had impoverished asked for help.
 

Isaiah 3: 16 to 4:1

16

The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with necks outstretched Ogling and mincing as they go, their anklets tinkling with every step,

17

The Lord shall cover the scalps of Zion's daughters with scabs, and the LORD shall bare their heads.

18

On that day the LORD will do away with the finery of the anklets, sunbursts, and crescents;

19

the pendants, bracelets, and veils;

20

the headdresses, bangles, cinctures, perfume boxes, and amulets;

21

the signet rings, and the nose rings;

22

the court dresses, wraps, cloaks, and purses;

23

the mirrors, linen tunics, turbans, and shawls.

24

Instead of perfume there will be stench, instead of the girdle, a rope, And for the coiffure, baldness; for the rich gown, a sackcloth skirt. Then, instead of beauty:

25

Your men will fall by the sword, and your champions, in war;

26

Her gates will lament and mourn, as the city sits desolate on the ground.

1

Seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying: "We will eat our own food and wear our own clothing; Only let your name be given us, put an end to our disgrace!"
 

The third chapter concludes with a warning to the women of Jerusalem; this warning carries over into the first verse of the next chapter. A large part of this section is a list of adornments worn by women of Isaiah's time. The prophet forsees that these women are so taken up with themselves and their own pleasure, they are oblivious to the dangers that await them: of disease which comes with famine in a city under siege, and of their disfigurement as they are capturred and taken off as slaves.Their menfolk will be killed by the captors, so any women left free will be desperate to find any man as a husband. The last verse above reminded us very much of stories told of the desperate state in many rural communities, especially in Europe, after the first World War when so many young men had perished.

The warning is clear: if we forget God and concern ourselves with our own selfish pleasures, then disaster will surely follow.

We took comfort in the Messianic promise at the opening of the second chapter and looked forward to reading the Messianic promise in chapter 4 next week. We thank God for the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazereth and look forward to his coming again.
 

The meeting closed with prayer.

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Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.