Home » 2021 (Page 2)

Yearly Archives: 2021

Septuagint Isaiah 45: Isaiah Journal 2.21

November 12, 2021 8:54 am / 1 Comment on Septuagint Isaiah 45: Isaiah Journal 2.21

By Christina M Wilson. Previously posted at https://justonesmallvoice.com/septuagint-isaiah-45-isaiah-devotional-2-21/.

Septuagint Isaiah 45

Septuagint Isaiah 45 really begins with Isaiah 44:28, God’s first announcement of the name “Cyrus.” Cyrus is the Persian who defeated the Babylonians and wrote the edict sending the Jewish peoples back to their homeland to resettle there and rebuild their temple. Isaiah, of course, wrote before these events occurred. What an exciting time, to be Jewish and to live in those days!

God Is the Focal Point

The voice of God very much dominates Septuagint Isaiah 45. God makes himself the focal point of the chapter. The chapter contains much direct speech by God. God prophesies in advance to Cyrus through Isaiah in order to demonstrate to Cyrus, to his own people, and to Gentiles the world over that he is God.

5 For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me. 6 That they that come from the east and they that come from the west may know that there is no God but me. I am the Lord God, and there is none beside. (Isaiah 45:5-6 LXE)

What Does God Tell Cyrus?

Before considering the content, that God even speaks to Cyrus directly in such a favorable manner is amazing. Cyrus is, after all, a Gentile. Two times, God tells Cyrus, “You have not known me” (Isaiah 45:4, 5 LXE). The point to notice here is that God’s method of delivering his people from bondage is out-of-the-norm. Their soon-to-be deliverer, unlike Moses and David, is someone from outside their own camp.

GENTILES WILL BE INCLUDED

God directs his message throughout the entirety of Septuagint Isaiah 45 to Cyrus and to other Gentiles, both believing and unbelieving. (This includes verse 14–more on this verse below.) The Masoretic text does not represent as clearly as the Septuagint what appears to be a continuous stream of conversation concerning Cyrus and Gentiles. Even in the Masoretic, however, readers can sort the text to perceive that this is likely so. In both traditions, however, Isaiah at this point is building toward a direct, pointed, and clear invitation to the Gentiles to be included in God’s salvation to Israel. That invitation occurs as a promise to Messiah. Messiah himself in direct speech relates the promise made to him by God.

 Isaiah 49:5 And now, thus says the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his own servant, to gather Jacob to him and Israel. I shall be gathered and glorified before the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said to me, It is a great thing for you to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, ✡ I have given you for the * covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the end of the earth. (Septuagint LXE)

Since God presents a full, clear, and complete prophecy concerning inclusion of Gentiles in chapter 49, then it is not unreasonable to see a text concerning inclusion of Gentiles in chapter 45.

The Flow of Conversation in Septuagint Isaiah 45

In Septuagint Isaiah 45, God does not appear to address Israel directly. How then, does God’s speech flow?

Certain aspects of the role Cyrus plays causes many students of Scripture, present and past, to view him as a type of Christ. Readers can hold this in mind as they read through the chapter.

  • God calls him “My anointed,” (vs 1).
  • He speaks to Cyrus in great hyperbole (overstatement) that applies better to God’s divine Son than to a pagan human. God says to Cyrus, “I will go before you and level mountains” (verse 2 LXE). He states, “I raised him up to be a king with righteousness, and all his ways are right” (verse 13 LXE).
  • Just as Cyrus “delivers” the Israelite people from Babylon, so Christ delivers his people from their bondage to sin.

VERSES 1-8

To Cyrus and About Cyrus

God’s address to Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1 is clear. He speaks directly to him.

Thus says the Lord God to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, that nations might be obedient before him; and I will break through the strength of kings; I will open doors before him, and cities shall not be closed. (LXE)

Notice that God also speaks about Cyrus. The text uses the pronoun “him” two times with reference to Cyrus. This is an important fact to store up for later.

Use of the second person singular, direct address pronoun “you” begins in verse 2. God’s use of “you,” with reference to Cyrus, continues in each verse from 2 through 6, then jumps to verse 8. Although the Masoretic text uses “it” in verse 8, the Septuagint text uses “you.” It seems best to consider verses 1 through 8 as a unit in which God speaks to Cyrus. Indeed, some  Bibles begin a new paragraph after verse 8 (New English Translation Septuagint, Tanakh, Saint Athanasius Academy Septuaginta, and Rahlf’s Septuaginta).

VERSES 9-13

In agreement with Rahlf’s Septuaginta (LXX), the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (SAAS) groups verses 9-13 together. In this set of verses, God appears likely to be talking to an unspecified group of nonbelievers. The two commands in verse 11, “ask me” and “command Me” are both 2nd person plural. God’s rhetorical point in this section is that he, as sovereign creator, can do whatever he likes. He created everything (verse 12). However, God’s purpose is righteousness (verse 13).

Verse 13 is critical. The meaning one assigns for verse 14 highly depends upon verse 13.

Septuagint: I have raised him up to be a king with righteousness, and all his ways are right: he shall build my city, and shall turn the captivity of my people, not for ransoms, nor for rewards, says the Lord of hosts. (Brenton, LXE)(NETS is very similar.)

Masoretic: I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 45:13 ESV)

The “him” in this verse would be Cyrus from verses 1-8 and his antitype, Christ, God’s anointed.

VERSES 14 AND 15

Septuagint: Thus says the Lord of hosts, Egypt has laboured for you; and the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall pass over to you, and shall be your servants; and they shall follow after you bound in fetters, and shall pass over to you, and shall do obeisance to you, and make supplication to you: because God is in you; and there is no God beside you, O Lord. 15 For you are God, yet we knew it not, the God of Israel, the Saviour. (Brenton, LXE)(NETS is very similar.)

Masoretic: Thus says the LORD: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'” 15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. (Isaiah 45:14-15 ESV)

Bow Down to Israel or Bow Down to God?

THE QUESTION

The question is, who is the “you” whom the Lord addresses in verse 14? And, based upon the answer to that question, what does this verse teach?

TWO APPROACHES

There are two major replies to this question.

  1. One, the “you” in verse 14 refers to Cyrus and more essentially, to his antitype Christ.
  2. Two, the “you” refers to Israel.

Example statements for each interpretation, taken from the study notes supplied with Bibles,  are given below.

One, verse 14 refers to Cyrus and his antitype Christ.

14-17: Cyrus’s reward. God again addresses Cyrus (so Ibn Ezra), describing the vast territories he will receive for restoring Zion. Cf. 43-3. The Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh translation (1).

Two, verse 14 refers to Israel.

41) sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
42) sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity. NET2 Study Notes. (2)

45:14 Egypt…Cush…Sabeans. Three countries to the S (cf. 43:3) illustrate the worldwide submission to Israel that will prevail during the messianic kingdom age. MacArthur Study Bible Notes. (3)

ARGUMENT THAT FAVORS VERSE 14 AS SPEAK ING TO CYRUS

I. GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT VERSES 13-15

  1. Nearly everyone agrees that the “him” and “he” of verse 13 refers to God’s anointed, either Cyrus or Christ.
  2. It therefore seems highly likely and reasonable that God would address Cyrus in the very next breath in verse 14.
  3. The Sabeans express their supplication (verse 14) to their conqueror, Cyrus, and realize that the God of Israel is behind all this. They worship Israel’s God in verse 15.
  4. God previously addresses Cyrus directly in verses 1-6 and verse 8 of the Septuagint.
  5. No one addresses Israel anywhere else in chapter 45, and verse 14 is contested.

II. THE PERSIANS DID CONQUER EGYPT, INCLUDING WHERE ETHIOPIANS AND SABEANS LIVED

Maps of Persia’s extended kingdom include Egypt. (See persian-empire-1950x920x300.jpg (1950×920) (jesuswalk.com).) Persia is the kingdom that fulfilled this prophecy. Cyrus was Persia’s leader. There is, however, no historical record of Israel’s having subdued Egypt at any time after their captivity. Christ has also fulfilled this prophecy. In Christ’s kingdom, many from the region of Egypt did bow down to him as Lord. One example given in the New Testament is the occasion between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40).

III. THE THEMES OF CHAPTER 45 FAVOR THE INTERPRETATION THAT VERSE 14 REFERS TO CYRUS AND HIS ANTITYPE CHRIST

There are many reasons not to take verse 14 out of the context of the chapter as a whole. Septuagint Isaiah 45 is 1) a defense by God of his godhead, 2) a prophecy concerning Israel’s deliverer Cyrus and his antitype Christ, and 3) the beginning of an open invitation to the Gentiles to draw near and believe.  4) Israel is the recipient of God’s blessing through Cyrus. But Israel is not the focus of chapter 45. God’s announcement to Cyrus (not to Israel) that he will return Israel to their homeland is the means by which God gives evidence of his sovereign power. God is the point, not Israel.

1. The main theme of chapter 45 is God defending his godhead. God the Lord states, “I am…” nine times in the twenty-five verses of chapter 45 (Septuagint Isaiah 45:3, 5, 6, 8, 18, twice in 19, 21, and 22). That is an overwhelming density of occurrences. Add to this the many references by God to himself as creator. God further states in a later chapter the following about himself.

Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake I will do this for thee, because my name is profaned; and I will not give my glory to another. (LXE)

Why then, in view of all this, would a biblical text include obeisance to Israel in a favorable light, even as a “sub-deity”? (see NET quotation above). God teaches the bowing down of people to absolutely no one but himself. In the Septuagint translation, the Sabeans bow and make supplication to “you”, i.e., to Cyrus, as intermediary to God. They do this because they realize that “God is with you.” God is with Cyrus. Then they speak to God directly, confessing him, in the latter portion of verse 14 and 15. Cyrus’s victory led to the Sabeans worshiping God. Cyrus achieves the witness to Gentiles that Israel in all her long history had failed to achieve. Likewise, Christ’s victory over death achieves the witness to Gentiles that Israel in all her long history failed to achieve.

14… and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall pass over to you [Cyrus], and shall be your servants [servants of Cyrus, which became an historical reality]; and they shall follow after you [Cyrus] bound in fetters, and shall pass over to you [Cyrus], and shall do obeisance to you [Cyrus], and make supplication to you [Cyrus]: because God is in you [Cyrus]; and there is no God beside you, O Lord. 15 For you are God, yet we knew it not, the God of Israel, the Saviour.  (LXE) 

Then immediately after this text, God begins his appeal to the world. That appeal continues to the end of the chapter. Based on the awesome deliverance God gave Israel through Cyrus (who represents Christ as antitype), God appeals to the “coastlands” (verse 16), “you who are saved from among the nations” (verse 20), “you who are from the ends of the earth” (verse 22), “every knee… and every tongue” (verse 23), and “all the seed of the children of Israel (verse 25, and see below). The entire text from the Septuagint is available at these two links: LXX2012 and NETS.

2. Isaiah’s purpose in this and previous chapters is to prophesy the victory of Cyrus over the Babylonians and his sending the people of Israel back to their homeland. This is a main theme. It is therefore likely that verse 14 refers to Cyrus.

3. God in chapter 45 invites Gentiles to himself. Verse 6 alludes to the turning of Gentiles to the Lord, “That they that come from the east and they that come from the west may know that there is no God but me.” Verse 22 is very direct, “Turn you to me, and you shall be saved, you that come from the end of the earth: I am God, and there is none other.” Verse 14 therefore prophesies in context that certain Gentiles from Egypt will recognize the saving works of God in his dealings with Cyrus and the Israelites.

4. Israel is not the focus of chapter 45. Isaiah 45 does mention Israel six times. In three of these occurrences, Israel is a way of identifying God  (Isaiah 45:3, 11, and 15). God is the topic in these verses, not Israel. Verse 4 does indeed favor Israel, “my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect.” Verse 17 also speaks of God’s great favor to Israel, “Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation: they shall not be ashamed nor confounded for evermore.” It is God’s great care of Israel which he uses to make his appeal to the world.

The Crux of the Matter

But here is the crux of the matter. Does God favor the people of Israel because he wants the rest of the world to submit to them and even bow down to them as to a “sub-deity”? Or, does God favor the people of Israel because he wants to use them as evidence of his own power, glory, might, and overwhelmingly amazing love? God wants the world to worship himself as they consider his dealings with the people of Israel. God wants the people of the world, including the Israelite people, to be amazed at how he blesses the people of Israel, in spite of themselves. God shows that he is God, worthy of the world’s and Israel’s worship, because he blesses, against all odds and against all obstacles, a people whom no false god would ever be able to bless. (Only God…)

Did God send his own Son, the Son of his love, his beloved Son, to the cross, to earth and back, because he wants every nation of the world to submit to Israel, or because he wants to give every people group in the world the wonderful opportunity of submitting to himself? Clearly, for Christians, this should be clear. God wants people everywhere to worship his Son, one who is far, far greater than Cyrus his type and far, far greater than Israel, another type. Why then would he teach and prophesy in Scripture that the Sabeans would one day bow down to the people of Israel? God wouldn’t do that. That is not what God’s Bible teaches. God’s word teaches that Israel will bow down to his anointed, his Christ, and so will every people group in the whole wide world. Together, as one, all people groups will bow down to Christ.

Isaiah 45:23 By myself  I swear, righteousness shall surely proceed out of my mouth; my words shall not be frustrated; that to me every knee shall bend, and every tongue shall swear by God, 24 saying, Righteousness and glory shall come to him: and all that remove them from their borders shall be ashamed. (LXE)

Isaiah 45:23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ 24 “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. (ESV)

Romans 14:11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (ESV)

Philippians 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

Scripture nowhere teaches that anyone at any time will or should be bowing down to a “sub-deity” Israel.

God’s love for Israel never ceases. Yet God will not be placed into boxes of human design. Only God in his holy sovereignty can be faithful to his own righteousness and faithful to his rebellious creation at one and the same time. As the Apostle Paul states so clearly in Romans, God promises to save those who have faith in him (Romans 4:12-13; 9:6, 27, 31-32, 30-33; 10:8-13) . In the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4-5), faith in God came to mean faith in the Son of his love, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13).

The New Testament sheds the greatest light upon the Old. It was from the hindsight of his resurrection from death by the cross that Christ expounded for his disciples his own hermeneutical key to the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27). Therefore, it is by the light of the New Testament that we also must interpret the Old. If conclusions we may draw from Old Testament prophecies considered in isolation are not compatible with the clear teaching of the New Testament, then we must hesitate and put those conclusions on hold until greater clarity arrives.

Isaiah 45:25

Verse 25 is another verse in which the Septuagint differs from the Masoretic.

Septuagint: By the Lord shall they be justified, and in God shall all the seed [σπέρμα] of the children of Israel be glorified. (Isaiah 45:25, LXX)

Masoretic: In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.” (ESV)

The Septuagint Scripture contains a phrase not present in the Masoretic text, “the seed of“. The word for “seed” is “sperma” or σπέρμα in Greek. The Orthodox Study Bible makes a note to point this out.

The Apostle Paul writes at length about the “seed of Israel”. This phrase forms the basis of one of Paul’s major points of  Christological theology. The Orthodox Study Bible notes that, “The children are the blood descendants of Israel, but the apostles and the Church are their seed. It is the seed who shall be made righteous and glorified” (4). I don’t necessarily care for that wording. I much prefer Paul’s presentation.

Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring [σπέρματί dative singular, same lemma (root) as in Isaiah] It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (ESV)

Galatians 3:7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” (NIV)

Paul’s teaching coincides with Septuagint Isaiah 45:25. The “seed” of the children of Israel shall be made righteous by the Lord, and glorified in God through Christ. This “seed” are those who by faith turn to God and to his Christ. These are Israel and Gentiles together. Israel’s purpose has been fulfilled in Christ. This is the lesson of Septuagint Isaiah 45.

__________

1 The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition. Berlin, Adele and Brettler, Marc Zvi, Editors. Published by the Jewish Publication Society, Tanakh Translation, Oxford University Press USA: New York, 2014, page 858.

2 The NET Bible, Version 2.0 – Copyright © 2019.

3 MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, page 1004.

4 Academic Community of St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, Elk Grove, California. The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008, page 1094.

Rejoice for Redemption! Isaiah Journal 2.20

November 8, 2021 12:10 am / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Cross posted at https://justonesmallvoice.com/rejoice-for-redemption-isaiah-devotional-2-20/.

Rejoice for Redemption! Isaiah 44:21-28

This post will cover Point 3 of the outline introduced in the Journal Entry 2.18.

Septuagint Isaiah 44 Quick Outline

I. God’s Provision for Old Testament Israel Isaiah 44:1-6

II. The Foolishness of Those Who Make and Worship Idols  Isaiah 44:6-20 

III. God’s Good News for Old Testament Israel Isaiah 44:21-28 

In a pattern not unfamiliar to Isaiah, God through the prophet switches back from condemnation of those who make idols to declaring that Jacob, which is Israel, is his servant. To whom does God direct this speech? Not to the singular Servant, Messiah-Israel, but to his people. The reader knows this from the content of verses 21 through 22. This content encourages them not to forget God (verse 21). God proclaims that he has blotted out their lawlessness and sins. And using future tense, he states that he will redeem them (verse 22). Messiah, of course, will have no sin. Therefore, these lines could not be addressed to him. But does Isaiah speak in these two verses to the remnant of Israel who will be saved (Isaiah 10:22), or to the entire people? Speaking from the advantage of hindsight, the entire context from verses 21-28 would indicate that God addresses the remnant who believe and will turn back to God.

Isaiah Uses Symbols

We have previously seen that Isaiah does speak metaphorically at times (See Journal 2.18). In Isaiah 44:3-4,  God through Isaiah says, “For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessings upon your children” (verse 3). These two lines form a poetic couplet, similar in style to that found in many psalms (See, for example, Psalm 1:5 and 24:1). That is, the lines are synonymous, line 2 restating line 1 in different words. In Isaiah 44:3, the second line (Spirit, seed, blessings, children) explains the first (I will give water to the thirsty). The dry land where the thirsty people walk would be the nation, or religious culture, of Israel. Jesus-Messiah fulfilled this prophecy. In his ministry, he often referred to the giving of the Holy Spirit as supplying the thirsty with water. This prophecy of Isaiah became fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Then, Isaiah 44:4 also uses poetic metaphors. God compares the children of verse 3 to growing grass surrounded by water and willows growing near flowing water (1).

So, when we come to Isaiah 44:21-23, we find that the fulfillment of this prophecy will be among those children of Israel who believe. “Return to me, and I will redeem you” (Isaiah 44:22 NETS). The ones who return (believe) are the ones upon whom God will put his Spirit (verse 3).

Metaphorical Rejoicing

The result is that all creation will rejoice (Isaiah 44:23). This verse also uses poetic metaphors. That is, we all know that physical creation doesn’t express emotions. The physical heavens cannot be glad. The foundations of the earth do not blow trumpets. Physical mountains and hills don’t shout, nor do trees. These are poetic metaphors for joy over God’s believing remnant.

And yet, there will be a rejoicing of all God’s physical creation when Israel is redeemed and glorified. But first, notice the tenses in the Septuagint text.

Rejoice, O heavens, because God has had mercy on Israel; trumpet, O foundations of the earth; shout for joy, O mountains, the hills and all the trees that are in them, because God has redeemed Iakob, and Israel will be glorified! (Isaiah 44:23, NETS)

God’s first two actions are past tense. The prophecy is so sure that it is presented as though already fulfilled. God has already had mercy on Israel and he has already redeemed Jacob. This is cause for God’s nature to rejoice. But the third action concerning Israel is future tense. Israel will be glorified.

A New Testament Parallel

Isaiah presents the gospel of Jesus Christ in prophetic form. Jesus Christ has already fulfilled the first two clauses of the prophecy. God displayed his mercy and redemption through the incarnation, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. In shortened version, the cross of Christ achieved God’s mercy and redemption, both for believing Israel and for all Gentiles who believe. Spiritually speaking, there is already a certain amount of glory in God’s expanded olive tree. That olive tree is the root, Israel, and the branches that have been grafted in, believing Gentiles.

Paul in Romans writes a statement that is parallel to Isaiah 44.

 Romans 8:15 For you… received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs– heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him… 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies… 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)

Just as in Isaiah, the redemption and justification Paul speaks of have already occurred through the cross of Christ. But all God’s children still await the glory to be revealed with the “redemption of our bodies” (verse 28). Paul speaks of an eternal glory. The “redemption of our bodies” will occur at the end of the ages with the resurrection.

Please notice that Paul does not separate out the children of physical Israel and the children of non-Israel (Gentiles). Nor does Isaiah. Although Isaiah 44 does not speak directly to the redemption of Gentiles, many other places in Isaiah do. See, for example, Isaiah 49:1-6 (2).

Verses 24-28

The theme of Isaiah 44:24-28 returns to God’s challenge to idols and idol makers. Verse 24 picks up from verses 21 through 23, God as Redeemer and Creator. His challenge takes the form of asking questions. Who else besides God has done any of the things God has done in his long relationship with His people? Who scatters the false prophets and their prophecies? (vs 25). Whose word prophesies Israel’s future and brings it to pass? (vs 26). Who else controls and commands the flow of mighty waterways? (vs 27).

Then, for the first time in Isaiah, the prophet mentions the name of the Persian ruler, Cyrus.

28 Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, You shall be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house. (LXE, Brenton in Modern English).

Is Cyrus a Type?

Verse 28 is a fantastic prophecy that serves double duty. First, as a local prophecy, its detail is astounding. Isaiah’s time of writing is still future to the Persian Empire. Yet, the prophet names the ruler who will be responsible for writing the edict that sends the Israelite people back to their home. (See Ezra 1:1-3; 3:10-13; and 6:14-16.)

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and he issued a proclamation through all his kingdom, and that in writing, saying, 2 Thus said Cyrus king of the Persians, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has given me a charge to build him a house in Jerusalem that is in Judea. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? for his God shall be with him, and he shall go up to Jerusalem that is in Judea, and let him build the house of the God of Israel: he is the God that is in Jerusalem. (LXE)

Yet, there is more. As we will discover in the next post, Cyrus is a type of a much larger person and a much larger event. Consider this quotation by Archer and Chirichingno.

Cyrus is a type of Christ as liberator of the captivity of Israel. (3)

HOW CAN A READER KNOW THIS ON THEIR OWN?

What if I as a reader don’t have access to a library of commentaries to interpret the Scripture for me? God will provide, just as he did by sending Phillip to the Ethiopian eunuch. Additionally, the language of the Scripture provides clues to those who carefully with much prayer read, reread, and ponder the text. Just as Phillip applied the New Testament gospel to the eunuch reading Isaiah, so those familiar with the Holy Spirit and the New Testament will hear the Spirit apply New Testament light in their hearts. Remember, the Spirit gives his hungry children fish, not rocks (Luke 11:9-13).

  • First, then, even though Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28, LXE is a Gentile, God “bids Cyrus be wise.” Wisdom is the one thing most of God’s people usually lacked. Wisdom, however, Christ had in plenty. (See Luke 2:52; John 6:44-45; 7:15.)
  • In the next phrase in the Septuagint, God tells Cyrus to “do all my will.” Only Christ ever did “all” of God’s will (John 4:34, 6:38).
  • Finally, God speaks directly to Jerusalem in verse 28, saying, “You shall be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.” The New Testament itself tends to “spiritualize” the Old Testament. In the gospel of John, Christ refers to his body as the temple of God (John 2:19). Paul, on the other hand, describes the Corinthian believers as the temple of God, “… you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:17). Elsewhere in the same chapter (same context), Paul states that Christ is the “foundation” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). The book of Revelation again spiritualizes when Jesus names believers as pillars “in the temple of my God” (Revelation 3:12). Jesus calls Jerusalem the “city of my God” and says that it will itself be coming down from God out of heaven (ibid). And, spiritualizing even more, John declares–

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (ESV)

As we move on to chapter 45, Lord willing, we will find more prophecies in Isaiah concerning Cyrus and Christ.

__________

1 There is a willow growing by a stream of water near where I live. There’s no stopping it. This past season alone, it sprouted new growth amounting to many meters.

2 I am reminded of a verse from another context completely. Nevertheless, it speaks what is in my heart. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9)

3 Archer, Gleason L. and Gregory Chirichigno. Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 1983, page 51.

Against Idols: Isaiah Journal 2.19

November 5, 2021 8:16 am / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Previously published at https://justonesmallvoice.com/against-idols-isaiah-devotional-2-19/.

Against Idols: Isaiah 44:6-20

This post will cover Point 2 of the outline introduced in the previous journal entry.

Septuagint Isaiah 44 Quick Outline

I. God’s Provision for Old Testament Israel Isaiah 44:1-6

II. The Foolishness of Those Who Make and Worship Idols  Isaiah 44:6-20 

III. God’s Good News for Old Testament Israel Isaiah 44:21-28 

Isaiah 44:6 is a transitional statement. Even though the last post (Isaiah Devotional 2.18) groups it with verses 1-5, it also functions to introduce the next section against idols.

The Challenge

God’s argument against idols begins with his own sovereignty and power. There is no room for any competing power in God’s statement of his own divinity.

6 Thus says God, the king of Israel, who delivered him, God Sabaoth: I am first, and I am after these things; besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6 NETS Silva)

Then God issues his challenge in verses 7-8. Who is like God? If there is anyone, let that one stand and declare his case. God made humans a very long time ago until forever (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα). God has a plan he intends to bring about and he has announced it. If there are any other gods out there, then they should be able to state what will happen in the future. God’s people are his witnesses. Did any other god stand beside the one true God from the beginning? If so, then let them prophesy the future.

Who Is At Fault?

The challenge having been issued, no “god” came forward. God then turns his attention upon those who make the false gods. The idols are vain and worthless (verses 9-10). He calls their makers forward as a group (verse 11), so that they can be disgraced and put to shame together. But to whom is God speaking? Who makes these idols?

The text does not specifically state that Israel is the culprit. However, they are definitely included. God’s concern in this chapter is with his own people. He is not railing against the nations. Long before the golden calf incident, Israel had mixed idol worship with worship of their one true God (see, for example, Genesis 31:19). Isaiah 44:21-22f also indicates that God had been addressing his own people.

The Argument

God’s approach in Isaiah 44:12-20 is to ridicule the absurdity of those who fashion idols and then bow down to worship them. The craftsmen use wood. The wood grows from trees, which God created. The rain waters it and makes the forest grow. The craftsmen find and cut the wood. But before they can complete their work, they become hungry. So they use the block of wood they have cut to build a fire on which they cook their bread. Then they continue with an unburnt portion of the same block of wood and fashion their idol. They say to the idol their own hands have made, “Deliver me; for you are my God” (Isaiah 44:17).

God’s indictment of these people is severe.

20 Know you that their heart is ashes, and they err, and no one is able to deliver his soul: see, you will not say, There is a lie in my right hand. (LXX2012)

What About Today?

Worshiping an actual physical idol is not so very far removed from reality. I confess that as a teenager without a personal, real connection with God and Christ, I once found a tiny, golden, plastic bird on the ground. I picked it up and began to worship it. I hoped against hope that this little plastic bird and my action of worship would be able to set my confused heart straight. Of course I knew better, but I tried it anyway.

I’ll give another example. As an adult Christian, I once had a friend who was as emotionally desperate and insecure as I had been. She called herself a Christian. We used to meet often to talk about the Bible. On one of these occasions, she stopped the flow of our conversation and turned to a portion of Scripture where we had not been. She read aloud, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3 ESV). She hastily explained to me that because she seeks God’s blessing, she reads aloud that verse every day. Then, she turned right back to the part of Scripture we had been discussing. She had no understanding that she was using Scripture in a literal-concrete way that bordered on superstition.

As God said in verse 20, people err when their heart is ashes. It is so difficult to perceive the deadness in one’s own soul. And no one can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Verse 21 opens a new section.

But God…

But God yet again displays his compassion and mercy. He once again forgives Israel and calls them to himself. This is where we will begin next time, Lord willing.

God and Israel: Isaiah Journal 2.18

November 4, 2021 1:39 pm / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Previously published at https://justonesmallvoice.com/god-and-israel-isaiah-devotional-2-18/.

Septuagint Isaiah 44 Quick Outline

I. GOD’S PROVISION FOR OLD TESTAMENT ISRAEL Isaiah 44:1-8

II. THE FOOLISHNESS OF THOSE WHO MAKE AND WORSHIP IDOLS Isaiah 44:9-20 

III. GOD’S GOOD NEWS FOR OLD TESTAMENT ISRAEL Isaiah 44:21-28 

I. God’s Provision for Israel

Chapter 44 distills what the prophet writes up to this point. The text emphasizes God, his relationship with Old Testament Israel, and the foolishness of idols. Despite all Israel’s actions against him, God sticks with Old Testament Israel. He does so for two reasons. 1) First, Israel are the people God has chosen to witness about him to the world (Isaiah 44:8, LXE). 2) Israel is the people through whom God will give birth to his Son (Isaiah 9:6, LXE).

To Whom Do Verses 1-6 Speak?

First, the last verse of the previous chapter speaks God’s displeasure with Israel (Isaiah 43:28). He gives them up to destruction and reproach.

27 Your fathers first, and your princes have transgressed against me. 28 And the princes have defiled my sanctuaries: so I gave Jacob to enemies to destroy, and Israel to reproach. (Isaiah 43:LXE)

The verb “to destroy” is very strong. Elsewhere in Scripture, it means total destruction, as in death (Genesis 19:13; Numbers 16:33: Luke 17:27, 29 and Jude 1:5). Yet, Isaiah again does one of those amazing “flip-flops” (See on this blog, Isaiah’s Flip-Flops). The very next verses in chapter 44 contain phrases such as, “Israel, whom I have chosen,” “beloved Israel” and “Israel, whom I have chosen.” One very possible explanation is that God addresses two different groups of people. One group, the one which will be destroyed, is apostate Israel (the disobedient, God-rejecting Israel). The other group is the faithful remnant. Messiah was birthed into the faithful remnant. Both of his parents were God-fearing people. The disciples of Messiah and his early followers were also loyal to God.

ONE OTHER POSSIBILITY

There is one other possibility, however. It could be that God in verses 1-6 prophetically addresses Messiah Israel, his singular Servant, his Son (see Devotional 2.9 and 2.10.) The love language, promise of the Spirit upon his seed, and blessings upon his children fit this possibility very well.

1 But now hear, O Jacob My servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen. 2 Thus says the Lord God that made you, and He that formed you from the womb; You shall yet be helped; fear not, My servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land; I will put My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessings upon your children; 4 and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on the banks of running water. 5 One shall say, I am God’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand, I am God’s, and shall call himself by the name of Israel. 6 Thus says God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the First and I am the Last; beside Me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:1-6, LXE)

Points of Interest in Septuagint 1-6

1. “Beloved Israel” Verse 2

First, the word “beloved” that appears in Septuagint Isaiah 44:2, LXX does not appear in the Masoretic text. The Masoretic text reads, “Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen” (ESV). “Jeshurun” is a poetic word for Israel, found in Deuteronomy 32:15. It means “upright one.”

“Beloved” however, occurs in Septuagint Deuteronomy 32:15 LXX. And most famously, “beloved” occurs in Matthew 3:17 mGNT, Mark 1:11 mGNT, Luke 20:13, mGNT, and many others, albeit in a different grammatical form. This verse supports the statement that God likely addresses Israel his singular Servant, Messiah, in this set of verses.

2. “Water to the thirsty” Verse 3

Jesus in Acts 1:4 ESV referred to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as “the promise of the Father.“

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (ESV)

The first occurrence of this baptism occurred on the day of Pentecost, while the disciples gathered together in one place (Acts 2:1-4 ESV). Jesus spoke often of giving water to the thirsty (See John 4:13; 7:38). Isaiah 44:3 is a beautiful description of the gifting of the Holy Spirit.

3. People as Metaphorical Vegetation

Verse 4 speaks poetically of people, comparing them metaphorically to kinds of vegetation that grow in a well-watered land.

3… my blessings upon your children: 4 and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on the banks of running water. (Isaiah 44:4)

This point is of interest, simply because it demonstrates that an Old Testament prophetic book can make a prophecy in metaphorical terms.

Verse 6

Verse 6 is powerful and amazing

6 Thus says God, the king of Israel, who delivered him, God Sabaoth: I am first, and I am after these things; besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6 NETS Silva)

1. THE POWERFUL ELEMENTS

The Greek identifies God in four clauses, all in a row with no connecting “and.” (1) These four clauses pound, one after another. There can be no mistaking God’s emphatic proclamation of himself alone.

Isaiah 44:6 [thus says God] οὕτως λέγει ὁ θεὸς [the king of Israel] ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ισραηλ [the one who rescued him] ὁ ῥυσάμενος αὐτὸν [God of hosts] θεὸς σαβαωθ [I first] ἐγὼ πρῶτος [and I after these things] καὶ ἐγὼ μετὰ ταῦτα [beside me there is no god] πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν θεός (Isa 44:6 LXT)

God identifies himself as 1) God, 2) the king of Israel, 3) the one who rescued Israel, and the God of hosts, commonly translated as “the God of heaven’s armies.” The Greek word “rescued” is an aorist (roughly a past tense) participle in the middle voice. The middle voice indicates a personal interest by the nominative masculine subject. That indicates, that God rescued Israel for himself. He had his own interests in mind.

RESCUED The Greek word “rescued” is not nearly as informative as the Hebrew word in its place. It simply means to deliver, to rescue. It’s used in the New Testament in Matthew 27:4 and 1 Thessalonians 12:10, as well as elsewhere. The Hebrew synonym is “redeemer,” as in “kinsman-redeemer,” (Strong’s 1350). Notice the English Standard Version of verse 6 below.

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (Isaiah 44:6 ESV)

2. THE AMAZING ELEMENT

The amazing thing about verse 6 is how the New Testament identifies Christ and God Almighty as one. Some Old Testament interpreters say that it’s not fair (not admissible, not correct) to interpret the Old Testament by the light of the New. That is, we as New Testament readers must restrict our understanding of every Old Testament text’s meaning to what an Old Testament listener would most likely have understood. I’ve addressed this at length elsewhere (Isaiah Devotional 2.12). So, I will not do so now. However, if Christ and his Father God are one in the New Testament, then they are also one in the Old Testament. If Christ in the New Testament is “the first and the last,” then he clearly was also the first and last in the Old Testament. God, who inspired Isaiah to write these words, did not have a restricted understanding of his own identity. As first and last, God knew quite well what he was writing. Because some Old Testament folk failed to grasp his meaning is no reason I should. I choose to go along with the Apostle Paul. I choose to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.” (Galatians 5:1 NKJ)

JESUS’S STATEMENTS Here are a few statements that Jesus, Messiah, the Christ made about his own identity.

John 10:30 ESV I and the Father are one.” [Note: Instead of “I am,” Jesus changes the statement to “I…are.” He fills in, “I and the Father one are.” ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν. –cmw]

John 14:9 ESV … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…

Revelation 1:7 ESV Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:17 ESV When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Just as God stood ready to save in the Old Testament, Christ stands ready to save in the New. God is one.

CONCLUSION

Verse 6 summarizes Isaiah’s argument throughout the entire volume to this point, chapters 40-44.

  • First, God is: 1) God, 2) king, 3) redeemer, and 4) the Almighty Lord of Hosts.
  • Second, he and Messiah are one, according to the New Testament.
  • Finally, there is no other god who saves.

The point of all this is that God in his great love for his own people pleads with them to turn back to him and be saved. His plea still stands for all Israel’s children and for Gentiles, as well.

__________

1 Some Greek manuscripts do contain a connector “and” rather than the article before the verb particle “rescued.” So, literally, some manuscripts write “the King of Israel and [who] rescued him.” Other manuscripts write, “the King of Israel, the one [who] rescued him. I happen to prefer the latter. Silva apparently works from these same manuscripts–those not containing the word “and.”

Septuagint 43: Isaiah Journal 2.17

October 30, 2021 6:48 am / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Previously posted at https://justonesmallvoice.com/septuagint-43-isaiah-devotional-2-17/.

This article will be semi-technical.

Thank God for Greek!

Whichever people may have translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek (the Septuagint), they did so with great sensitivity to God’s Holy Spirit. This manifests in the specific Greek words used. These translators did not shy away from using words that point to Messiah. Many of the Greek words and word stems of the Septuagint also occur in the Greek of the New Testament. Readers have many tools to access both the Greek of the Septuagint and the Greek in which the New Testament was written. Comparing the two testaments Greek to Greek yields rich rewards.

These are some of the readily available language tools:

  • interlinear or side by side editions of the Septuagint showing both the Greek and the English (or other language) translation
  • interlinear New Testaments with one’s native language displayed word by word under the Greek
  • biblical editions that show Strong’s numbers for each word in one’s native language, or for each Greek word
  • a multitude of highly detailed lexicons and concordances
  • on-line lessons, printed textbooks, and in-person classes to learn Greek
  • some links are included in the footnotes (1)

Christian Correspondences with Isaiah 43

Redeemer

1 And now thus saith the Lord God that made thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Brenton)

  1. God through Isaiah speaks to Israel in first person. The text states that God specifically created and formed Jacob, also known as Israel. Using an entirely different word, Christ says in Matthew16:18, “On this rock I will build my church.” Paul in Ephesians 2:20 speaks of the church as having been “built.”
  2. Although one study Bible uses the words “will protect” for “have redeemed,” most English translations stick to “redeemed.” This word occurs multiple times in both testaments. Christ in the New Testament is known as “redeemer.” (See also Isaiah 43:14. The “Lord God” does far more than “protect” Israel. He redeems her.)

Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. (ESV)

Luke 24:21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. (ESV)

Calling By Name

In the Septuagint, God speaks to Israel, “I have called you by name.” In the New Testament, Jesus calls by name.

John 10:3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out… 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (ESV)

Paul also speaks of members of the church (Israelites and Gentiles) as those whom God calls.

Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)

Witnesses

God appoints Israel as his witness.

10 Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he: before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none. 11 I am God; and beside me there is no Saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved; I have reproached, and there was no strange god among you: ye are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God, 13 even from the beginning; and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: I will work, and who shall turn it back? (Brenton)

MESSIAH AS WITNESS

First, notice the construction of the sentence in verse 10. The Greek itself is very similar in construction (Isaiah 43:10 LXX). The plain meaning, out of context, would be that there are three witnesses: Israel (“Be ye my witnesses“), the Lord God, and “my servant whom I have chosen.” When including the context, an argument could be made that this is a very awkward construction indicating two witnesses: the Lord God and Israel, who is also the Lord’s servant. Against this interpretation lies the fact that the first phrase  is second personal plural (be ye, witnesses). The third phrase, “my servant whom I have chosen,” is singular. If the reader extends the context back to chapter 41, to which this chapter is closely linked, the servant could well be the singular Servant of Isaiah 41:8 forward.

Within the four Gospels, Jesus claims that God himself is his witness.

John 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

John 8:18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

John 18:37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world– to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

And, Messiah (Jesus) witnesses to the Father.

John 8:26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”

John 8:40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

John 3:11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

John 8:29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” (Joh 8:29 ESV)

ISRAEL AS WITNESSES

Isaiah 43:10 Be ye my witnesses… 12… ye are my witnesses

As the Lord God commanded Israel to be his witnesses, so Messiah commands his disciples to be his witnesses.

THE DISCIPLES AS WITNESSES

Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.

John 15:27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Acts1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Protection

Notice the similarity in the following two statements, one from the Septuagint, spoken by the “Lord God,” and the other from the New Testament, spoken by Christ. The actual Greek words “deliver” (ἐξαιρέω) and “snatch out” (ἁρπάζω) are different. In the context of these sentences, however, they are synonymous.

12… I am the Lord God, 13… and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: (Brenton) 

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (ESV)

“I Am” Statements

The Gospel of John is famous for Jesus’s many “I am,” statements. There are a few, however, which follow the Old Testament formulation in Isaiah 43 exactly.

John 8:24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he (ἐγώ εἰμι), you will die in your sins.” 

John 8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he (ἐγώ εἰμι), and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

Isaiah 43:10 Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he (ἐγώ εἰμι): before me  there was no other God, and after me there shall be none.

Isaiah 43:25 <1> I, even I, am he that blots out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and thy sins; and I will not remember them. {1) Gr. I am, I am} (LXE, Brenton)

Isaiah 43:25 ἐγώ εἰμι ἐγώ εἰμι… (I am, I am) (Isaiah 43:25, LXT)

And John is not the only gospel in which Jesus claims the divine Being. Mark also includes this testimony.

 Mark 14:61… Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am (ἐγώ εἰμι), and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 

A Chosen Race

Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do new things, which shall presently spring forth, and ye shall know them: and I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land. 20 the beasts of the field shall bless me, the owls and young ostriches; for I have given water in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land, to give drink to my chosen race, 21 my people whom I have preserved to tell forth my praises. (Brenton) 

The phrase “chosen race” in the Septuagint, or “chosen people” in the Hebrew, is all but unique in the Old Testament. A digital search engine shows “chosen people” and “chosen race” nowhere else in the Old Testament, other than Septuagint Esther 8:13.  Various Greek lexicons define the word γένος (gen-os) as: 1) race, offspring, descendants, family; 2) nation, people; and 3) class, kind (Thayer, and Gingrich).

The New Testament likewise uses the phrase “chosen race, γένος (gen-os)” just once. Peter’s statement closely resembles Isaiah’s use of the phrase “chosen race” in verse 20. Peter combines verses 20 and 21.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race (γένος), a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The shortened form, “chosen” as in “my chosen” occurs more frequently in both testaments.

Water

Isaiah 43 speaks often of water. The occurrences of water fall into two categories. The first category is dangerous water. The second category is the water necessary for life. This section will consider the second category, the water of life. The Gospels also relate Jesus/Messiah’s ministry in connection with two categories of water: dangerous water and the water that gives life.

DANGEROUS WATER

Isaiah 43:2 And if thou pass through water, I am with thee; and the rivers shall not overflow thee… (Brenton) 

Isaiah 43:16 Thus saith the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty water; (Brenton) 

And from the New Testament–

Mark 4:37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 

John 6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

WATER OF LIFE

From Isaiah 43–

43:19… I will make… rivers in the dry land. 20 The beasts of the field shall bless me, the owls and young ostriches; for I have given water in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land, to give drink to my chosen race, (Brenton) [Note: The ESV writes, “rivers in the desert.”]

And from the mouth of Messiah–

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”

John 4:13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Blindness

God through Isaiah seems to never grow weary of calling out Israel’s blindness.

Isaiah 43:8 and I have brought forth the blind people; for their eyes are alike blind, and they that have ears are deaf. 

Messiah in his ministry did the same with the religious leaders of his day.

Matthew 23:24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. 

John 9:39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Jesus in his day healed many who were physically blind. Which is more difficult? To heal a physically blind person or to give spiritual life and sight to a spiritually blind person? Jesus did both.

Matthew 20:30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

John 12:46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Summary: The Christian Message

Septuagint Isaiah 43 speaks the Christian message.

First, verses 1 through 7 cry out the Lord’s love for his people (Isaiah 43:1-7). For Christians, this includes all people everywhere. God seeks out his own and calls them by name from the far corners of the earth. No one is too far away to be saved. He cares for his people, provides for them, and protects them.

Second, just as Israel was a witness among the nations (Isaiah 43:8-21) to the existence, sovereignty, might, and eternity of the Lord God, Christians are witnesses of the same. Most importantly, Christians witness that Christ came in the flesh, died and was buried, arose from the grave, and ascended into heaven. The first Christians saw all these things. Christians further witness that Jesus Messiah sent his Holy Spirit to take his place in the hearts of believers everywhere. This is how Christians know that Jesus lives.

Third, the Christian message is inclusive. The Lord’s people are one. Isaiah 43:5-7 indicates this truth, which will be developed further as Isaiah progresses. There are no ethnic nor language barriers in the body of Christ. The body of Christ includes all people who believe, both those of Israeli descent and Gentiles. There is no separation. God and Messiah are one. Their people are one.

Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

Fourth, God judges his people as being blind, distant from him, and sinful (Isaiah 43:22-28). Yet, he is willing to forgive them. He will do this for himself (Isaiah 43:25). The Christian message is that all people have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Yet God in Christ will forgive them.

Fifth, confession and repentance are necessary.

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blots out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and thy sins; and I will not remember them. 26 But do thou remember, and let us plead together: do thou first confess thy transgressions, that thou mayest be justified [made righteous (SAAS)].

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

When one reads through Isaiah 43, God appears to be as though he were a lover spurned. I see a God who is bending over backward, pleading with his people to return to him. Yet, verses 27-28 indicates that they have turned against him, to their shame and destruction. Why did God’s people not love him

But the story has not ended. It continues. And, God’s message today is the same as yesterday.

 Hebrews 3:15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 

Amen.

__________

1 Brenton’s English Septuagint; New English Translation of the Septuagint, translated by Moisés Silva NETS; Abarim Interlinear New Testament; Blue Letter Bible Septuagint in Greek with links to Strong’s concordance for each word. All links accessed October 28, 2021.

Christians and Isaiah: Isaiah Journal 2.16

October 27, 2021 9:37 pm / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Posted at https://justonesmallvoice.com/christians-and-isaiah-43-isaiah-devotional-2-16/.

God Pours Out His Love

God pours out his love for his people in Isaiah 43. Here are a few of the opening statements.

1 … “Fear not, for I redeemed you. I called you by your name, for you are Mine.

2 If you pass through water, I am with you; and the rivers shall not overflow you. If you pass through fire, you shall not be burned up, nor shall the flame consume you.

3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who saves you…

4 Since you were precious in My sight, you became glorious, and I love you. I will give many men for you and rulers to lead you.

5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north, “Bring them,” and to the south, ‘Do not keep them back. Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth–everyone called by My name.’

7 For in my glory I prepared him, and formed and made him.” (SAAS) (1)

Question: Do the Above Verses Apply to Christians?

First, there is no doubt that God speaks to Israel in Isaiah 43:1-7. But does he also speak to Christians in these verses? A first response would be that Christians all over the world do apply these verses to themselves. Hallelujia! But under what warrant?

Yes, I believe that Christians are justified in applying these verses to themselves. The reason is that Gentiles have been included in God’s olive tree, Israel.

  1. First, God’s prophecy concerning a Savior applies to all humankind (Genesis 3:15).
  2. Second, God made Abraham the father of many nations (πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν) (Genesis 17:5). Israel after Solomon consisted of only two kingdoms, whereas Gentile nations fill the world. They are indeed a multitude of nations.
  3. The language of Isaiah 43:5-6 indicates Israel’s seed will include people from all over the world. But the various captivities by Assyria and Babylon didn’t carry Israelites to the “ends of the earth.”
  4. Many of Jesus’s parables indicate a broadening of God’s people (Matthew 21:33-41; 22:1-10). Jesus also spoke the following words in reply to some Greeks (Gentiles) who wanted to meet with him, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself,” (John 12:32).
  5. The Apostle Paul expounded in detail how the Gentiles would be grafted in to Israel’s tree (Romans 9:22-26; 10:11-13; 11:17-24).
  6. Jesus commanded his original disciples to “ 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) 
  7. Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit are One. God said to Israel, “I am with you,” (Isaiah 43:2, 5). Jesus said to his disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Because the seed of Israel includes the church, God’s statements to Israel in Isaiah 43 must also include the church.

Obviously, these verses are very important to Christians.

Do These Verses Apply to Israel?

Clearly, the words God spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah apply to the seed of Israel. How can two groups–Christians and Israelites–receive the same promises from God? The answer is, when Israel and the church become one. And when will that happen? It has already happened in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul explains it most fully in the verses quoted in point number six above (Romans 9:22-26; 10:11-13; 11:17-24). Paul also speaks clearly in Ephesians.

 Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (ESV)

The “law of commandments expressed in ordinances” is the Mosaic law in all its fulness. This was the first covenant. Israel broke that covenant by their disobedience (Jeremiah 31:32; Isaiah 43:28; Hebrews 8:6-13).

Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. 

But God’s promises still stand. Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham in whom every promise of God is yes and amen (Galatians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 1:20).

The Church Is Israel

The first Christians were all of Israel. Christ came to minister to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” (Matthew 10:5-7; 15:24). The first Christians, and Christ himself, were Israelites. But the bulk of Israel did not believe. The Apostle Paul mourns the tragedy of Israel’s having rejected her King.

Romans 9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ– I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit–2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (ESV)

Yet the gospel message is joy and hope, not sorrow. Paul finds joy in knowing that a remnant of Israel has believed. This is what Isaiah prophesies throughout (see Isaiah Devotional 2.14). The believing remnant of Israel is the holy root of the olive tree to which the non-native Gentiles have been grafted. The church began as the believing remnant of Israel. God fulfilled his promises and prophecies to them. Isaiah 43 has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. By God’s grace alone we Gentiles have been blessed by God’s grafting us into that holy root to share as newcomers in those promises.

Paul also expresses his hope for all of Israel to be saved.

Romans 11:24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. 25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (ESV)

THREE POINTS

Attention should be drawn to three points in the above verses.

  1. Notice the manner in which Israel will be saved. Verse 24 states that “the natural branches [will] be grafted back into their own olive tree.” The manner of this grafting back will be by God’s removing the hardness of their heart (verse 25). That is,  their hearts will be softened to receive Jesus Christ as their Messiah King, which indeed he is. And we know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Therefore, people of Jewish faith need to be evangelized, along with everyone else in the world.
  2. The tree is Israel’s own native olive tree. That is, the olive tree is Israel. This is the same Israel that was born and raised in the Old Testament. But the point to note is that the tree onto which Israelites will be grafted–their very own native olive tree–has changed. How has their tree changed? Simply this, myriads of Gentile believers in Israel’s Messiah King have been grafted onto that same tree. Many siblings have been born. Israel is no longer an only child. (Oh Israel, please do not be like the elder brother in Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son.)
  3. Paul’s phrase, “all Israel” stands in contrast to “partial hardening,” and alongside the “fullness of the Gentiles.” Paul seems to be saying that in contrast to the remnant which is currently saved, the fullness of Israel–“all Israel”–will be saved.

Amen! So may it be.

BIBLICAL CORROBORATION 

The thrust and conclusion of the argument (presentation) of this post can be arrived at by means of an entirely different biblical pathway. That pathway is through the Psalter. The Psalter contains a series of five psalms that work together in chronological order (Psalms 56-60). They tell the story of Israel’s rejection and slaying of Messiah, her King, her God in human form. God in turn rejects Israel. The King, however, is resurrected. The prophetically resurrected King then prays that Israel would receive a  temporary punishment. This punishment would be for God to scatter them. The alternative punishment would be to annihilate them. The risen King prophetically prays for Israel’s forgiveness, and ultimately her restoration (2). The last post of this series can be accessed here: Restoration of Israel. The interpretation of these Septuagint psalms (56-60) agrees closely with the argument concerning Israel that Paul presents in Romans 9-11.

A Peek Ahead

Now that this groundwork has been laid, the next post, Lord willing, will demonstrate the various ways in which Isaiah 43 is fully Christian. And please remember that Christian = Israel + Gentiles.

__________

1 SAAS: “Scripture taken from the St. Athanasius Academy SeptuagintTM. Copyright © 2008 by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

2 The “prophetically resurrected” King “prophetically prays” because the psalms were written centuries before the incarnation.

You Are My Witnesses: Isaiah Journal 2.15

October 27, 2021 6:01 am / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Published previously at https://justonesmallvoice.com/witnesses-isaiah-devotional-2-15/.

Who Is God?

Where should the reader place their steady gaze in Isaiah? Upon the people of Israel or upon the God who made them? Isaiah 42:18-25 exposes Israel as a people blind, deaf, disobedient, and carried away into captivity.

Isaiah 42:18 Hear, ye deaf, and look up, ye blind, to see. 19 And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yea, the servants of God have been made blind.

… 25 So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew it, neither did they lay it to heart. (Septuagint, Brenton)

The very next set of verses focuses on God and displays his nature. (1)

  • God created Israel and claims them (Isaiah 43:1).
  • God is companion to Israel who miraculously protects them (Isaiah 43:2).
  • God is Savior (Isaiah 43:3).
  • God loves Israel and glorifies his precious people (Isaiah 43:4).
  • God has not abandoned his people, but has stayed with them. He comforts and calls them. He calls their children from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. He’s given them his name. (Isaiah 43:5-7).
  • God created Israel in and for his own glory (Isaiah 43:7) (2).

 Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)

And, as if to emphasize the point that God is the one to be worshiped, not his created people Israel, verse 8 refers back to his blind people. (See Isaiah 42:18-19 above).

8 and I have brought forth the blind people; for their eyes are alike blind, and they that have ears are deaf. (Septuagint, Brenton)

Christians need to be careful not to place Israel at the center of their theology. Israel is not to be worshiped as the central figure. That place belongs to God, who created them. Israel’s sin was to turn from God, to follow their own path. This path led them to worship idols, as all the other nations did. Messiah is God’s singular Servant, Israel. He alone is to be worshiped. Just as Christians should not worship the church, neither should they worship Israel. Christ should be the center of a Christian’s theology in both Old and New Testaments, not Christ’s Old Testament people, Israel.

Who Are Israel?

What then, is Israel’s purpose? Is it Israel’s purpose to be glorified in a “millennial” kingdom? Does all human history lead the world to that point? Isaiah clearly speaks out Israel’s purpose. Israel’s purpose is to witness to God.

10 Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he: before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none. (Septuagint, Brenton)

God declares Israel’s purpose in Isaiah 43:10-21. Israel’s purpose is to witness that God is God. He is the great “I Am.” He proclaims beforehand his salvation (Isaiah 43:12), he brings it about, and no one can reverse his plan, or “deliver out” of his hands (verse 13).

As proof, God in this passage announces that he will deliver his people from the clutches of Babylon. They will be destroyed. (This is the first mention by name of Babylon since chapter 40 began this new volume.) None of the gods of the nations can make these kinds of predictions and bring them about (Isaiah 43:9). God predicts Israel’s deliverance from Babylon. Afterwards, when this happens, Israel witnesses to God and his might by their having been brought out and returned to their own land. Yes, we can all cheer that Israel gets their reward. But our greatest cheering (praise) should be for God who did it. Indeed, God’s goal in chapter 43 is to win the heart of his own people over.

What Israel Are Not

Israel’s witness concerning God is not about themselves and any future glory they may or may not have. Israel’s witness is that God loves them and never abandons them. It is God who is the hero, not Israel. Almost like a repeat of Isaiah 42:18-25, God lays it out plainly to Israel how they have failed him (Isaiah 43:22-28).

They haven’t brought him sheep nor whole burnt offerings, nor sacrifices, frankincense, nor costly incense (verses 23-24). But what God really wants from them is their heart, their willful obedience. That they never gave him.

Isaiah 43:27 Your fathers first, and your princes have transgressed against me. 28 And the princes have defiled my sanctuaries: so I gave Jacob to enemies to destroy, and Israel to reproach. (Septuagint, Brenton)

A Peek Ahead

Yet God does not give up. His plan is dependent upon himself, not upon Israel. Chapter 44 flips back again to blessing. Before moving on to Isaiah 44 I’d like to spend a bit of time on how the Septuagint points to Christ in chapter 43. This, Lord willing, will happen in a future post.

__________

1 Notice the inclusio. Isaiah 43:1-8 begin and end with God as creator. These verses are like the slices of bread that hold a sandwich together.

Isaiah’s Flip-Flops: Isaiah Journal 2.14

October 25, 2021 1:09 pm / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Previously published at https://justonesmallvoice.com/isaiahs-flip-flops-isaiah-devotional-2-14/.

God’s Problem

God created humankind for his glory.

 Genesis 1:31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Then, as everyone knows, God’s enemy Satan attempted to ruin God’s creation. He enticed the people God had created away from their loyalty to God. God punished the world by sending an enormous flood (Genesis 6-9). After this flood, the Old Testament records how God seemingly gave up on the bulk of the world’s people (Genesis 7-11). Rather, he chose to focus upon a small group. They were the progeny of God’s faithful servant and friend, Abraham. They became known as “Israel.” God chose this small group to be his showcase, his special witnesses. They were to demonstrate God’s character of goodness and righteousness to the world.

But that didn’t happen. God had given them a glorious Law. But these people of his kept ignoring, losing, and disobeying it. They left God again and again to worship the gods of the nations. Repeatedly, the Old Testament records how God punished his people by allowing their enemies to trod them underfoot. When they repented, God would bless them. But their loyalty never endured. Continuously, they recommitted the sin of their first parents. Over and over again, they left the God who loved them and followed the idols of the false gods of the nations surrounding them.

God’s problem in a nutshell is that he is faithful, but those he seeks to bless are not.

God’s Problem Expressed in Isaiah

The book of Isaiah is like the weather in Southern California. The climate there never settles down. Heat follows cold and flood follows drought, all in rapid succession. Throughout the entire year, the weather proves itself erratic. The book of Isaiah is like this. Isaiah bounces back and forth between assurances of blessing for Israel and pronouncements of judgment. Isaiah 42:16-44:8 provides a good example of this principle.

Isaiah 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them. 17 But they are turned back: be ye utterly ashamed that trust in graven images, who say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. 18 Hear, ye deaf, and look up, ye blind, to see. 19 And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yea, the servants of God have been made blind. (Septuagint, Brenton)

First, notice God’s blessing and promise in verse 16 above. Then, see the statement of the problem in verses 17 through 19. Description of the problem and God’s response of judgment against Israel continues through the end of the chapter in verse 25.

Isaiah 42:25 So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew it, neither did they lay it to heart. (Septuagint, Brenton) (See also Isaiah 42:25, ESV or Isaiah 42:25, NET.)

Then, Isaiah 43:1 switches back immediately to God’s assurance of blessing. God’s blessing continues throughout chapter 43 and into chapter 44.

And now thus saith the Lord God that made thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Septuagint, Brenton) 

God’s Solution 

Part One: Messiah

How can a reader deal with these flip-flops? Is either God himself, or Isaiah, or both schizophrenic? What is God’s intention: blessing or judgment? He seems to insist on both. No, God is not schizophrenic, and everything he says he will do, he will do. The resolution to the seeming contradiction goes all the way back to the very beginning. God has always had a plan. And God’s plan has always been to send people their Savior.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall be on guard for His heel. (SAAS) (1)

A Savior will be born into the people of Israel. He will be God’s singular Servant, God’s Son. The Savior/Servant will obey God fully and always. He alone will accomplish God’s purposes of righteousness and loyalty on behalf of all Israel.

EVIDENCE OF THE SAVIOR IN ISAIAH

God’s glory against the backdrop of Israel’s failure (Israel, plural) first appears in Isaiah 4:2-6. Note especially verses 4 and 5.

 Isaiah 4:2 And in that day God shall shine gloriously in counsel on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel. 3 And it shall be, that the remnant left in Sion, and the remnant left in Jerusalem, even all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy. 4 For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. 5 And he shall come, and it shall be with regard to every place of mount Sion, yea, all the region round about it shall a cloud overshadow by day, and there shall be as it were the smoke and light of fire burning by night: and upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And it shall be for a shadow from the heat, and as a shelter and a hiding-place from inclemency of weather and from rain. (Septuagint, Brenton) 

Without the New Testament, these verses would remain unfulfilled. But Christ has completely fulfilled this promise. Thank God for the light the New Testament sheds.

First, the Lord washed away the filth of not only the sons and daughters of Sion but of the whole world on the cross. Second, Christ continues that work by means of his Holy Spirit. Third, the Holy Spirit is also the Comforter (or, Helper), who defends and shelters God’s new Israel, the church, from adversity and from enemies.

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (ESV)

Notice the similarities between the images Matthew uses and those of Isaiah 4:4, quoted above. The Apostle John speaks more of the Holy Spirit, see below, much as Isaiah does in Isaiah 42:5-6, quoted earlier.

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (ESV)

Isaiah’s verses find fulfillment in the activities of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (ESV)

Readers can find further references to the Savior in Isaiah, up to this point, in Isaiah 9:1-6; 11:1-16; 12:1-6; 22:20-24; 32:1-4, 15-20; 40:1-11; and 42:1-16. This list may not be exhaustive.

Part Two: A Remnant

All Scripture is clear that only a remnant will be saved. Noah’s boat provides the first example. It carried only eight people to safety (Genesis 7:13). Israel itself is but a remnant of the entire human race. Further, Isaiah makes clear that only a remnant of Israel will be saved.

Isaiah 10:20 And its hall come to pas sin that day that the remnant of Israel shall no more join themselves with, and the saved of Jacob shall no more trust in, them that injured them; but they shall trust in the Holy God of Israel, in truth. 21 And the remnant of Jacob shall trust on the mighty God. 22And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved. (Septuagint, Brenton)

Isaiah 4:3 And it shall be, that the remnant left in Sion, and the remnant left in Jerusalem, even all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy. 4 For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. (Septuagint, Brenton) [See also Isaiah 28:5; 37:31-32; and 46:3-4. There may be other references.]

The Apostle Paul, an Israelite among Israelites (Romans 11:1 and Philippians 3:4-5), picked up and expounded Isaiah’s theme of a remnant from Israel. To this remnant are added as many Gentiles as choose to come.

Romans 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the and of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.” (ESV) [And see all of Romans 9.)

Romans 11:4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (ESV) [See the complete context in Romans 11.]

Jesus himself spoke of a small proportion that would be saved.

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (ESV)

Luke 13:22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. (ESV)

THE MAIN POINT OF A REMNANT

I don’t believe God’s purpose in specifying a remnant is to limit the number of people who finally enter the gates of his kingdom. (Neither should we.) Other places in Scripture claim that number will be as many as the sand in the sea and the stars in the sky (Revelation 7:9 is one such place). Rather, God seeks to emphasize that only those who believe, repent, and faithfully (continuously until the end) trust in and follow God as Lord, Savior, and King will be saved. Because God makes a promise to save Israel does not mean that he will save the arrogant, the hard of heart, or those unrepentantly disobedient to his will. That has never been God’s purpose. By means of the cross of his holy Servant, Jesus Christ, God gives everyone–Israelite and Gentile alike–opportunity to repent, be saved, and find their rest in him.

__________

1 SAAS: “Scripture taken from the St. Athanasius Academy SeptuagintTM. Copyright © 2008 by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Big Picture and Details: Isaiah Journal 2.13

October 22, 2021 5:45 pm / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Originally posted at https://justonesmallvoice.com/big-picture-and-details-isaiah-devotional-2-13/.

The Big Picture and Some Details

The Big Picture: Chapters 40-42

MESSIAH

The overarching theme of the second volume of Isaiah (chapters 40-66) is the advent of Messiah. Isaiah 40:1-11 announces and describes his coming. Chapter 41 repeats and establishes this theme. It announces Messiah’s righteousness and peace to his believing remnant (Isaiah 41:8-20). Then God in Isaiah 42:1-9 speaks of Messiah his Servant. He even addresses him directly in verses 6-7. Isaiah 42:1-16 very much resembles Isaiah 40:1-11. In both passages, descriptions of a changing landscape announce the social upheavals with respect to God’s spiritual comfort that Messiah will bring. Comparing these passages with Gospel descriptions proves their fulfillment in Christ. That is, Christ lifts the poor and needy in his speech and ministry. He also brings down the unbelieving religious elite by speaking against them.

IDOLS

Interwoven with the theme of Messiah as God’s true representative is the counter theme of the falsity of idols. The conflict between God’s truth and lifeless idols forms the backdrop to the whole. For example, Isaiah defends God against idols in Isaiah 40:12-26. Chapter 41:1-7 and 21-29 also concerns God’s rejection of idols and those who worship them. These idol-worshipers appear to be among the Gentile nations. However, Chapter 42, verses 8, 17, and 18-25 are also against idols. But this time, those who trust in them belong to the nation of Israel, God’s “servant,” plural (Isaiah 42: 8, 17, 18-25).

GENTILES AND ISRAELITES TOGETHER

God welcomes Gentiles to believe and receive his good news in Isaiah 42:10-12. These verses flow right into verses 13-14. Verses 13-14 describe God in metaphors. One is of a strong soldier marching out to battle. The second describes God as a woman laboring intensely to give birth. These metaphors describe God overpowering his spiritual enemies through the advent of Messiah. Isaiah 42:15-16 again picks up the theme of changes to the landscape (see Isaiah 40:3-11). These changes indicate the spiritual reality of God’s care for the blind, verse 16. Gentiles are embedded without transition in this entire section, Isaiah 42:10-16. And, God of course includes his own believing people, verse 16.

SUMMARY

Believers Versus Non-believers

In summary, Isaiah in these chapters distinguishes between those who believe and those who do not believe. Both of these groups include Israelites and Gentiles. Chapters 40-42 reveal that God’s real enemies are those who refuse him, preferring rather to call upon their idols. Both the Gentile nations (Isaiah 41:21-29) and Israel (Isaiah 42:18-25) harbor those who shape and trust in their powerless idols. God rebukes and rejects both of these groups.

Comfort and Peace for Believing Israel and Gentile Nations Alike

When God speaks “comfort” for his people, he does not include those whose stance is arrogant hardness of heart and idol worship. God favors the poor and needy among his own people. These are those whom he blesses. (See Isaiah 41:8-20). Likewise, God also welcomes those of the Gentile coastlands (isles) who joyfully receive the good news of Messiah. (See Isaiah 42:1-13.)

In a Nutshell

In a nutshell then, the dividing line is between believers and non-believers, between God-followers and idol worshipers. There is no line between Gentiles and the sons of Jacob. God rejects the idol worshipers among his “own” people and from among the Gentiles. Conversely, God gives his singular Servant Messiah to believers from among his own people and to believers among the Gentiles. Thus speaks Isaiah, God’s prophet.

Details: Three Metaphors in Isaiah 42:10-16

I. METAPHOR ONE-GOD AS WARRIOR

13 The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13 LXE)

  1. The Verse in Context

This verse appears almost out of place. If it were to be interpreted concrete-literally, it would be out of place. Isaiah 42:1-12 continuously and solidly presents Messiah joyfully and with song. Messiah is gentle and quiet. He is compassionate and just. His presence makes people glad. It seems odd, then, to abruptly find God going forth as a warrior to fight against his enemies. This segment presents no enemies, not until verse 22.

2. Great Spiritual Sense

Spiritually, however, in light of Messiah, the verse (Isaiah 42:13) makes a great deal of sense. Who are God’s enemies but the powers of darkness that wage war against God through idols that appeal to men? God’s great enemy is Satan. At what point in human history did God defeat Satan? There is only one answer: at the Cross. Christians know that the cross is the place of God’s victory over all his enemies, including death. Psalm 18 portrays God’s rescuing his Son from death after he died on the cross (see Psalm 18 at JustOneSmallVoice).

II. METAPHOR TWO-GOD AS A WOMAN IN HARD LABOR

14 For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. (Isaiah 42:14, ESV)(1)

  1. The Verse in Context

Here again, unless the reader understands Isaiah’s metaphor, this verse may appear shocking. First, is Isaiah still using the God-as-mighty-warrior metaphor? No, I don’t believe so, contra the subject note of one study Bible. How many writers seeking to glorify a mighty warrior would compare him to a woman in labor? No…

2. Its Meaning

God does, however, acknowledge and honor women in this verse. What unites this verse with the prior verse is the theme of strong, focused effort. Giving birth is sometimes similar to a battle. But why use two so very different metaphors, if the underlying meaning is the same? The reason is that they are not the same. A warrior destroys. As verse 13 states, God will “crush…” The outcome for a woman in labor, however, is new life, a new creation. The woman brings forth something entirely new, something that was not there before.

Not just this verse, but the entire context speaks of newness.

  • new things Isaiah 42:9; 43:19; 48:6
  • new hymn Isaiah 42:10
  • good news Isaiah 52:7
  • new name Isaiah 62:2; 65:15
  • new heaven and a new earth Isaiah 65:17; 66:2

Revelation 12:1-6 uses the metaphor of a woman giving birth to describe the advent of Christ and the birth of his church.

III. METAPHOR THREE-A CHANGED LANDSCAPE

15 I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools. 16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:15-16)

1. The Verses in Context

As mentioned already, these verses resemble those of Isaiah 40:1-8. All four Gospels refer to the verses in Chapter 40 in connection with John the Baptist. Therefore, the reader knows that the landscape imagery is metaphorical. That is, the mountains, hills, crooked places, and rough places indicate spiritual realities, spiritual obstacles, possibly people and powers who stand opposed to God. Plus, Isaiah 40:6 identifies grass as humanity. The best a human puts forth is no more glorious than a flower of the field, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Finally, Isaiah 40:11 speaks of Messiah as a husbandman, feeding his flock as a shepherd (cf. John 10:11, 13-14).

2. Their Meaning

So, what does it mean in Chapter 42 when God speaks in first person and states, “I will make the rivers into coastlands and dry up marsh-meadow… I will turn darkness into light… and make crooked places straight,”? (SAAS). Is God announcing a concrete-literal landscape renovation complete with lamps and lanterns? I think most would agree that these metaphors are spiritual. The new thing that God announces will be completely different from all that has gone before. We might say in common speech that God is about to turn the world upside-down. And this is exactly what Jesus did.

So the last will be first, and the first last. (Matthew 20:16 ESV)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
…
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
(Matthew 5:3-6, 10-11 ESV)

The poor man [Lazarus] died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. (Luke 16:22-23 ESV)

Summary

The majority of the world’s people both in biblical times and now are Gentiles. The majority of the world’s people are poor and needy. And, a very small remnant of Israel in both the Old and New Testaments (think weak, overlooked, poor, and powerless)  clung to their loyalty to their one true God. For all these, the gospel of Jesus Christ, Messiah, is very good news indeed.

Covenant to a Race: Isaiah Journal 2.12

October 19, 2021 8:14 am / Leave a comment

By Christina M Wilson. Previously published at https://justonesmallvoice.com/covenant-to-a-race-isaiah-devotional-2-12/.

What Does “Covenant to a Race” Mean?

From the Septuagint

6 … ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους (Isaiah 42:6, LXX)

6 … I have given you as a covenant to a race… (NETS, Silva)

6 … I have given thee for the covenant of a race… (LXE, Brenton)

6 … I will… give You as the covenant of a race… (LXE, SAAS)(1)

From the Masoretic

6 … וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם (Isaiah 42:6, WLC)(2)

6 … I will give you as a covenant for the people… (Isaiah 42:6, ESV)

6 … I will appoint You as a covenant to the people… (Isaiah 42:6, NASB20)

6 … I… will make you to be a covenant for the people… (Isaiah 42:6, NIV)

6 … I… make you a covenant mediator for people… (Isaiah 42:6, NET)

Israel Singular and Israel Plural

God speaks directly to his Servant in Isaiah 42:6-7. The context indicates that the Servant is a singular person (Cf. Isaiah Devotional 2.9). The use of the word “servant” here in Chapter 42 differs from its use in Chapter 41. There, the word “servant” referred to the group of believing Israelites-“the seed of Abraham, whom I loved” (Isaiah 41:8). We know that Chapter 41 referred to a group of believers, because context determines the word’s particular meaning. In the context of the passage, Septuagint verse 14 (Isaiah 41:14) describes Israel as  “few in number.” The Masoretic writes, “you men of Israel.” 

In Chapter 42, however, all the pronouns are singular from verses 1 through 7. Note especially that the pronouns “you” and “your” in verse 6 are singular. But even more than the grammar, the context indicates that “Israel” in Chapter 42 refers to a singularly outstanding person. The content of verses 1 through 16 describes someone who is uniquely wonderful. Israel the people, even at the best of times, never lived up to this description. However, the promised Messiah will.

And This Is Why It Matters

The text of Isaiah 42:6 teaches that Messiah, a Person, is a covenant to a people. The Septuagint captures this meaning in all three of its translations. Of the Masoretic translations included above, the NIV does not shrink back, but boldly proclaims the plain meaning of the grammar, “I… will make you to be a covenant for the people.” The ESV, the NASB20, and the older KJV  also give this meaning.

But I want to contemplate a note in the NET Bible for this verse. Note 15 flatly declares, “A person cannot literally be a covenant,” (see link to NET note). Then, the translation adds the word “mediator” to the text in verse 42:6. This word is not in the text. The NET Bible translators add it to the text. Presumably, this is to cause the text to conform to the editors’ hermeneutical principle that Old Testament prophecies must remain “literal,” or physically concrete. But, rather than make such an assertive presupposition, — that Isaiah spoke on a purely literal level, I will ask, “How can a person be a covenant?”

How Can a Person Be a Covenant?

In order to begin to approach answering the question, “How can a Person be a covenant?” I want to ask a further series of  questions.

  • How can a Person be literal bread? “I am the bread of life.” John 6:48
  • How can a Person be literal light? “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12; Isaiah 42:6
  • How can a Person be a literal door? “I am the door of the sheep.” John 10:7
  • How can a Person be the literal resurrection? “I am the resurrection…” John 11:25
  • How can a Person be literal life? “I am… the life.” John 11:25
  • How can a Person be a literal way? (a road, a path) “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
  • How can a Person be literal truth? “I am… the truth,” John 14:6
  • How can a Person be a literal vine? “I am the vine,” John 15:5 
  • How can a Person be the literal Word? “In the beginning was the Word… the Word became flesh,” John 1:1, 14 
  • How can a literal Word create? “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3 
  • How can a Person be literal peace? “For he himself is our peace,” Ephesians 2:14

The answers to the above questions are all the same. Jesus was not speaking (or being spoken about) concretely (“literally”). For example, Jesus’s body in John 10:7 is not a concrete doorway (a physical, “literal” doorway) through which sheep may pass. Nor does he physically lay his body down on the ground so that people can walk over him, John 14:6. Jesus, of course, speaks spiritually in these texts.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

But for some reason, certain biblical scholars tell us that prophets living in Old Testament times were incapable of speaking spiritually, even with God’s guiding hand–his Spirit–directly upon them. Why else would they actually change the biblical text by adding words that are not there? The NET Bible adds the word “mediator” in Isaiah 42:6, NET. “Mediator” is not present in preserved texts written in the original Hebrew language. Nor is it present in the Septuagint, the earliest known translation of the Hebrew. Is the reader supposed to believe that NET Bible translators are better interpreters of God’s intended meaning to Isaiah than Isaiah himself? Isaiah was God’s chosen prophet.

Another Example

As another example of NET Bible’s literalistic presupposition (their philosophy of interpretation), let’s consider the last portion of verse 6 combined with verse 7.

Isaiah 42:6 “I am the LORD… I will give you as… a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

We believers in New Testament times know what this verse means, because Jesus Christ is the direct fulfillment of it.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (ESV)

And of course we know that Jesus is speaking spiritually. Nevertheless, the NET Bible notes accompanying verses 6 and 7 in Isaiah chapter 42 choose to portray a concrete, physical, (“literal”) interpretation of the biblical imagery. First, the NET note for verse 6 appears acceptable. They write, “sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression;” (Link to NET note 16). That note interprets “light” as a metaphor (whether or not their explanation is correct). That may seem all well and good. But second, the notes interpret the phrase, “to open the eyes that are blind,” in verse 7 in an entirely concrete, i.e. physically literal, way. Further, they say, the prisoners are actual prisoners in literal dungeons.

18 sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light. 19 sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice. (Link to NET notes 18 and 19)

What the NET notes state is that God informs his servant that at some future time, he–the servant–will free literal prisoners from literally dark prisons. Note number 18 explains that these captives have been in the dark prison for so long that their physical eyes have grown unaccustomed to the light. I guess that is supposed to mean that their eyes are no longer capable of seeing properly. For all intents and purposes, these prisoners are physically blind. God will be sending his servant to these Gentile (verse 6) prisoners to physically remove them from prison.

Is That What God Really Meant to Say?

Now how can this contrived textual interpretation possibly be more acceptable than simply acknowledging that God in these verses gives Isaiah spiritual words to speak? (See the above paragraph.) Or, does Isaiah, in contradiction to the Apostle Peter, not have the Spirit of God when he prophesies?

1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. 11 They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ and his subsequent glory. 12 They were shown that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things now announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven– things angels long to catch a glimpse of. (NET)

Peter directly claims that these Old Testament prophets did have “the Spirit of Christ within them” indicating what would later happen to Christ. Also, who were their audience? Notice that Peter flatly states that these Old Testament prophets were not primarily writing for an audience in their own timeframe. They were in fact, according to Peter, writing for listeners in the New Testament timeframe, “serving not themselves but you…” 

Are we then who read Isaiah’s words–we to whom the Holy Spirit has been given when we believed (Ephesians 1:13; Acts 19:2-6)–are we not permitted to consult that Spirit because of an unstated NET hermeneutical principle that flatly proclaims that all Old Testament prophecy must be interpreted physically (concretely, i.e., “literally”)?

But What About Jeremiah?

Yet, somehow, the prophet Jeremiah, still solidly embedded within the Old Testament timeframe, is permitted to speak spiritually.

Jeremiah 31:33 I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts… (see Isaiah 31:31-33)

I’m wondering why the NET notes don’t state that God’s law cannot be literally written on people’s hearts? Is the use of language here so very different than what Isaiah writes in Isaiah 42:6-7? If a law can be written on people’s hearts, why can’t God give his Servant to be a covenant for people? Why can’t God give his Servant to be a spiritual light to Gentiles who are spiritually blind and locked up in spiritual prisons?

The Underlying Issue

Indeed, many people who lived in Israel during Isaiah’s timeframe were locked into the same stolidly literal hermeneutic that NET Bible notes so often use. What did Isaiah write concerning his own people?

Isaiah 59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind, we grope like those who cannot see; we stumble at noontime as if it were evening. Though others are strong, we are like dead men. (NET)

And didn’t Jesus agree with God’s prophet Isaiah?

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! (ESV)

And John the Apostle understood that Israel’s religious leaders were spiritually blind.

John 12:37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. (ESV)

Blessedly, Jesus healed both the physically blind and the spiritually blind.

A Basic Question

Since the religious leaders of the Israelites in Jesus’s day misunderstood their own Scripture to the extent that they missed their own Messiah, why should we, who have the Holy Spirit, limit ourselves to their blind lack of understanding, interpreting their Scripture wrongly, as they did? We also have the hermeneutical key to the Old Testament that Jesus gave his disciples–himself! (Luke 24:27; John 5:39). And, we have the example of all the New Testament writers who wrote about Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Why then should we make the same literalistic mistakes that unbelieving Israel did?

We have no reason today to suppose that Isaiah had no spiritual understanding. Even if the bulk of his listeners may not have, can we not grant that God’s Spirit broke through to Isaiah? Otherwise, why would he be quoted so often in the New Testament? I believe that the New Testament quotes Isaiah so often because Isaiah prophesied the Christ, and that One’s words are Spirit and life.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 

__________

1 SAAS: “Scripture taken from the St. Athanasius Academy SeptuagintTM. Copyright © 2008 by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

2 WLC: Westminster Leningrad Codex

Post navigation

← Older posts Newer posts →