A Look To The Future
In Isaiah
32, Isaiah looks forward towards a promised time. The time to which Isaiah looks forward is a
time of righteousness. It is a time
where people actually follow God, see God’s hand at work, listen to Him, and
speak truth. In one respect, Isaiah
could be talking about the brief period during the reign of Josiah. More likely, Isaiah is looking towards the
time when the Hebrew people will return from an exile that in Isaiah’s day had
not even yet begun. From a New Testament
perspective we might be tempted to think that Isaiah is speaking about the
coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within all those who draw near to the
Lord. Ultimately, though, this passage
will find its true fulfillment when Christ returns and brings all those who
believe into the presence of God. Here
in this passage we might actually have a place with a capacity for a fourfold
level of interpretation.
Look at what
will mark this time. The king will be
like a shelter amidst the roaring wind and the storms of the world. The rulers will be just. They will be valued and treasured as one
treasures a stream in the middle of a desert.
The leadership of a just ruler will be refreshing like the shade of a
large rock on a bright sunny day. I find
it interesting to note how the leadership of a ruler who follows the ways of
the Lord is not a burden to the people but rather it comes as relief. It’s almost like Isaiah is saying that humans
beings have so much experience being led by the ungodly that when godly
leadership comes along we will all have a sigh of relief.
But Isaiah
continues. Not only will leadership
under God be different, so will the laity.
Those who desire to see God will be able to do so. Those who desire to hear God will give him
attention. The heart will understand and
know God. The tongues of the righteous
will speak truth accordingly. Spirituality
will evolve among God’s people. As God
says in other parts of the scriptures, He will put His Word on our hearts and
we will know Him. We won’t have to force
people to make the right decision or guilt them into making the right
decision. We will know the right things
because we know Him. We will do and say
the right things because we know Him.
The Coming Judgment
As we turn
to the rest of the chapter, we have two distinct portions. The first portion is a perspective on the
coming judgment. It is most likely that
these verses pertain to the Assyrian invasion and not the devastating invasion
of Babylon, which will be successful in defeating Jerusalem. But what is most curious is the collective to
whom Isaiah speaks: the women.
It is
curious that Isaiah speaks to the women.
From a traditional understanding of God’s Word, women were pretty
powerless in Jewish culture. There was
much they couldn’t do – especially in the public arena. So for Isaiah to call out to the women allows
us to draw two possible conclusions. Note
that these are not mutually exclusive conclusions.
First,
things must have gotten pretty bad in Jerusalem. For Isaiah to have now turned to the women
implies that his appeals to the general people – more likely, men – didn’t
work. His appeals to the leadership – Priests,
Levites, Kings, Court Officials – didn’t work.
Thus, Isaiah is turning to the women.
It could be
that Isaiah is grasping at straws. What
is more likely is that Isaiah realizes that he’s not going to change the nation
as a whole by affecting the leadership so he’s going to try and affect the
nation house by house instead. If that
doesn’t show perseverance and initiative I don’t know what is.
The other
conclusion that we can draw is that women weren’t as “overlooked” in the Bible
as is traditionally taught. Sure, they
couldn’t be priests or Levites … I’m not making that claim. But they had to have some influence or else
Isaiah wouldn’t have addressed them. The
women in Isaiah’s day couldn’t make sweeping changes in the country. But in a house by house movement, the women
are precisely the ones to whom Isaiah would want to speak.
A Time of Hope
The second
distinct portion of the final section in this chapter is yet another glimmer of
hope. After telling the women to prepare
for the worst, Isaiah tells them that there will be a time of hope. There is something for which to live. God’s Spirit will descend upon the people. God’s promises will bear fruit once
more. There will be peace and
righteousness and trust among mankind.
We will find rest.
God has the
final word, and for those in Him that final word is peace. If that word is good enough for God, it is
good enough for me. Go: be in God’s
peace. With respect to God, dwell in
peace.
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Maybe I read sometimes with too much of an anti-feminist bent, but I think you are on to something with your take on Isaiah's call to women in v. 9. I think women were not as powerless as we like to believe in our modern culture--they have always had sway in their own homes, and have always been more focused on defending home and hearth. It is how we are wired. I could say a lot more, but that is probably controversial enough!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, thanks for your comments. And you're not going to find any controversy regarding your comments with me. I do believe that the truth about women and the Bible has been suppressed for far to long by a male-dominated church. Just look at all the discipleship with women that Jesus and the Apostle Paul did in the New Testament!
ReplyDeleteNow, as for your "defending hearth and home" comments, I think you are spot on with that one. Because much of the Bible is a documentation of public works, we often lose the influence of a woman in her own home. She set the agenda for education and political alignment within her children. She was largely responsible for the oversight of servants/slaves. There is far more that can be "mined" in the Bible about the role of women and what I like to call "environment setting." I have to confess, my wife is a much better hostess than I am a host! I agree with you ... I think women are just far more wired with that hearth and home mentality.
As always, thanks for your comments.
So in the other blog I write ... we are studying Hebrews 11. For tomorrow, I was writing on Hebrews 11:29-31. As I wrote it, I came across the point that the author is making in that through faith Rahab and her family were saved at Jericho.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly I thought about your comment and the "hearth and home" idea. I know you already know this ... but quite literally there is a woman whose faith had a huge impact on the salvation of her family!