Archive for the ‘Isaiah 10’ Category
Above: Cedars of Lebanon
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-75016
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-14 (15-19)
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
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Stir up in our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son.
By his coming give us strength in our conflicts
and shed light on our path through the darkness of the world;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 13
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Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son
that at his second coming we may worship him in purity;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 11
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For improved comprehension of Isaiah 11:1-10, O reader, back up to 10:32b-34. There we read that God will destroy the Neo-Assyrian Empire, built on militarism, cruelty, and exploitation. Isaiah 10:34 likens that empire to majestic cedars of Lebanon, cut down by God. Then Isaiah 11 opens with the image of the Messiah, depicted as a twig sprouting from a tree stump.
The Messiah–the ruler of the fully-realized Kingdom of God in Isaiah 11–has much in common with the ideal king in Psalm 72. Both monarchs govern justly. They come to the aid of the oppressed and punish the oppressors. Judgment and mercy remain in balance.
The ethics of the Kingdom of God–whether partially-realized or fully-realized–contradict the conventional wisdom of “the world” and its great powers. The Roman Empire, built on militarism, cruelty, and exploitation, continues as a metaphor to apply to oppressive powers–not only governments–in our time. Spiritual complacency remains a problem. And how we mere mortals treat each other continues to interest God.
Real life is frequently messy and replete with shades of gray. Sometimes one must choose the least bad option, for no good options exist. Whatever one does, somebody may suffer or perhaps die, for example. We live in an imperfect world. But we can, by grace, make the best decisions possible then act accordingly. We can, by grace, love one another selflessly and self-sacrificially. We can, by grace, act based on mutuality and the Golden Rule. We can, by grace, welcome those whom God welcomes. We can, by grace, confront those whom God confronts. We can, by grace, make the most good from an imperfect situation.
May we do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 6, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART V
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Ezekiel 6:1-7:27
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Ezekiel 6 foretells the divine destruction of Judah and sites of idolatry in Judah. Corpse impurity will render these sites ritually unclean, we read in 6:5. Despite the divine destruction of Judah, God will preserve a remnant, we read in 6:8-10, possibly added subsequent to the time of Ezekiel. God takes no delight in the destruction of Judah, we read in 6:11. In Ezekiel 25:6, in contrast, clapping hands and stamping feet indicate rejoicing with malice.
God remains furious with Judah in Ezekiel 7. We read that the people have been arrogant, trusting in military strength, not in God (7:24). For more along these lines, read Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 13:11; Jeremiah 48:29; Ezekiel 24:21; Ezekiel 30:18; Ezekiel 33:28). We also read:
Lawlessness is blooming, insolence budding; the violent have risen to wield a scepter of wickedness. But none of them shall remain; none of their crowd, none of their wealth, for none of them are innocent.
–Ezekiel 7:10b-11, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
The Hebrew prophetic books are horribly repetitive. Consider the temporal context of the Book of Ezekiel, O reader. Consider that the Law of Moses and a series of prophets preceded Ezekiel. Consider that, had more people heeded previous prophets, there would have been no need for Ezekiel to prophesy.
Being oblivious to the messages God has sent and continues to send creates a situation that leads to horrible consequences.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 23, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BREVARD S. CHILDS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH GOTTLOB GUTTER, GERMAN-AMERICAN INSTRUMENT MAKER, REPAIRMAN, AND MERCHANT
THE FEAST OF JOHN JOHNS, ENGLISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILHELM HEINRICH WAUER, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN
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Above: Icon of Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART X
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Jeremiah 14:1-15:9
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The title for this post comes from The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VI (2001).
God, we read, will not listen to intercessions for the people of the Kingdom of Judah any longer. That is why certain prayers do not work in Jeremiah 14:1-15:9. We return to a theme from earlier in the Hebrew prophetic tradition: repentance is no longer an option. The Book of Jeremiah, like other Hebrew prophetic books, is inconsistent about whether repentance is no longer an option. I, having finished rereading the Book of Jeremiah and having read earlier Hebrew prophetic books as of the time I type these words, make that statement with authority and without fear of being objectively inaccurate.
Some aspects of this block of scripture beg for explanation.
Translations of 14:18 vary, for the Hebrew text is difficult. The priest and the prophet
roam the land,
They do not know where,
in TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985). However, the priest and the prophet
ply their trade in a land they do not know,
in The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011). In The Revised English Bible (1989), they
wander without rest in the land.
Other translations offer variations on those renderings.
15:4 tells us:
I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, on account of King Manasseh son of Hezekiah of Judah, and of what he did in Jerusalem.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
King Manasseh of Judah (r. 698/687-642 B.C.E.) was one of the monarchs certain Biblical authors loved to despise. 2 Kings 21:1-18 unloaded on the idolatrous monarch. 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 softened that blow by adding material about the monarch’s supposed repentance. 2 Kings 21:1-18 knew nothing about this alleged repentance, however. Later, an anonymous author, drawing from 2 Chronicles 33:1-20, composed The Prayer of Manasseh, an apocryphal text which enriches The Book of Common Prayer (1979).
Idolatry offers the theological clue to the interpretation of the drought in Jeremiah 14:1-15:9. The author wants people to recall the famine and drought in 1 Kings 17:1-18:46, meant to prove the ineffectiveness of Baal Peor, the Canaanite storm and fertility god.
The promise (15:8) that:
Their widows shall be more numerous
Than the sands of the seas.”
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
calls back ironically to the divine promise regarding the number of descendants of Abraham (Genesis 22:17) and Jacob (Genesis 32:13; cf. 1 Kings 4:20; Isaiah 10:22; Hosea 2:1).
She who bore seven is forlorn,
Utterly disconsolate;
Her sun has set while it is still day,
She is shamed and humiliated.
The remnant of them I will deliver to the sword,
To the power of their enemies
–declares the LORD.
–Jeremiah 15:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This forlorn, disconsolate mother is Jerusalem personified. Themes, being what they are, occur in different and subsequent contexts, though. The stories of the mother and her seven sons, all martyrs during the Seleucid period, fill 2 Maccabees 7 and 4 Maccabees 8-18.
One should read scripture in various contexts, including literary genres and the historical record. Another context in which to read scripture is other scripture. We who have read the Bible know the rest of the story with regard to the final years of the Kingdom of the Judah. We know that matters got worse before they improved. We know that repentance was still an option.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES OF NISIBIS, BISHOP; AND SAINT EPHREM OF EDESSA, “THE HARP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK C. GRANT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR; AND HIS SON, ROBERT M. GRANT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND PATRISTICS SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS OF GETULIUS, AMANTIUS, CAERAELIS, AND PRIMITIVUS, MARTYRS AT TIVOLI, 120; AND SAINT SYMPHROSA OF TIVOLI, MARTYR, 120
THE FEAST OF SAINT LANDERICUS OF PARIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THOR MARTIN JOHNSON, U.S. MORAVIAN CONDUCTOR AND MUSIC DIRECTOR
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Above: Map of the Assyrian Empire and Its Neighbors
Image Scanned from an Old Bible
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READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART IX
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Isaiah 10:5-34; 14:24-27; 29:1-34; 30:27-33; 33:1-24
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One of the motifs in Hebrew prophetic literature condemns haughtiness, arrogance, and impiety before God. This motif applies to the (northern) Kingdom of Israel and the (southern) Kingdom of Judah, both of which neglected the Law of Moses, therefore committed idolatry and practiced institutional social injustice, especially economic injustice and judicial corruption. This motif also applies to nations outside of the covenant. They are still accountable to God for violating basic standards of human decency. If you, O reader, have been following my posts here at BLOGA THEOLOGICA since I started blogging on May 12, 2021, the contexts of this paragraph should be a mere refresher course.
I bring up this motif because we revisit it in Isaiah 10:5-34.
The Assyrian Empire boasted of its cruelty. This empire, to that time the latest in a line of Mesopotamian empires, followed in a tradition of official, unrepentant cruelty. Isaiah ben Amoz may have understood the Assyrian Empire to be an instrument of God, for a time, at least. The perspective of the final draft of First Isaiah did, at least. And the Assyrian Empire may have been an instrument of God, for a time, at least. It was certainly never exempt from accountability to God.
The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians conquered the Assyrian Empire. Then the Persians and the Medes conquered the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. Then Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the Persian Empire. Then he died and that vast Macedonian Empire broke up. Much of Alexander’s realm eventually became part of the Roman Empire. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
One should not trust excessively in human political structures, which rise and fall.
Divine judgment and mercy remained in balance. A remnant survived. Exiles eventually returned to Judea after the Babylonian Exile.
A close reading of Isaiah 10:5-34 reveals layers of authorship, as well as chronological leaping back and forth. For example, 10:27b-34 and 29:1-34 refer to Assyrian King Sennacherib’s failed invasion of Judah in 701 B.C.E. (See 2 Kings 18:17-19:27; 2 Chronicles 32:1-33; Isaiah 37:8-20.) Yet 10:20-23 refer to the end of the Babylonian Exile, centuries later. There is a method to the editorial madness, though; the conclusion of Chapter 10 leads directly into the opening of Chapter 11.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH TO SAINT ELIZABETH
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Above: Vineyard
Image in the Public Domain
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READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART V
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Isaiah 5:1-30
Isaiah 9:7-20 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Isaiah 9:8-21 (Anglican and Protestant)
Isaiah 10:1-4
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The vineyard, an erotic image in Song of Songs 1:6 and 8:12, was more frequently a metaphor for the people of God in the Hebrew Bible. Robert Alter’s translation of the beginning of Isaiah 5:1 in The Hebrew Bible (2019) is close to the standard rendering in English:
Let me sing of My beloved
the song of my lover for his vineyard.
The lover is God, and the vineyard is the people of Israel. The speaker may be a friend of the bridegroom. Brevard S. Childs, in Isaiah (2001), tells us:
At the outset, the song is not a love song, as often rendered (e.g., RSV), but a song of a beloved one concerning his vineyard that is sung by another.
–45
The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) translates the beginning of Isaiah 5:1 as:
Now let me sing of my friend,
my beloved’s song about his vineyard.
I checked Isaiah 5:1 in five French-language translations, too. The germane terms are mon ami “my friend” and mon bien-aimé (“my beloved”).
The beginning of the translation in the revised Louis Segond translation (1910) is:
Je chanterai à mon bien-aimé
Le cantique de mon bien-aimé sur la vigne.
The beginning of the translation in the Nouvelle Version Segond Revisée (1976) is:
Or donc, je chanterai à mon ami
Le chant de mon bien-aimé sur sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible en Français Courant (1997) is:
Laissez-moi chanter quelques couplets au nom de mon ami; c’est la chanson de mon ami et da sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible de Jérusalem (2000) is:
Que je chante à mon bien-aimé
le chant de mon ami pour sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible du Semeur (2015) is:
Je veux chanter pour mon ami
la chanson de mon bien-aimé au sujet de sa vigne.
The germane note in The Catholic Study Bible, Third Edition (2016), suggests that the speaker in Isaiah 5:1-2 may be a relative, not a lover, hence the language of friendship in The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) and certain French translations. The note from R. B. Y. Scott, in The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 5 (1956), agrees:
In accordance with the Oriental fondness for grandiloquent language, the words could be used with the weakened sense of “friend”….It is almost inconceivable that Isaiah, of all people, would use an erotic term for Gods even in a parable; moreover, by no stretch of the imagination can the song be called a long song. It is probably best to take [yadid] and [dod] as synonyms, and to translate: “Now let me sing on behalf of my friend, my friend’s song about his vineyard.”
–196-197
In verse 3, the speaker changes; God begins to speak.
The bottom line in Isaiah 5:1-7 is that the people of Judah have failed to meet divine expectations; they have neglected the covenant. They have failed to maintain a society in which divine righteousness and justice defined values and norms. God, we read, will abandon the vineyard to its fate.
Isaiah 5:8f continues the theme of social injustice. Sins include grabbing land, being indifferent, and drinking to excess. The ruling class of Judah, we read, has been indifferent to the covenant. Therefore, exile awaits the ruling class, and further misery awaits the masses.
Isaiah 5:25-30 may belong after Isaiah 9:7-20/9:8-21 (depending on versification), about judgment on the (northern) Kingdom of Israel. Isaiah 5:25-30 does flow naturally from Isaiah 9:7-20/9:8-21 (depending on versification).
Another editorial oddity is that Isaiah 10:1-4 fits with and may have originally been united with Isaiah 5:8-24.
I, as a history buff, find details of fifth-century B.C.E. editing of sacred texts interesting. I acknowledge them readily. These do not distract me (for long) from my main purpose in this series of weblog posts: to understand and apply the messages of the Hebrew prophets, as those messages are relevant today. These messages are repetitive. After blogging my way through the Books of Hosea, Amos, and Micah already, I recognize the same themes repeating: The covenant and the Law of Moses require societal, institutionalized justice. The societal reality in which any given prophet speaks out is inconsistent with that vision, which includes economic justice and excludes idolatry. Unjust societies will reap what they have sown. Even Gentiles, not subject to the covenant and the Law of Moses, must obey certain standards, or else.
The message repeats on a playback loop because it must. Many people continue to be indifferent to the message. Other people are oblivious to it. Just check the news, if you dare, O reader, for current evidence.
What does God have to do to get attention?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
TRINITY SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR, 1430
THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES
THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1582
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Above: Cedars of Lebanon, 1898
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-11736
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For the First Sunday after Christmas, Year 2
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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Almighty and Everlasting God, direct our actions according to thy good pleasure,
that in the Name of thy Beloved Son, we may abound in good works;
through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 118
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Isaiah 11:1-5
Psalm 98
Hebrews 2:1-8
Matthew 2:11-21
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Understanding Isaiah 11:1-5 requires one to back up into Chapter 10. The Neo-Assyrian Empire, described poetically as majestic cedars of Lebanon, will fall, we read. God will cut that empire down to size, we read. Yet real strength will emerge from the Davidic Dynasty. The ideal Davidic monarch will govern justly, we read.
The Bible tells us much about divine justice. Both Testaments are replete with this content. Obviously, we–you, O reader, and I–do not live in the ideal Davidic kingdom or even the fully-realized Kingdom of God on Earth. Yet our governments can become more just, by a combination of grace and active faith.
Tyrants still hold sway in many places. God is still their judge. God is still your judge, O reader. God is still my judge. And repentance remains crucial. All of that is true.
So is what follows. God, the Incarnation, can and does identify with we mere mortals. Jesus is able to help us, for he know temptations, too. And the Holy Spirit is our defense attorney (John 14:16, 26; 1 John 2:1). Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. We may safely dismiss one of the great heresies, hellfire-and-damnation preaching. We may not safely dismiss, however, the warning that God does have standards. Grace is free, not cheap.
Merry Christmas, O reader! This Christmas season, may the kingdom of this Earth come to resemble more closely the Kingdom of God, for the glory of God and for the common good.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF MAURA CLARKE AND HER COMPANIONS, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN EL SALVADOR, DECEMBER 2, 1980
THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN
THE FEAST OF GERALD THOMAS NOEL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER; HIS BROTHER, BAPTIST WRIOTHESLEY NOEL, ANGLICAN PRIEST, ENGLISH BAPTIST EVANGELIST, AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS NIECE, CAROLINE MARIA NOEL, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT HORMISDAS, BISHOP OF ROME; AND HIS SON, SAINT SILVERIUS, BISHOP OF ROME, AND MARTYR, 537
THE FEAST OF SAINT RAFAL CHYLINSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
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Above: Cedars of Lebanon, 1898
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-11736
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For Christmas Day, Year 1
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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O God, who hast made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light;
grant, we beseech thee, that as we have known on earth the mysteries of that Light,
we may also come to the fullness of his joys in heaven;
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 118
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Isaiah 11:1-9
Psalm 132:6-17
Hebrews 1:1-12
Luke 2:1-20
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At least two themes unite these assigned readings: justice/righteousness/equity and the conflict between the Kingdom of God and human empires and kingdoms founded on violence and exploitation.
If we back up into Isaiah 10 then read 11:1-9, we notice a contrast of images. The mighty Assyrian Empire will not survive the wrath of God, who will cut it down and hack it away with iron. The Assyrian Empire, likened to a majestic cedar of Lebanon, will fall, but a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse. This shoot will be the ideal Davidic monarch. He will govern justly, righteously, in a manner that will create equity. After all, “justice” and “righteousness” are translations of the same Biblical word.
Another translation of the same word is “vindication.” Why not? Certainly, the poor and the oppressed need vindication.
Luke 2:1-20 is theologically rich yet historically inaccurate. First, as honest students of Roman antiquity attest, one cannot correctly state that all those men named at the beginning held office at the same time. Second, that census is pure fiction, objectively. So be it. Besides, something much more interesting is playing out. One notices it, if one has eyes to see and ears to hear.
According to the Roman Empire, founded on violence and exploitation, the Emperor Augustus (né Octavian) was the Son of God and the Savior of the World. He had presided over the transformation of the Roman Republic, consumed by its terminal civil war, into the Roman Empire and over the founding of the Pax Romana. Yet, as Tacitus wrote, peace in Roman imperial terms was a desert the Romans had created.
In Luke 2:1-20, the angels sang not to praise the counterfeit Son of God and Savior of the World, but to announce the birth of the genuine article. The angels sang at the debut of a seemingly unlikely savior, a helpless infant.
One function of the apocalyptic theme in scripture is to criticize those people and institutions in power who violate divine principles of justice/righteousness/equity. By extolling the virtues of an ideal ruler and government one calls necessary and proper attention to the glaring shortcomings of governments and institutions dependent upon violence and exploitation. God will cut them down, no mater how formidable they may seem from a human perspective. Empires, kingdoms, states, and administrations rise and fall, but the Kingdom of God, fully realized on the Earth, will endure. That is an apocalyptic promise for which we wait faithfully.
Merry Christmas!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 12, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TRASILLA AND EMILIANA; THEIR SISTER-IN-LAW, SAINT SYLVIA OF ROME; AND HER SON, SAINT GREGORY I “THE GREAT,” BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF JOHN H. CALDWELL, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 295
THE FEAST OF RUTILIO GRANDE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1977
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
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Above: Cedars of Lebanon, 1898
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-11736
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
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In TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) the first word of the reading from Isaiah 11 is “but.” This is an invitation to back up into Isaiah 10, where one reads of God cutting down arrogant Assyrian forces. The metaphor at the end of Isaiah 10 is cutting down the cedars of Lebanon. That makes sense if one knows the background of that portion of scripture.
The prophet uses the term Lebanon trees ironically: Assyrian kings boasted in inscriptions that they cut down these mighty cedars on their heroic journeys to despoil the forests of Lebanon to obtain wood for their building projects in Mesopotamia, but here Assyrians themselves become the ax’s victim.
—The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), 789
Then we arrive at our reading from Isaiah 11.
But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse,
it begins. This is a prophecy of a time when an ideal king will rule justly and the society will be peaceable. This is similar to the high hopes in Psalm 72. Matthew 3:1-12 evokes this prophecy of Isaiah (in spirit, at least) and has St. John the Baptist apply it to Jesus, whom he baptizes in 3:13-17.
Romans 15:12, which follows a call to think about others first ad to work for the common good, quotes Isaiah 11:10. The Pauline point is plain: God seeks for all people to praise, follow, and set their hope on Him. The family of God is diverse; some branches of it dislike other branches–even consider some of them to be heretical at best. Some individuals within that family cannot or will not get along with other members thereof.
This has always been true. Nevertheless, the divine mandate to work for the common good, to put other people before oneself, has never ceased to be relevant. For nearly two millennia we have had a role model–Jesus, who went so far as to die.
May we love one another as we love ourselves, recognizing that the common good is indeed that to which God calls us in society. Building ourselves up by exploiting others violates divine commandments and provokes the anger of God, as it should.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 14, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM
THE FEAST OF ALFRED LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN
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Adapted from this Post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-of-advent-year-a-humes/
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Above: A Circular Saw
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, through suffering and rejection you bring forth our salvation,
and by the glory of the cross you transform our lives.
Grant that for the sake of the gospel we may turn from the lure of evil,
take up our cross, and follow your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 10:12-20
Psalm 119:169-176
John 7:25-36
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Does an ax boast over him who hews with it,
Or a saw magnify itself above him who wields it?
As though the rod raised him who lifts it,
As though the staff lifted the man!
–Isaiah 10:15, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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I long for your salvation, O LORD,
and your law is my delight.
–Psalm 119:174, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Such is the attitude of an instrument of God who knows that he or she is one and embraces that fact. It is the attitude of Jesus in John 7:25-36, but not that of Samson in Judges 15:16 or the Assyrian monarch in Isaiah 10:12-20. The Book of Isaiah does not condemn hostile nations whom it understands as functioning as agents of God for being instruments of God’s judgment, but it does condemn them for other offenses, such as arrogance and faithlessness. Israelite kingdoms receive condemnation for the same sins in the Hebrews Scriptures.
God continues to use people and institutions as agents. The proper attitude of an agent of God toward God is one of humility and, depending on the circumstances, gratitude. All that we have comes from God, directly or indirectly, so our ability to do anything positive comes from God. May we respond gratefully and humbly to God whenever we have an opportunity to help others. May we do the most (via God) for those around us, for their benefit and divine glory.
JUNE 6, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY JAMES BUCKOLL, AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLAUDE OF BESANCON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM KETHE, PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/06/06/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-19-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Assyrian Empire
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 10:12-27, 32b-34
Psalm 33 (Morning)
Psalms 85 and 91 (Evening)
2 Peter 1:1-21
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Some Related Posts:
2 Peter 1:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/last-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/week-of-last-epiphany-monday-year-2/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/week-of-proper-4-monday-year-2/
The Remnant:
http://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/the-remnant/
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You have been gracious to your land, O LORD,
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.
You have forgiven the iniquity of your people
and blotted out all their sins.
You have withdrawn all your wrathful indignation.
Restore us then, O God our Savior;
let your anger depart from us.
Will you be displeased with us forever?
will you prolong your anger from age to age?
Will you not give us life again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
–Psalm 85:1-6, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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For very soon My wrath will have spent itself, and My anger that was bent on wasting them.
–Isaiah 10:25, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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But without [goodness, understanding, self-control, perseverance, devotion, and kindness to brothers with love], a person is blind or short-sighted, forgetting how the sins of the past were washed away.
–2 Peter 1:9, The New Jerusalem Bible
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God will destroy the Assyrian Empire, Isaiah told his audience. Not only that, a remnant of Judah will return and God’s anger will run its course. One might flip forward to Isaiah 40 and read:
Comfort, oh comfort, My people,
Says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
And declare to her
That her term of service is over,
That her iniquity is expiated,
For she has received at the hand of the LORD
Double for all her sins.
–Isaiah 40:1-2, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
Divine anger which led to the destruction of Assyria will end. Divine anger which led to the Assyrian and Babylonian Exiles will run its course. But Assyria did not rise again. In contrast, exiles from Judah did return to their ancestral homeland.
The author of 2 Peter told his audience to lie in goodness, understanding, self-control, perseverance, and devotion, and to be kind to one’s Christian brothers (and sisters) in love. By so doing, he wrote, the knowledge of Jesus Christ would be neither ineffectual nor unproductive. Yet without them, one forgets that God has washed our sins away.
If we live as if God has not forgiven certain sins, we go about our lives entrapped in our ignorance and illusions. We become prisoners of a lie, or at least a misunderstanding. We live in a self-imposed exile. This is most unfortunate. What might we do for God if we were living as the free people we are?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 9, 2011 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE HOLY MEN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
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http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-4-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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