Archive for the ‘Isaiah 33’ Category
Above: Ahriman (from Zoroastrianism)
Image in the Public Domain
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READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART II
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Isaiah 24:1-27:13
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Babylon is not mentioned even once. Rather, the eschatological focus of these chapters has raised their sights to the ultimate purpose of God in portraying the cosmological judgment of the world and its final glorious restoration. Moreover, the redemption of Israel is depicted as emerging from the ashes of the polluted and decaying world. Not just a remnant is redeemed , but the chapter recounts the salvation of all peoples who share in the celebration of God’s new order when death is banished forever (25:8).
–Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah (2001), 173
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INTRODUCTION
Isaiah 24-27 constitutes the Isaiah Apocalypse. They also constitute an early and not full-blown example of Biblical apocalyptic literature. Some books I read inform me that the Jewish apocalyptic form emerged in the wake of the fall of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire–in the late sixth century (early 500s) B.C.E., to be precise. These books also teach that full-blown Jewish apocalypses emerged only in the second century (100s) B.C.E., as in the case of Daniel 7-12.
Isaiah 24, in vivid language, depicts the divine destruction of the natural order and the social order. I recommend the translation by Robert Alter, in particular. Regardless of the translation, we read that people have violated the moral mandates embedded in the Law of Moses:
And the earth is tainted beneath its dwellers,
for they transgressed teachings, flouted law, broke the eternal covenant.
Therefore has a curse consumed the earth,
and all its dwellers are mired in guilt.
Therefore earth’s dwellers turn pale,
and all but a few humans remain.
–Isaiah 24:5-6, in Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Volume 2, Prophets (2019)
The timeframe is sometime in the future, relative to both Third Isaiah and 2021. in this vision, high socio-economic status provides no protection against God’s creative destruction.
Within the Book of Isaiah, in its final form, chapters 24-27 follow oracles against the nations (chapters 13-23) and precede more oracles against nations (chapters 28-33). This relative placement is purposeful.
SWALLOWING UP DEATH FOREVER
Returning to the Isaiah Apocalypse, the establishment of the fully-realized Kingdom of God entails the defeat of the enemies of God’s people, the celebration of an eschatological banquet, and the swallowing up of death forever (See 1 Corinthians 15:54; Revelation 7:7-17). The divine swallowing up of death echoes the swallowing up of Mot (the Canaanite god of death) in mythology.
Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19 refer to divine victory over death. Given the temporal origin of the Isaiah Apocalypse, is this a metaphor for the divine vindication of the downtrodden, likened to the dead? Such language, in Book of Daniel (100s B.C.E.) and the Revelation of John (late 100s C.E.), refers to the afterlife. The operative question regarding Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19, however, is if the author knew about and affirmed the resurrection of the dead. We know that Ezekiel 37 (the vision of the dry bones) is a metaphor for the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian Exile. But what about Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19? Even the Jewish commentaries I consult do not arrive at a conclusion.
I understand why. The Isaiah Apocalypses comes from a time when Jewish theology was changing, under the influence of Zoroastrianism. Satan was moving away from being God’s employee–loyalty tester (Job 1-2) and otherwise faithful angel (Numbers 22:22-40)–and becoming a free agent and the chief rebel. The theology of Ahriman, the main figure of evil in Zoroastrianism, was influencing this change in Jewish theology. Jewish ideas of the afterlife were also changing under Zoroastrian influence. Sheol was passing away. Reward and punishment in the afterlife were becoming part of Jewish theology. By the second century (100s) B.C.E., belief in individual resurrection of the dead was unambiguous (Daniel 12:2-3, 12).
I do not know what Third Isaiah believed regarding the resurrection of the dead. I suppose that he could have affirmed that doctrine. The historical context and the symbolic language of the apocalypse combine to confuse the matter. So be it; I, as an Episcopalian, am comfortable with a degree of ambiguity.
DIVINE JUDGMENT ON ENEMIES OF THE COVENANT PEOPLE
Isaiah 25:9-12 singles out Moab, in contrast to the usual practice of not naming enemies in chapters 24-27. One may recall material condemning Moab in Amos 2:1-3; Isaiah 15:1-16:13; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Ezekiel 25:8-11.
In the divine order, the formerly oppressed rejoice in their victory over those who had oppressed them. Oppression has no place in the divine order.
Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance in Isaiah 24-27. Divine deliverance of the oppressors is frequently catastrophic for the oppressors. And the contrast between the fates of the enemies of God (27:11) and the Jews worshiping in Jerusalem (27:13) is stark. As Brevard S. Childs offers:
In sum, the modern theology of religious universalism, characterized by unlimited inclusivity, is far removed from the biblical proclamation of God’s salvation (cf. Seitz, 192),
—Isaiah (2001), 186
GOD’S VINEYARD
Neither do apostasy and idolatry have any place in the divine order. And all the Jewish exiles will return to their ancestral homeland. Also, the message of God will fill the earth:
In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall bud and flower,
and the face of the world shall fill with bounty.
–Isaiah 27:6, Robert Alter (2019)
The face of the world will be God’s productive vineyard, figuratively. The people and kingdom of God, figuratively, are a vineyard in the Old and New Testament. (See Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 20:1-16; Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19).
CONCLUSION
Despite ambiguities in the texts, I am unambiguous on two germane points:
- Apocalyptic literature offers good news: God will win in the end. Therefore, faithful people should remain faithful.
- Apocalyptic literature calls the powers and leaders to account. It tells them that they fall short of divine standards when they oppress populations and maintain social injustice. It damns structures and institutions of social inequality. It condemns societies that accept the unjust status quo.
Regardless of–or because of–certain ambiguities in the Isaiah Apocalypse, chapters 24-27 speak to the world in 2021. Some vagueness in prophecy prevents it from becoming dated and disproven, after all. And structural inequality remains rife and politically defended, unfortunately.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES
THE FEAST OF CATHERINE LOUISA MARTHENS, FIRST LUTHERAN DEACONESS CONSECRATED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1850
THE FEAST OF GEORGE ALFRED TAYLOR RYGH, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY IN NEW ZEALAND; HIS WIFE, MARIANNE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; HER SISTER-IN-LAW, JANE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; AND HER HUSBAND AND HENRY’S BROTHER, WILLIAM WILLAMS, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WAIAPU
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN POSTEL, FOUNDER OF THE POOR DAUGHTERS OF MERCY
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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: Countryside Dramatic Evening
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Second Sunday of Advent, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O God, who didst prepare of old the minds and hearts of men for the coming of thy Son,
and whose Spirit ever worketh to illumine our darkened lives with the light of his gospel:
prepare now our minds and hearts, we beseech thee, that Christ may dwell within us,
and ever reign in our thoughts and affections as the King of love and the very Prince of peace.
Grant this, we pray thee, for his sake. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 117
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Isaiah 33:17-22
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 25:14-29
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Readings for early Advent frequently have an apocalyptic tone. In this sense they continue from the last four Sundays prior to Advent in many lectionaries. I know from reading that, in parts of Confessional Lutheranism, the last four Sundays are the End Time Season. I also hear of some congregations that keep eight–not four–Sundays of Advent, by folding the End Time Season Sundays into Advent. That plan makes sense to me.
Hopefully one understanding that we are dealing with the end of one age and the beginning of another age, not the end of the world or time. Science tells me that the world will end in the far future, when the Sun expands and either engulfs it or burns it. Time, I presume, will continue.
The issue du jour is eschatological ethics. As we wait for the Day of the Lord–in the Gospel of Matthew, the dawning of the Kingdom of Heaven–when the fully realized rule of God will replace all corrupt, exploitative human systems and institutions–how should we live? The answer is that we should reject immorality and fearful inaction. We should be bold and take risks, for the glory of God. We should double down on holy living. “We,” of course, is plural; societies, institutions, governments, et cetera, stand in need of reform just as much as you and I do, O reader. Eschatological ethics are both collective and individual.
We–collectively and individually–have work to do. It is a great responsibility. Shall we labor faithfully, for God and the benefit of others?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 22, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK PRATT GREEN, BRITISH METHODIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BARTHOLOMEW ZOUBERBUHLER, ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER, U.S. METHODIST AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF KATHARINA VON SCHLEGAL, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
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Above: Icon of the Apocalypse of John
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy.
We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory.
Abide with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine majesty,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 46:18-28 (Monday)
Isaiah 33:17-22 (Tuesday)
Isaiah 60:8-16 (Wednesday)
Psalm 24 (All Days)
Revelation 21:5-27 (Monday)
Revelation 22:8-21 (Tuesday)
Luke 1:1-4 (Wednesday)
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Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is this King of glory?”
“The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.”
Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is this King of glory?”
“The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.”
–Psalm 24:7-10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Here are some thoughts for the time between Proper 29 (Christ the King Sunday) and the First Sunday of Advent.
God wins in the end. Conquerors fall to other conquerors, who fall to other conquerors. The faithful who persevere will receive their reward. Some of them will live long enough to witness the triumph of God in the flesh. The story of Jesus of Nazareth, attested to by eyewitnesses, contains suffering, death, and resurrection. The victory of God in that case is one of love and power, not the smiting of enemies, for whom Christ interceded (Luke 23:34).
The Book of Revelation tells of divine creative destruction from Chapters 4 to 20. Then, in Revelation 21 and 22, God inaugurates the new order. There is smiting of enemies here, for the deliverance of the oppressed is frequently bad news for unrepentant oppressors. The new, divine world order, however, contains no oppression.
That divine order has not become reality yet, of course. Nevertheless, as the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote:
This is my Father’s world,
O let my ne’er forget
That though the wrong
Seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died
Shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 7, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK LUCIAN HOSMER, U.S. UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY GIANELLI, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI AND THE SISTERS OF MARY DELL’ORTO
THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR THEN EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND PRIEST
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-29-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Dougherty, Baker, and Mitchell Counties, Georgia
Image Source = Hammond’s Complete World Atlas (1951)
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The Collect:
Gracious God, throughout the ages you transform
sickness into health and death into life.
Openness to the power of your presence,
and make us a people ready to proclaim your promises to the world,
through Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 30:27-33 (Thursday)
Isaiah 32:1-18 (Friday)
Isaiah 33:1-9 (Saturday)
Psalm 146 (All Days)
Romans 2:1-11 (Thursday)
Romans 2:12-16 (Friday)
Matthew 15:21-31 (Saturday)
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Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth,
for there is no help in them.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish.
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help:
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who gives justice to those who are oppressed,
and food to those who hunger.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous
and cares for the stranger;
the LORD sustains the orphan and the widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
The LORD shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!
–Psalm 146, The Book of Common Worship (1993)
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When I was a graduate student in history at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, my thesis director asked me one day to help a friend and colleague of his who lived on the West Coast. I was glad to do so. The simple task entailed conducting some research there in town. I learned what I could about a notorious law enforcement official (John Doe, for the purpose of this post) in an equally notorious county immediately south of Albany, Georgia, from the 1940s through the 1960s. My answers came quickly. Doe, whom his white-washed profile in the county history described as a devoted family man, a faithful Christian, and a deacon of the First Baptist Church in the county seat, was the sort of police officer who gave Southern law enforcement a bad name, especially among African Americans. The federal government investigated him after he threw acid into the face of an African-American man, in fact. No charges or disciplinary actions resulted, however, and Doe served locally until he retired and won a seat in the state General Assembly. His offenses never caught up with him in this life.
A few years ago a student told a story in class. He had been opening doors at his family’s church. In the process he opened a closet door and found Ku Klux Klan robes. Older members of the congregation preferred not to discuss why the robes were there. I know, however, that the Klan had much support from many churchgoers a century ago and more recently than that.
A composite of the readings from Isaiah and Romans says that, among other things, character matters and becomes evident in one’s actions and inactions. As we think, so we are and behave. For example, do we really care for the vulnerable people around us, or do we just claim to do so? To use other examples, do we profess “family values” while practicing serial infidelity or condemn gambling while playing slot machines? Few offenses are more objectionable than hypocrisy.
Among my complaints about the Bible is the fact that it almost never mentions one’s tone of voice, a detail which can change the meaning of a statement. Consider, O reader, the exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-27. Was he being dismissive of her? I think not. The text provides some clues to support my conclusion:
- Jesus had entered the region of Tyre and Sidon, Gentile territory, voluntarily.
- Later our Lord and Savior expressed his compassion for people outside that region via words and deeds. Surely his compassion knew no ethnic or geographic bounds.
No, I propose that Jesus responded to the Canaanite woman to prompt her to say what she did, and that he found her rebuttal satisfactory. Then he did as she requested.
Jesus acted compassionately and effectively. Hebrew prophets condemned judicial corruption and the exploitation of the poor. One function of the language of the Kingdom of God (in both Testaments) was to call the attention of people to the failings of human economic and political systems. That function applies to the world today, sadly.
What does it say about your life, O reader? In Isaiah 32 the standard of nobility is character, especially in the context of helping the poor, the hungry, and the thirsty–the vulnerable in society, more broadly. Are you noble by that standard? Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACE OF MAINZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”
THE FEAST OF OLE T. (SANDEN) ARNESON, U.S. NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-proper-18-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Ancient Jerusalem with Solomon’s Temple
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Holy God, your word feeds your people with life that is eternal.
Direct our choices and preserve us in your truth,
that, renouncing what is evil and false, we may live in you,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 45
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 33:10-16
Psalm 119:97-104
John 15:16-25
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How I love your law!
All day long I pore over it.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies
for it is available to me for ever.
Psalm 119:97-98, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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One might have enemies for a wide range of reasons. Being godly is one of them. That helps to explain hostility to Jesus, who made evident defects in the political (including religious) and economic systems of First Century C.E. Judea. (One function of much of the language of the Kingdom of God was to make clear the contrast between human and divine orders.) Many other faithful people have encountered hostility and/or violence and/or death because of their fidelity to God and their lived applications of divine commandments relative to social justice. Often those who have despised them and/or condoned or committed violence against them have imagined themselves to be righteous. Their attitudes and actions and/or inactions have belied that conceit.
Sometimes, however, one has enemies for reasons separate from righteousness. Such is the case in Isaiah 33. The unidentified foe (probably the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire) will ultimately perish, as will the sinful people fo the Kingdom of Judah. Yet a remnant of Judah will survive, for Jerusalem is like a ship floating on a sea of divine love. The Kingdom of Judah will fall to the conquerors, but God will remain undefeated. God, never conquered, will restore Judah, for judgment does not preclude love in relation to those whom God has chosen.
Concepts of God are inherently inadequate, for God is infinite and our minds cannot grasp the nature of God. I have sought to become increasingly aware of the limits of my God concept, which is broader than those many others harbor. The most workable solution at which I can arrive is to acknowledge limitations of human knowledge relative to God, affirm that what I can know will have to suffice, make the most faithful statements I can, and admit that I am certainly mistaken about a great deal. My statements of faith are like the song of the bird in a story Anthony De Mello (1931-1987) told in The Song of the Bird (1982). Yes, every statement about God is a distortion of the truth, but speak and write about God for the same reason the bird sings:
Not because it has a statement, but because it has a song.
–Page 4
The nature of God is a mystery I will never solve, and that is fine. Where divine judgment ends and divine mercy begins is another mystery I will never solve. That is also fine.
One lesson I feel comfortable stating unambiguously concerns having enemies. Whenever I have a foe or foes, I should not assume that God is on my side. No, I need to ask if I am on God’s side. I might even arrive at an answer (hopefully an accurate one) to that questions. Nationalism often gets in the way on this point for many people. The British national anthem, “God Save the King/Queen,” includes the following frequently omitted stanza:
O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter his/her enemies
and make them fall.
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all.
Yet, as Irishman Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty (1898-1963) liked to say,
God has no country.
God created human beings in the divine image. We have reciprocated. Perhaps it is something we cannot help but to do, for we must think and write of God in human terms, or not at all. Nevertheless, if we use our metaphors in the knowledge that they are metaphors, perhaps we will avoid falling into certain theological errors.
As for divine judgment and mercy, they are in the purview of God, where they belong and have always been.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, APOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-16-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The New Jerusalem
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The Collect:
Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come!
With your abundant grace and might,
free us from the sin that hinders our faith,
that eagerly we may receive your promises,
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 19
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 33:17-22
Luke 1:46b-55
Revelation 22:6-7, 18-20
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Some Related Posts:
Isaiah 33:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-17-lcms-daily-lectionary/
Revelation 22:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/devotion-for-november-24-25-and-26-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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The readings today contain good news and bad news. God will scatter the Assyrians who would conquer the Kingdom of Israel. Yet we know that the Chaldeans/Babylonians will defeat this realm in time. Revelation 22 is no less mixed: The righteous will rejoice in their deliverance by God, who will build the new world order after having obliterated the old one. Many people are invested in the world order God will destroy; woe to those who mourn its passing, Revelation says. And, in the Magnificat, the lowly and the hungry have good reason to rejoice, but the the powerful and the rich have understandable reasons to lament. Oppressors who refuse to cease oppressing will pay a steep price for their persistent sin. A familiar hymn tells us:
We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
Sing praises to his name; He forgets not his own.
–Translated by Theodore Baker (1851-1934)
Among the major themes in the Gospel of Luke is reversal of fortune. There we find the Magnificat. A few chapters later we find the Beatitudes and Woes. (Those are just two examples.) That theme and the other readings for today point to the same reality. Sometimes divine deliverance of some is judgment upon others who have not ceased from oppressing and distressing. They had opportunities, which they rejected. This principle makes sense, for bad news for Herod the Great was good news for many other people, was it not?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 5, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA, FOUNDER OF THE BARNABIES AND THE ANGELIC SISTERS OF SAINT PAUL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBERO AND ULRIC OF AUGSBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF H. RICHARD NIEBUHR, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF WILLEM A. VISSER ‘T HOOFT, ECUMENIST
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Adapted from this post:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/devotion-for-december-22-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The Great Day of His Wrath, by John Martin
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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 33:1-24
Psalm 122 (Morning)
Psalms 40 and 67 (Evening)
Revelation 5:1-14
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A Related Post:
Revelation 5:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/week-of-proper-28-thursday-year-2/
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Revelation 5 continues the scene in the previous chapter. The twenty-four elders are in Heaven, in the immediate presence of God. Then John of Patmos sees a scroll with seven seals. Only Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, is worthy to break the seven seals and to judge the earth, notably the Roman Empire.
Scholars of the Bible have interpreted the violent imagery of Revelation in various ways. Some see a contradiction between the Jesus of the Gospels and the avenging Christ of Revelation. This, I think, is an overstated case. In the Bible we read of God establishing the new, holy order on Earth. The founding of paradise begins with purging violence; the Day of the Lord is bad news for the wicked. The end of exploitation does not mean comfort for the one exploiting.
If God is gracious to suffering people, the end of their suffering comes frequently via unpleasant fates for those who inflict said suffering. Let us not embrace an illusion; good news for the death camp survivors was bad news for Nazis. And we do not weep for Nazis; nor should we.
Judgment and mercy coexist within God; this message emerges from a multitude of Biblical texts. So be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 1, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, YEAR B
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-17-lcms-daily-lectionary/
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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