isaiah 50 commentary

This is the only means by which talk of human responsibility or righteous actions can occur. 28:26   God gives understanding to people who work the land. The overtones here are messianic. The appeals to “doing righteousness” in chapters 56-66 are made possible because of God’s prior dealings with Israel’s infidelity in the gracious and substitutionary action of the servant. No trumpets will precede his coming, and his work will not involve bombast or pretentiousness. With your gift of any size, you’ll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content. While the political scene in Judah was different from that in the northern kingdom of Israel, the sins of the people were distressingly similar: idol worship, the oppression and marginalization of the poor for personal gain, and business practices that fundamentally threatened God’s Law. Justice is the servant’s mission—and we can assume that it is the mission of every servant of God—every disciple of Jesus. Now Yahweh says, “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” The text thus highlights the contrast between false idols and the true servant (Motyer, 259). • Second, Yahweh has chosen the servant, so the servant is responding to Yahweh’s initiative rather acting on his own. Isaiah put it this way: “For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Is. But the larger principle is that God calls us, regardless of our vocation, to trust him in our work as well as in the more apparently religious aspects of our lives. “El” by itself is a generic word for god, and can be applied to any god. Rev. This fast includes: Loosing the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free, sharing food with the hungry, providing the poor wanderer with shelter, clothing the naked, caring for one’s family (Is. In the workplace, this may have many faces: concern for a downtrodden employee or co-worker, alertness to the integrity of a product being sold to consumers, eschewing process shortcuts that would deprive people of their input, even rejecting hoarding in times of scarcity. The last specific reference to Yahweh’s servant is in the previous chapter, where the servant is Israel (41:8-9). He fainteth not, nor is weary.] Instead, they rely on the work of their hands — idols as well as wealth and military might. See Christopher R. Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah 40-66: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible VI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), 499. In these two stories, Isaiah highlights for us the contrast between faith in God (the basis of our worship) and fear of those who threaten us. The words show that Isaiah’s message from God will have a powerful effect on people’s lives. Is. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter…, he didn’t open his mouth” (53:7). The servant will not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick, but neither will he be broken or quenched. • The first song (42:1-4) tells of the call of the Servant to “bring justice to the nations” (42:1). Isaiah 61. We could also say that “the artisan knows just what to do, for God has given him or her understanding.” Or, “the entrepreneur knows just what to do, for God has given that person understanding.” In mysterious ways, we become co-creators with God in our work as instruments in God’s hand for purposes deeper than we even know. 43:13   God is the source of power and compassion. Isaiah was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.. Here God speaks of the historic call of servant Jacob-Israel (Oswalt, 116; Motyer, 260; Goldingay, 241; Seitz, 364). According to Isaiah 1:1, the prophet Isaiah’s career extended through the reigns of four kings in the southern kingdom of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. 66:16   God will bring to an end everything that would mar the New Creation. Thus many examples in the Bible are drawn from agrarian life and expectations. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. Declare the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come” (Isaiah 41:22). By the power of God’s spirit, people will dwell in peace, security and the enjoyment of their work (Is. Yahweh repeats it again and again so that we cannot miss its importance. Conversely, at other times, it is difficult to do our work as God intends. ), The Lectionary Commentary: Theological Exegesis for Sunday’s Text. That is my name” (v. 8a). But we know that God is our Judge. “I, Yahweh” (v. 6a). “They made his grave with the wicked” (53:9), but “My righteous servant will justify many by knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities” (53:11). The prophecy of Isaiah presents a beautiful portrait of the fact that even in our work as we clock in Monday to Friday, we are to fulfill the law by loving God and loving our neighbor (cf. It begins with the words, "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. Isaiah 55. Theme 6 – The example of God’s servant at work. I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; In doing so, we may enact the servant’s mission in small ways ourselves. According to Isaiah 1:1, the prophet Isaiah’s career extended through the reigns of four kings in the southern kingdom of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. He will faithfully bring justice (Hebrew: mispat). But work done apart from faith can lead to even worse outcomes than material poverty. (Isaiah … Adopted by the Theology of Work Project Board Dec. 14, 2010. Yahweh is the God who created all that is, including all living beings. Both the NRSV and NIV leave out the first word of this sentence, which is “Look!” or Behold!” (Hebrew: hen). Theme 7 – Today’s work finds meaning in the New Creation. Babylon would be brought down (Is. I will not give my glory (Hebrew: kabod) to another, “and make you a covenant for the people, as a light to the nations” (v. 6e). Is. “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Is. Yahweh concluded that section by saying, “Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nothing. “The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding” (Is. He will establish (sim) it—bring it about—make it happen. The community of returned exiles struggled to believe that God was still working in their midst (see Where is God? Study the bible online using commentary on Isaiah and more! For a fuller treatment of this issue as it relates to the final form of the book as a whole, see John N. Oswalt, “Righteousness in Isaiah: A Study of the Function of Chapters 56-66 in the Present Structure of the Book,” in Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies in an Interpretive Tradition, ed. It requires special consideration for widows, orphans, and other vulnerable people (Deuteronomy 24:17). Is. The commentaries of Robert Jamieson, A.R. To bring justice means bringing people into a right relationship with Yahweh and each other, and these right relationships produce righteous lives. (Is. 18), Egypt (Is. Isaiah describes their wealth in silver and gold: “there is no end to their treasures” (Is.

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