Please read again the Amos and Isaiah study questions, and then Chapters 1-11 of Isaiah. What do you find here that suggests that Isaiah's message was a burden? Is there a passage here that particularly well reflects hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Isaiah 1-11
Please read again the Amos and Isaiah study questions, and then Chapters 1-11 of Isaiah. What do you find here that suggests that Isaiah's message was a burden? Is there a passage here that particularly well reflects hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?
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As early as Chapter 1 it is obvious how much of a burden this must have been for Isaiah. In verse 7 of chapter one it remarks that "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers." Who would want to see these visions of their people? It is a burden not only because he has to see and be 100% sure of all the awful things coming their way but he also has to try to change their hearts in order to save them, which they are not wont to do.
ReplyDeleteThe burden only gets worse as the chapters continue, the people and rulers still not believing him and the prophesies getting more and more terrible. One thing that might have made this burden worth baring was the possibility of redemption, of maybe his hard work and sacrifice actually saving his people by getting them to listen. Another possible worthwhile factor might be knowing that whatever happens God's will is being exacted upon the people, they are getting what is just and right, even if it is a terrible thing and Isaiah gets to play a role in bringing that about.
Isaiah's message is a burden due to the fact that he is preaching God's wrath. Not just this but God told him in no uncertain terms that no matter how much Isaiah preached no one would listen to him.
ReplyDeleteIn Isaiah 6:10 God said that his message would save those who heard it but God would "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes"
Lest they hear and be healed. God wanted to punish the children of Israel and Isaiah could do nothing but watch as those he preached to ignored him. This is the true burden of Isaiah.
Despite this, there is hope. God states that though he wishes to punish Israel a Savior will still come from David's line, So while Isaiah must still be witness to the decay of his people and have his message ignored, he can still take comfort in the fact that nothing lasts for ever and that the Lord keeps his promises.
Isaiah's message is a burden to me because he is have to go and tell people everything that they have done wrong and tell them no matter what we are going to have this destruction happen. That would be very hard to handle in my opinion. but there is always a silver lining and that there is hope and that is evident a little bit in chapter one but to me the most hopeful chapter was chapter 11. It just screamed hope to me in my opinion. So that is what makes it worth bearing
ReplyDelete--- Abigail Miiller