No Stopping Diving Wrath - 1 Samuel 12:25

22 For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” (1 Samuel 12:22–25)

    It hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. This shows the election of Israel as God’s special people. The word used here (Heb ˓am) corresponds to the New Testament word (Gr λαος) which is used so often to show the sustained relationship of the church to God as His people. The Septuagint has, “The Lord has graciously taken you to himself as his people.” It is in this light that Samuel pledges to pray for the people of the Lord and promises the continued prophetic function of teaching them the good and right way.

    But this great blessing carries with great responsibility. That responsibility had been brought home time and again to Israel, from the time of Abraham (and before) forward. God chastened and judged again and again in His people's lives. This would be no different. In fact, with the increasing knowledge that was growing in the life of the nation, came an increase in their responsibility and, hence an increase in the judgment that followed when they fell into sin.
    The final sentence Samuel spoke to an all-Israelite assembly is perhaps the most ominous of his career. In eight words (Hebrew) it summarizes the judgments of the Torah and foresees the ultimate futility of Israel’s experiment with kingship.

“If you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away” (v. 25).

    The verbal phrase translated in the NIV as “persist in doing evil” (lit., “if bringing about evil you should do evil”) is an emphatic one, meant to heighten the emotional intensity of the prophet’s warning. The message is a pointed one, and strikes at the heart of Israel’s problem. The nation’s real threat was not external, that is, one that could be faced and defeated by a king who would go out and lead Israel in battle (cf. 8:20). Rather it was internal and spiritual. The malignant faith condition that caused Israel to demand a king in preference to restoring a relationship with God was what would ultimately cause the nation to “be swept away” (v. 25; a form of sāpâ). No king, however mighty, could stop the tide of divine judgment that would roll against Israel in the day of the Lord’s wrath.

Rights Group Assailed for Analyst’s Nazi Collection - NYTimes.com

"Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him"^[1].

Rights Group Assailed for Analyst’s Nazi Collection - NYTimes.com:

"A leading human rights group has suspended its senior military analyst following revelations that he is an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia." What never fails to amaze me is that there is never a connection between the hatred that men feel for the Jews and the Biblical record of that hatred in the Scripture. Any time I read this kind article I always see it as one more example of the hatred that men have for the people that God has chosen and called His own. Ultimately that hatred is also a demonstration of hatred for Him as well.

Now, it is not my purpose here to develop a theological argument defending the premise, but I believe that this is the root of anti-semitism. Ultimately, it has little to do with the Jews themselves. It is another expression of rebellion against the God of the Scripture. He is not permitted to do and be as He chooses. He cannt select a people and blesses them, giving to them a land and what blessings He desires. He must give those belssings to my nation and under my gods name as well, or to my nation and my religion's banner exclusively as the case may be. The rebellion is framed in whatever language I can muster, in whatever language and verbiage I can put together, that is acceptable to me and to my social group; but it rebellion none-the-less. Just as Cain brought his own offering and was insulted when God refused it, and then, in anger struck down Abel; so also the unredeemed of the world are simply insulted and angry (an oversimplification I know)that God has refused their offering and they are seeking to strike down the one whom they can see God has blessed. It is an attemt to strike back at the One against Whom they cannot strike.

Of course, this is met with virulent denials. For this antisemitism is most often couched itself in relgious overtones. But then, that is the nature of false religion. Rebellion against God is, by its nature, a religion in an of itself. It is the religion of "self-agrandizement" and "self-satisfaction". I will do what I want, the way I want, and no, and I mean no one (including God) will tell me any differently. Oh, these folks are religious alright, but their religion is the religon of Cain.

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[1] The New King James Version. 1982 (Ge 4:8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Wine as a Symbol in the Intertestamental Period and in the NT - Isaiah 1:8

The vine remained an important symbol in Intertestamental Judaism (e.g., 2 Esdr. 5:23). An abounding vineyard was the symbol of the goodness of the eschaton or Day of the Lord (2Apoc. Bar. 29:5). In Sirach wisdom is described as a vine glorious with abundant fruit (Sir. 24:17–22).

In the Roman period even Herod the Great’s rebuilt temple adopted the image. Between the porch and the holy place was a golden gate on which was affixed a gold vine. Clusters of gold grapes hung from it, and wealthy families would give gold tendrils, berries, and leaves as gifts so the vine might always grow larger (Josephus BJ v.5.4 [120]; Mishnah Mid. iii.8).

It comes as no surprise that Jesus would imply the symbolism of the vine in his ministry. In two parables he uses the well-known context of vineyard labor to illustrate God’s grace to all who are sent into the “vineyard” (Matt. 20:1–16) and to explain the nature of true obedience (21:28–32). His most important parable is found at Mark 12:1–11, where he sweeps up the prophetic rebuke and criticizes the Jewish leadership as unrighteous tenants of God’s vineyard. Here, however, the tenants (rather than the vineyard) will be destroyed and the vineyard passed on to others.[1]

Jesus further alluded to His relationship with His followers by referring to Himself as the vine and to them as the branches (John 15:5-8).

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

The fruit of the vine symbolized Jesus’ shed blood (Matt. 26:27–29).

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

He also used the vineyard in many of His parables (Matt. 9:17; 20:1–6; 21:28–32; Luke 13:6–9).[2]

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[1] Myers, A. C. (1987). The Eerdmans Bible dictionary. Rev., augm. translation of: Bijbelse encyclopedie. Rev. ed. 1975. (1038). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.

[2] Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.

Wine as a Symbol in the OT

In the Old Testament the vine was a rich symbol for national Israel (as opposed to individual believers). Yahweh planted, cultivated, and protected his people, and in return he expected fruit from them. Ps. 80:8–13 typically developed this metaphor, emphasizing how Israel was a transplanted vine rescued from Egypt and relocated in good soil:

You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. 9 You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land. 10 The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs. 11 She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River. 12 Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? 13 The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.

According to Isa. 27:2–3, the Lord protects and rejoices over his vineyard, Israel.

2 In that day sing to her, “A vineyard of red wine! 3 I, the Lord, keep it, I water it every moment; Lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day.

But most often the vineyard metaphor depicts the shortcomings of Israel. Its vineyard walls have been broken and its crop ravaged (Ps. 80:12).

12 Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

The prophets repeat the theme again and again. Jeremiah asks how the vine has become a “wild vine” (Jer. 2:21; cf. 5:10; 12:10–11).

21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? 10 “Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the Lord’s. 10 “Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard, They have trodden My portion underfoot; They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate; Desolate, it mourns to Me; The whole land is made desolate, Because no one takes it to heart.

Later in Isaiah, he speaks with utter dismay about the Lord’s disappointing harvest of wild grapes despite God’s care and nurture (Isa. 5:1–4; cf. Hos. 9:10).

1Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?

This means that the vineyard must be judged. Its wall will be broken, his protection removed, and its vines no longer weeded or hoed; even the rain upon it shall cease (Isa. 5:5–7).

5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Its wood will be burned like useless timber (Ezek. 15; cf. Rev. 14:19–20).

We’ll continue with a further look at how it was used in the Intertestamental period next time…

The Precious in the Midst of the Abominable (Isa. 1:8 - Part 3)

Isaiah now moves on the describe in vivid terms the condition of Israel as she is left by the Lord. He chooses imagery that would be very familiar to the Israelites, that of the vineyard.

So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city

The “vineyard” is, of course, a cultivated and tended plot of land for the growing and harvesting of grapes. Grapes in the Bible were a luscious fruit cultivated on vines. Large clusters of grapes weighing about five kilograms (12 pounds) each (Num. 13:23) have been reported in Palestine. This is yet another reminded to Israel of how far their land had fallen.

Grapes were used in a variety of ways. They were eaten fresh or dried and were made into wine or vinegar. Dried grapes were (and are) called raisins. The first suggestion of grapes in Scripture was in connection with Noah’s vineyard (Gen. 9:20) where, after the flood Noah “…began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.”.

The soil and climate of Palestine was well suited for vineyards, where grapes were grown. They were cultivated here long before the Israelites occupied the land. Gen. 14:18 tells us that Melchizedek used bread and “wine” to bless Abram. When the spies went into the land, they reported that the vineyards of Palestine produced immense clusters of grapes (Num. 13:20, 23–24)

20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there.

Vineyards were almost always hedged or fenced as protection from wild animals (Song 2:15). In each vineyard a tower was also erected and a guard placed to protect the vines from robbers (Matt. 21:33).

Vinedressers (often traveling groups, unless the landowner had a lot of property) were hired to care for the vines and prune them yearly (Lev. 25:3; Is. 61:5). The grapes were gathered in baskets in September and October with much festivity (Judg. 9:27; Is. 16:10). Provision was made for the poor to glean the fields (Lev. 19:10; Deut. 24:21). The choicest grapes were dried (raisins) or eaten fresh and the rest were placed in presses to extract the juice (Is. 61:5; Hos. 9:2–4). This was drunk fresh or fermented (wine).

There were a number of uses in the Bible for this wine, and we’ll get to those uses next time!

The Precious in the Midst of the Abominable (Isa. 1:8 - part 2)

So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.

The beginning of Isaiah 1:8 says that the daughter of Zion was “left”.  We talked about that last time and concluded that she was left, but not completely, but that a remnant was left to her.  We noted that the introduction of the term “daughter” into the text suggested a much more personal note to the conversation that was somewhat in contrast with foregoing verses.

Nevertheless, she was left.  We pick up here with a picture of a desperate city under siege.

A Desperate City Under Siege

As a cottage - literally, “a shade,” or “shelter”, a temporary habitation erected in vineyards to give shelter to the grape gatherers, and to those who were appointed to watch the vineyard to guard it from depredations; compare the note at Matt. 21:33.

“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.

The “tower” that the landowner built was for those who would attend the vineyard to take shelter in while they watched the vineyard in case there was a storm. It was not meant to be a permanent shelter, but only a temporary, emergency one. In Matthew, the intention was likely different than the intention here. There, the intention of the landowner was more of a fortress kind of an idea, a defense of the vineyard against those who would steal from him. Here, it was the shelter of the attendants from storm.

The word is translated variously as booth, hut, even tent. It can refer to everything from an open sided tent that barely provides any cover at all, just from sun, to a small, makeshift cottage designed for occasional and seasonal habitation, shelter from the weather and the like.

As such it is a powerful image of desolation: a rude hut used in late summer by watchmen who kept the birds away from the crops, but abandoned in every other season. This, as opposed to the land of milk and honey that was promised and entered into by the people of God as they emerged from bondage in Egypt. The contrast between plenty, abundance and ease is startling.

The Precious in the Midst of the Abominable

So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.

      “And” – A simple coordinating conjunction used to connect on thought to another. Here it connects the thought of the ravished city in the verse before with the idea of the daughter of Zion that follows. In this instance it is quite useful as it personalizes the passage and causes us to think, not in terms of the nation, but takes our thoughts and with the introduction of the term “daughter” next, to much more personal and intimate level where we will not detached, but will be more apt to take to heart what Isaiah will be saying. It is actually quite a good bit of writing.

     The word might also be translated “So” as it is in the NKJV. This implies some contrasting or otherwise joining event that is coupled with the foregoing events. Here we would see that, in spite of what was said in the prior verses, there was a remnant, a “daughter of Zion” that remained.

    “She was Left” - The word used here denotes left as a part or remnant is left - not left entirely, or complete, but in a weakened or divided state. In the particular form it is in here it means to be spared or preserved[1]. It is as if Isaiah is saying that the Daughter of Zion has escaped the punishment in the sense that God preserved her from the entire effect of it. It is used, for instance, in this form in Joshua 11:11:

     And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire.

     The normal effect of such judgment would be to wipe out the entire group, but that was not the case here, this group “escaped” the full effect. The idea is further developed by the use of the passive voice. She did not escape, she was “escaped”, the implication is by the only force that could do that, namely God Himself.

     The clear statement of Isaiah here is that God was judging Israel and that the condition of the nation was only indirectly the result of the result of the attacking nations. More directly it was the result of God’s actions in bringing chastisement. But even in the midst of that judgment, a remnant had “remained” or be “spared” that judgment and been allowed by God to remain in Israel, in Jerusalem. That remnant is described as “The Daughter of Zion”.

     In these words Isaiah introduces the doctrine of the remnant for the first time. Even this remnant, as Herntrich well points out, is itself a witness to the frightful character of the destruction.[2] It is interesting that even in the midst of the prophecy of destruction, God holds out the branch of good news to His people! He will not leave the comfortless!

     “The daughter of Zion” - Zion, or Sion, was the name of one of the hills on which the city of Jerusalem was built. On this hill formerly stood the city of the Jebusites, and when David took it from them he transferred to it his court, and it was called the city of David, or the holy hill. It was in the southern part of the city. As Zion became the residence of the court, and was the most important part of the city, the name was often used to denote the city itself, and is often applied to the whole of Jerusalem.

     The phrase appears in some 36 verses in the Bible, 34 of them in the OT. It seems to mean Zion itself, or Jerusalem. It is a personification of Jerusalem, standing in this case for all of Judah.[3] The name daughter is given to it by a personification in accordance with a common custom in Eastern writers, by which beautiful towns and cities are likened to young females. The name mother is also applied in the same way. Perhaps the custom arose from the fact that when a city was built, towns and villages would spring up round it - and the first would be called the mother-city (hence, the word metropolis). The expression was also employed as an image of beauty, from a fancied resemblance between a beautiful town and a beautiful and well-dressed woman. Thus Ps. 45:13, the phrase daughter of Tyre, means Tyre itself; Ps. 137:8, daughter of Babylon, that is, Babylon; Isa. 37:22, ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion;’ Jer. 46:2; Isa. 23:12; Jer. 14:17; Num. 21:23, 32, (Hebrew); Judg. 11:26.

     Aside from 2 uses (Ps. 9:14; SoS 3:11) which are centered on worship; and 10 other uses by Isaiah himself (including the present one) which follow the same general sense as the current verse; we are left with 22 occurrences of the phrase that are all, generally speaking, either apocalyptic or Messianic in nature. They are all fairly clear in that they are direct references to Jerusalem as a representative of the nation of Israel as a unit. We could add to those the two occurrences in the NT as they as simply quote of OT passages (Matt. 21:5 and John 12:15).

     And so, the “Daughter of Zion”, this one that was the apple of God’s eye has been judged, but a remnant has been left. Isaiah now goes on characterize the quality of just how they have been “left”.

     Before we go on and consider that idea we need to think a moment about the choice of the word “daughter”. A “daughter” here uses a Hebrew word referring to any female, usually, in this context, of marrying age (not a pre-adolescent young girl). Daughters of pre-adolescent age were referred to as children. Actually, the of in this phrase is somewhat misleading. “Daughter of Zion” seems to indicate that Zion has a daughter. In fact, Zion is the daughter—the daughter of the Lord.[4]

     The word bath, “daughter,” is a feminine singular collective noun with neuter force, signifying the aggregate of the inhabitants of a city or country personified as a female. This phrase means not Zion’s daughter, but the daughter who is in Zion. Zion refers to the entire city rather than to the hill Ophel alone, and is thus a synonym for Jerusalem.[5] In the Old Testament cities are frequently designated in poetical fashion as women (cf. 2 Sam. 20:19; Ps. 87:5; Isa. 47:1; and Amos 5:2).[6] It seems likely, given the rest of the OT narrative concerning the love of God for Israel, that the expression “daughter of Zion” also implies some sense of tenderness, and characterizes Jerusalem as the beautiful city which was a delight to the Israelites as well as to God Himself. That city remains, but it remains alone, as both a witness to the fearfulness of the judgment and to the faithfulness and fullness of God’s power and ability to preserve Israel through that judgment. This would surely not be out of character when we consider the sentiments of our Lord Jesus Christ Who came and preached, taught, pled and wept over that same Jerusalem 7 centuries later!

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 3855, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Young, E. (1965). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 1, Chapters 1-18 (55). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[3] MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Is 1:8). Nashville: Word Pub.

[4] Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (Is 1:8). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

[5] Op. Cit., Young.

[6] Ibid.

Strangers Devour Your Land

     Isaiah finishes out his discussion of verse 7 by speaking of the horrible result of Israel’s unfaithfulness and the resulting judgment of God upon them.  “Strangers” have descended upon them and overtaken their land, devouring it right in front of them!

Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. (Isaiah 1:7)

     “Devour” means “to consume its provisions”. The verb is a simple one, but it is a participle and is pictured in the active sense and we are meant to see it as active. As with any participle, there is a picture being drawn here. It is not so much that we are meant to see the voracious hordes descending on the land so much as we are to picture the provision of the land, meant for the Israelites and intended by God for their sustaining and upholding, instead sustain and uphold foreigners. These provisions were meant by God to be consumed by the Israelites themselves, but are here being consumed by their enemies! Once again we are brought back to the idea that these are peoples in the land that shouldn’t have been there, consuming things that they shouldn’t have been consuming!

     Note the use of “Your land” as a metaphor for all that God had given to the Israelites. Because of their disobedience, all that they had was coming unraveled before their eyes! God does not deal in partialities when all is said and done. This is particularly true when we remember that “Israel” was no novice at the things of God. At the time we are talking about she had held the Law in her hands for some 800 hundred or so years. God spoke to Moses @ the year 1500 BC or so. Isaiah @700 or so (we are speaking in grave generalities here). If we go back to Abram, we are talking about a nation that had known the things of God for headed for 1750 years! They were not novices! God had sent them prophets and priests. They had had the Tabernacle and the Temple, and experience without end. They ought to have known better.

     And yet…

     “In your presence” – The word is a noun that comes from a primary root that means “in front of” or “to stand out”. The verb form means to announce or to manifest, to expose, explain, even to praise. The idea is that action was conspicuous and obvious, certainly very noticeable and the implication is that this is a circumstance that greatly heightens the calamity, that they were compelled to look on and witness the desolation, without being able to prevent it.

     “And it is overthrown by strangers” – From the Hebrew word to turn, to overturn, to destroy as a city; (Gen. 19:21-25; Deut. 29:22). It refers to the changes which an invading foe produces in a nation, where everything is subverted; where cities are destroyed, walls are thrown down, and fields and vineyards laid waste.

     It is a ruin, a waste, i.e., a state of utter ruin, often relating to uninhabitable land as a sparsely populated area[1]. The same word is used in Ex 23:29:

I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

     Note that God says that He will NOT drive the people of the land out before the Israelites just so that the land will not fall into this state! Now, because of the sin that Israel has indulged, the land has come fully into this state of disrepair. The land was as if an invading army had passed through it, and completely overturned everything. One writer proposes to read this, ‘as if destroyed by an inundation;’ but without authority. The desolation caused by the ravages of foreigners, at a time when the nations were barbarous, was the highest possible image of distress, and the prophet dwells on it, though with some appearance of repetition.

     What if a preacher today talked like this in a congregation of Christians? “Hellfire and brimstone” preaching has just about disappeared. Yet Isaiah was one of the most educated men of his time. He was a member of the nobility, traveling in the highest circles of Israel. There is some evidence that he was of the royal house, though this inference is contested by some scholars. When Isaiah spoke his fiery words he was not a crazy preacher standing on a street corner with a sign. His words carried weight. We can learn from Isaiah that there is indeed a time and a place for wise, educated preachers to talk straight to their congregations about sin.

     Isaiah called them “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isa 1:10). He told them that God was sick and tired of their religious activities, their sacrifices and festivals, because they were ignoring true social justice (Isa 1:11, 12, 13, 14, 15). He advised them to start defending the good, seeking justice, reproving the ruthless, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow. He did not tell them to take the easy way, to set up a political bureaucracy to do these things. Rather, he told them that each of them needed to stand up publicly and be counted on the side of justice for the oppressed.

     God’s invitation is issued in Isa 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together.” God told the people who had been indicted that, if they would repent, their sins would be washed away, and they would eat the best of the land. He also told them that, if they continued to rebel, it was they who would be eaten—by the sword. With such options, what was clearly reasonable was heartfelt repentance.

     What Isaiah delivered was part of the “whole counsel of God,” the rest of the story we often prefer not to hear. There are times when pastors must speak the whole counsel.

     Does your church stifle or intimidate your pastor, perhaps unintentionally, so that some subjects about sin are off-limits from the pulpit? Give him the freedom to speak all of God’s Word to you.[2]

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 9039, #1). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Sproul, Sr., R. C. Vol. 3: Before the face of God: Book Three: Ligonier Ministries.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – Cities Burned With Fire (Part 2)

Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

     Strangers is a word meaning to be alienated, or estranged. The verb form of the word is used back in verse 4 where Israel was said to have “turned away backward” or become “estranged” from God. As is normal for most words in Hebrew, it can have several shades of meaning. It can speak of that which is “illegitimate, unauthorized”, i.e., pertaining to that which is not allowed according to a standard, as in a sin or wrongdoing, for instance as in Lev. 10:1:

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.

     It can also speak of that which is strange, foreign, or alien, i.e., namely pertaining to that which is not of a native group or land, and often with an associated meaning of latent or overt hostility. 2Ki 19:24 uses it in this fashion:

“I have dug and drunk strange water,
And with the soles of my feet I have dried up
All the brooks of defense.”

     It can also be translated “other”, i.e., pertaining to that which is of a different class or kind compared to a standard group or class. Ex 29:33 uses it in this fashion:

33 They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.

     It can also be used to speak of a distant place, formally, foreign place, i.e., a place relatively far from the speaker’s perspective This is the fashion in which it used in Jer 18:14:

Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon,
Which comes from the rock of the field?
Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?

     Finally, it can speak of that which is illegitimate and formally, foreign, i.e., pertaining to a child born of a mixed marriage (a marriage where one is a native and the spouse is an unauthorized foreigner as in Hos. 5:7:[1]

They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have begotten pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.

     It is applied to foreigners, that is, those who were not Israelites, (Ex. 30:33); and is often used to denote an enemy, a foe, a barbarian; (Ps. 109:11):

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath, And let the strangers plunder his labor. (Ezek. 11:9; 28:10; 30:12; Hos. 7:9; 8:7).

The word refers here particularly to the Syrians. (Foreigners does, by the way, have a very negative context here. To be a “foreigner” was not a good thing in the way that it is used here). Now, when Israel was being obedient in the land, foreigners were welcome and could live in the land. We’re told that they chiefly consisted of six major elements[2]:

• The remnant of the mixed multitude who came out of Egypt. (Ex 12:38)

A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.

• The remnant of the nations of the land. (1Ki 9:20; 2Ch 8:7)

9:20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel

8:7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel

• Captives taken in war. (De 21:10 )

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,

• Foreign servants. (Le 25:44,45)

44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property.

• Persons who sought employment among the Jews. (1Ki 7:13; 9:27)

7:13 Now King Solomon sent and brought Huram from Tyre.

9:27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.

• Persons who came into Israel for the sake of religious privileges. (1Ki 8:41)

“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake

     But this is assuredly not the sense in which it is used here. The “stranger” here is in not any of those classes, nor is he, properly in the class of the invader. He is almost in the class of the invited guest. One who has been allowed in and is ransacking the nation and consuming those provisions intended and laid in store for God’s children.  We’ll look further in our next post…

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 2424, #5). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The new topical text book : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – Cities Burned With Fire

     Having spoken of the desolation of this land of milk and honey brought on by the disobedience of the people of Israel, Isaiah goes on and speaks of their cities, cities God had promised to bless and protect, being burned with fire.

Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. (Isaiah 1:7)

     “Cities” is a common word that can refer to anything from a population center ranging from a small un-walled hamlet to a large, walled city.[1] There is no inherent size reference.

     “Burned with Fire” obviously speaks of the act of burning objects by fire. It is a verb and in the passive and so speaks means to consume objects by fire. Ex 29:34 uses the word in conjunction with the fire used to consume the left over portions of offerings from the Tabernacle: [2]

34 And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

     We ought to note that the OT can use this word in this fashion, however, to refer to giving a sacrifice or offering to any deity by fire.[3] That makes this use significant. It is as if God is saying that the land itself has been offered on a foreign alter as a burnt offering! It is worth noting, in conjunction with this idea, that one of uses of this very word can also refer to burning as a form of execution, killing by fire in conjunction with the offering of children to a foreign God that was strictly forbidden to Israel (not to mean a horror!) This could be an oblique reference to that practice coming into use in Israel as well, as we know it did. (Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 33:6)[4] We should not miss the irony in this phrase. The use of the word and mention of an act that should have been a sacred one, in the face of rampant idolatry and abominable practices that were going on, boldfaced in the land, blandly being called acceptable with the people and their leadership acting as if all was well.

     The parallel to today is both staggering and unmistakable. Our own land, while professing to still be “godly” and to maintain some semblance of a connection with God and with His Spirit, and to reaping His blessing; we see more abomination than at any other time in our nation’s history and we see horrible things happening and treated as if they were non-events.

     The only thing missing is as truly frightening as it is needful to mention. The truth of the matter is that when there is this kind of false profession, there is no real spiritual connection with God present! In Israel’s life they had a covenantal relationship with Him, but no generational one. God had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and had reiterated that promise time and again. But over the years, the nation had left the Lord and moved over to the pursuit, not of holiness and Him, but of idols and false gods. For this, God judged them.  How can we but not believe that He will judge us?

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 9039, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 8596, #1). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – A Desolate Land (Part 2)

Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. (Isaiah 1:7)

     We considered the first part of verse 7 yesterday and want to finish up this idea today.  It is a fairly full and unpleasant idea, but very definite in the Scripture. 

     “Is desolation” is a Hebrew mode of emphatic expression, denoting that the desolation was so universal that the land might be said to be entirely in ruins. This is in line with the prior picture drawn of the human body being so badly beaten that was unrecognizable. The picture here is that of being entirely empty of anything valuable or desirable. This is especially significant since just some 700 years before Israel had been given a “good” land “flowing with milk and honey”!

     In Exodus 3:8 we read:

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

     Exodus 3:17 & Exodus 13:5 say God will bring them:

…up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.

     Leviticus 20:24, quite naturally, puts it in terms of Law when it says:

But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.

     Numbers 13:27 records the report of the spies who went into the land who indeed said that the land was all that God said it would be and provided examples of its fruit:

27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

     Deuteronomy 1:25 is the reminder to Israel after the punishment of their wanderings that this was so:

25 They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

     Deuteronomy 1:35 reminds them of the words of the sentence of God in Numbers 14:21-23 as He condemned that entire generation to wander in the wilderness for 40 years while at the same time reminding them that it was, indeed, a good land that they were missing!:

35 ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers,

     Deuteronomy 4:21 speaks of Moses being forbidden from entering “that good land” because of his lapse at Meribah (Numbers 20:11-12)

21 Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

     Deuteronomy 6:3 and Deuteronomy 11:8-9 both urge Israel to be sure that do, indeed see to it that they obey the command of God and follow after Him that they are blessed and inherit the land “flowing with milk and honey” that He has promised them:

Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you— ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

“Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

     Deuteronomy 26:9 tells the nation that they are at brink of that inheritance:

He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”;

     In his prayer in Deuteronomy 26:15, Moses acknowledges that God has done His part and brought them to that land, a:

“ ‘…land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

     A part of this charge is a bit further in the book, in Deuteronomy 27:3 where Moses goes on and says:

You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you.

     The lands was indeed all that God had promised! But Moses knew that they would turn away. Through him, God warns them in Deuteronomy 31:20:

When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant.

     And that is the record of the rest of the Old Testament. Joshua 5:6 tells us that the generation that sinned in the wilderness was consumed as God had said. They did not enter that “good land”, the land “flowing with milk and honey”.

     For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

     700 years later, the great prophet Jeremiah spoke for God, warning of the coming judgment on the Southern Kingdom, in Jeremiah 11:1-5:

     The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them,

‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.” ’ ” And I answered and said, “So be it, Lord.”

     The nation, whom God desired to bless by causing to dwell in a good land, a land of milk and honey, are reminded that cursing follows disobedience (just as Moses had told them)!

     Later in Jeremiah 32:21-23 this same prophet tells them that the calamity that has befallen them (the Babylonian captivity) is because of their own disobedience. It was small wonder that Jeremiah was not the most popular guy on the block!

21 You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22 You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them— “a land flowing with milk and honey.” 23 And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

     Ezekiel in Ezekiel 20:6 and 20:15 makes references of similar vein, which in context, end up being like condemnations.

On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands.

So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands,

     The point of all of this is that God had brought His people into a land flowing with milk and honey, a good land, plentiful provision and abundant supply. The clear implication is that this land was different that lands around it. God was giving them as land that was special and would see that it remained special.

     All of that stands, therefore in stark contrast to the statement in Isaiah 1:7a:

Your country is desolate…

     The land that was good is now not good. The land that flowed with milk and honey now flows with nothing! The land that would have support the lives of millions will now barely support the lives a remnant. The contrast is striking, as it is intended to be!

     “Desolate” is a ruin, a waste, i.e., a state of utter ruin, often relating to uninhabitable land as a sparsely populated area as in the state that God promised to make the other nations before Israel when He brought them into the land in Exodus 23:27-29[1]:

27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

     Metaphorically it can also speak of being in despair, and formally, being clothed in ruin, i.e., be in an emotional state of worry and anxiety as in (Eze 7:27+), (note: some sources translate “clothed in horror.”)[2]

‘The king will mourn,
The prince will be clothed with desolation,
And the hands of the common people will tremble.
I will do to them according to their way,
And according to what they deserve I will judge them;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord!’ ”

     The point is that the land had become the opposite of what God had intended for them. God had promised a land flowing with milk and honey, but it had become a land empty and devastated and unable to support any live at all. All of this because of their sin and the judgment that God had pour out upon them.

     Isaiah uses this language later in the book as well:

And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. (Isaiah 5:5)

     Isaiah 6:9-11

9     And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10     “Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”
11     Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
And He answered:
“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,

     Isaiah 24:10-12

10     The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12     In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.

     None of this was unexpected. None of it was unexpected by Isaiah himself. He knew that his ministry would be a long one and one that would be largely unfulfilled.

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 9039, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Ibid.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – A Desolate Land

Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. (Isaiah 1:7)

     Isaiah now makes direct application to the national entity that is Israel, just to be clear so that there can be no mistake concerning what he is speaking of (as if there could be!).

    Your country is desolate - This is the literal statement of what he had just affirmed by a figure. In this there was much art. The figure Isa. 1:6 was striking. The resemblance between a man severely beaten, and entirely livid and sore, and a land perfectly desolate, was so impressive as to arrest the attention. This had been threatened as one of the curses which should attend disobedience;

Lev. 26:33:

And I will scatter you among the heathen, And will draw out a sword after you: And your land shall be desolate, And your cities waste.

     Compare Isa. 1:31 where Isaiah speaks of the destruction of “transgressor” and “sinners” saying that

The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them.

     No one shall escape, God will destroy all of them and all will be judged despite their seeming strength and ability to resist Him because they have appealed to the “terebinth trees” and they have chosen the “gardens” as Isaiah puts in that passage. They shall all burn up without “quenching”.

     In Deut. 28:49-52 Moses makes direct prophecy (though not by name) to the coming of Assyria:

49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.

52 “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you.

     God would raise up a nation to act as His own instrument of judgment against His ungrateful people. This foreign nation was described as coming from a far distance from Israel, a nation that would arise quickly and one that would completely devastate the Land. This was fulfilled first by Assyria (Is. 5:26; 7:18–20; 28:11; 37:18; Hos. 8:1) and second, by Babylon (Jer. 5:15; Lam. 4:19; Ezek. 17:3; Hab. 1:6–8).[1] Thus all of Israel was judged, both Northern and southern Kingdoms. The expression “from the end of the earth” is based on how the eye perceives the earth to end where horizon and sky meet; it is equivalent to “from afar”.[2]

    It is not certain, or agreed among expositors, to what time the prophet refers in this passage. Some have supposed that he refers to the time of Ahaz, and to the calamities which came upon the nation during his reign; (2 Chr. 28:5-8). This time was yet future to Isaiah and thus Isaiah would be making a prophecy concerning what was coming under Sennacherib as already having taken place. He would thus be describing the future as if it had already taken place. Enemy invaders have made Judah desolate. Jerusalem, the daughter of Zion, is like a crude, temporary hut, standing gauntly amid the wreckage. But for the grace of God in sparing a very small remnant, the destruction would have been as complete as that of Sodom and Gomorrah.[3]

     But we need not understand it so. When looking back at Scripture from the luxury of the future it is far too easy to make such assumptions. I think far more likely that Isaiah is referring to the time of Uzziah for the reign of Uzziah was indeed prosperous; (2 Chr. 26). But it is to be remembered that the land had been ravaged just before, under the reigns of Joash and Amaziah, by the kings of Syria and Israel; (2 Kings 14:8-14; 2 Chr. 24; 25); and it is by no means probable that it had recovered in the time of Uzziah. It was lying under the effect of the former desolation, and not improbably the enemies of the Jews were even then hovering around it, and possibly still in the very midst of it. The kingdom was going to decay, and the reign of Uzziah gave it only a temporary prosperity. We might add that there is a direct reference to the year King Uzziah died coming shortly, in chapter six of the book, not that this ties this reference definitely to that time, but it surely adds weight to the idea.

     Most would have seen the reference to “your land” as an oblique reference to what the land produced. The land was important because it produced a product. So what was significant here was that foreigners here were to be consuming all that it produces. The land (trees and plants) and the fruitful production of fruit is a major illustration that the Lord uses in the New Testament for the real presence of Spiritual life. If a tree does not bear fruit, our Lord says, it is to be cut down and burned! In Matt 21:19-21 we read the parable of the Fig Tree:

     And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

     He underscores it in different words in Matt 24:32:

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

     We have the same teaching in other Gospels in Mark 11:13; Mark 11:20-21; Mark 13:28; Luke 6:44; Luke 13:6-7; Luke 21:29; & John 1:48-50. This teaching is not unique to the NT. God had put it in place long before in the OT for the nation of the nation of Israel. Really, this was a part of the reason for His chastening of them throughout the OT period. They were, so to speak, His field. He expected them to bear fruit in the world and they failed to do so, despite repeated, time after time, attempts on His part to “plow and fertilize” (the sending of prophets and messengers). Instead, they repeatedly killed those prophets and rebelled and went off into rebellion and idolatry, choosing instead to be like the nations around them, nations that God had mercifully chosen them out of instead of leaving them in and judging them in and destroying as a part of as He was entirely justified in doing.

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[1] MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Dt 28:49). Nashville: Word Pub.

[2] Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). Reformation study Bible, the : Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture : New King James Version. Includes index. (Dt 28:49). Nashville: T. Nelson.

[3] MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Is 1:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Spiritual Incorrigibility - Judah’s Sufferings – God’s Solutions

From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment. (Isaiah 1:6)

     It is interesting to note that Isaiah first mentions Judah’s sufferings in order that she may then hear a statement of the cause of those sufferings, namely, her guilt. Thus he seeks to gain Judah’s ear. She has had no alleviation from her tragic condition and, in speaking of this condition, Isaiah seeks for a sympathetic response.

     What is here for us is the picture is that of a people completely under the rod of punishment, yet receiving no relief from that punishment. There is a real sense of the bewilderment of the nation that would have accompanied that nation’s state. The reference therefore is not primarily to the moral character of the nation, although that moral character is reflected upon, inasmuch as it was the basic reason for the chastisement. The emphasis, however, falls upon the chastisement which, because of that moral character, has come upon Judah.[1]

     They have only wounds and welts and open sores, from which diseased matter continually flows, as if some concealed fountain were supplying endless venom. It is as if, at this point, their condition was feeding itself. By this metaphor he shows that their wound is incurable, since the supply of venom cannot be stopped. All this is greatly heightened by saying that no remedies have been applied. He uses three metaphors that he links together: They have only wounds and welts … not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. Each metaphor has the same meaning: The nation, without any hope of relief, without comfort, without remedy, is reduced to a state of distress, in which the utmost severity of God is openly displayed.[2] He will build this metaphor until, as he will again and again, he will supply the solution in the form of the external Messiah Who will come and rescue them from themselves; being to them what they are unable to be for their own welfare.

     And so Isaiah’s image of Judah as a sick nation, debilitated by injury and disease, raises the question of the relationship between sickness and sin. On the one hand, the two are linked by their impact on our lives. Each weakens us. Each makes it impossible for us to enjoy life as God intended. But Isaiah’s image also mirrors a fact of O.T. covenant life. God promised to keep an obedient people “free from every disease” (Deut. 7:12, 14–15).

12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 

14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

     But disobedience made His people vulnerable to “severe and lingering illness” (Deut. 28:58-59).

58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.

     Sickness was one of the rods of discipline God used to warn and correct His people. It would surely be an oversimplification to assume that all sickness is punishment. But it is certainly true that sins affect us psychologically and make us vulnerable to physical ills. And also, sickness often leads us to reevaluate the quality of our relationship with the Lord.[3] This is especially true in the circumstance of the covenant relationship that Israel had with God where there where promises of health and welfare made for persistent national obedience. While this does not rule out personal sickness, it does speak to the kind of national calamity that the nation faced in Isaiah’s time. God is faithful to His promises and thus He does what He has said He will do.

     The world is not haphazard. It is not abstract and things are not at the mercy of chance. One can depend upon God and His faithfulness, if one looks to God as more than simply a talisman to be used for one’s personal benefit and at one’s personal convenience. Israel had made that mistake on more than one occasion. They had allowed themselves to slip into the view that God was their God. He was there for them to make use of, for their benefit. They made Him like the other gods all around them. And thus, He did to them what He did to Dagon when the Philistines placed the Ark in Ashdod in 1 Samuel 5:3-8:

3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”

     God disfigured the idol and beat the people of Ashdod. It is hard not to be cynical about this when we read verse 7-8. The people of Ashdod, unredeemed, ultimately unrepentant idolaters, immediately get the message concerning who they are dealing with and want no part of the “the ark of the God of Israel”. They knew that they were fighting something bigger and stronger than they and that they had to submit to it and were willing to what was needful to do so. The passage following records that submission.

     Yet, Israel, who ought to have known far better than they, knew far less! They take a far worse beating and come up with a more rebellious answer – they would only turn back to their rebellion!

     Really, such is the state of all of our hearts isn’t it? We are rebellious to the core, and given every opportunity, we would turn ourselves to wickedness despite God’s gracious goodness toward us. Thanks be to His graciousness on our behalf!

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[1] Op Cit, Young.

[2] Calvin, J. (2000). Isaiah. The Crossway classic commentaries (18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

[3] Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (412). Wheaton: Victor Books.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – Bruised & Battered (Part 2)

     We began yesterday talking about the lengths that God had gone to draw Israel to repentance.  He is using the figure of man, bruised and battered almost beyond any recognition. Isaiah continues further:

From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment. (Isaiah 1:6)

     They have not been closed - That is, the lips had not been pressed together, to remove the blood from the wound. The meaning is, that nothing had been done toward healing the wound. It was an unhealed, undressed, all-pervading sore. The art of medicine, in the East, consisted chiefly in external applications; accordingly the prophet’s images in this place are all taken from surgery. The ancient method of treating an infected wound was to squeeze it together (so render, they have not been closed) in order to press out the pus, anoint it with olive oil so that it would continue to drain, and then bind it up with a bandage. None of these things had been done for Judah.[1] Sir John Chardin, in his note on Prov. 3:8, ‘It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones,’ observes, that the comparison is taken from the plasters, ointments, oils, and frictions, which are made use of in the East in most maladies. ‘In Judea,’ says one writer, ‘they have a certain preparation of oil, and melted grease, which they commonly use for the healing of wounds.’ (Compare Isa. 38:21.)

     The nation has been so plagued that there is no part free, and yet the wounds have been completely neglected. The moral condition of Judah had been set forth under the figure of a wounded body; the remedies mentioned are the practices of the ancient world in the healing of diseases. The festering pus has been allowed to remain in the wounds and has not been pressed out to cleanse the wound and to free it of impurities. [2]

     Neither mollified with ointment - Neither made soft, or tender, with ointment. Great use was made, in Eastern nations, of oil, and various kinds of unguents, in medicine. Hence, the good Samaritan is represented as pouring in oil and wine into the wounds of the man that fell among thieves (Luke 10:34); and the apostles were directed to anoint with oil those who were sick; (James 5:14; compare Rev. 3:18).

     So that they would quickly heal. The picture is that of a body which has been neglected as far as healing measures are concerned, but not neglected with respect to continuing chastisement.[3] The contrast is deliberate and profound. This is the wrong kind of attention to be paid! God is paying attention to Israel while the nation itself is ignoring themselves!

     The art of medicine in the East consists chiefly in external applications (Lu 10:34; Jam 5:14).[4] They knew nothing at that time of any real internal medicine and could only apply external ointments. The oil of olives was used commonly for this purpose. This is the reference to “Ointment” or Hebrew oil. It is referring, of course, to olive oil, i.e., vegetable oil extracted from the olive fruit, used as a food, lamp-oil, medicines and perfumes.[5] It can also mean fatness or fertile and was thought to be able to convey that property to a wound and thus make it well if bound up in the wound. It does, in fact, have some of those qualities.

     The whole figure in these two verses relates to their being punished for their sins. As we have said, it is taken from the appearance of a man who is severely, beaten, or scourged for crime; whose wounds had not been dressed, and who was thus a continued bruise, or sore, from his head to his feet. There is no healing occurring and thus his condition is only worsening. The cause of this the prophet states afterward, (Isa. 1:10 ff) is their continued sin and idolatry.

     With great skill he first reminds them of what they saw and knew, that they were severely punished; and then states to them the cause of it. Of the calamities to which the prophet refers, they could have no doubt. They were everywhere visible in all their cities and towns. On these far-spreading desolations, he fixes the eye distinctly first. Had he begun with the statement of their depravity, they would probably have revolted at it. But being presented with a statement of their sufferings, which they all saw and felt, they were prepared for the statement of the cause.

     To find access to the consciences of sinners, and to convince them of their guilt, it is often necessary to remind them first of the calamities in which they are actually involved; and then to search for the cause. This passage, therefore, has no reference to their moral character. It relates solely to their punishment. It is often indeed adduced to prove the doctrine of depravity; but it has no direct reference to it, and it should not be adduced to prove that people are depraved, or applied as referring to the moral condition of man. The account of their moral character, as the cause of their calamities, is given in Isa. 1:10-14 which we will discuss fully later on). That statement will fully account for the many woes which had come on the nation. What is in view here is that their character, as discussed in a moment, has resulted in very real and very extensive damage to them as a people, as a nation before God. All of this is inflicted by God in His attempt to bring them back to faith and back to obedience.

     Michael is refers this to each of the preceding, “none of them is mollified with ointment.” It would seem more suitable, however, to take the phrase independently. Thus, three characteristics of the body were mentioned: wounds, bruises, and fresh sores, and three methods of healing are likewise given: pressed out, bound up, mollified by oil. The only remedy for such God - inflicted wounds is God Himself. Judah is a nation punished by God, and unless He intervenes there is no hope for her.

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[1] Pfeiffer, C. F. (1962). The Wycliffe Bible commentary : Old Testament (Is 1:4). Chicago: Moody Press.

[2] Op Cit, Young.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Is 1:6). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[5] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 9043, #1). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – Bruised & Battered (Part 1)

We’ve said that this rebellion and, ultimately, sin is the cause of all of the problems, in the cases of all men everywhere, in all times. Men’s souls are sick with sin and that sin drives them to reject and rebel against the Lord God of heaven. Modern man is no different than ancient Israel. They rebel against God at every turn. God seeks to turn them to godliness, calling them again and again in His mercy.

He weeps over them in His love for them as He watches them spurn Him in their hardness and rebellion. But note that, in the case of the Israelites, this was not so much because of the affliction, but in spite of it! So it is with men in all ages and in all places, and so it ought to be with us!

Isaiah goes on and begins to draw for us a picture of just God has done, to what extent God has gone to seek to bring Israel to repentance.

From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. (Isaiah 1:6)

From the sole of the foot … - Or is we say, ‘from head to foot,’ that is, in every part of the body. There may be included also the idea that this extended from the lowest to the highest among the people. The Chaldee paraphrase is, ‘from the lowest of the people even to the princes - all are contumacious (resistant to authority) and rebellious.’ Now if that is a paraphrase, I’m purple and can float near the ceiling!

The language is somewhat similar to Deuteronomy 28:35.

The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

The description begun in the preceding verse is now continued in more detail. The verse begins with a common description of the body of the nation in its entire extent. The purpose of the verse is to show that the sad condition has spread throughout the whole nation, and this is done by continuing the figure previously introduced. The sole of the foot is, of course, the lowest part of the body. In contrast, however, merely the head is mentioned. There is no need to mention the top of the head, for if the head itself is not sound, the whole being is affected. [1]

No soundness – The word is a noun, singular and masculine. It has two basic uses in the OT [2]. First it can refer to the general health of the body of a state of physical soundness of the body. David uses it like this in Ps 38:3, & 7:

There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin. For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh.

This is speaking of one’s general health and has no specific reference to any specific part of the body or any specific ailment. It can and does, however speak of the overall health and welfare.

Secondly, it is used to speak of the totality, the whole, all, i.e., the entirety of a collection or mass. Judges 20:48 and following uses it in this fashion:

48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.

Obviously, the two uses are related, the second relating to the first. The first is the use that we see here. Isaiah is saying that the whole of their “body”, the entirety of the nation has felt the effect of the chastening, the severe chastening of God and is, in effect, a mass of welts, bruises and sores.

The is actually a word meaning to be perfect, sound, uninjured, here used in a negative sense. The noun actually signifies a place of soundness. A striking contrast is introduced. The body has wounds, stripes and fresh sores; the one thing that it does not possess is a place of soundness. There is no part unaffected; no part that is sound. It is all smitten and sore. Nothing, no part of the Israelite being works as it should. There is nothing healthy left.

But wounds - Wounds which have cut into the flesh, such as those made by a sword. The precise shade of difference between this and the two following words may not be apparent. Together, they mean such wounds and contusions as are inflicted upon man by scourging, or beating him. This mode of punishment was common among the Jews; as it is at the East at this time. One writer says that the word rendered here “wounds” (to wound, to mutilate), means an open wound, or a cut from which blood flows. The degree of chastening has been so very extensive that there is literally no place on the body where there was not a wound. The image here is that of one who has been publically flogged with the resulting mutilation of the body.

The description is startlingly similar to what comes to mind when we think of what happened to the Lord Jesus at the hands of Pilate just before the crucifixion.

Bruises - This word means a contusion, or the effect of a blow where the skin is not broken; such a contusion as to produce a swelling, and livid appearance; or to make it, as we say, black and blue. The wound or sore made by the stripes (Prov. 20:30).

Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.

Putrefying sores - The Hebrew rather means recent, or fresh wounds; or rather, perhaps, a running wound, which continues fresh and open; which cannot be cicatrized, or dried up. The Septuagint renders it elegantly, a swelling, or tumefying wound. The expression is applied usually to inflammations, as of boils, or to the swelling of the tonsils, etc. The idea is of an ongoing and unhealable wound, one that is chronic and has little prospect for healing.

Literally, a fresh smiting. The word has collective force, and would designate raw and untreated wounds, which needed to be softened and cleansed. The language shows that God’s punishment was a bitter, cutting one, and that by it the nation had almost been destroyed. As long as such blows fall, there can be no cure. The chastisement is not necessarily that of the exile (Kissane), but every punishment which had come from the hand of God including also the low moral condition brought on by the nation’s sin.

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[1] Young, E. (1965). The Book of Isaiah: Volume 1, Chapters 1-18 (51). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[2] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 5507, #2). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – The Whole Heart Faints (Isaiah 1:5)

Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.

     Isaiah has now laid out for us a pretty plain picture of incorrigibility.  Israel has brought themselves to a place where they are unable to change, unable to extract themselves from the predicament they are in, at least humanly speaking!  They will revolt more and more, the spiritual head of nation is desperately sick so that they cannot think rightly.  They are at the place where, as we will see, they are just one big mass of welts and bruises from the beatings (metaphorically speaking) God has given in chastisement.  Now He will say that their spiritual heart is failing them.

     “The whole heart” - The heart is here put for the whole region of the chest or stomach. As with the above we ought to refer this to the physical part of man, but understand it as a metaphor the center of the “being” of the nation. The word is actually used in at least 19 distinguishable fashions in the Bible, believe it or not! It can, of course, refer to the heart, mind, soul, spirit, self, i.e., the source of the life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of inner life (Dt 2:30). Abstractly, then, it can refer to the middle, center, midst of a person or place or thing, formally, heart, i.e., a position among or in the middle, relatively to other points of space (John 2:3).

     It can speak of the ability of one to be deceived, formally, to steal the heart, i.e., to cause one to hold a wrong opinion or belief (Ge 31:26+). One can have a rebellious, or formally, uncircumcised heart, i.e., pertaining to rising up in open defiance to authority (Lev 26:41+).

     It can also refer to conscience, i.e., the psychological faculty to distinguish right and wrong (Ge 20:5). It can speak of the chest, formally, heart, i.e., the thorax cavity of a creature (Na 2:7). The Bible speaks often of being discouraged or losing heart, i.e., have a feeling or attitude of loss of hope and so of being in emotional distress (Dt 1:28; 20:8+). There are also times when the Scripture sues the term “heart” to speak of “you”, formally, of your heart, a reflexive reference to receptor, as a figurative extension of the heart as the inner self (Dt 7:17). It can use the term to speak of integrity, sincerity, of straightness of heart, i.e., honesty as a moral quality (Dt 9:5).

     The “faints” speaks of the heart being enticed, of something seducing the heart, i.e., lure or coax one into sin (Dt 11:16+). Similarly, one can be hardhearted, or strong of heart, i.e., pertaining to being unresponsive or stubborn (Dt 15:7). It is possible to be proud, to consider oneself better, to lift high the heart, to have an improper haughtiness and arrogance, or to ascribing high status to oneself falsely (Dt 17:20). One can think in one’s heart, i.e., process information (Dt 29:19).

     The Bible teaches us that it is possible to be fainthearted, i.e., be afraid or distressed (Dt 20:3). Conversely, we can be good of heart, i.e., a joyful, happy feeling or attitude (Dt 28:47+). A person can be downhearted, or bad of heart, i.e., be in a feeling or attitude of depression or discouragement (1Sa 1:8). Two or more people can be united, be of one heart, i.e., be in an association with another (1Ch 12:17+). Lastly, the heart can be encouraged, one can speak to the heart, i.e., cause another to be consoled or courageous.^[1]

     Here we would suggest that it is referring to the center of the nation, the essence of what makes Israel what Israel truly is. That intangible center that “is” the nation. It is that which is “faint”.

     Again, the expression is emphatic. A common noun is associated with phrase here that means all the thing, every part, every part, the totality, it’s completeness with nothing left out. It can refer to every and any kind of the thing. It was used, for instance to refer to the offerings at the alter that were to be burned and nothing left of them (Ex. 29:18f). God used this term when he gave Adam dominion over all of the creatures of the creation (Gen. 1:26).

     So as when the head is violently pained, there is also sickness at the heart, and as these are indications of entire or total prostration of the frame so the expression here denotes the perfect desolation which had come over the nation. Isaiah is here saying that that facility which normally would rise to the occasion and do justice to God and to His leading has failed and has fainted – and cannot and will not do what is needful.

    “Is Faint” or “Faints” – the word refers to that which pertains to being afflicted with sorrow or other emotional injury. It can refer to internal sickness, cramps. It is used to speak metaphorically a heart of affliction, i.e., to have internal cramping and sickness.^[2] We should note that the word is a noun and not a verb. It is referring to a state, not to an action. Literally, “the whole head is sick and the heart faint”.

     Using much the same analogy, in Jer. 8:18 Jeremiah says: ‘When I would comfort myself in my sorrow, my heart is faint within me;’ (see also Lam. 1:22). When the body is suffering; when severe punishment is inflicted, the effect is to produce languor and faintness at the seat of life. This is the idea here. Their punishment had been so severe for their sins, that the “heart” was languid and feeble - still keeping up the figure drawn from the human body. Not only was their no motivation and movement for obedience, but there was no prospect that any would arise either. Thus, he pictures a sickness of soul as the real cause of Judah’s impending political collapse.^[3]

     This is the cause of all of the problems, in the cases of all men everywhere, in all times. Men’s souls are sick with sin and that sin drives them to reject and rebel against the Lord God of heaven. Modern man is no different than ancient Israel. They rebel against God at every turn. God seeks to turn them to godliness, calling them again and again in His mercy. He weeps over them in His love for them as He watches them spurn Him in their hardness and rebellion. But note that, in the case of the Israelites, this was not so much because of the affliction, but in spite of it!

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^[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 4222, #19). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Ibid, DBLH 1868, #2.

^[3] KJV Bible Commentary. 1997, c1994 (1301). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Spiritual Incorrigibility – The Whole Head Is Sick (Isaiah 1:5)

Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.

     The whole head - The prophet proceeds to specify more definitely what he had just said respecting their being stricken. He designates each of the members of the body - thus comparing the Jewish people to the human body when under severe punishment. He speaks of three parts of the body in turn, the head, the heart, and then he uses a euphemism to speak of the body as an entire unit.

     The word head in the Scriptures is often used to denote the princes, leaders, or chiefs of the nation. But the expression here is used as a figure taken from the human body, and refers solely to the punishment of the people, not to their sins. It means that all had been smitten - all was filled with the effects of punishment - as the human body is when the head and all the members are diseased. We imply this precisely because it is used in conjunction with the other two metaphors, the heart and the entire body, together taken to refer, not to the leadership as we might normal infer, but to the entire nation.

     Is sick - What might be implied here is that they somehow do not have the capacity to understand the true value and meaning of the chastening that god is heaping upon them – and thus they are incapable of responding properly. We might think of this as a head injury or a disease of the brain that prevents the normal thinking processes. Is so smitten - so punished, that it has become sick and painful.

     The Hebrew is a word for sickness, or pain. It is used in four contexts in the Old Testament. First it can refer to an illness or sickness as Deut. 7:15 where it refers to the “sicknesses” and “diseases” God sent upon Egypt in judgment when freeing Israel from bondage:

15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

     In Deuteronomy 28:59, 61, in enjoining Israel to obedience to the Law, God warns them that “sicknesses” will follow disobedience:

59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed.

     In 1Ki 17:17 we see Elijah revive the Widow’s son after a “sickness” kills him:

     Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.

     The term[1] is likewise used in 2Ki 8:8, 9; 13:14; 2Ch 16:12; 21:15,18, 19; Ps 41:4[EB 3]; Isa 38:9; Hos 5:13 and a number of other places.

     A second use of the term is to refer to a wound or injury, namely that which is the result of a blow or hit, (not necessarily an intentionally one). In 2 Kings 1:2 Ahaziah falls through a lattice and receives an injury:

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.”

     In Jer 6:7 speaking also of the wickedness of Israel, Jeremiah complains of Israel:

As a fountain wells up with water,
So she wells up with her wickedness.
Violence and plundering are heard in her.
Before Me continually are grief and wounds.

     In Jeremiah 10:19, again Judah, speaking of the chastening of God, says:

Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, “Truly this is an infirmity,
And I must bear it.”

     And so the word can refer to a wound received as a blow, either accidentally, as in Ahaziah, or intentionally, a Israel received in chastening from God.

     Thirdly, it can refer to affliction or trouble. In Ecclesiastes 5:16 (verse 17 in the English Bible due to number differences) we read:

All his days he also eats in darkness,
And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

     “Sorrow” is our word in this case, sickness being a different Hebrew word. Isa 53:3, 4 uses the term and says:

3     He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4     Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.

     Fourthly, it can be used to refer to grievous evil, especially and formally, to the evil of affliction as in Ecclesiastes 6:2:

2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

     Solomon is speaking of this “evil affliction” is a formal sense, in a general sense, not speaking of the specifics in which each man applies that evil to his daily life.

     We would have to understand this word in the second sense in this verse. This sickness is not organic, it is not disease. It is the result of the blows of chastening. God has and will speak of the bruising and the gaping wounds that have been untended and are festering and are foul with “putrefying sores”. Israel has done nothing to help themselves, namely, they have not heeded the call of God to submit to the counsel of the Prophets of God and repent of their sin!

     The expression is intensive, and denotes that the head was entirely and completely sick or dysfunctional. There is no sense in which Israel can think or reason her way out of this matter. And really, from a broader perspective, this is not a matter that can be “thought” out of. God must rescue them from their plight. That is precisely Isaiah’s message and it is a message that he is building towards throughout his book!

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[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 2716, #4). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.