Background to the Book of Isaiah

Historical: (History within the text) xxx

In 598 BCE, 587 BCE, 582 BCE (Jeremiah 52:28-30), the Babylonians deported significant numbers of Israelites to Babylon, especially the leaders and highly educated people. It appears that the Babylonians allowed the exiles to own land (Jeremiah 29:5) and gave them much freedom. They could continue to worship (Ezekiel 8:1, 14:1,3, 20:1,29, Jeremiah 29:1), to participate in trade (Marashu business texts), to remain in tribal groups with their leaders (Jeremiah 29:5-7) and to serve on royal projects and in the military forces. The evidence of the Jeremiah, Deutero-Isaiah, Ezekiel and Priestly material shows that writing continued in the exile. An awareness of both the written and oral traditions of the past is seen in these books. While some writings (Deutero-Isaiah, Jeremiah, Deuteronomic History) probably received their final form in exile, other writings (Priestly, Psalms, Ezekiel) did not achieve their final form until much later. The people were aware of the Torah requirements (see Leviticus 26:14-45, an exilic sermon) and Ezekiel drew upon the laws in the Holiness Code in Leviticus 17-25. The later writings confirmed that the people in Babylon knew the requirements of the law (Ezra 7:11-20: Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law, the one sent by the God of heaven to Jerusalem with treasures for the temple and a commission to undertake teaching of the law and moral reform). We assume that if Ezra was going to Jerusalem as a teacher of the law he would also have been teaching the law to those in Babylon.

In summary, the exilic community appears to have been well organised, able to enjoy the benefits of Babylonian life and free to maintain its own religious life and worship. Although the people were not able to worship at the temple and offer sacrifices, they learnt about their past traditions (Isaiah 40-55) and the requirements of the law (Deuteronomic History, Ezekiel, Leviticus).

PURPOSE of Isaiah 40 - 55:

These chapters in the scroll of Isaiah appear to address a situation later in the exile (circa 540 BCE) when the prophet proclaims that God wants them to return to Jerusalem. Most of the older generation would have died, those who remained would have heard the stories of Jerusalem, but this generation would be very comfortable, settled, well off, living in a fertile and cultured country. They were safe, had freedom and many obtained wealth.

The question is how do you get a group of people to move who are comfortable, settled, whose children are born in this new country, to move back to a wreck of a city taken over by people from the surrounding countries, Edom, Moab,Transjordan etc. You want to transport them back to a rocky and barren landscape, where there were no immediate opportunities for making a living. We have the experience of Kosovar refugees who were only in Australia a few months not 40 plus years and some of them had no desire to return to probable hardship and possible death. I have no desire to return to a ‘but and ben' in the Highlands of Scotland on a permanent basis. A holiday is wonderful.

This is the task of the writer of Isaiah 40-55 - to convince the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem and build the temple and city again. The experience of the exile has made them realise that they have to rely on the grace of God alone and that it is only by God's loving kindness they can know forgiveness.

Literary: xx

Isaiah 40-55 begins with a prologue in Isaiah 40:1-11 which sets out the message of the following sixteen chapters. The first verse declares that the people of Israel are forgiven and she has suffered enough for all her rebellion and unfaithfulness. Now God will lead them back to Jerusalem. The poetry is quite different to that used in Isaiah 1-39 and is regarded as some of the most beautiful in the Old Testament. Isaiah 40-55 proclaims God as creator and develops the explanation God as creator of the world first stated in Gen 1. Not only is Yahweh creator of the world, but also redeemer of people within history. It is the author Isaiah 40-55 who has a fully monotheistic presentation of God. Up to this point there has been an acknowledgement and acceptance of other gods by the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures. These can be seen in many of the psalms we read.

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Context of Isa 61:1-11

The lectionary verses for Old Testament come in the middle of the section Isa 60-62. Note above that this is the centre of Isa 56-66 and speaks of a fully redeemed people back in Jerusalem. Surrounding these central chapters are verses describing appearances of God proclaiming judgement, however Isa 59:21 is a transition verse in which "my Spirit" and "my covenant" are pointers to what will be spoken of in Isa 60-62. The emphasis in these chapters is on the consequences of God choosing to let his glory rest on Jerusalem. The images of light and radiance permeate these chapters which combined with the descriptions of wealth leave us in no doubt about the restored splendour of Jerusalem. Even foreigners will come, bring their wealth and be subjugated to the Israelites. God is the provider in control of creation, history and their redemption. The relationship is described "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." The shock as one moves into Isa 63 is quite profound because here we have another strong statement of judgement because there was no-one to help; the people had all abandoned their God. Isa 63:7ff reminds the people of how Yahweh had redeemed them and cared for them but the people had rebelled. The people even want to blame God for their apostasy.

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Insights/Message of Isa 61:1-11

Literary:vvvvvvvThe structure generally proposed for Isa 61 is: vv.1-3 = the mission of the servant, vv.4-7 = description of the siutation in Jerusalem, vv.8-11 = God's actions in first person together with a first person response acknowledging God's redemptive purposes. One of the literary difficulties in this chapter is the change of person speaking and the following suggestions may help to make sense of these changes. Vv.1-3a are in the first person which then changes to the third person in vv.3b-4. The authority of God is given in v.1a, which then moves to the prophet's commision in vv.1b-3a and the people's response in vv.3b-4. Vv.5-7 become a direct address to the people telling them what the situation will be in this restored Jersusalem. V.8 is the Lord speaking in the first person followed by another statement in the third person before moving to a first person response which reads as though it is the prophet but in the context could be Jerusalem in response to what God has bestowed in Isa 60 (Oswalt: 574). We need to note that although many Christians automatically assume Isa 61 refers to a person it can be for the Jews a reference to the nation as in Isa 49:3. Indeed as Hanson suggests the "servant" is both an individual and a "community" and this ambiguity is intentional (Hanson: 223). The causal clause in v.1a (because) extends to all the infinitives in vv.1b-3 and is a very unusual construction. The spirit of God enables the prophet to do all the function mentioned in the infinitives (Seitz: 514). This form of call is unlike the classic examples in Isaiah 1-39, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but may be a modified form. There are many references in Isa 61 both, to the earlier chapters in Isa 40-59 (eg., 49:1-6, 59:20), and within the section 60-62 (60:21). Furthermore, vv.8-9 pick up the two motifs of "covenant" and "descendants" from the bridge verse Isa 59:21, all of which serve the purpose of seeing Isa 56-66 as a literary unity.
Message: xxx The implied audience in Isa 60-62 is the returned exiles in Jerusalem who have become despondent at the sad picture of Jerusalem. The prophet is presenting a picture of hope and encouragement in order that they will rebuild Jerusalem (v.4) in response to the glad tidings which the prophet is proclaiming. Westermann suggests that Isa 40-55 has a focus on the people returning to Jerusalem, while Isa 56-66 has a focus on the people rebuilding Jerusalem (Westermann: 370). In response to the rebuilding of Jerusalem he promises the people that foreigners and aliens will come and be servants bringing their wealth to help to restore the city to its previous splendour. The promise to the servant in Isa 52:13 becomes a reality in Isa 61. Isa 61:8 brings to mind the message in Mic 6:8 combined with the unconditional promises so familiar from Isa 40-55 and later in the book of Ezekiel. The emphasis on righteousness is one that is present consistently throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. While the people are not required to keep justice before God grants the everlasting covenant, God makes it abundantly clear that a high priority is given to justice - "For I the Lord love justice". It is a pity that in our Christian communities we separate out mission and justice when instead they are all part of the response to God's love and compassion. God makes promises and expects the people to remain faithful in response not as a condition. The promises to Abraham about descendants and as a blessing to all peoples can be identified in v.9. As part of their restored glory the nations will be subordinate unlike the role of the nations in Isa 56:1-8 in which the foreigners are equalit with the Israelites.

At this time of Advent when Christians celebrate the coming of the Christ child it is very easy to see the attributes named here as taken on by Christ when the Spirit of God rested on him at his baptism and the tasks of Isa 61:1-3 become part of the new salvation. We respond this season for what God has promised to us, however while we are not required to rebuild the city of Jerusalem we are required to build the Kingdom of God. If the Lord loves justice and hates robbery and wrong we are challenged to think what that means for our time and mission.

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Resources/Worship for Isa 61:1-11

Worship:xxxThis passage works well with different voices for First voice = vv.1-3a, 2nd voice = vv. 3b-4 & v.9,

3rd voice = 5-7, 4th voice = v.8, 5th voice = vv.10-11. Again the order of service can reflect some of the elements of the Isa 61: call by God can be portrayed in the opening call to worship and hymn (vv.1a), the description of salvation can be taken up in the prayers of adoration and the scripture reading(1b-3), sermon can suggest ways in whichthe people will respond (v.4-9), the response of the people can be reflected in prayers of intercession and hymns (vv.10-11).

Resources: Commentaries

The Old Testament Guides (OTG) by Sheffield Academic Press are an excellent small resource which give many suggestions for readings on particular aspects in the book.

The New Interpreter's Bible is another very helpful resource and published in the late 1990's - 2002 is more up to date than some earlier works.

• Brueggemann, Walter. Isaiah 40-66. Westminster BC. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, c1998.
  Childs, Brevard S. Isaiah. OTL. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
• Emmerson,Grace I. Isaiah 56-66. OTG. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992.
  Hanson, Paul D. Isaiah 40-66. Int. Louisville, Ky.: John Knox, 1995.
  Muilenburg, James, and Henry Sloan Coffin. "The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66." In The Interpreter's Bible. 5:381-773. New York: Abingdon Press, 1956.
  Oswalt, John. The Book of Isaiah. Chapters 40-66. NICOT. Grand Rapids, Mich. W. B. Eerdmans, 1998.
  Scullion, John J. Isaiah 40-66. OTM. Wilmington, Del. Michael Glazier, 1982.
• Seitz, Christopher. "The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66." In The Interpreter's Bible. 6:307-552: Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001.
  Thompson, Michael. Isaiah Chapters 40-66. Epworth Commentaries. Peterborough: Epworth Press, 2001.
  Watts, John. Isaiah 34-66. WBC. Waco, Tex.: Word Book, 1987.
  Westermann, Claus. Isaiah 40-66: A Commentary. OTL. London: SCM Press, 1966.b
  Whybray, R. N. Isaiah 40-66. NCB. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott; Grand Rapids, Mich. W. B. Eerdmans, 1981, c1975.
• Whybray, R. N. The Second Isaiah, OTG. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1983.
  Young, E. J. The Book of Isaiah: The English Text, with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes. NICOT. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans, 1972.

The Dramatised Bible: ed. Michael Perry. London: Marshall Pickering: Bible Society, 1989

Web sites with helpful lectionary resources: These links were updated 23/11/06

http://nat.uca.org.au/TD/worship/Orders_of_Service/index.html
http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/
http://hwallace.unitingchurch.org.au/
http://home.alphalink.com.au/~nigel/b_rcl.htm
http://mediacom.mediacomonline.org.au/index.php
http://www.laughingbird.net/html/home.php
http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/
http://www.bible.org/docs
http://www.gbod.org/worship
http://www.lectionary.org
http://www.textweek.com
http://www.beswick.info/rclresources/
http://www.spirit-net.ca/sermon.html

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