Ten Words

Isaiah charges that Judah has become a rebellious son, and enumerates the rebellions 65:2-5:

1) They walk in a way that is not good.

2) They follow their own thoughts.

3) They provoke Yahweh to His face.

4) The sacrifice in gardens.

5) They burn incense on bricks.

6) They sit among the graves.

7) They spend the night in secret places.

8) They eat swine’s flesh.

9) Unclean broth is in their pots.

10) They say Yahweh (?) is not holy enough to be among them.

There is a numerical correlation with the Ten Words of Sinai. The God who delivered those words now charges that His sons are engaged in a ten-fold rebellion.

Beyond that, there is some correlation between the Ten Words and Isaiah’s indictment. By sitting among the graves of the dead, Judah violates the prohibition of murder. The secret places where they spend the night are places of spiritual if not actual adultery. Eating swine’s flesh is perhaps links with theft, and the unclean broth in the pot is perhaps a form of false witness (cities are pots, people are meat, broth is the verbal atmosphere of the city). Is the “holier than thou” attitude in v. 5 a kind of covetousness, an attempt to claim holy status exclusively for oneself?

Other correlations are even more stretched, but perhaps that’s the start of something.