Isaiah uses the phrase “in that day” far more than any other writer of the Bible. In the NASB, the phrase appears 40x, 39 of them in the first 31 chapters. Isaiah 1-31 is infused with expectation for the “day of the Lord.” The phrase occurs in clusters of 3 and 4 in the . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Early on, Isaiah sang a song of lament for Yahweh’s fruitless vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7). As the “little apocalypse” ends, Isaiah records Yahweh’s song about His perpetual care for that same vineyard (27:2-6). THE TEXT “In that day the LORD with His severe . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 26:9: With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Jesus said, . . . . Continue Reading »
“There’s a sea in front and an army behind,” Israel cries out at the Red Sea. The Lord tells them to go straight ahead, as He cuts a road through the sea. “There are giants in the land,” Israel says. The Lord leads and tells them to watch the fortresses fall. “I . . . . Continue Reading »
When Yahweh chastens, Israel is helpless. She can only seek the Lord, whisper a desperate prayer, lot her doors and hide in her room (Isaiah 26:16, 20-21). She writhes like a pregnant woman, but instead of bearing a child she gives birth only to wind (Heb. ruach ; 26:18). Nothing that Israel can . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION From the opening chapters of Genesis, the Bible tells the story of two peoples, two cities, which are characterized by radically different desires and aims. They are the dead who never rise (Isaiah 26:14) and the dead-and-risen, who will be reborn from the earth (26:19). THE TEXT . . . . Continue Reading »
Donald Polaski ( Authorizing an End: The Isaiah Apocalypse and Intertextuality (Biblical Interpretation Series) ) links the feast of Isaiah 25 with the imperial feasts of the Babylonian kings of Daniel and Ahasuerus in Esther. He concludes that Isaiah implicitly endorses empire: “The feast . . . . Continue Reading »
While the Lord is setting out a grand feast on the mountaintop, Moab is down below, trampled in the offal of the sacrifices (Isaiah 25:10). It’s fitting that Moab is left wallowing in the madmenah , since there is a Moabite town known as Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2). The simile reminds me of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 25 has a number of connections with the events of the exodus and the Sinai covenant. The Psalm that opens the chapter resonates with the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, as does the song of salvation in verse 9. The feast on the mountain is a sacrificial feast on Mount Zion, but also resembles . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Isaiah 25, Yahweh will swallow ( bala ‘) the covering over the peoples (v. 7), the “veil,” and “death” (v. 8). He has spread a banquet on this mountain, and His portion is to eat the covering and feast. Most of the uses of “swallow” in the OT . . . . Continue Reading »
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