Have you ever stubbed your toe and then got angry at whatever you stubbed your toe on? Sure you have. I may or may not have even kicked a chair for daring to leap out in front of my innocent toe. Which didn’t help my toe feel better at all. It may or may not have caused even more pain. Or how about this? Have you witnessed someone do something that he or she knew was illegal and then blame the system? I work in corrections, so that would be a big yes for me. Just to be clear, I am not speaking of injustices here. And don’t we see people and even nations doing this with God?
Isaiah 1:2-9 is Yahweh’s indictment against his people. The heavens and the earth is summoned to hear God’s case against his children. And right away God puts into relational language. This is not some random people. This is his children that he has made to grow and lifted up. “Reared and brought up” is a good translation and it fits well the image of children. But the words can mean “to make great,” and “to exalt.” And this still fits doesn’t it. As a Father he did everything he could to make his children great; to exalt them. Ah, but they have rebelled. God is innocent. And we are intended to see a loving Father who has provided everything to nurture his children, only to have those children rise up against him; to kick his love into the dust. And here we are introduced to one of the threads of Isaiah: rebellion. It is the children who have messed up. Even dumb animals can figure out who provides for them; who owns them. But Israel doesn’t know – admit – nor do the people discern. But wait a minute! Israel? I thought this was a vision about Judah and Jerusalem. Some will take “Israel” to be a generic word for God’s people. Others will say this is about Israel, but directed toward Judah. If it is about the northern kingdom (Israel) the time frame would be 735 BC to around 722 BC. The following would fit this situation very well.
They are a missing the mark nation; a people burdened with guilt; offspring who are hurtfully evil; sons who pervert. Notice the progression: nation-people-offspring-sons. This is an intentional movement from vague to personal relationship. Again, try to feel the depth of betrayal here. They have forsaken Yahweh; despised the Holy One of Israel; become strangers behind him. There is a progression here as well. First they neglect, then they begin to despise, and then before you know it they are complete strangers.
There is no getting around that verses 5-6 are difficult. As rebellious children they have been beat. God asked them, “Upon what will you be stricken again?” They are covered with open, fresh wounds. There is nothing that is not beat; that is healthy. And yet, they keep on rebelling. They are so consistently despising God’s discipline that there is no chance of healing; no cleansing of the wound; nor wrapping it; no oil applied to soften it. See them there worn out, fainting with fatigue. No remorse. No changing heart. No seeing a wounded Father. Just contempt; a shaking fist. Verse 7 describes the same thing without the metaphor. The land lies desolate; the cities are smoldering; their produce is being consumed by the invading strangers. Between 734 and 722 BC, Assyria often invaded and attacked Israel.
Verse 8 speaks of Daughter Zion. Now we are dealing with Judah and specifically Jerusalem. Daughter Zion is left behind like a temporary shelter in a vineyard. These shelters were constructed for the watchman who guarded the ripening fruit or vegetable as the case may be. It was an isolated, lonely job. Judah has been left behind, devastation all around her. Does she feel like a guard city that has been bypassed, which can now only look on at the destruction she was not able to stop. Verse 9 is all about God’s mercy. Sodom and Gomorrah were often used as examples of rebelliousness and God’s punishment. If the Lord of Hosts hadn’t left behind a few survivors (Judah or even just Jerusalem during Hezekiah’s reign), all of the Jewish people would have been wiped out.
Sometimes I wonder if much of our pain is not caused by our kicking against the goads. There is this beautiful passage in Psalm 32:9: “Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.” God deeply desires to be our Father. He has done everything to make us great; to exalt us. But like children we want what we want, even if it is bad for us. God has provided the perfect pasture. Frolic there. God wants you to frolic. Don’t defiantly walk away and then blame God for the lack of green grass. Shalom.