Isaiah 28-33

Today we are going to skip Isaiah 24-27, and look at Isaiah 28-33.  This section of "First Isaiah" is likely the last of the writings original to the eponymous author.  Isaiah 24-27, known as the "Apocalypse of Isaiah", date to at least a hundred years later than the life of Isaiah, so we will return to those chapters when we take a look at "Second Isaiah" later in this adventure.  At the end of this post I'll summarize my thoughts on Isaiah as a whole - both the book, and the worldview of the prophet himself, as presented through his words.

War with Assyria

In 701 BCE Assyria, ruled by King Sennacherib, invaded Judah in response to King Hezekiah (the just, righteous king Isaiah referred to in earlier chapters) allying Judah with Egypt against the Assyrian empire.  Isaiah counseled Hezekiah not to ally with Egypt, but to put his trust in Yahweh instead.  The Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem, but never conquered the city.  According to both the Assyrian account and the biblical account in the Book of Kings, Hezekiah paid tribute to Sennacherib to leave - but only according to the biblical account did Sennacherib then refuse to leave and had his army struck down by the Angel of Yahweh.  Chapters 28-33 mostly relate oracles of Isaiah's from this period of invasion, siege, and deliverance.

The Angel of the Lord Slays the Assyrian Army - by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1873 CE

Trust Not in Men, but in Yahweh Alone

Chapters 28-33 oscillate between judgment on the Hebrews, warnings against Egyptian alliance, and promises of deliverance from the Assyrian invasion.  Isaiah is absolutely livid with Hezekiah for reaching out to Egypt for military and political assistance instead of trusting in Yahweh's divine protection.  The political advisers to the king evidently blew off Isaiah as a raving religious madman, and he mocks their derision:

Therefore the word of Yahweh will be to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little;" in order that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.  - Isaiah 28:13

The political elites did not appear to care much for Isaiah's preaching about religious covenants and guidelines, to them it is nothing but "precept upon precept".  It's fun rhetoric to read.  But Isaiah is not having fun, as he repeatedly lambastes the decision to ally with Egypt, labeling it "a covenant of death", an "agreement with Sheol" (28:15).  He warns that the "protection" of Egypt's Pharaoh will yield nothing but shame and humiliation (30:1-5).  Alliance with Egypt is pointless without faith in Yahweh (31:1-3).  Coming from Isaiah, this is not surprising.  Isaiah, as a religious prophet, would have been intimately familiar with the Exodus tradition in which the Israelites were slaves under a Pharaoh.  Perhaps Isaiah feared not only retribution from Assyria, but also owing a debt to Egypt should the alliance prevail.  The last thing a pious Israelite prophet steeped in the Exodus tradition of his peoples' origins could stomach was owing Egypt anything.

So Isaiah foresees the coming Assyrian invasion as punishment for Judah's unfaithfulness toward Yahweh (30:8-14).  The Assyrians will be like "a storm of mighty, overflowing waters" (28:2), a message to his people "with stammering lip, and with alien tongue" (28:11), punishment in the form of an unrelenting "overwhelming scourge" (28:15):

As often as it passes through, it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.  For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it.  For Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim, he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon to do his deed - strange is his deed! - and to work his work - alien is his work!  - Isaiah 28:19-21

Jerusalem Sacrificed, but Restored

In Chapter 29 Isaiah compares the city to an "Ariel", the hearth of a sacrificial alter where the holocaust was burned (29:1-8).  It is only through the purifying flames that the blind and dumb who ignore Yahweh will be purged so that a righteous remnant can inherit the just kingdom of the future.  However, as before, Yahweh is the one who is keeping the ignorant in the dark resulting in their lack of faith (29:9-14).  So Isaiah condemns his people, even going so far as to reference Topheth, a place where children were supposedly sacrificed to the god Molech (30:33).

However, Yahweh will not allow his people to be destroyed utterly (28:23-29).  Though his people have rebelled against him, his judgment is neither final nor absolute.  He will intervene to drive off the Assyrian invaders (29:5-8, 30:27-33, 31:8-9), and after doing so, he will crown the ideal king to reign over his just kingdom (32:1-8, 33:17-24).  Justice will be established, and the needy taken care of (29:19-21).  The following passage summarizes Yahweh's punishing, yet salvific relationship with his people:

For thus Yahweh said to me, As a lion of a young lion growls over its prey, and - when a band of shepherds is called out against it - is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so Yahweh Sabaoth will come down to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.  Like birds hovering overhead, so Yahweh Sabaoth will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will spare and rescue it.  - Isaiah 31:4-5

Concluding First Isaiah: Who Was Isaiah? 

I think the biggest thing I can take away from what Isaiah has left us is his frustration.  Throughout his prophetic career his people were beset by enemies on all sides, and not just the Assyrian Empire. Even Judah's sibling Hebrew kingdom Israel, wages war upon Judah with their Syrian allies.  Isaiah strongly believes if the king and the people will just trust in Yahweh (through the mouth of his prophet, who conveniently happens to be Isaiah) they will be delivered from their oppressors and blessed to live in the just, idyllic kingdom which Yahweh has promised. But of course, Isaiah is not the king.  His counsel is not always valued.  There are those who do not practice exclusive Yahweh worship in Israel and Judah. The powerful continue to exploit the powerless.  The political leaders look not to Yahweh, but to human allies for aid. Isaiah views his peoples' political, social, and military struggles through this lens.

Why won't his people listen?  Don't they know that if they refuse to live righteously Yahweh will punish them through bloodshed and destruction? Yet Isaiah does not prophesy the end of the Hebrew people.  He sees Yahweh's wrath as a purging fire, where the unrighteous will be burned upon the altar. The righteous few who remain loyal to Yahweh will live to inherit the future, ruled by a just king.  Despite his oracles of doom, Isaiah's message is still one of hope, but only for those who will heed his message.

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Psalm 5

Like Psalms 3 and 4 before, Psalm 5 also contrasts the fate of the righteous who put their faith in Yahweh with that of the wicked, the hateful, the evildoers, and the liars.  Yahweh will not let iniquities go unpunished - just as he punished his people through Sennacherib's invasion in Isaiah.

Up Next:

We will be leaving Isaiah for now, returning to it later to cover Second Isaiah, and eventually, Third Isaiah.  Hosea is our next prophet up on deck, I hope you join me for that post as well.  Thanks for reading!