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| The Isaiah scroll found at Qumran (Dead Sea) |
Prophets, Consequences,
Widows and God
by: Rev. Rebecca J. Brimmer, International President and
CEO
As I read through the Bible this year, I am seeking to better
understand God and His character.
What does
He love? What does He hate? What is important to Him? How does He respond?
As you
read Isaiah, keep these questions in mind.
Jesus
(Yeshua) told us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark
12:30).
It seems
to me like my whole being is to love God.
Isaiah
Isaiah,
son of Amoz, was a prophet of God during a very challenging period of biblical
history.
Rabbinic
writings tell us that Isaiah was royalty. He was the son of Amoz, who was the
brother of King Amaziah of Judah. This gave him a unique platform — the ability
to speak directly to the kings of his time.
Isaiah
served God, kings and the people of Israel for decades during the reigns of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.
He saw
the Assyrian Empire rise to power. He understood all about the northern kingdom
being taken into captivity.
He saw
the dangers of the times, the sin and idolatry of the people and understood the
consequences.
God used
him to shout out against iniquity, encourage righteousness and foretell of
future glory.
He was
married, and two of his sons had prophetic names — Shear-Jashub, meaning “A
Remnant Shall Return” (Isaiah 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, meaning, “Speed
the Spoil, Hasten the Booty” (Isaiah 8:3).
Imagine,
every time Mrs. Isaiah called the boys home for dinner, a prophetic proclamation
went forth — and a hope for the future.
A Spiritual Encounter—and the Response
God gave Isaiah a vision of heaven. “In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the
train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood
seraphim… And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of
hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the
posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house
was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1–4).
I am
impressed by the fact that although Isaiah is recognized as the greatest
prophet, entrusted with the words of God for the nation and given this amazing
vision, there is nothing prideful in Isaiah.
He doesn’t say, “Look at me! See how God trusts me.”
He doesn’t proclaim his own greatness. Instead, he responds by
saying, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the
King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).
Isaiah,
like other biblical characters who encountered God in a manifest fashion, is
overwhelmed by the presence of God.
The story continues with one of the seraphim flying to him with a
coal from the altar in his hand. “And he touched my mouth with it, and
said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and
your sin purged’” (Isaiah 6:7)
The Call
God
called Isaiah to be His voice to the people of Judah at a critical time in
their history. It must have been very overwhelming.
Make no mistake,
Isaiah’s job was extremely difficult. It was not glamorous, easy or pleasant.
He was
responsible to portray the heart of God, even as the words God gave him to
speak were harsh and often related coming judgment.
God was
revealing Himself as the Judge and the Redeemer. He was setting before the
people — once again — the consequences of their actions.
As we
read in Deuteronomy 28, either blessing or cursing is available to God’s
people, depending on their actions.
Speaking
the words of God, Isaiah exhorted the people to come back to Him, warning that
they will suffer the consequences of their sinful actions.
However,
even though the worst may befall them, God still gives hope as He promises
future redemption.
In his article, “Isaiah the Prophet,” Jacob Isaacs writes, “Isaiah
brought to king and people the message of the holiness of G‑d, the L-rd of
hosts, at a time when idolatry seemed to be taking hold in the land of Judah. He
preached justice and charity at a time when the morals of the people had
reached a new low…
“Isaiah’s mission was not only to admonish the people to keep them
on the right path. He also instilled fervent faith in G‑d in the hearts of his
flock, and he brought them courage and fortitude at a time when they were
suffering mortal fear from the threat of the new Assyrian Empire.
“Isaiah also described in glowing terms the future glory of Zion,
which inspires our people to the present day.”
Rebellion and the Cure
In the
first chapter of Isaiah, God speaks through the prophet of His anger and
disdain for the people of Judah and Jerusalem (verse 1), which He
also refers to as Israel (verse 3).
The words
are scathing, harsh and must have caused great fear and consternation in the
hearers.
The words of the prophet thunder, “Alas, sinful nation, a
people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of
Israel, they have turned away backward” (verse 4).
After 15 verses of accusation, the prophet speaks with clarity
about what needs to happen. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn
to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead
for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16–17).
The phrase “rebuke the oppressor” may be better
translated in the Tree of Life Version (TLV) “relieve the oppressed.”
Then the Lord pleads with them, “‘Come now, and let us
reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you
refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword’” (verses
18–20a).
In Isaiah
1:16, I see two major elements or two steps that need to be taken to receive
God’s favor. The first is repentance, and the second is the fruits of
repentance.
Together
they result in blessing. Ignoring them results in curses.
In verses
18–20, we see the consequences. Obedience leads to blessing and rebellion leads
to the worst kind of negative results.
This reminds me of Deuteronomy 28, where the Lord gave the
Children of Israel a choice. “And all these blessings shall come upon
you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God…” (verse
2).
What
follows is an extensive list of wonderful blessings.
Then we have the curses — and they are terrible indeed. “… If
you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His
commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses
will come upon you and overtake you…” (verse 15).
When
Isaiah proclaimed God’s words recorded in Isaiah 1, I am sure he was
remembering the verses in Deuteronomy.
Repentance
Isaiah 1:16 starts with the words: “Wash yourselves, make
yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease
to do evil.”
The word “clean”
is zaka in Hebrew. It has the implications of being
clean, pure, justified, translucent or innocent. As Christians we have some of
the same imagery.
In the book of Hebrews we read, “Let us draw near with a
true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews
10:22).
Certainly,
our sins can be forgiven in an instant when we ask, but true repentance
involves a change in our nature. It has been described as turning 180° and
facing the opposite direction.
We don’t
even look in the direction of temptation anymore. Instead, we choose to seek
God first and in a continuing fashion.
God hates
sin, but He loves people. He invites us to seek His face (Psalm
27:8, Psalm 105:4, 2 Chronicles 7:14).
If we
turn to face God, we are turning away from our sin. We don’t concentrate on the
sin; we put our focus on the God who loves us and forgives our sin.
However, He also expects us to keep making that decision. Isaiah
makes it very clear: “Cease to do evil” (Isaiah
1:16).
In
Christian theology there is both a concept of sanctification received at the
time of salvation, but also of a progressive sanctification, which results in
Christian maturity over time.
Scripture is clear that we have to make a conscious choice and an
effort to “depart from evil,” “do good,” “put
off… the old man,” and “put on the new man” (Psalm
34:14 and Ephsians 4:22, 24).
Our
acceptance of the free gift of salvation makes it possible for us to make right
choices, but we still have to make them. It isn’t automatic.
As David
cried out in Psalms 38 and 39, we too must humble ourselves before the Lord,
repent of our sins, then get up and make choices that show repentance — thus
turning from our sins.
This
comes from a deep resolve in our hearts to be the people God has called us to
be.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik says, “If teshuvah (repentance)
is indeed a multistep process, involving sin recognition, remorse, and resolve,
how can an individual possibly be considered righteous after only a moment’s
thought?”
Fruit of Repentance
Once we
have turned away from our sin and turned to face God, we need to start acting
in a Godly fashion.
The prophet Isaiah describes what that means to God when he says,
“Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor [relieve the
oppressed (TLV)]; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isaiah
1:17).
What a
state of affairs when the prophet has to tell people to learn to do good! No
wonder God was distressed. His people seemed to have forgotten the concept.
God
created mankind in His image. We are meant to reflect Him. However, sin can
obscure the image of God in us.
John Wesley once said, “Do all the good you can, by all the
means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the
times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
The apostle Paul encouraged the believers at Colossae by
saying, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not
cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of
the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:9–10 emphasis
added).
I believe
these three things are examples of learning to do good: seeking justice,
reproving the ruthless and taking care of widows and orphans.
Seek Justice
The Bible
repeatedly links the concept of righteousness and justice. If we are really
going to live righteously, then we must provide justice for all.
As I
searched through the Scriptures on this subject, I was a bit surprised to see
how often justice is linked with the poor, the hungry, the widow, the orphan
and the oppressed.
It is so
apparent that one of the things God identifies with “doing good” is
taking care of those who are unable to take care of themselves.
Justice
is a process of righting what is wrong. It is wrong that people go hungry. It
is wrong for women to be sold into the sex trade. It is wrong for people to be
enslaved by others.
It is
wrong for children to be abused. It is wrong to take advantage of the poor and
needy. It is the opposite of doing good. It is evil and despicable in the eyes
of God.
When
Jesus (Yeshua) was teaching His disciples in the Olivet Discourse, He talked
about the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25).
What will
the nations be judged for? How they treated the oppressed, the poor, the
hungry, the stranger, the thirsty, the prisoner, the sick or those without
clothing.
In fact, the punishment for not caring for the above mentioned is
harsh, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared
for the devil and his angels… these will go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:41b, 46).
Let’s
look at a few Scriptures on the subject.
“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great
God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He
administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger,
giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:17–18).
“You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless,
nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge” (Deuteronomy
24:17).
“Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the
fatherless, and widow…” (Deuteronomy 27:19a).
“He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with
justice…He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the
children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor” (Psalm
72:2, 4).
“Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and
needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm
82:3–4).
“I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and justice for the poor” (Psalm 140:12).
Are you
convinced yet? I certainly am! God hates injustice and loves to care for those
in need.
At
Bridges for Peace, we are committed to loving the things God loves and doing
good in practical ways, especially to the oppressed, hungry, poor, needy,
widows and orphans.
That is
why we give food to 22,000 people every month. Over 1,000 of them are widows
with extremely limited support.
If we had
the funds, we could immediately begin to provide food and encouragement to an
additional 7,000 widows.
We help
Holocaust survivors who were cruelly oppressed by the Nazis. We welcome and
bless new immigrants who are strangers in their own land. Recently I was
calling out to the Lord to provide additional income so we can reach out with
love to more people.
I heard
His voice saying, “Trust Me and do good.”
Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in
the land, and feed on His faithfulness.”
Today I
am asking what God expects of me. How can I learn to do good? Will you search
your heart as well? God wants us to be His blessing column!
https://www.bridgesforpeace.com/letter/prophets-consequences-widows-and-god/
https://www.bridgesforpeace.com/letter/prophets-consequences-widows-and-god/
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