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  Orange Standard

Isaiah: the Innocent Partner

Article 3 ~ October 2003

"Then I heard the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for me? And I answered, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8.

Isaiah determined to save and change his country. He had basic principles which he believed were his from God and he applied them to every problem he had to face. Unlike Amos and Hosea, Isaiah was born to power and privilege. His position was akin to that of a Prime Minister. But like Amos he was imbued with the sense of the sovereignty of God. He was convinced that Israel was God's chosen people and he sought to have them recognise and live by that special relationship and to honour its obligations. Described as the greatest of the evangelistic prophets his words are the product of a considerable intellect and his literary style tremendous in its sweep and resource.

Isaiah lived in troubled times in a land suffering the effects of war. He had seen the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, with its capital Samaria by their Assyrian conquerors. That was a catastrophe foretold by Amos and Hosea. And it was the Assyrians who 20 years later who beseiged and took the Southern Kingdom, with its capital Jerusalem. King Hezekiab had thought that an alliance with Egypt was necessary to withstand the attacks of the Assyrians but Isaiah vigorously opposed that plan because the religion and culture of Israel would be affected hurtfully by it. He told the king and the people that their trust must be in God, for a righteous cause must not be fought with an unrighteous partner. He warned against putting dependence on armed strength and living with the horrific consequences of war.

Isaiah had the fear that the religion of Judah would be corrupted by the beliefs and practices of the Assyrians and the Egyptians. He believed it necessary to ensure the security and safety of the faith by the separation of church and state. His expectation was on those loyal believers whom he saw as the Remnat and who would stand firm for God in every circumstance, that they would save Israel from the horrors that threatened it.

Isaiah saw God acting for the nation in the person of the Messiah, a great leader whom he described as coming not as a king powerful and magnificent but as the suffering Servant. He pictured Him in his most accurate profile of Jesus, Isaiah 53.

The prophet denounced his people for their betrayal of the 'faith'. He declared, in the strongest terms, that the survival of the state was nothing if the faith was lost. Their priorities had to be right. Isaiah spoke but the people did not listen and they suffered the consequences of their turn away from God. Down the centuries Isaiah's advice to people has been ignored.

Among the many lessons to be learned from him is his insistence that the church must never consent to what is not agreeable to God and His word.

It must be free to raise its voice on anything that affects people and to speak out fearlessly to them about anything that could be to their disadvantage, individually and collectively. The church of Isaiah before Christ was then, as the Christian Church is now, the people of God. The difference now is that in Christ the plan of God for humankind has been revealed and His place and purpose in it clearly identified.

This is weak and ineffective when it fails to address the multiplicity of problems which affect people. It is only effective when it deals with them sensitively, compassionately and honestly. It stands condemned when there is a contradiction in what it says and does.

Isaiah cared deeply about people. He spoke and acted for people. What he had to say about living in and for the faith is always relevant. Christians stand condemned when they are contrary to the admonish of Christ to love God and to express that love in love for others; when they lack social and community consciousness and ignore the responsibilities of citizenship. The social consciousness of Amos and Hosea is present in Isaiah.

The Christian should be the most public spirited person in society. He lives, with the strong pressures of Christ on him to be good and to do good. The Christian is the one who cares and shares.

Canon Dr. S.E. Long

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