Woah! (Isaiah 28, 29)

Isaiah has so far delivered a masterpiece of prophetic messaging. He has preached God’s judgement on Judah for trusting in themselves and other nations rather than Him. He has predicted Assyria’s coming destruction of Israel and warned Judah’s king to trust God instead of Assyria. He has delivered oracles to the nations of the earth including Israel and Judah warning them to turn to God. All the while, he has predicted with hope that God will use His judgment to bring hope, when all of creation will be made right and a new Jerusalem will draw all of the nations into God’s kingdom.

Much of what he predicted has come to pass. Assyria is on the march and Judah is in its sights. Now, Isaiah turns HIS aim on the religious leaders of Judah. They have not heeded his message. Instead of trusting God, they have made an alliance with Egypt, and they are celebrating their newfound security. As they celebrate, literally wallowing in their own drunken bile, mocking Isaiah for his repetitive, simple message of trusting God, Isaiah warns that God’s judgment is coming. The babble they mock him with will be the babble of foreign tongues that will drive them into exile!

They may think they are secure in their own power, wisdom, and alliances, God is going to let them learn through hardship. Rejecting God’s loving plan will lead to devastating consequences, but those consequences will fulfill God’s purposes. His purposes of judgment but also salvation and hope. We foll ourselves into thinking we are in control, but it is God who is sovereign.

Isaiah is always relevant, but it does seem that his message is particularly appropriate for today’s western Christianity. As people who claim to follow Jesus make alliances with disgusting powers and figures, and allow their faith to be coopted by national visions of power and control, Isaiah looms large with his message of warning, judgment, and hope for those who will trust in God alone.