Day 217. Isaiah 54-57

In our reading for today we will conclude the writings of Second Isaiah or Isaiah of Babylon (chapters 40-55) and begin the last portion of the Book (chapters 56-66), sometimes call Third Isaiah, though it is probably includes the oracles of a number of different prophets of the post-exilic period.
In chapter 54 the depopulated and ruined city of Jerusalem is compared to a barren woman, sad and depressed because she is childless. Her situation is about to change radically for the better. The LORD calls to take heart because with the return of the exiles from Babylon her tent will overflow with new life. "You will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns" (54:3), Isaiah tells her. The Lord "your maker" will take Jerusalem as his wife again. For a "brief moment" he had indeed abandoned Jerusalem, but now he is ready to renew his covenant forever. "With everlasting love I will have compassion on you" (54:8), the LORD says to the city. It will be "like the days of Noah"—after the flood was over, God never sent another. Now that the exiles are returning, the LORD's "covenant of peace" with Israel "shall not be removed" (54:10). Henceforth, his
people will be protected, and "no weapon that is fashioned against [them] shall prosper" (54:17)--a promise that is still in effect.
The writings of Isaiah of Babylon end with the voice of God calling like a vendor in the market—"Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (55:1). God freely offers to make "an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David" (55:3). Through his prophet God offers a pardon and a new beginning to all who return. The pardon is unconditional, but good only for a limited time. Now is the time for the people to change the direction of their lives—"Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (55:7). To all who repent he offers mercy and welcome. "You shall go out in joy," the prophet promises, "and be led back in peace, the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all
the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (55:12).
With chapter 56 the third section of Isaiah begins, now the voices of several prophets speak to those who have returned to Jerusalem. Reality has set in. There are tensions in the community. Apparently the "hard-liners" among the returning exiles, those who hold to rigid interpretation of the Law of Moses, have the upper hand, and foreigners "joined to the LORD" and eunuchs are being excluded. The Second Isaiah's inclusive vision of an Israel open to world is being repudiated in favor of a narrow sectarianism. Walls and barriers are being erected.
But in the face of this narrow legalism the prophet proclaims God's acceptance of those who "hold fast to [his] covenant" (56:4). To foreigners and eunuchs who "maintain justice" (56:1), keep the LORD's Sabbaths, and choose the things that please him, the LORD promises full participation in the worship life of the temple. "I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer," he says. "Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (56:6-7). In these words we hear the overture to the gospel proclaimed by Jesus, whose mission was to "the outcasts of Israel" (56:8). Guided by his Spirit, the Church would reach out beyond Judaism, limited by the barriers it had erected for itself, to "gather others to them besides those already gathered."
The return from exile brought other problems as well—Israel was constantly tempted by the idolatry of its neighbors. The prophet, fired by the wrath of God, roars against the unfaithfulness of the people. "When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you!" says the LORD. To those who "take refuge" in him, he promises that they will "possess the land" and "inherit [his] holy mountain" (57:13). "Peace, peace, to the far off and the near," the LORD offers the faithful (57:20). But those who worship other gods will live in chaos they create for themselves. "The wicked are like the tossing sea that cannot keep still," the prophet says. Its waters toss up mire and mud. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked" (57:20-21).