Lesson Focus:
In our brokenness we long for our king to come to reshape
our world and us, too.
Catch
up on the story:
For some time, Israel has been under great political and
social distress. This passage in Isaiah
probably occurs between 538 and 515 B.C.E.[1] There is some evidence to support the fact that this passage occurs sometime
during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, which places it squarely toward the end
of Israel's exile. Accordingly, the
capital city of Jerusalem is in shambles, as is the Temple and any semblance of
ordered worship.
The writings that make up Isaiah are varied in time period, form
and style. Isaiah 64:1-9 finds itself in
the middle of a communal lament, which begins in 63:7. The lament begins with a priestly/prophetic
figure recounting the glorious deeds of God, but quickly turns toward the
stiff-necked rebellion of God's children.
Yet, even in the midst of the people's rebellion, God is merciful and
continues to lead them. 63:15 marks a
turn in the lament toward a request for God to intervene in more concrete ways
in Israel's distress, which will pick up steam as our passage begins in chapter
64.
It should be noted, at this point, that there is a chorus of
voices represented in this scene.
Represented are those who are concerned for all people now living in
Israel, those who are concerned for the salvation of all of the twelve tribes
of Israel, those who are concerned with just the Temple and its state of
disrepair, those who believe they are the true and only descendants of Abraham
and are thus the special recipients of God's favor, and finally, those who are
specifically concerned with Israel's political and military future and
standing. At the end, however, Isaiah's
concern will be that God act for all of God's people.[2]
Critical
Questions:
1. How does this text reveal to us the
nature and character of God/What is God doing in this text?
2. What
does holiness/salvation look like in this text?
3. How
does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
The
Text:
Chapter 64 opens with Isaiah’s calling for God to
definitively act within Israel’s desperate situation. Whereas verse 15 of chapter 63 calls God to
only look on Israel’s situation, they now long for God to tear open the heavens
and descend to be in their midst. The
language of the opening verse highlights the sense of hopeful yet angst-ridden
longing that fills the hearts of the people.
Life is rough and now they hope that God will act.
The imagery is meant to remind us of the previous ways in
which God has broken into human existence and worked for its good and its
direction, as when God appeared to Israel at Mt. Sinai. God’s manifestation to his people in these
theophanies is often dangerous to those involved and has seismic
repercussions. The hope is that God will
once again make himself known, not just to Israel, but to Israel’s adversaries,
too.
You will notice the proliferation of the second person
singular, “you.” This “you” is none
other than God himself. As the passage
moves forward the emphasis placed on God’s action becomes very apparent. What is needed is God to break through, like
God has done in the past, doing deeds of might and power that Israel did not
expect (verse 3). It is only God who can
save. It will only be through the mighty
acts of God that Israel will have space to live. Israel longs for God to do what God has done
in the past.
Verse 5 marks a transition in the passage from a cry for
help to a confession of sin. The
confession begins by stating the obvious: God’s presence is available for those
who remember God’s ways and do right.
But, Israel confesses, they have sinned and have not had the privilege
of God’s constant companionship. The
NRSV translates the second half of verse 5 as, “But you were angry, and we
sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.” It might seem, at first glance, that Israel’s
confession is backhanded, blaming God for her sins. This is not the case. Israel, at this point, on the other side of
exile, is fully aware of its infidelities.
The prophet is confessing the sin of the people, and as the people
sinned, God withdrew his presence. In
the absence of God’s loving presence the people sinned even more, relying on
anything other than God for help. The
prophet speaks of the truth that we often experience: we sin and then our
relationship with God begins to fade.
The more our closeness to God fades, the more we sin. It can be a vicious cycle.
The NRSV, however, leaves off what the RSV translates, “in
our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?” This question seems to be the center of the
passage. It is a question of hope and
hopelessness, of confession and longing for redemption. Not only has Israel sinned, causing a great
rift between God and people, but also they have been at it for a long
time! They are thoroughly and completely
steeped in their own filth. In verse 6
the confession continues with the plural language. Israel is unclean. Israel is unclean because of her failure to
set right the injustices in their land.
They are unclean because they have not cared for the orphan, the widow,
the poor, the outcast and the stranger in their lands. They are unclean because they have trusted in
everyone and everything other than God! Their
uncleanliness makes all of their righteous deeds, the good things they were
supposed to do, like filthy cloths.
Literally, “filthy cloth” is a cloth used by women during
menstruation. Any discharge of blood
would have made the Israelites ceremonially unclean.[3] Without demeaning the normal physical cycles
of women, this type of uncleanliness, for Israel, was some of the worst
sort. What is not to be missed is the
seriousness with which Israel views her uncleanliness. This is serious stuff, and Israel feels as if
she has nowhere to go.
Indeed, the prophet goes on to wallow in Israel’s
worthlessness a little longer. They are
like leaves, which are blown away by the wind of their sin and iniquity. Here the very real consequences of Israel’s
unfaithfulness come to the forefront.
They have no one else to blame but their own sinfulness. At the same time, however, they acknowledge
that their sinfulness has caused God to hide his face from them. God has given them over to their sins and
iniquities and therefore they have no strength or even right to call on the
name of God. Without some intervention
by the hand of God, Israel’s existence will be in the hands of the political
powers of the day, powers who care nothing for her or her place as God’s chosen
people.
The deep longing and sorrow of verses 1-7 are not the end of
the story. The “yet” of verse 8 proves
to be a turning point toward a great hope that God will act on Israel’s behalf
as he has done before. “Yet, O Lord, you
are our Father…” The emphasis on the divine action located in the divine “you”
of verses 1-5 are met with the communal confessions located in the human “we”
of the second half of verse 5-7 are combined.
Israel confesses and seeks to remind God that he is their Father. The powerful “you,” God, is the one who
created and has sustained the “we.”
Indeed, there cannot be a “we” without the divine “you.”
This sentiment is carried through the next few verses. Israel confesses that it is like clay,
needing to be shaped, (or rather, reshaped!), into something useful. The only one that can do the shaping is the
potter. The cry is issued for God to
remember that it was he who crafted Israel into the people of God, the work of
his good and strong hands. Israel, in
her conflicted and multi-vocal state, reminds God that all of us are the work
of God’s hands.
So
What?
Our journey toward Advent has led us to an encounter with
several passages from Matthew’s Gospel that have called us to be prepared for
the coming of Jesus. The focus of those
passages have been eschatological, or having to do with Jesus’ second
coming. As we enter into Advent we are
called again, in a new way, to ensure that we are prepared for Christ’s
coming. Only, during this time of the
year, we focus not only on Jesus’ second coming, but on his first coming. It seems that the need for being properly
prepared for Jesus’ first coming is about as important as the need to be
prepared for Jesus’ second coming.
This passage from Isaiah 64 can be read both ways, one with
an eye toward Christ’s birth at Christmas, and one with an eye toward Jesus’
second coming. What I think this passage
highlights is a pattern that we often experience personally, during times of
failure and unfaithfulness, and communally, during times of crisis or disaster.
Personally, when we have sinned or been unfaithful in our
relationship with God and others, we experience this profound sense of
hopelessness and loneliness. We begin to
experience the crushing natural consequences of our sin and iniquity and it
leads us to despair. Then, the Holy
Spirit reminds us of who we are and how we should be. We engage in lament, calling on God to act
definitively in our broken situation.
Even though our situation is of our own making, we desire to see God
break forth in our lives in such a way that would dispel the darkness and
throwback our adversaries. We remember
God’s mighty deeds in the past and ask that he would work so again. In the end, we remember that our only chance
for survival is God’s action, even though we have been in our sin a long
time. We question if even we can be
saved. Then, we are urged to remind God
that we would not exist if not for his creative hand. We do this not so much
because God needs to be reminded, but because this is the pattern for Israel’s
(and ours!) movement toward confession and restoration. Finally, we must wait, wait for God to
act.
Communally, we move through the same pattern when we are
confronted with some great tragedy or corporate sin. Our brokenness leads us to despair and long
for God to intervene in a powerful way.
We confess our sin. We recognize
the transient nature of life, how we fade like grass and leaves. But then we remember, and remind God that he
has called us to be the people of God, the church, his hands and feet. We remind God that he has brought us together
for a purpose, to do his will and work in our very broken world. Finally, we must wait, wait for God to act.
God is calling us to be prepared for his coming, both now at
Christmas and in the future when he comes again. Our preparedness, however, cannot be full and
final unless we remember that we need to be made whole again. So, as we begin this journey toward Christmas,
let us, as a community, lament our brokenness, confess how are sinfulness
jeopardizes our very existence and then call on our Father in heaven to
remember us, the people he has shaped with his own hand.
For, at the end of the day, our preparedness depends on
God’s divine hand shaping and reshaping us into his image. At times it feels as if we have been in our
sins a long time, neither hearing God’s voice nor seeing God work in our lives
or the lives of those around us. Isaiah
reminds us that God will not leave us in our brokenness and sin, but will come,
and come again so that we might once again be the people God has called us to
be. May we allow God, through the work
of the Holy Spirit, to shape and reshape us so that we are fully prepared for
our coming king.
Critical
Discussion Questions:
1. How does this text reveal to us the
nature and character of God/What is God doing in this text?
a. God,
in this text, is absent. Because of the
sins of the people God has withdrawn his presence from Israel. God is absent because the people have chosen
repeatedly to trust in anything other than God.
There comes a point when God gives us over to what we want, even when
what we want is not him.
b. Israel,
for her part, believes that the character of God is such that God will not
totally leave Israel to fend for herself.
This leads to a latent hope that God will break forth into Israel’s
desperate situation. God will work, but
first we must wait.
2. What
does holiness/salvation look like in this text?
a. Our
salvation and our being made holy are contingent on our recognition that we
have been in our sin a long time and that we have no ability to remove our
selves from it. Any movement toward
Christ-likeness begins with us realizing that we are not God, and as such,
cannot save ourselves.
b. We
also must wait with hope and longing to be shaped and reshaped by the hand of
God. This is not a passive waiting. It is an active waiting in which we seek to
attend to the means of grace. We worship
and serve together. We fellowship
together. We receive the Lord’s Supper
together. Through these things we begin
to prepare our hearts for the Spirit’s transforming work in us.
3. How
does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
a. As
we approach Christmas we are called to examine our own place in relation to our
coming king. We are called to confess
that unless God breaks forth into our reality, we cannot live.
Specific
Discussion Questions:
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself
quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were
very unfamiliar with the story.
1. Recount
a time when it felt as if God was very far away. What were your thoughts and feelings as you
longed for God to make himself known in that situation?
2. In
the context of our community of faith, what might it look like for God to “tear
open the heavens and come down so that the mountains would quake at your
presence?” (Verse 1)
3. As
a group, spend some time recounting the awesome deeds that God has done. How, specifically, has God worked in our
community of faith in the past?
4. From
what kind of situations have you wondered if you could be saved?
5. Verse
8 declares that God is our Father, the potter who has shaped us. What are some of the concrete ways in which
God has shaped us as a community of faith?
6. What
does it mean to be the work of God’s hands here in our local community?
7. How
does this passage help us be prepared for Christ’s coming at Christmas?
[1] Elizabeth Rice Achtemeier, The
Community and Message of Isaiah 56-66: A Theological Commentary
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Pub. House, 1982), 16.
[2] John D. W. Watts, Word Biblical
Commentary Vol. 25, Isaiah 34-66 (watts), 420pp (Waco: Thomas Nelson,
1987), 308.
[3] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old
Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
