The Makers and Teachers of Judaism / From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Herod the Great

by Charles Foster Kent

Section XCVI. ISRAEL'S TRAINING AND DESTINY

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:1, 2]
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and declare to her,
That her hard service is accomplished, her guilt is expiated
That she hath received from Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:3, 4]
A voice is proclaiming: In the wilderness prepare the way of Jehovah,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
Let every mountain and hill sink down, and every valley be lifted up,
And the crooked be made straight and the rough ridges a plain.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:6-8]
A voice is saying, Proclaim! and I said, What shall I proclaim?
All flesh is grass and all its beauty like a flower of the field.
Grass withers, flower fades, when Jehovah's breath blows eternal upon it,
Grass withers, flower fades, but the word of our God endureth forever.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:9]
To a high mountain, get thee up, Zion's herald of good news;
Lift up mightily thy voice, Jerusalem's herald of good news.
Lift up fearlessly, say to the cities of Judah: Behold your God!

[Sidenote: Isa 40:10, 11]
Behold, Jehovah cometh in might, and his arm is maintaining his rule;
Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense is before him,
As a shepherd he will tend his flock, with his arm he will gather it,
The lambs in his bosom he will bear, the ewe-mothers he will lead.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:12]
Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters,
And ruled off the heavens with a span,
Or enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
And weighed the mountains in scales,
And the hills in a balance?

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:13, 14]
Who hath determined the spirit of Jehovah,
And as his counsellor advised him?
With whom hath he consulted for enlightenment,
And to be instructed in the right,
And to be shown the way of discernment?

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:16, 17]
Lo the nations! as a drop from a bucket,
And as dust on a balance are they reckoned.
Lo the isles! as a mote he uplifteth,
And Lebanon is not enough for fuel,
And its wild beasts for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
They are reckoned by him as void and nothingness.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:18-20]
To whom then will ye liken God,
And what likeness place beside him?
An image! a craftsman cast it,
And a smelter o'erlays it with gold.
He who is too poor to do this
Chooses a tree that is not decayed,
Seeks for himself a skilled craftsman,
To set up an image that shall not totter.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:21, 22]
Do ye not know? Do ye not hear?
Hath it not been told you from the beginning?
Have ye not been aware from the founding of the earth?
It is he who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
And its inhabitants are as locusts;
Who stretcheth out the heavens as a thin veil,
And spreadeth them out like a habitable tent.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:23, 24]
It is he who bringeth princes to naught,
The rulers of the earth he maketh as waste.
Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely hath the stock taken root in the earth,
But he bloweth upon them and they wither,
And a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:25, 26]
To whom then will ye liken me
That I should equal him? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who hath created these?
He who bringeth forth their host by number,
And calleth each by his name;
Of the many mighty and strong,
Not one is missing.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:27-31]
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel:
My way is hid from Jehovah
And my right is unnoticed by my God?
Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard?
An everlasting God is Jehovah.
The creator of the ends of the earth.
He fainteth not, neither is weary,
His wisdom cannot be fathomed,
He giveth vigor to the fainting,
And upon the powerless he lavisheth strength.
Young men may faint and grow weary,
And the strongest youths may stumble,
But they who trust in Jehovah renew their vigor,
They mount on pinions like eagles,
They run but are never weary,
They walk but never faint.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:1-4]
Listen to me in silence, ye coastlands,
Let the peoples come near; then let them speak;
Together let us approach the tribunal.
Who raised up that one from the east
Whose steps victory ever attended,
Giving up peoples before him,
And letting him trample down kings?
His sword made them as dust,
And his bow like driven stubble;
He pursued them, passing on in safety,
Not treading the path with his feet.
Who hath wrought and accomplished this?
He who called the generations from the beginning,
I, Jehovah, who am the first,
And with those who come after I am the same.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:8-10]
And thou, Israel, my servant
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
Offspring of Abraham, my friend,
Thou, whom I brought from the ends of the earth,
And called from its most distant parts;
To whom I said, Thou art my servant,
I have chosen and have not rejected thee.
Fear not, for I, indeed, am with thee,
Be not terrified, for I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
Yea, I will uphold thee with my righteous hand.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:1]
Behold, my servant whom I uphold,
My chosen, in whom I take delight;
I have put my spirit upon him,
That he may set forth law to the nations.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:2-3b]
He will not cry aloud nor roar,
Nor let his voice be heard in the street.
A crushed reed he will not break,
And a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:3c-4]
Faithfully will he set forth law;
He will not lose vigor nor be crushed,
Until he establish law in the earth,
And for his teaching the coastlands are waiting.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:5-7]
Thus saith the one God, Jehovah,
He who spread out the heavens and stretched them forth,
Who created the earth and its products,
Who giveth breath to the people upon it,
And spirit to those who walk upon it:
I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness,
I have taken thee by the hand and kept thee,
I have made thee a pledge to the people, a light to the nations,
To open eyes that are blind,
To bring captives out from confinement,
From the prison house dwellers in darkness.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:13-50]
Ye who are deaf hear,
And ye blind look up that ye may see,
Who is blind but my servants,
deaf as their rulers?
Much have ye seen, without observing it,
Though your ears were open, ye did not hear.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:21, 22]
Jehovah was pleased for his righteousness' sake
To make his teaching great and glorious,
Yet it is a people spoiled and plundered,
They are all snared in holes,
And hidden in prison houses,
They have become a spoil, with none to rescue,
An object of plunder, with none to say, Restore.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:23-25]
Who among you will give ear to this,
Will attend and hear for time to come?
Who gave up Jacob to plunderers,
And Israel to those who spoiled him,
And poured out upon him the heat of his anger,
And his violence like a flame,
So that it scorched him round about, but he knew it not,
And it burned him, but he laid it not to heart?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:1-2]
And now thus saith Jehovah,
He who created thee, O Jacob, and formed thee,
Fear not, O Israel, for I redeem thee,
I call thee by name, thou art mine.
When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee,
Through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;
When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched,
Neither shall the flame burn thee.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:3, 4]
For I, Jehovah, am thy God.
I, Israel's Holy One, am thy deliverer;
I give Egypt as thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Because thou art precious in mine eyes,
Art honored and I love thee,
I will give lands in thy stead,
And peoples for the sake of thy life.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:5-7]
Fear not for I am with thee,
From the east I will bring thine offspring,
And from the west I will gather thee;
I will say to the north, Give up!
And to the south, Withhold not!
Bring my sons from afar,
And my daughters from the ends of the earth,
Every one who is called by my name,
Whom for my glory I have created and formed.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:10, 11]
Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle,
And my servants whom I have chosen,
That ye may acknowledge and believe me,
And that ye may perceive that I am ever the same,
Before me no God was formed,
Nor shall there be after me,
I, even I, am Jehovah,
And beside me there is no deliverer.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:12, 13]
It was I who announced and brought deliverance,
And I declared, and there was no strange god among you,
Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle,
I am God, yea, from henceforth the same;
And there is none who can snatch from my hand,
When I work, who can reverse it?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:14, 15]
Thus saith Jehovah,
Your redeemer, Israel's Holy One,
For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And have brought them all down as fugitives.
Even the Chaldeans with their piercing cries of lamentation,
It is I, Jehovah, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:22-24]
But thou, O Jacob, hast not called upon me,
Nor hast thou wearied thyself about me, O Israel;
Thou hast not brought me the sheep of thy burnt-offerings,
Nor honored me with thy sacrifices.
With offerings I have not burdened thee,
Nor with incense wearied thee.
Thou broughtest me no sweet cane with thy money,
Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices sated me.
Rather thou hast only burdened me with thy sins,
And wearied me with thine iniquities.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:25-28]
But it is I alone who blot out thy transgressions,
And I do not remember thy sins.
Remind me, let us plead together,
Do thou set forth the matter that thou mayest be justified:
Thy first father sinned,
And thy mediators rebelled against me.
Thy rulers profaned my sanctuary,
And I gave up Jacob to the ban,
And Israel to revilings!

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:1-3b]
But now hear, O Jacob, my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen;
Thus saith Jehovah, thy maker,
Even he who formed thee from the womb, who helpeth thee:
Fear not, my servant Jacob,
And thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen;
For I will pour water upon the thirsty land
And streams upon the dry ground.

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:3c-5]
I will pour out my spirit upon thy children,
And my blessing upon thy descendants,
So that they shall spring up as grass in the midst of waters,
As willows by water-courses.
One shall say, "I am Jehovah's,"
And another shall call himself, "Jacob,"
And another will inscribe on his hand, "Jehovah's,"
And receive the surname, "Israel."'

I. The Seventy Years Following the Rebuilding of the Temple. Regarding the seventy years which intervened between the rebuilding of the temple in 516 B.C. and the appearance of Nehemiah in 445 the biblical historians are silent. This silence is probably because there were no important political events in the life of the Judean community to be recorded. During the latter part of his reign Darius bridged the Hellespont and undertook the conquest of the western world. Later, under the reign of his son Xerxes, the mighty hordes of eastern warriors were turned back, and the growing weakness of the great Persian Empire was revealed. In 486 Egypt rebelled, and Persian armies marched along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, probably levying heavy taxes for their support upon the Jews as well as upon the other peoples of Palestine. The suppression of the rebellion in Egypt illustrated how impossible it was for any of the eastern peoples to withstand even the decadent power of the Persian Empire.

In Palestine the Jews were still the prey of their hostile neighbors. No walls protected the temple and city of Jerusalem. The Jews were probably ground down under their greedy Persian governors. With the disappearance of Zerubbabel the local control fell naturally into the hands of the high priest and his followers, whose civil authority from this time on constantly increased. The words of II Isaiah well describe the lot of the Jews of Palestine during this period:

It is a people spoiled and plundered,
They are all snared in holes,
And hidden in prison houses.
They have become a spoil,
With none to rescue,
An object of plunder,
With none to say, Restore.

II. Spiritual Forces in Judaism. The political horizon furnished little to inspire the disappointed and persecuted Jews. Their eyes were still blinded by the brilliant hopes that had stirred them at the time when the temple was rebuilt. The quenching of these hopes had left them in deeper darkness than before. There seemed no rift in the clouds that overshadowed them. Even their priestly rulers were selfish and inconsiderate. For the faithful few who rose above the discouragements and obstacles that confronted them, however, this period of deepest gloom was lighted by a faith that shines through and glorifies most of the later books of the Old Testament. From the psalms and prophecies of the period it is evident that there were a few who in the midst of these discouraging circumstances found peace and joy. As they meditated upon the experiences of their race, and read and pondered the writings of the earlier prophets, they began to appreciate not only the real significance of their past history but the meaning of the present affliction. The chief spokesman of these immortal heroes of the faith was the prophetic author of Isaiah 40-66.

III. Evidences That Isaiah 40-66 were Written in Palestine. Only recently have careful students of Isaiah 40-66 begun to realize that the point of view in all of these chapters is not distant Babylon but Jerusalem. The repeated references in chapter 56 and following to conditions in Jerusalem have led all to recognize their Palestinian origin. The evidence, however, regarding chapters 40-55 is almost equally convincing. The vocabulary and literary figures employed throughout are those peculiar to the agricultural life of Palestine and not to the commercial civilization of Babylon. The problems also are those of the Judean community. The class to whom the prophet addresses his messages is evidently the same as that to which Haggai and Zechariah speak. Jerusalem, not a Jewish colony in Babylon, is the constant object of the prophet's appeal. Babylon is only one of the distant lands of the dispersion. It is from Jerusalem that the prophet ever views the world. Thus in 43:5,6 he declares in the name of Jehovah:

Fear not, for I am with thee.
From the east I will bring thine offspring,
And from the west I will gather them;
I will say to the north, Give up!
And to the south, Withhold not!
Bring my sons from afar,
And my daughters from the ends of the earth.

Interpreted in the light of their true geographical setting, these
Prophecies gain at once a new and clearer meaning.

IV. Their Probable Date. The reference in 43:23, 24 to the offerings brought by the people to Jehovah's temple clearly implies that it had already been built. Furthermore, the charges preferred against the Judean community are very similar to those in the book of Malachi, which is generally assigned to the period immediately preceding the arrival of Nehemiah in 445 B.C. (cf. Section XCVII). From the parallels in chapter 48 and elsewhere it is evident that Jehovah's Messiah in 45:1 is not Cyrus but Israel, the messianic nation, to which Jehovah in earlier days under David and his successors gave repeated victories and far-extended authority. The presence of the name Cyrus seems without reasonable doubt to be due to a later scribe, who thus incorrectly identified the allusion. It is supported neither by the metrical structure nor the context of the passages in which it is found. Furthermore, the ideas in Isaiah 40-55 are almost without exception those which Zechariah had already voiced in germinal form, especially in his latest prophecies preserved in chapters 7 and 8. They are here more fully and far more gloriously expanded, indicating that their author lived perhaps a generation later than Zechariah. The years between 500 and 450 furnish the most satisfactory setting for these prophecies. In a very true sense, however, like many of the psalms, they are timeless. The question of their exact date is comparatively unimportant except as it throws light upon their interpretation.

V. Their Literary Characteristics. The prophecies in Isaiah 40-66 are psalms, sharing the characteristics of all lyric Hebrew poetry. Each is complete in itself and yet closely related to the others both in content and literary form. Their nobility of theme, their breadth of outlook, their wealth of rich and glowing figures, and their finished literary character give them an incontestable place among the greatest writings of the Old Testament. While there is a powerful argument running through them all, the logic is not cumulative but rather moves in a spiral, frequently returning to the same subject but having a gradual onward movement. It is the characteristic Oriental method of thinking, which is the opposite of that of the Western world. These poems are grouped into three cycles which apparently represent the prophet's thinking during succeeding periods. The first cycle is included in 40-48. Chapter 48 is a recapitulation of the thought of the preceding, and furnishes a natural conclusion to the first collection. The second group is in 49-55. The note of suffering is here more prominent, and the portrait of the ideal type of servant which Jehovah desires in order to realize his purpose in human history is developed in greater detail (cf. Section XCIX). The third group, in 56-66, is by many assigned to another prophet and to a much later period. While the general theme of the group is different and implies a somewhat changed historical background, the characteristic ideas and literary forms of 40-55 also recur here. From the study of Israel's past and future the prophet turns to the closer consideration of the problems in Palestine. The historical allusions are for the most part in accord with the conditions which Nehemiah found in Jerusalem in 445 B.C.

VI. Their Theme and Purpose. The poems deal with one theme, the destiny of the chosen people. The prophet first reviews their past history to illustrate Jehovah's purpose that was being realized through Israel. He notes the different ways in which Jehovah had trained and prepared them for their great task. In the light of the new situation and his enlarged acquaintance with the world the prophet then proceeds to define the task that awaits his people. While he does not break entirely away from the popular expectation that the scattered exiles would yet be restored to Jerusalem to participate in the universal kingdom that was there to be established, he fully appreciates the larger significance of Israel's mission. He recognizes that it is worldwide. He sees that the Jewish race is called not merely to receive honors and material blessings but also to serve suffering and needy mankind. The disappointments and afflictions through which it is passing are but a part of the divine training for that nobler spiritual service. The servant Israel is called to be a witness to all the nations, faithfully to set forth Jehovah's teachings until his law is established in all the earth. Thus the prophet interprets Israel's past, present, and future in its vital relation to the universal life of humanity, and declares that Israel is destined to be a prophet nation and to reveal Jehovah's character to all mankind.

VII. Reasons Why Jehovah Will Restore His People. The prophet opens with a declaration that Jerusalem's period of forced service is over, that she has paid double for the sins of the past, and that Jehovah is about to remove all obstacles and restore and exalt his oppressed people. He then gives the reasons for his strong conviction: (1) Jehovah is incomparably superior to the forces of nature, to the nations that hold Israel in bondage, and to the heathen gods whose images are shaped by the hand of man. All the powers of heaven and earth are under his control. He is the creator and supreme ruler of the universe, able to remove all obstacles and to give strength and might to those who put their trust in him. (2) Through his leadership of his people in the past, through their victories over their powerful foes, and in all the experiences of their national life he has shown his power to guide and deliver. (3) Toward Israel, his servant, he stands in a unique relation, for he has chosen and trained his people for a great service in behalf of all the world. Therefore he who is able and eager to deliver will not fail his people in their hour of need. (4) Their present affliction is but a part of that training which is essential before they can perform their task as Jehovah's servant; that task is tenderly to espouse the cause of those who are crushed, to open eyes that are blind, to bring captives out of their confinement, and, as a faithful teacher, to inspire all mankind with love for Israel's God.

The prophet's aim was clearly to encourage his despondent people, to show them the deeper meaning of their present afflictions, to open their eyes to Jehovah's gracious purpose, to give to the entire race a goal for which to live and strive, and, above all, to arouse them to effective action. Doubtless the prophet thought only of the problems of the men of his day, but in his interpretation of Jehovah's worldwide purpose and in the faith and devotion which his words inspire he gave to all mankind a universal, undying message.