Isaiah's Servant As A Nation

Dear Dean,

I am so glad that you are curious about and interested in knowing what I learn from my school regarding “Isaiah’s Servant.”  I am writing this letter to tell you what this servant is and does based on the Hebrew Bible and the course materials I have from my class.

The book of Isaiah is compiled by at least three prophets. It is divided into three sections. The first part (chapters 1-39) is attributed to Isaiah the prophet in the latter half of the eighth century; the second part or Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55) consists of sayings by a prophet near the end of the exile; the last part (chapters 56-66) was contributed by one or more prophets in the postexilic period. (Stanley, 433). However, I am going to focus on the second part where we will be looking at the “servant” in question. 

In this Isaiah, we see that there are four servant songs or poems in this second part of Isaiah as follows: 1. Justice brought to the nations by God’s chosen (42:1-6); 2. God’s servant as light to nations (49:1-6); 3. God’s servant exposed to being physically abused (50:4-9); 4. The suffering servant of God (53).

According to Bandstra, the servant here is an enigmatic figure, and nobody has an exact way of interpreting this figure. Therefore, we have different interpretations of Isaiah’s servant. Some suggest that the servant implies Israel, God’s chosen people; some say it represents a group of people that could be the people of Judah or Christians; some go further to interpret it as the promised Messiah Jesus Christ; others guess it could be an actual individual that fits the frame of the story, and we know that prophets in Israel were called servants by the Lord, for instance, “my servant” or “the servant of the Lord” (Bandstra, 350-351). 

In my opinion, I believe the servant in Isaiah 40-55 is Israel itself. If God called Jacob (Israel) his servant, he owned him and thus owned Jacob’s offspring, the nation of Israel. Then calling Israel as a nation God’s servant is understandable. There is nothing wrong with this. When the Lord calls Jacob, Israel as in “listen to me, O Jacob,  and Israel, whom I called”  (48:12) or similar quotes from Isaiah 44:1, 21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3, he doesn’t mean Jacob son of Isaac, but his offspring since Jacob is already dead or no longer exists; thus, it must be the people of Israel. The Lord’s servant is Israel as a nation for sure. In the first poem, Israel as the servant of the Lord is supposed to bring justice to the nations. In the second poem, Israel is called by God to be a light to the world. The third poem describes how the servant was physically abused during his mission. The fourth poem, it has been observed as the suffering servant of the Lord in the third person, "For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of My people, He was stricken..." (53:8). Rabbi Tovia Singer points out it is spoken of in the third person plural לָמוֹ (lamo) indicating that the servant is surely a nation rather than just a person (Singer, Who is God’s Suffering Servant? The Rabbinic Interpretation of Isaiah 53).

I agree with the prevailing rabbinic interpretation of Second Isaiah’s servant ascribed to the nation of Israel. In Isaiah 53, the suffering servant silently endured the unimaginable infliction at the hands of the gentile nations. Even the prominent and influent church father Origen in 248 B.C.E. also acknowledged that Isaiah 53 referred to the whole Jewish people recognized as one individual. According to Rabbi Tovia Singer, this point of view is supported by most Jewish and some Christian commentators (Singer, Who is God’s Suffering Servant? The Rabbinic Interpretation of Isaiah 53).

In his book, Stanley argues that all the prophecies of God’s judgment and promise of the return of exilic people to the land of Judah serve his purpose that other nations would recognize Yahweh as the God of Israel and only true God of the universe. Israel serves as God’s servant for the sake of the nations as in the covenant made between Yahweh and Abraham the first forefather of Israel (Genesis 17:1-8). Later, Israel also came into the Mosaic law covenant with the Lord, in which they will be cursed or bless (humiliated or glorified). In Second Isaiah, it is believed that the exile took place as a penalty for the sin of his servant Israel (42:21-25; 43:22-28; 47:6-7; 50:1-2). But Yahweh puts an end to their punishment because his plan or intention for them not to be harmed or destroyed but to prosper and be exalted for his own glory. Like the prophet Jeremiah, Isaiah has a prophetic message of bad news (judgment of doom) as well as good news (promise of hope) for the people of Judah. Second Isaiah presents that Yahweh controls all the nations, not just Israel his servant. He has his servant lead other nations to recognize Yahweh as the one true God of the universe. His servant has to go through all the suffering to carry his mission. Yahweh has the power and authority to maneuver kings and armies to fulfill his plan (40:21-24; 41:2-4, 25) as he sends Babylonian armies to invade Judah and then brings them down by the hand of Cyrus the Persian king (43:14; 44:28 – 45:7; 47:1-15; 48:14, 20). He wants his chosen people as a faithful servant to share with other nations about him so they will come to acknowledge Yahweh as well. In the same manner, the exiles (still as his servant) are supposed to speak with confidence to other nations about the goodness and greatness of their God instead of fearfulness because of their minority. If they obey to serve for Yahweh purpose, through their punishment, salvation will come to the nations (Stanley, 462-464).

Dean, I think it is enough for now concerning the subject of Isaiah’s Servant, and hope you might have sufficient understanding and knowledge of who that servant is. Please refer to all the quotes and citations of sources for your further study later. I also hope you enjoy reading my long letter. Thank you very much for your interest and patience.

Blessings,

Daniel

* Bibliography:

Bandstra, Barry. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008.
Harper Collins. The Study Bible. Harper New York, NY: Collins Publishing,2006.
Stanley, Christopher. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2009.
Singer, Tovia. Who is God’s Suffering Servant? The Rabbinic Interpretation of Isaiah 53. https://outreachjudaism.org/gods-suffering-servant-isaiah-53/

Jeremiah--the Prophet of "Doom" and "Hope"

 Jeremiah was the prophet belonging to a priestly family from Anathoth (1:1). He went in opposition to the mainstream prophetic circle in speaking against the favor of the kings and the kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was a unique prophet. Josiah was regarded as the best King of Judah, who wholeheartedly feared and faithfully served God. No one would expect something bad to happen to his kingdom. He endorsed the reform of Yahwehism in Judah until his death in 609 (Bandstra, 325). Then everything changed when his son Johoiakim succeeded him. Therefore, when Jeremiah spoke the message from the Lord for Judah, nobody wanted to hear and reacted to him and his message in a very hostile and upset way. But the Lord promised to be on his side protecting him from the attack of the king and people of Judah (1:18-19).

Jeremiah’s message contains prophesies of both “doom” and “hope” for the people of Judah (Stanley, p. 448). “Doom” because the people of Judah will have to face Yahweh’s punishment for their unfaithfulness against the Lord their God—they turn away from the Lord as to worship idols and other gods and they have done a lot of social injustices to the poor and needy in their land (Stanley, p. 447). “Hope” because Yahweh will remember his covenant made with their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he promises to restore them to their land and renew his covenant and make a new one with them found in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Bandstra, p. 333).

Jeremiah speaks against the people of Judah for their sins of idolatry and social injustices which are displeasing to the Lord (1:16). They will have to face consequences for their transgressions. The Lord is going to judge them heavily. Foreign armies are going to be sent to their land to punish them (1:14-15; 4:27). They will be driven out of his sight from Jerusalem, implying to their exile (7:15); People will be killed and the streets of their holy city will be quiet and abandoned, and the land will become a waste (7:32-34). They will fall into the darkness of their path and disaster will come upon them (23:12). The wrath of the Lord will not cease to burst upon the wicked’s head until he completes his plan (23:19-20).

However, Jeremiah believes that the Lord will forgive his people and give them hope after all of the judgements and punishments he has brought upon Judah. Jeremiah insists that the Lord’s intention is to humble the people of Judah, not to destroy them so they will repent and renew their vow and commitment to his covenant (Stanley, p. 448). Jeremiah prophesies the joyful return of the exiles though after a period of time of disaster and calamity. Out of his everlasting love and his faithfulness to his people, the Lord promises that the remnant will come back to Judah and he will “raise up a for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (23:5 NRSV). He will build them back up; they will see no more mourning, sadness and helplessness, but will be dancing for joy and hope and peace (31:1-6). He will gather and bring them back to their land from the north and all parts of the earth. He will fully restore them (31:16-17). He also assures that Jerusalem will be rebuilt and enlarged and it will not be destroyed again (31:38-40). Interestingly enough, Jeremiah buys a piece of land from his cousin with his own money (seventeen shekels of silver) during the time Jerusalem is under the Babylonian siege (32:2,9). This indicates that Jeremiah obeys God and believes in his promise of restoration of his people, especially of Jerusalem– their most holy city. Verse 15 of chapter 32 again guarantees the return and the restoration of the people of Judah to its core. 

If I am to preach, I will preach both “doom” and “hope” message because this is a balance way to help people understand their real circumstances in which they could see that they need help from God to get out and God would be presented in a timely way to rescue them and also restore them to their fullness. I think this is a good message. But people just do not want to hear the first part (the “doom”), and they just want to listen to the better part (the “hope”).

*   Bibliography:

Stanley, Christopher D. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis (Fortress Press, 2009)

Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (4th edition, 2009)

W5 - Make#1

Amos was one of the only two prophets who prophesied over the northern kingdom of Israel. Unlike Hosea his contemporary, Amos was from southern kingdom of Judah. He was called to go north to declare the message of God to Israel (Amos 1:7; 7:14) sometime between 760 and 750 BCE (Bandstra, p. 288). The message concerns social justice in Israel, where a lot of injustices and corruptions are found in the midst of its society.

What does Amos say is wrong with Israelite society? 

The northern kingdom of Israel was having a good time of peace and prosperity in about the middle of the eighth century under the strong and capable kingship of Jeroboam II. However, Amos points out that an awful scene in Israelite society is the economic problem: the gap between the rich and the poor is getting much wider–the rich are becoming richer, the poor poorer. He also denounces that rich people live luxurious and comfortable lives and do not pay attention to the poor and the needy at all (5:10; 6:1,4-6). It is even worse that some of them abuse the poor for their financial gain; inhumanely they trade them as cheap commodity and treat them as animals (2:6-7; 5:11; 8:4,6). They violate the moral codes and defile the house of their God (2:7-8). They oppress and humiliate men of God by force (2:12). Money is more important than justice as bribery and corruption are a common practice to gain and grant favor in the ruling of unjust judges (5:12). (Stanley, 429)

In addition, the heart of the problem is a deeper spiritual illness. According to Amos, the wealthy do not really respect the covenant relationship between the Lord and Israel. They just diminish it to merely the proper observance of public rituals (Stanley, 429) and opportunities for their own financial gain by practicing deceit with false balances in selling grain and wheat to pilgrims on the occasions of the Lord’s festivals and Sabbaths (8:5-6). They do not really care about the Lord, their spiritual life or their relationship with him. Amos rebukes them for just being faithful in enjoying the feasts and happy songs instead of mourning and lamentation for their spiritual predicament (8:10). With the message of the Lord, he warns them of their current ungodly status as a famine in which they are hungry not for bread, and a thirst, in which they are thirsty not for water, “but of hearing the words of the Lord” (8:11).

What will happen to the people of Israel if they don’t change their ways? 

Like the rich in every generation, Israel’s elites do not want to listen to this kind of message, which challenges their way of making money and having lives of luxury and ease. It also warns them if they don’t change their ways, they will be facing destruction. Amos prophesies over their future with the Lord’s words. The God of hosts will finally send foreign forces to invade their land and wipe out their armies, and their strong and mighty men will have to flee for their lives without anything in their possession (2:14-16). There will be mourning and wailing in the squares, in the streets and in the vineyards of the land (5:16-17). The enemy will pull down their custom luxury houses, where they shall not live (5:11), destroy their temples, slaughter the people (9:1), and bring their luxurious and comfortable lifestyle to an end (6:7). There will be no avenue for them to escape neither the world beneath nor heaven above, neither mountain nor sea (9:2-3). They will try to flee, but they will be caught and brought back to justice before the Lord–a kind of “You can run but you can’t hide” game. The survivors of this coming onslaught will be deported in disgrace and shame into exile in foreign land and will no longer enjoy the revelry of the loungers and will be killed with the sword (6:7; 9:4). The consequences for their transgressions will be too much to bear if they don’t repent. (Stanley, 430).

Is there anything that they can do to avoid this fate?

Amidst all these prophetic warnings, however, there is still hope for Israel when Amos is able to urge his audience to seek good instead of evil so that they may live and to affirm the possibility that the Lord will be gracious to Joseph’s remnant (5:14-15). If they turn away from their self-indulgent lifestyle and go back to the Lord with repentance by creating and developing a just and fair society to all, changing their treatment towards the poor and needy, they will live and be able to avoid destruction and all the consequences. The answer lies within their hearts and actions whether or not they wish to change for the better–“hate evil and love good”–and respect the God of Israel and his covenant with them; they will see the Lord's mercy upon them and their doom will be avoided (Stanley, 430).

•  Bibliography:

Bandstra, Barry. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008.
Stanley, Christopher D. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009.