2 ISAIAH: the Woes

The last voice in the Assyrian time period is the voice of 2 Isaiah. (If you missed our post talking about the different voices of Isaiah, click here.) I hinted at this in the 1 Isaiah post, but it would serve us well to say it again: the dating of Isaiah and debate surrounding authorship is incredibly intense. In my experience, it is impossible to choose an option that I feel confident about. There are parts in 2 Isaiah and 3 Isaiah that refer to history which should take place in 1 Isaiah. There are references in 1 Isaiah that simply shouldn’t be there until well into 3 Isaiah. Is this all the work of a redactor? Is it simply the fortune-telling, future-determining prophecy I was taught about (a stand I am unwilling to take — it’s too illogical)? Was the entire work of Isaiah written much later, as if it was written during these different times (a good option to consider, backed up by respectable scholarship)?

All in all, I like to take these three voices and put them in these spots because of how it fits with the narrative. I just like to be up front about that as I make such a subjective move in my material. I invite you to join the wrestling match, but for now, let’s hear 2 Isaiah as an Assyrian prophet.

The message of 2 Isaiah is really straightforward. It is the prophetic message of WOE. In short, woe is intense sorrow and distress. The voice of 2 Isaiah pronounces times of sorrow and tribulation on, well, just about everybody he can think of. The bottom line of 2 Isaiah is that God isn’t happy with the way the world is operating. Everybody is out for their own good. Everyone is taking advantage of their neighbor. Nobody seems to be interested in the project of redemption.

And God will put a stop to it.

Because He loves this world too much to let selfish, greedy, powerful creatures like mankind hurt other mankind. God loves all His kids — just like I do. And there are moments when I raise my voice and pronounce woes (discipline) on my children. I declare that each of them will now be sitting in timeout so that we can restore order in the house. It reaches a point where it just doesn’t matter anymore who is more right or wrong. Everybody is seeking their own; everyone has gone astray.

And I’m putting an end to it.

“Get in time out! All of you!”

So 2 Isaiah brings woes to Babylon and Assyria, to Philistia, and Moab. God pronounces judgment on Damascus, Cush, and Egypt. He makes sure that Edom and Arabia get some attention before turning His attention toward His own people. Tyre gets what’s coming to it. In fact, in chapter 24, the “whole earth” is going to be cleansed of this chaos.

And then… a little glimmer of hope.

But the woes aren’t over: Ephraim; Jerusalem; an obstinate people who rely on Egypt for their security and trust in the story of Empire and chariots; the women of Jerusalem who oppress the poor; the Gentiles.

All of these find God’s discipline in the words of 2 Isaiah.

And I suppose now would be as good a time as any to mention how our class will sum up the period of the prophets (we are not done with the period of the prophets — only halfway through). We often refer to this period as a time of “warnings, woes, and hope”. God sends His prophets to issue warning of coming discipline if things don’t change. We know that these aren’t empty warnings, as Judah is able to repent and enjoy God’s protection and security. In short, the warning is not an empty gesture. Then, when God’s people refuse to heed the warning, they find themselves coming under woes. Finally, as the people of God experience His discipline, they are entrusted with messages of promise and restoration — and a chance to be part of a new tomorrow; they are given hope.

If you were to go back and look at that graph of the prophets, you could say (in an oversimplified sense) that the Pre-Assyrian and Assyrian time periods are God’s messengers of warning. The Assyrian and Babylonian time period will serve as God’s message of woe. And the Exilic time period will bring God’s message of hope.

The question we find ourselves wrestling with today is whether the voice of the prophets rings just as loud and as clear as it did for the people of Israel and Judah over 2,000 years ago. Voices like 2 Isaiah serve as invitations for us to realize just how seriously God takes this mission of justice and redemption. God was looking for partners and He had found one. That partner gave it all up to try to build their own empires. And God wanted to fulfill the covenant He had made with all of creation.

And so He invites us back. He invites us to t’shuvah. His invitation never ends. His insistence that creation is worth fighting for never wanes.

He will go to great lengths to convince us to join Him.

But the choice is ultimately yours.

And it will come down — on every level — to trust.