In the next of our series on the relevance of the message of the prophets for today, Fred Wright looks at Isaiah and his call for a return to the Word of God.
Isaiah ben Amoz, according to the superscription of the prophecies bearing his name, lived during the turbulent rule of three kings - four if we include the apostate Manasseh (whom in Rabbinic tradition had Isaiah put to death by being sawn asunder). His messages of warning, impending judgment, salvation and restoration are as relevant today as they were in the late 7th Century BC.
Time of Skewed Priorities
Uzziah's death around 742 BC seems to have had a remarkable effect on Isaiah and opened the way for his commissioning (Is 6:1). The death of Uzziah marked the end of a period of wealth, strength and glory, as the shadow of Assyrian aggression fell over the land. Materialism and self-interest had overshadowed spiritual considerations; the wealthy had dispossessed the poor and the venal nature of the courts meant that there was no redress (Is 5:8-10, 10:1-4, cf Micah 2:1f, 3:1-3).
The national religious leaders and the believing community had become so involved with themselves that they raised little or no protest, centring their thoughts only upon lavish ritual and a misguided belief that their assumed special position with God protected them from all external matters (Is 1:10-20, cf Micah 3:9-11).
Isaiah was commissioned at a time when materialism and self-interest had overshadowed spiritual considerations.
This mirrors the situation today within the believing Christian community; little is said about the plight of the poor within the nation and minimal attention is paid to the suffering church in real and concrete terms. What concern is being shown for the remnant in the Middle East, Libya and other persecuted areas today?
Modern Rebellions
At the present time there has been a dangerous shift of emphasis, especially among charismatics, to focus attention on personal 'felt needs' and pragmatism, rather than on the scriptures and on seeking the Lord in prayer and intercession.
Isaiah's initial complaint was that Israel did not know their own Lord (Is 1:2-3). Even two of the dumbest animals, the ox and the ass, are in a better position than the people. The ox rejoices in the knowledge of his master and even the donkey knows his place of security, comfort and nourishment.
The people, on the other hand, are in rebellion. Though they have received nourishment and been made great by the Lord (Heb = gadal has several applications, 'make great' being an appropriate use here), they have turned away. This begs the question, what in our modern context is rebellion?
There has been in a shift in the Church, especially among charismatics, towards personal 'felt needs' rather than the scriptures and seeking the Lord.
Departure from Scripture
One important manifestation of rebellion is a move away from the scriptures and their authority.
Similarly, today there is a departure from the scriptures, as seen in the ministry of some charismatic leaders, both in the UK and USA. The Old Testament is regarded by some as a record of divine revelation to Israel and therefore ipso facto located in time and space; likewise, the New Testament is regarded as revelation to the early Church. The scriptures are seen simply as a record of events that involved an interaction between God and man at a specific time. The consequences of such a viewpoint inevitably lead to deviant teaching.
When looking at any written sources one should always look for internal testimony. The scriptures quite clearly express their own divinely given authority. Two passages of special application are Luke 4:4, where Jesus refers to the Old Testament writings with the preamble "it is written", and in John 10:35, where he states bluntly that the scriptures cannot be broken, that is to say they have an eternal application.
Paul claimed divine authority for his own writings (1 Cor 2: 4, Rom 1:11) which was endorsed by Peter (2 Pet 3:15). As there was no canon of New Testament writing for the first believers, they drew their understanding from the Hebrew scriptures. It is interesting that the early Jerusalem church also continued in their Judaic practices.
One important manifestation of rebellion in the Church is the move away from Scripture and its authority.
Pathway to Error
The trend of departure from the scriptures was noted in the mid-1970s by the one-time vice-president of Fuller Theological Seminary, Harold Lindsell. Lindsell's two books, The Battle for the Bible (Zondervan, 1976) and The Bible in Balance (1979), sounded an early warning that some evangelicals and Pentecostals were departing from their traditional stance on the scriptures.
In Isaiah's time the drift away from the Lord and his instructions on worship and devotion, which were given by divine revelation through the law and the prophets, was typified by reliance on self, elaborate rituals and occult practice (Is 2:6, 8:17f). A move away from the scriptures today may lead believers into the same errors.
History and Experience
Christianity is both an historical and experiential faith. Historicity (or historical truth) enables our faith to be objective, in that it has sources that may be studied, researched, analysed, and tested. Without historicity we are left with subjectivity which centres around emotions, bias and experiences that may only be compared with similar experiences that have little or nothing to draw upon outside of the events themselves.
Wolfhart Pannenberg suggests that the history of Israel (and this may include the early church) consists of a series of special events "that communicate something special which could not be got out of other events. This special aspect is the event itself, not the attitude with which one confronts the event" (Revelation in History, p132, London, 1969). Following Pannenberg, we can suggest that, as the events of salvation fall into this category, and the scriptures are a record of these events, the casual attitude towards the scriptures exhibited in some charismatic circles can only lead to a lack of knowledge of God (Is 1:2).
There is little doubt that the church needs the prophetic revelation of the quality of Isaiah today and the full operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Austrian philosopher Freidrich Heer, writing in the late 1960s under the shadow of nuclear conflict, suggested that the Christian church had withdrawn from the historical process (God's First Love, London 1970). By this, Heer meant that the Church had chosen to concentrate upon its inner self rather than real and concrete events. In turn, this irresponsibility towards the Jew, the other person, and even the Christian was the ultimate cause of past catastrophes in human behaviour and might well be the cause of a final catastrophe in the future. By the historical process we mean events involving mankind, including current affairs.
The failure of the Church to stand for righteousness and justice, which establish the throne of God in a nation (Ps 97:2; Prov 16:12), is a direct cause of its ineffectiveness in missions both at home and overseas.
Lack of Theological Training
The inherent danger of a move away from the Bible is exacerbated by a lack of proper theological training of leaders and Bible study in some new independent churches. The move towards the pragmatic notion that 'if it works then it's OK', accompanied by practices that have no biblical foundation, inevitably leads to a man-created security and dependency upon experience rather than on God. The fact that something works does not mean that it is an initiative of the Lord.
At a recent Christian gathering it was suggested by an international speaker that there was now no real need for a full-time ministry as it was virtually redundant; the Holy Spirit was doing it all. The notion that teaching and intercession are of less importance than experiential gatherings leaves believers in a vulnerable position as they have no means of testing the spirit, neither will they be able to reach maturity.
Meaningless Worship
Isaiah lamented that the people were about to depart into exile because of their lack of knowledge (of the Lord) (Is 5:13 cf). In a similar way, the prophet brings the painful rebuke of the Lord (Is 1:10-20) that the people were involved in religious activity (worship) that was meaningless. The lives of the worshippers were making their offerings unacceptable. We may well ask ourselves today if our worship – regarded as a sacrifice of praise – is acceptable to God? What, in reality is being worshipped - God or an idea about God?
The failure of the Church to stand for righteousness and justice, which establish the throne of God in a nation, is a direct cause of its ineffectiveness in mission.
There is a lack of respect for God (in opposition to Ps 5:7; Prov 1:7, 8:13, 9:10, 14:27) which is so vividly illustrated in some worship meetings. It is alarming to realise that some leaders feel that they are in a position to elevate their opinions over those who wrote the scriptures under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16), especially those who were personally acquainted with Jesus!
With them, we find ourselves in a position where not only is our activity of worship unacceptable, it is despised by the Lord (Is 1:11). A convergent tension is that the worship service often centres around the event rather than the reason for the event; the worship and adoration of the Lord. Isaiah pleads with the people to walk by the light of the Lord as they have forsaken the ways of their own people. By the expression 'your people' is meant the people living under God's rule.
This call to return to the ways of the Lord rings powerfully in our ears today as we may observe all manner of alien practices finding their ways into Christian activities in similar manner to the tensions faced by Isaiah (2:6).
Leaders as Babes
Isaiah laments that the leaders were as babes (Is 3:12) which reflects the leadership situation in some circles today. The lack of theological training which we have already noted among charismatic leaders has caused a double tension.
First, there has been a move to pragmatism instead of working from a biblical base. Secondly, many leaders have expended their energies on management of resources and programmes that owe more to secular management studies and psychology than to theology and pastoral practice.
Professor Carson, in Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon, remarks that the diminishing authority of the scriptures reflects the 'anti-authoritarian' position generally taken in the Western world. The other side of the coin is that, within the circles of those who have departed from the scriptures whilst giving lip service to them, there has been a strong line taken on the authority of the leader and his opinions.
In much modern worship there is a lack of respect for God, and services often centre around the event itself, not the worship and adoration of the Lord.
Ways Out Offered
For every proclamation of impending disaster, the Lord spoke through the prophet to offer a way out, and continually points to repentance, restoration and redemption. Throughout the writings of the prophet the reiteration of the Lord's promises to David may be found. "Come now let us reason together" (NIV), or "reach an understanding" (JPS) declares the Lord (Is 1:18).
The loving call of the Lord echoes through the centuries to the believing community today. How can one enter into a meaningful dialogue with the Lord unless one has something more than an existential knowledge of what is assumed to be his power? A part of the current battle for the Bible is knowing the character of God.
Hope for Refining
When Isaiah received his commission (Is 6:1f) it was with the knowledge that he would need to be faithful as his message would be ignored (Is 6:9ff). The people were blind and deaf, suffering a wholesale deception that they were in some way inviolable.
Isaiah, throughout his long ministry, nourished a hope – often frustrated, that the calamities would be as refiner's fire from which a purified remnant would emerge who would put their trust in the Lord (Is 1:24-26, 10:20f). The unswerving dedication of Isaiah and the other prophets was due to their knowledge of the character of God. The question for the intercessor is what will God do at this time to refine his Church?
There is little doubt that the Church needs prophetic revelation of the quality of Isaiah today and the full operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The painful lesson to be gained from the prophecies of Isaiah is that there needs to be reliance on the revealed character of God, which can only be found through the scriptures and in prayer. Worshipping an idea about God can only lead to disaster.
Judah ignored the warnings and were taken into exile by the Babylonians in 587 BC, from whence came the lament "How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land" (Ps 137). Christians who leave the scriptures might well find themselves in a strange land, albeit the land in which they dwell.
First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 12 No 5, September 1996. Revised July 2016.
