John Russell

When I considered last week’s readings, I focused my comments on how the themes of each chapter would seem to veer from one extreme to another — Isaiah would write of the judgment of God falling on unfaithful Israel or its enemies in graphic, sensationalistic terms, with the next chapter suddenly shifting to a focus on God’s mercy, and how there was hope for the faithful remnant of God’s people. But here, after a brief pause for some narrative history in chapters 36-39, we find a complete change in tone and theme for the book of Isaiah.

Chapters 36-39 of Isaiah consist of a short series of historical narratives involving King Hezekiah of Judah. I am fascinated by the stories of the men who ruled Israel and Judah as kings, and Hezekiah’s story is very interesting and unique.

The thing that really strikes me about these 6 chapters of Isaiah is the abrupt shifts between God’s judgment and God’s encouragement. The sharp distinction between the identification of all that’s wrong and all the evil in the world, and God’s retribution towards that evil on the one hand, and God’s mercy and renewal bestowed upon the faithful remnant of his people under the blessings of the coming Messiah on the other hand seem to swing so far to each extreme as to give me whiplash.

In last week’s reflections on our daily bible readings from Isaiah, Pastor Brian discussed the need to carefully consider the prophetic nature of Isaiah’s writings, and how these passages that appear to be talking about things we don’t understanding or can’t relate to are speaking of events coming in the future — events happening long after Isaiah’s lifetime.

There's a modern parable that’s been told from time to time about someone driving around a crowded shopping mall, praying for a parking spot close by the entrance. We often find ourselves asking God for these little personal favors.