Imagine today that the prophet of Isaiah 40-55 stands up in the midst of God's exiled people in Babylon, and he gives them a new word from God. He speaks out in a loud, clear voice. And this is what he says, verses 12-13:
(10) Sing to Yahweh a new song;
his praise from the end of the earth, O Ones going down to the sea, [=sailors; Ps. 107:23]
with the things filling it, [=sea creatures?]
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
(11) Lift up, O Desert with its cities;
the villages [that] Kedar inhabits. [Jer. 49:28-29; Ps. 120:5; Ezekiel 27:21; Neh. 2:19; =Arabs]
Shout for joy, inhabitants of Sela.
From the top of the mountains, may they cry out loudly.
(12) May they give to Yahweh glory,
while his praise, in the coastlands may they declare.
What we hear in these verses, is a call to worship. We hear these words, and they sound familiar. Not because, as far as I know, we've used these verses in church, as a call to worship. But because this is a normal part of church for us. The worship leader invites us, on a regular basis, to join him and the worship team in worshipping God. And he/she does so, usually, by speaking scripture. The Bible itself is filled with invitations to worship Yahweh, our God.
Here, the invitation opens with a call to sing a new song. What God desires here, is a new way to express our praise for Him. He wants new words. A new tune. Something different.
Now, we could stop, and ask ourselves why God wants this. Why is a new song necessary? What's wrong with the old ones? Our verses don't say. But God wants something new.
Now, WHO does God want this worship from?
This call to worship goes out very loud, and very clear, to people who are far away. It goes out to sailors who are far off shore, perhaps fishing, perhaps transporting goods on the oceans. The call also goes out to people dwelling in the desert, in the dry, bleak, hostile environments where you wonder how anyone survives. It goes out to some place called Sela, which no one even knows where it is (it's the Hebrew word for "rock," but apparently, the usual place name identified with this didn't even exist in the sixth century B.C.).
With this call to the oceans, and the deserts, we find ourselves thinking big. Of distant, remote places. And we find ourselves thinking about very different environments. As a rule, oceans are very wet. Deserts are very dry. In a unique way, I think the prophet is basically calling on the whole world-- not just God's people, but everyone-- to praise God by singing him a new song. God wants this, because He wants to be glorified.
In verse 13, the prophet tells us why it's time for all people to sing Yahweh our God a new song:
(13) Yahweh, like a warrior is going forth ["like a warrior" is focused].
Like a man of war (Exodus 15:3) he stirs up (2 Chr. 21:16) zeal.
He raises the war cry. [Joshua 6:16; 1 Samuel 17:52]
What's more, he roars. [Zephaniah 1:14]
Against his enemies he prevails ("prevails" from same stem as "warrior").
In times of war, every nation seeks out a champion who will rally them and give them hope of victory. People want to hear stories about a hero who rises from the ranks to do great exploits. We want an Achilles, or a Samson, or a Red Baron. Maybe that's a dude thing. Probably, it's a dude thing. But guys want someone to give them confidence that victory is in the bag. They want to be fighting with someone who they know will make sure everything's going to work out. And if a nation doesn't have someone like that, it will invent them. Early in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukraine built a legend about the Ghost of Khiv, a pilot flying in an old Soviet era fighter jet, who shot down multiple, advanced, Russian jets. None of it was true, but the legend gives people hope. People want a hero. And God, is ours.
So the picture verse 13 paints, is of our God rising up as a warrior. He, like a Samson, is going forth for battle. He's pumping himself up, stirring up zeal. He's loud, raising a battle cry. He roars.
Yahweh is readying himself for battle, and he's going to defeat his enemies.
Who are God's enemies? Our gut reaction might be to say, "the nations." But who is called to worship Yahweh? Who is all of this good news for?
The nations. They are the ones invited to sing a new song to Yahweh, and declare his praise from ocean to desert.
And what we're starting to see, actually, is that God has a well-thought out plan for the nations.
In chapter 41, God challenged the nations to listen to him (Isaiah 41:1). He went on to tell them about Mystery Dude from the east, who seems to be a threat to everyone. God tells the nations, "I did this. He's my servant" (Isaiah 41:2). He challenges the nations to show their idols can compare (Isaiah 41:21). God's goal-- his hope-- is that the nations will recognize what He is doing, and they will be open to switching gods. He wants them to move from idolatry, to him. He wants them to join his covenant people. And God is planning to use his covenant people to do this. God's people Israel, 6th century B.C., was his servant, and the plan was that his servant would teach the nations his desired way of life ("misphat"). He encourages his people that the coastlands are waiting for this (42:4).
So what God is doing as the Divine Warrior, through Mystery Dude from east, is going to radically change the world. God is flipping tables, radically altering human society. And all of this is good news not just for his people, but for the nations as a whole. This is something that all people, from ocean to desert, should praise Yahweh for.
So who is the enemy?
I think there's only one real possibility: the Babylonian empire. The Babylonians, like most superpowers, were violent, and oppressive, and exploitive. Governments in general "take" as much as they can get away with (on "taking," 1 Samuel 8:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). And when you are the superpower, you can take a lot. You can treat the nations as vassals, in the way that the West today (especially France) treats Africa. You can bully them, and squeeze them, for all they have, to raise your standard of living.
So the good news for almost all of creation, almost all the nations, is that God is rising up as a warrior to defeat the superpower. The nations will find that they have a new reason to praise God. And every time God does something new for people, their instinctive reaction is to sing something new to God. Every time God blesses people and shows them favor in some new way, they respond by giving him glory in a new way.
And if we tie in these verses with Isaiah 41 (not losing the forest for the trees), the picture that's developing is that God is rising up as a warrior through Mystery Dude from the east/north. God is fighting for not just his people, but for the nations of the world (minus the superpower), through Mystery Dude.
Now, this idea of Yahweh as Warrior is perhaps a new idea to you. You've never thought of God as suiting up for battle, pumping himself up, and fighting as a war hero. When you think of God, this is missing. And if it's missing, that will mess with how you view God, with how you pray. So as a way to firm this up in your minds, and give you a picture, let's read a few verses from Isaiah 59:14-20 (the passage starts earlier, but I'm just trying to grab enough of it for the portrayal of Yahweh as warrior to make sense). In these verses, Yahweh is upset because society is breaking down. There's deceit and violence everywhere, instead of truth and peace. There's no one in power who fixes this. And so Yahweh rises up as a warrior to fix what humans should've been able to fix by themselves (NRSV updated no reason):
14 Justice is turned back,
and deliverance stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The LORD saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene,
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate [people should hear Eph. 6 here]
and a helmet of salvation on his head; [the armor we put on is the same kind God wears]
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.
19 So those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD,
and those in the east, his glory,
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the LORD drives on.
20 And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the LORD.
So we all this picture of Yahweh as warrior, rising up and fighting? Of getting really loud?
In verse 14, the picture changes just a little:
(14) I have been silent forever [=a really long time?].
I was still (Exodus 14:14)/silent (Gen. 24:21).
I was restraining myself. [Esther 5:9-10]
Like the one giving birth, I will scream;
I will pant and I will gasp together.
God describes himself here as a pregnant woman. Is this a bit shocking, or no?
For a long time-- for forever, seemingly-- God has been forcing himself to be quiet. There's something he's wanted to say, and do. But he's worked really hard to do nothing. He's been like a pregnant woman who is not quiet yet ready for active labor. The contractions have started. The pain is there. But it's not yet time to bear down, scream, and push. Soon, though, God will actively go into labor. Soon, He will give birth to something.
What's going on here?
God's people are in Babylonian exile. They're oppressed. They're far from home. And God, for a really long time, has wanted to help them. He's wanted to rise up like a warrior and fight for them. He's wanted to scream out, and push, like a pregnant woman, and give birth to salvation for them.
But God has forced himself to do nothing. And the reason for that, I think, is because He's been punishing his people. This brings us all the way back to Isaiah 40:1-2 (NRSV updated no reason).
40 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
Israel has been paying off her sins, through punishment. She's been receiving double for all of her rebellion. And what we learn here, in Isaiah 42, is that God hasn't enjoyed this process at all. He takes no delight in discipline. What God wants to do, is help. But before He can do that, Israel needed to spend decades in exile.
We sometimes get the idea that God isn't particularly emotional. We think he's a bit robotic, maybe, in how he thinks and acts. And we sometimes think that God doesn't ever find himself in a hard place, making hard decisions.
One of the things this passage shows us, is that we humans can make things really hard on God. We put him in a place, where He has to force himself to not bless, and not help, and not show favor. It's like when your kid goes off to college, and gets to make his own decisions-- and he makes bad ones. You shake your head. You feel real bad about it. You want to help. And sometimes, the right thing to do, is nothing. They need to suffer, and feel the consequences, and smarten up. Doing nothing is not a natural reaction. Your heart goes out to them. You know you can help. You want to help. But you need to let some time pass first.
So that's the picture here. God has found himself in labor pains over his people. But He's been doing all the deep breathing exercises. He's deliberately not pushed.
That though, is about to change. It's time for active labor. It's time for God to scream, and pant, and gasp.
And what will be produced? What's the baby?
Verse 15-16:
(15) I will cause to dry up the mountains and the hills, [Isaiah 40:24]
while all their vegetation I will cause to wither,
and I will make the rivers into islands,
while the pools I will cause to dry up,
(16) and I will lead the blind ones by a road they don't know. [on "blind," see Isaiah 42:7]
By paths they haven't known I will lead them.
I will make the darkness before them into light,
while the uneven terrain into level ground.
These [are] the things I have done [for?; to?] them,
and I haven't forsaken them.
When God goes into active labor, it's going to lead to total drought. Everything green will dry up and wither. Rivers will dry up, and little islands will appear.
To what end?
What God is doing here is creating an easy road for blind people. If we just take this at face value, literally (because that's the "right" way to read), that's what the prophet says.
I'm not going to pretend to really understand what life is like for people who are blind, but it's hard. Most people, if they could keep only one sense, would keep their vision. It's hard going anywhere, it's hard doing anything in life, if you can't see where you're going. And what we see, in verse 16, is a group of people who are doubly blind.
They can't see. And, at the same time, it's dark out.
Now, all of this isn't literal. It's a metaphor (42:7). And I don't know if it's supposed to make perfect sense at this point. We will find ourselves coming back to this idea of blindness next week. But someone is blind, and needs God's help to see where they're going, and to find their way down this road God is building. And God is going to get rid of all the vegetation, everything green, so that there's less to trip on. That's how he will make an easier road.
Let me pause at this point, and teach a little about how to read poetry (what follows comes out Claus Westermann's commentary). Some of us grew in churches where we were told that we should always read the Bible literally, as much as possible. And then when we opened our Bibles, we find ourselves struggling because the Bible resists this. So let me ask you a question. Is God saying that He will make things very wet, or very dry, in Isaiah 42:16?
Now let's turn back to Isaiah 41:17-20 (NRSV updated no reason). As I read, ask yourself the same question. Is God going to make things very wet, or very dry?:
17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
In Isaiah 41, God promises to send rain, to open up rivers, to make a an easy path through the wilderness. God will make sure that this journey his people are taking from exile, back home, will be one where they're plenty of water. It will be an easy road.
In Isaiah 42, God promises to dry up everything green, to make an easy path through the wilderness. Everything will wither up, get small, so that paths appear between shriveled bushes. Every river will shrink down to nothing, so you can easily walk across on river bed.
We can ask ourselves, is God going to make things wet, or dry? Which of these will literally happen? We can ask, "Should we get excited every day it rains? Or should we get excited every day it doesn't? (like a dispensationalist approach to end times)"
But those are the wrong questions. The prophet is firing up our imaginations, painting pictures, that help the exiles in Babylon visualize a clear path home. The point isn't whether the way home will be really dry, or really wet. The point is that God will make a way home.
(17) They have turned back;
They shall be greatly shamed-- the ones trusting in the image,
the ones saying to a metal image,
"You [are] our god/elohim."
Our little section ends by leaving us thinking about God. God is the one who will bring his people home. God is the one who will prove himself to be far greater than any other god, or idol. Yahweh, as the pregnant warrior God, will draw all people, all nations, to himself. And everyone who settled for a chunk of wood or metal, who bowed down to a little statue, is going to super embarrassed.
So that's our passage. Let me leave you today with three thoughts. The first, is that Yahweh's plan here, his desire, is that all nations turn from their idols to worship him, and serve him. There are lots of places in the OT where God clearly reveals his desire that all peoples, all nations, serve him. God is not the God of Israel in the OT, and the God of the world in the NT. God's heart is for all people.
The second has to do with superpowers. When one nation rules the world, it naturally tends to become violent, and oppressive. It takes. God may use that superpower for a time, for his own purposes. But God eventually topples every violent, oppressive superpower, and when He does that, it's good news for the nations. It's something to be celebrate. It's a good reason to praise God.
The third has to do with how God relates to us. We can choose to live in a way, where God will force himself to not help us. If we rebel, if we turn to idols, if we make a mess of our lives, God may restrain himself, and let us suffer the consequences.
This, for me, is super helpful. There are times when God would like to help us, when He longs to help us, but He forces himself not to for a time. Instead, He disciplines us. What this passage shows, is that God doesn't enjoy disciplining or punishing us. He'd much prefer to cry out, and bear down, and push, and help. But God will restrain himself. Thinking about this strengthens my resolve, that I won't put God in this situation. I don't want to be like the college kid who goes off, and makes a mess of things, and has my dad wanting to help, but knowing I need to suffer this for a time.
So who is our God? God is like the father who can hardly wait for his kid to come to his senses, and come back to him. He can hardly wait to bless. God is the Divine Warrior, who is heavily armed, who pumps himself up, who will be the champion we need. And God is like the expectant mother, who can hardly wait push, and give birth to salvation.
Translation:
(10) Sing to Yahweh a new song;
his praise from the end of the earth, O Ones going down to the sea, [=sailors; Ps. 107:23]
with the things filling it, [=sea creatures]
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
(11) Lift up, O Desert with its cities;
The villages [that] Kedar inhabits. [Jer. 49:28-29; Ps. 120:5]
Shout for joy, inhabitants of Sela.
From the top of the mountains, may they cry out loudly.
(12) May they give to Yahweh glory,
while his praise, in the coastlands may they declare.
(13) Yahweh, like a warrior is going forth ["like a warrior" is focused].
Like a man of war he stirs up (2 Cor. 21:16) zeal.
He raises the war cry. [Joshua 6:16; 1 Samuel 17:52]
What's more, he roars. [Zephaniah 1:14]
Against his enemies he prevails ("prevails" from same stem as "warrior").
(14) I had been silent forever.
I was still (Exodus 14:14)/silent (Gen. 24:21).
I was restraining myself. [Esther 5:9-10]
Like the one giving birth, I will scream;
I will pant and I will gasp together.
(15) I will cause to dry up the mountains and the hills, [Isaiah 40:24]
while all their vegetation I will cause to wither,
and I will make the rivers into islands,
while the pools I will cause to dry up,
(16) and I will lead the blind ones by a road they don't know. [Isaiah 42:7]
By paths they haven't known I will lead them.
I will make the darkness before them into light,
while the uneven terrain into level ground.
These [are] the things I have done [for?; to?] them,
and I haven't forsaken them.
(17) They have turned back;
They shall be greatly shamed-- the ones trusting in the image,
the ones saying to a metal image,
"You [are] our gods/elohim."
