CONTENTS
6. Theology of 40-66
there was a prophet who might be called “Trito-Isaiah.” The literary distinctions between the content and style of chaps. 40-55 and 56-66 is not sufficient to identify them as separate books written by different authors. Sixth, although some suggest that the place where the audience in chaps. 56-66 is located is in Jerusalem, in most cases this is actually the location of future eschatological events where all God's servants (from Israel and the nations) will gather (60:1-63:6; 66:18- 24). This future setting has little to do with the present location of the prophet and his immediate audience. Seventh, all the messages in chaps. 56-66 are eschatologically oriented, describing what people of all ages need to do if they want to enjoy the riches of God's glorious new kingdom and what they must avoid so they will not have to suffer under the wrath of God's judgment. This information identifies who will and will not enter God's glorious kingdom in the future.
able to draw together the main themes and emphases throughout these messages, ending up with a theology of the chaps. 40-66.
A second difficulty that confronts any theological effort in the book of Isaiah relates to issues of authorship, redaction, and the date of each redactional addition. If one holds that all eschatological messages of hope were much later redactional additions to the book of Isaiah, one has to face the issue that the prophet's theology was quite different from what is presented in the final form of the book.
Consequently, one must decide what passages belonged to each redactional layer as well as the methodological question of whether one should speak of the theology of the Assyrian (or Josiah) redaction, the idol redaction, and the foreign nation redaction or if one can legitimately speak of the theology of the present canonical book of Isaiah. A more canonical approach will pay more attention to the final form of the completed manuscript of 40-66. Since the identification of redactional layers and their theological purposes are more elusive and since that approach is based on many more subjective decisions; it seems wiser to use a more canonical approach that does not address the theology of each of these different redactional layers. This will allow the interpreter to develop a more holistic approach that synthesizes the theology of Isaiah 40-66.
A third tension involves the process of integrating and reducing a hundred different specific theological comments into a few broad central statements that make up the core from which the specific messages derive their founda tion. Because of this difficulty some have abandoned any pursuit of a unifying core and instead are content to comment on the prophet's view of the standard systematic topics of God, man, sin, judgment, and redemption.168 Or, in order to avoid harmonization and the charge of reductionism, some address one of the theological themes that runs through many of the prophetic messages (like the Servant or God's plan for the nations)169 and do not
attempt to put the theology of the book together in some sort of unified perspective. For example, R. E. Clements takes the theme of
“a light to the nations” and illustrates how this theme operates in early chapters (2:5; 9:2; 10:17), the middle section of the book (42:6-7,16;
49:6; 50:10-11), as well as this final series of chapters (60:1-3).170 W.
A. M. Beuken also finds chaps. 56-66 unifying 1-39 and 40-55 by means of its focus on mount Zion, the “Holy Mountain” (2:2; 4:5;
11:9; 25:6; 37:32; 40:9; 56:7; 57:13; 65:11; 66:20), which is the
“nodal point in the artistic ordering of the book of Isaiah.”171 These are very helpful studies, but they do not present a full theology of all the messages in 40-66. In spite of the dangers involved with a holistic approach, a more focused articulation of the theological core is worthwhile in order to understand both the foundation of the prophet's thinking and the central thrust of his ministry. The repeated interlinking of vocabulary and ideas from earlier messages within the framework of later oracles argues for a theological interdependence and a broad consistency of core convictions that do not dramatically change from oracle to oracle.172 J. J. M. Roberts maintains that “it should be possible, therefore, to delineate the central core of Isaianic theology, while not ignoring the different accents placed on that core in the different stages of the book.”173
(1) Finding Some Unity within the Diversity
Within the commentary itself there are many discussions of the primary theological issues that are addressed in each specific message.
There one will see the contrast between Isaiah's distinctive theological approach and the contrasting theology of his audience or the theological beliefs of Israel's enemy the Babylonians (chaps. 46-47).
The theological discussion of each oracle is necessarily somewhat limited by the needs of the audience and somewhat imbalanced by its focus on responding to the specific needs at that time. None of these
oracles present anything like a well-organized systematically arranged theology of all the prophet's beliefs. Yet in the midst of all the diversity of people in his audiences, different theological opinions, different practical and theological problems, certain fundamental convictions about God and his relationship to different groups of people emerge within these messages. By finding the underlying theological factors that support many of his specific messages that are temporally and topically related to specific individuals in their ancient historical context, one can attempt to synthesize a broadly stated core perspective that integrates and interrelates the main themes and main emphases within all his messages. When surveying these messages it is important to notice how various ideas are interrelated to one another so that one can identify the broad categories that enable one to interconnect these ideas together into some sort of Isaianic perspective.
GOD AND THE GODS. It becomes very apparent, even in chap.
40, that one of the unifying theological aspects within chaps. 40-66 relates to the identity of who is God, the characteristics of God as opposed to the idols, and what God has done and will do. In the ancient Near East “supernatural powers” were seen as the living powers that controlled all parts of nature; thus, in many ancient Near Eastern myths the many “divine powers” (gods)174 are often found fighting one another for control of various part of the heavens and the earth. But the God of Israel was not part of nature, was not identified with any natural activity, and cannot even be remotely comparable to any of these “supernatural powers” (40:18-20,25) nor the idols of wood that represented these gods. Because there were some Israelites who seemed to be confused about the identity of God, considerable time is spent, particularly in chaps. 40-44 and 46-47 separating the identity and functions of Israel's God from other gods (“supernatural powers”). In later chapters these identifying functions enable the
prophet to assure his audience that their God will do what he has said he will do because of who he is (55:10-11).
God's acts define who he is, so one can express a theological idea by describing the activity he does or by giving a title to him based on what he has done. The God of Israel “creates” so he deserves the title, the “Creator” of the heavens and the earth (40:12-13,21,26,28; 42:5;
45:18; 48:13; 66:2). Although he is not identified with any part of the created world like the ancient Near Eastern gods,175 he formed the entire created world and controls every part of it. He is also the Creator of mankind (45:12), the Creator of the nation of Israel (43:1,7,15), and someday in the future he will create a new heaven and a new earth (65:17; 66:22). Another identifying title is
“everlasting God” or “the First and the Last” (40:28; 41:4; 44:6;
48:12). God is not a child of another god who has come into existence recently, and he will not die like some of the gods in ancient Near Eastern mythology.176 A third title attributed to God is “your Redeemer” (41:14), a concept that derives from God acting as a family member who pays a debt to free another family member from an obligation, some enslavement, or a punishment. This title, which is somewhat similar to “Savior,” is used in contexts where people need encouragement that God's redemptive power will deliver them in times of war (41:14; 49:26) or from trials of oppression (43:1,14;
49:7; 52:3; 63:16). As Redeemer he assures, comforts, or challenges people to trust him (44:6; 48:17; 51:10; 54:5), and he calls people to repent (44:22). At other times he confirms his intention to destroy Israel's enemies (47:4), and then he assures people of his plans to restore the nation (54:8; 60:16). A fourth title is “the Holy One,” a favorite Isaianic concept that was derived from the prophet's call experience (6:3). When Isaiah refers to God as the Holy One, he means that he is completely separate and different from everything that was created, from everything that is sinful, and is uniquely glorious in his splendor and majesty.177 H. Wildberger conceives of
this holiness as a “dynamic reality, not a static quality,”178 but it might be better to view holiness as an inner distinctive of God's essence that is manifested in the amazing splendor and majesty of his glory.
Holiness sets God apart as an almighty divine power; thus, it is not surprising that those texts that emphasize God's distinctive redemptive power over various earthly factors legitimate his abilities to accomplish his will by referring to his holiness (41:14; 43:3,14; 47:4;
49:7). God's name as the Holy One is also associated with God's marvelous eschatological deliverance and transformation of this world into a holy place where God dwells in Zion with his holy people (41:16,20; 54:5; 60:9,14). These and other titles (the God of Israel, Yahweh, Lord of Hosts, Father, King) give one insight into the exalted nature of God and the relationship God has with this world.
These titles indicate that the God of Israel is not comparable to any of the other “supernatural powers.” Even though some of the gods of the nations may even have somewhat similar titles (lord, king, creator, holy), they are virtually nothing when set next to the God of Israel.
God's actions correlate to his titles, and the prophecies of Isaiah refer primarily to the past and future acts of God. In the past he created the heavens and the earth (42:5), chose and creates a people for himself (43:1,7), and later allowed his people to live under the power of Egypt and Assyria (52:3-4). At times he protected them and guided his people through his servant Moses and through the power of his Holy Spirit (63:8-14), and at other times he allowed his people to be plundered (42:24-25). But in the future God will strengthen his people (41:10) and defeat those who war against them (41:11-12), so that none will be able to find their enemies (41:12-16). At some point in the distant future God will transform nature and make the dry places fertile (41:17-20), send his chosen Servant to establish justice on the earth, restore his people, and have this Servant function as a light to the nations (42:1-13). Eventually God will gather his people,
reign as King among them, and make an everlasting covenant of peace with them (51:1-6; 52:7-10; 54:1-17). God's glory will come and he will dwell in Zion, then many people from distant nations will come to worship him in Zion (45:22-25; 60:1-12; 66:18-23). Those who refuse to serve God will be destroyed (60:12; 63:1-6; 66:15-17,23), but God will create a new heaven and a new earth where he will dwell with his holy people forever (65:17; 66:22). This brief survey of the titles of God and his action in this world reveal that God is at the center of all theological discourse in chaps. 40-66.
ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS. A second central pivotal concept in the theology of chaps. 40-66 is located by noticing who God interacts with as Creator, Redeemer, Holy One, King, and Savior. The
“who” that God speaks to, works with, saves, and punishes includes both his own people of Jerusalem/ Zion/Jacob/Israel and the people in other nations throughout the world.179 This is identical to the conclusion derived when examining the theology of chaps. 1-39,180 but one difference is that in 1-39 the prophet Isaiah addressed individual officials (Ahaz in chap. 7; Rabshakeh in 36; and Hezekiah in 39); but there are no similar narrative conversations in 40-66.181 The only individual addressed is the Servant in chaps. 42:1-13; 49:1- 13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12, but even these chapters are spoken to the Israelites so that they would know about God's plans to bring justice and salvation to all the nations on the earth. Even the messages that relate to the foreigner and eunuch (56:1-8) do not seem to be directly addressed to those individuals; instead, these passages are addressed to the Israelites to instruct them about how they are to treat these people when they come to worship God. In 40:1-11 the prophet is charged to speak kindly to Jerusalem (40:1) and to bring good news to Zion (40:9), while 40:27-31 contains exhortations that respond to the complaints of Jacob. Isaiah 41:18-19 addresses God's blind servant, the people of Jacob who were plundered and suffering under a military attack. Isaiah 44:1-5 encourages Jacob, my servant, to not be
afraid because God has chosen them to be his people. Jacob functions as God's witness to the nations (43:10), but they were stubborn (48:4), rebellious (48:8), and did not pay attention to God's instructions (48:18). Some of these people were involved with pagan worship (57:3-13; 65:3-7; 66:3-4,15-17) while others are the righteous servants of God (57:1-2; 65:9-16).
There is much less attention to specific nations when chaps. 40-66 are compared to 1-39 (especially in 13-23; 30-31; 36-39), although there are repeated references to people in the nations and distant islands of the sea (40:15; 41:1; 42:7,12; 49:1). One discovers that Egypt, Cush, and Sheba will be given as a ransom for Israel (43:3;
45:14), and Assyria and Egypt oppressed Israel (52:4). In the final evangelistic push to tell the good news to all the nations, messengers will be sent to Tarshish, Libya, Lydia, Tubal, Greece, and other distant islands of the seas (66:19). The nation of Edom (63:1) serves as a symbol of the nations that are the enemies of God. These will be destroyed in God's wrath (63:1-6). Babylon, which claimed for itself a sort of divine status (47:7-8), is another major enemy that God will defeat (43:14; 47:1-15), and her chief gods Bel and Nebo will be humiliated (46:1-13). Other messages relate God's plans for the nations or to all men in general. Although the Hebrews feared the military power of the nations, in God's eyes they were actually nothing (40:15,17). The people who reject God will be destroyed (63:
3,6; 60:12; 66:16), but those nations or peoples that bow down before God will enjoy life with God (45:22-25; 49:6b,7b; 52:13; 55:4-5) and join others who worship God in Zion (56:1-7; 60:1-11; 66:18-23).
Thus the main issue that determines the destiny of individual people and nations is not what ethnic or national group they belong to but their relationship to God.
THE CREATED WORLD. The third fundamental theological factor that is repeatedly intertwined with messages about people on
earth is the world that God created (40:12-13,21,26,28; 42:5; 45:18;
48:13; 51:13,16; 66:2). God stretched out the heavens in his power, and he sits enthroned as King of this world (40:22; 45:12). He is able to measure the waters in the oceans in the palm of his hand and the distance between the stars by stretching out his fingers (40:12). He knows the names of all the stars and makes sure that none of them go missing (40:26). Since God's people Israel and the people in the foreign nations live on the land that God made and owns, he is able to control these nations (40:23-24) and he determines who controls what land (41:2-3,11-12). He did this in the past when the children of Israel passed unharmed through the waters of the Red Sea (43:16; 63:11- 12). The angel of God's presence saved his people, and he shepherded and guided them through the dry Sinai wilderness (63:10-11). In eschatological passages, God describes how he will transform dry land by sending abundant water (41:17-18; 42:15; 43:19-20; 44:3) and causing many trees to grow (41:19; 44:4). Eventually he will create a new heavens and a new earth (65:17; 66:22). The city of Jerusalem will be transformed by the presence of the glory of God (60:1-3;
61:4), and it will get new names (60:14; 62:4).
The theology of chaps. 40-66 deals with God's relationship and interaction with the people on earth in the world he created. A succinct yet broad summary of all that was found in 1-39 was “God controls/rules everything,”182 and that is true in chaps. 40-66 as well.
But this statement is so broad that it misses the unique flavor or thrust that is distinctive of chaps. 40-66. “Trusting the Holy One who rules the world” was viewed as a more specific way of representing the core theology of chaps. 1-39, but chaps. 40-66 do not have the exact same emphasis.
(2) Glorify the Holy Redeemer Who Transforms the World
This formulation of the theological message of chaps. 40-66 describes God's relationships to the world he created. At its core this theological statement is still very much related to the concept of trusting God who rules the earth (the theme of chaps. 1-39), but in chaps. 40-66 this act of trust is expressed in: (a) the recognition, honor, and glorification of the God instead of the idol-gods; (b) singing and glorifying God the Redeemer for his transformation of justice, salvation, and removal of guilt through the Servant; (c) all righteous and holy people glorifying God in his transformed Holy Mountain when he recreates the new heavens, the earth, a holy and redeemed people, and a new world of nature, and (d) the destruction of everything that refuses to bring glory to God.
GLORIFY GOD, NOT THE IDOLS. Numerous oracles deal with the characteristic of “supernatural beings” (the gods) so that the audience would know which divine power was worthy of worship and praise. The supernatural beings of the ancient Near Eastern world made various claims in their traditional mythology so it was important for people to know which one of these gods (or which God) was the most powerful, most knowledgeable about the past and the future, and most splendorous and worthy of trust and worship. Isaiah 40:12-27 claims that the God of Israel is so grand that he can measure the distance between the stars by just stretching out his fingers and can weigh the vast mountains of the world on his scale (40:12). No known power in heaven or the earth is comparable to him, for the kings and nations of the earth are like grasshoppers and are in effect nothing in comparison to God's power (40:15,17,22-24). The idol gods are really just pieces of wood (40:18-20; 41:6-7; 44:10-20) that can do nothing or say nothing (41:22-24,29; 44:9), but the God of Israel can provide strength and hope for the weary (40:29-31) and he subdues and raises up kings to do his will (41:2,25). He knows the past and future (41:26- 27), plus he chooses, protects, and redeems his own special people
(41:8-14) so that they will believe in him and witness to others of his greatness (43:7,10). There is no other Savior like God (43:11-13), for he saved/redeemed his people in the past when they came out of Egypt (43:15-17) and will do new things that will bring greater praise (43:19-21). God also redeemed his people by blotting out their sins (43:25; 44:22), so they should sing for joy (44:23). Babylon and the gods of Babylon may claim to be powerful and eternal (48:7-8), but they will become nothing (46:1-2,5-7; 48:1-2,5-6,9-11). Since God is the Creator, King, and Redeemer of Israel, people should trust him and give him great glory and unending praise.
GLORIFY GOD FOR HIS TRANSFORMING REDEMPTION THROUGH THE SERVANT. A central part of God's relationship with mankind is interconnected with the work of the Servant who suffered, died, and was later exalted (53:1-12). He is the instrument God used to bring the transformation of justice (43:1—4), light and salvation to all nations (42:6; 49:6,8), and the removal of guilt of sin (53:4-12). This happened so that the people who accepted and followed his righteousness (50:10) could have a new covenant relationship with God (55:3) through the work of this messianic leader. The guilt of all sinners was laid on him, and he suffered for
“us” because it was God's plan to allow him to bear the punishment for “our” sins. Later he was highly exalted (52:13,15; 53:12), he demonstrated victory over the powers that defeated him, and he shared the benefits of his victory with many people. Therefore, all who trust him, glorify and praise God the Redeemer and his Servant who provided salvation for his people (42:10-12; 49:13). Through his work it will be possible for God to transform Israel and bring salvation to all the nations (49:6). He will transform the blind by opening their eyes and free those who were captives of false beliefs (49:9; 61:1-2). This anointed one will proclaim the good news that the favorable year of the Lord has arrived (61:2).