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5- Whom Do I Trust (Isaiah 31, 36-37) |
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Read Isaiah 31, 36-37 at Biblegateway.org
Interpreting the PassageOne of the themes that pops up repeatedly in Isaiah is the fundamental concept of trusting God above all else. That question often comes from the political situation in which Israel and Judah lived. Geographically, Israel and Judah lived between two dominant nations, each wrestling for more power and control over the region. Egypt, to the southwest, and Assyria, to the northeast, were both rising powers, each keeping a close eye on the other, each threatening to expand at any time they sensed an opportunity. They both valued control over the routes that control of Israel/Judah would yield. The result was that Israel often found herself in the middle of a tug-of-war. She felt like she had to be shrewd to stay alive.
Often, in the middle of the conflict of these expanding (but very different) empires, the kings of Judah and Israel looked to form alliances with these or other powers, for the sake of gaining protection. It was a dangerous game, because befriending one nation meant alienating another, or sometimes several others.
God reacts in various ways to the situation, and in a couple of places in Isaiah God criticizes the people for placing their trust in places besides him. For instance, in chapter 31, God criticizes those who would rely on Egypt to defend them against the Assyrians. The Lord says frankly that he deliverance Judah is seeking will not come from Egypt, or any other physical power, but directly from the Lord himself. It is summed up in 31:3, “The Egyptians are men and not God. Their horses are flesh and not spirit.”
In Isaiah 36-37 an extremely colorful narrative fleshes the implications of this out. The story form is unusual; it pops up out of nowhere in the middle of a book dominated by prophetic poetry. The story is the key to interpreting texts like chapters 20 and 31, though, and sheds light on much of the rest of the prophetic texts. An Assyrian king, Sennacharib, threatens Jerusalem and in chapter 36 his commander taunts and mocks them (partly for relying on Egypt!) Poignantly, we find God’s warnings, which have been ignored up to this point, on the very lips of the Assyrian, when he asks, “On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have strategy and military strength, but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?” (36:4-5) This last phrase is particularly haunting, and could very well have come from the Lord in the earlier warnings. the rest of the message makes it clear that the commander is not viewing himself as an enemy of the Lord. Judah is not relying on the Lord! In fact, he claims that it was the Lord that sent him! This is all consistent with the rest of Isaiah. (He unfortunately goes to far in his taunt to the people in 36:18-20, and seals his own fate.)
As the story develops, Hezekiah the king seriously repents. He realizes his fault in relying on Egypt and has come to the place where he realizes that he simply has no hope except for the Lord. To the casual observer, this seems WAY too late to repent. Astonishingly, God responds to Hezekiah’s repentance with a promise of salvation, which he soon delivers on. The account of the “battle” is remarkably concise. “Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning-- there were all the dead bodies!” How is this victory possible? Perhaps the best way to think about it is a reversal of what was said about Egypt in chapter 31. “The Lord is God, not man. His forces are spirit, and not flesh.” When Judah turns to rely on God rather than the flesh, even the most improbable victories are at hand.
Teaching the Lesson
IntroductionThis lesson will stretch the demands of an hour-long class, because the most important thing to be done is the telling of the story that is found in chapters 36-37. If you wish to have discussion after the story, then it is imperative that your introduction be efficient. However, the material about Israel’s desire to depend on Egypt and the Lord’s warnings against doing that are critical to grasping the force of the narrative, so your introduction must be balanced. Communicate the information necessary to feel the story, but remember that the story itself is where you want to live this week.
StoryIn telling the story, think carefully about which parts of the text you wish to quote directly, and which you which to summarize. How will you communicate the drama of the story? How will your narrative faithfully reflect that of the one in the text, and yet move beyond a simple “reading” of the text. How can you read the text without sounding like a bore reading a text? This is worth practicing! The material for this week’s lesson is straightforward, but with a lesson like this your skills as a a story-teller will be a critical factor in the success or failure of the lesson. A teacher who is skilled and practice in the art of good story-telling has added a powerful weapon to the arsenal. Don’t ignore this in your preparation! What will the story look like to your class after you present it? What moments of the story will you emphasize? When you read and meditate on the story, which parts come alive for you? How do you visualize them?
If all of this seem overwhelming, are there people in your class who are excellent story-tellers? Can you enlist their help to communicate the force of this narrative? Would it be to much for your class to have people play parts for the story? Someone to take on the role of the Assyrian commander, Eliakim and the gang, or some common people hanging out at the wall? Hezekiah and Isaiah? One way to open up a story is to think through what each person is thinking and feeling at different stages of the narrative.
DiscussionIn discussing the story, there are several clear angles to open up.
First, what are the things that we feel pressure under, so that we can’t stand up under them on our own? What threatens us, physically, or at the level of our hearts?
Secondly, what things do we typically rely on to get us through those threats? What would it mean to radically trust the Lord in those moments?
Thirdly, does it resonate with anybody else that Hezekiah waits until the last possible moment to rely on God? What are the consequences of taking that approach?
Finally, what experiences does the class have or know from others that reflect the victory Hezekiah is given here? What stories from our own lives can we share to encourage the church to learn to rely on God and no other? What about the other side, stories where our reliance on other things endangered us.
Ultimately, this lesson is about faith. It is easy to criticize Hezekiah’s desire to have a back-up plan, but can we imagine allowing the Assyrian’s to come against us without at least talking to Egypt? What faith God demands!
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