The prophets served as messengers from God, and often critiqued kings or societies for not living up to God's expectations.
One of my favorite preachers says: "a prophet is one who sees what God sees, who hears what God hears, and feels what God feels. A prophet is one who is deeply connected to God’s heart, and who always speaks the truth."
Isaiah was such a truth teller. (Or truth tellers, as there were at least two contributors to the book of Isaiah). Examples of Isaiah's writing you may recognize:
The section we read today is referred to as the Suffering Servant passage (there are other passages in Isaiah 42, 49 and 50 which also refer to the servant). Christian tradition, starting in Acts 8, interprets the Suffering Servant as Jesus Christ. But how did the Hebrew people, several centuries before Christ, interpret this passage?
There is no simple answer. Jewish scholars have intensely debated the references in these passage for centuries. Is the Servant Isaiah? Or Jeremiah? Or Moses? Or all of the Hebrew nation?
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In any case this passage and all of Isaiah are a rich source of understanding about the nature of God, and his relationship to all people.
Perhaps the "Suffering Servant" is all of the above -- anyone exercising the prophetic ministry of "telling forth," of naming the things that must be changed:Jeremiah, the Isaiah(s), the Jewish people over time and witness, Jesus, "the saints of God," us when we respond to that call. But response does have costs - and suffering seems to be one of them. To me this passage simply names what is true of those who respond to the prophetic vocation, wherever, whatever. "Let us kill the prophet and see what shall become of his dreams...."
ReplyDeleteMary in Vancouver
BUT, having said that, I can't help but think of all the evil that has been done over time by those claiming to speak "the truth of God" - so, "what is truth?" Is there a prophetic plumb line? How do we know when we feel compelled to name a truth that our "telling forth" is, in fact, truly God's intention?
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's like any discernment. It has to be based on prayer, on consistency with God's word elsewhere. It is always a challenge. On a weekly basis preachers have to struggle with that question.
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