In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” they cried one to the other. “All the earth is filled with his glory!” At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it. “See,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said, “send me!”
– Isaiah 6: 1-8
ISAIAH’S CALL TO BE GOD’S PROPHET:
Isaiah, considered the greatest of the prophets appeared at a critical moment in Israel’s history. Because of internal intrigue and division, God’s people had already been divided between Judah, the Southern Kingdom, and Israel, the Northern Kingdom. The second half of the eighth century B.C. witnessed the collapse of the northern kingdom under the hammer-like blows of Assyria in 722 B.C., while Jerusalem itself saw the army of Sennacherib surrounding it on all sides in 701 B.C. In 742 B.C., the year that Uzziah, king of Judah, Isaiah received his call to the prophetic office in the Temple of Jerusalem. The vision of the Lord enthroned in glory leaves an unforgettable mark on Isaiah’s ministry and provides the key to the understanding of his message. In beholding the majesty, glory, and holiness of God, he was deeply aware of his own sin and gained a new awareness of human pettiness, rebellion, and sin. He experienced in the depths of his being the enormous abyss between God’s sovereign holiness and man’s sin. Only the purifying coal of the seraphim could cleanse his lips and prepare him for acceptance of the call: “Here I am, send me!”
THE INSTITUTION OF PROPHETISM:
Israel saw itself as a theocracy, with God as its ruler. God’s rule was established through the Mosaic Law. When the Israelites first entered the Promised Land, the Mosaic Law was interpreted and enacted by the Priests and Judges. The Book of Judges talks about 12 Judges. They were not magistrates, but military leaders sent by God to aid and relieve His people in time of external danger. They exercised their activity in the interval of time between the death of Joshua who led the Israelites into the Promised Land and the institution of the monarchy.
Samuel was the last Judge. During his term, Israel desired an earthly king, like the neighboring kingdoms. “Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the Lord, however, who said in answer: “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king. As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too. Now grant their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them (1 Samuel 8: 6-9).”
These words from 1 Samuel are a painful indictment of Israel’s leadership. The institution of monarchy did not improve matters. Corruption and abandonment of God and God’s law continued unabated, leading to the ultimate dissolution of the monarchy and exile of God’s people. Given that both the monarchy and the priesthood were lax in preserving God’s central role in the Israelite nation, God chose a succession of Israelites to transmit in His name the divine communications to the people. The office of prophet was a direct call from God and was subject entirely to the divine will.
Already in Deuteronomy 18: 15-20, the office of prophet gets instituted. The prophets were intermediaries between God and His people. Their communications from God came through visions, dreams, and ecstasies and were transmitted through sermons, writings and symbolic actions. The prophets preserved and developed revealed religion (1 Samuel 12:1-15), gave counsel in political matters (Isaiah 31:1ff), and often also in matters of private life (1 Samuel 9:6-9). Their predictions of the future intensified the expectation of the Messiah and his kingdom.
The prophecies express judgments of the people’s moral conduct on the basis of the Mosaic alliance between God and Israel. They teach sublime truths and lofty morals. In the affairs of men, their prime concern is the interests of God, especially in what pertains to the chosen people through whom the Messiah is to come; hence their denunciations of idolatry and ritualism in worship that excludes the interior spirit of religion. They are concerned also with the universal nature of the moral law, with personal responsibility, with the person and office of the Messiah, and with the conduct of foreign nations.
THE BOOK AND MINISTRY OF ISAIAH:
The ministry of Isaiah may be divided into three periods, covering 7 years of the reign of Jotham from 742-735 B.C., 20 years of the rule of Ahaz from 735-715 B.C., and 28 years of the reign of Hezekiah from 715-687 B.C. The early oracles found in chapters 1 through 5, belong to the first period for the most part. They exposed the moral breakdown of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. When Ahaz became king, the prophet became his adviser. The king’s throne was threatened by the Syro-Ephraimite coalition. Ephraim was the Northern Kingdom. Ahaz rejected the plea of Isaiah for faith and courage and sought Assyria’s help. The majority of the messianic oracles found in chapters 6 through 12 came from this period.
Hezekiah succeeded his father and undertook a religious reform which Isaiah supported enthusiastically. But the old intrigues began again, and the king was soon won over to the pro-Egyptian party. Isaiah denounced this “covenant with death (Isaiah 28 & 31)” and again summoned Judah to faith in Yahweh as her only hope. But it was too late; the revolt had already begun. Assyria acted quickly and her army, after ravaging Judah, laid siege to Jerusalem in 701 B.C. “I shut up Hezekiah like a bird in his cage,” boasts the famous inscription of Sennacherib. But Yahweh delivered the city, as Isaiah had promised (Isaiah 29, 36, 37). God is the Lord of history, and Assyria but an instrument in his hands. Little is known about the last days of this great religious leader, whose oracles, of singular poetic beauty and power, constantly reminded his wayward people of their destiny and God’s fidelity to His promises.
The complete book of Isaiah is a collection of poems composed chiefly by the great prophet, but also by disciples, some of whom came many years after Isaiah. In chapters 1 through 39, most of the oracles come from Isaiah and faithfully reflect the situation in eighth-century Judah. Some sections like the Apocalypse of Isaiah, chapters 24 through 27, the oracles against Babylon, chapters 13 and 14, and probably the poems of chapters 34 and 35 belong to disciples deeply influenced by the prophet. Chapters 40 through 55, sometimes called Deutero-Isaiah, are generally attributed to an anonymous poet who prophesied toward the end of the Babylonian exile. From this section come the great messianic oracles known as the songs of the Servant whose mysterious destiny of suffering and glorification is fulfilled in Christ’s passion and glorification. Chapters 56 through 66 were composed by disciples who inherited the spirit of the great prophet and continued his work.
HELPFUL ATTITUDES FOR PRAYER:
· The majesty, holiness and glory of the Lord took possession of his spirit and, conversely, he gained a new awareness of human pettiness and sinfulness.
· The enormous abyss between God’s sovereign holiness and man’s sin overwhelmed the prophet. Only the purifying coal of the seraphim could cleanse his lips and prepare him for acceptance of the call: “Here I am, send me!”
· The institution of monarchy did not improve matters. Corruption and abandonment of God and God’s law continued unabated, leading to the ultimate dissolution of the monarchy and exile of God’s people.
· Given that both the monarchy and the priesthood were lax in preserving God’s central role in the Israelite nation, God chose a succession of Israelites to transmit in His name the divine communications to the people. The office of prophet was a direct call from God and was subject entirely to the divine will.
· The prophets were intermediaries between God and His people. Their communications from God came through visions, dreams, and ecstasies and were transmitted through sermons, writings and symbolic actions.
· In the affairs of men, the prophets’ prime concern is the interests of God, especially in what pertains to the chosen people through whom the Messiah is to come; hence their denunciations of idolatry and that externalism in worship which excludes the interior spirit of religion.
GUIDELINES FOR PRAYER:
· Be faithful to your time of prayer, and make it between 20 and 30 minutes daily.
· Begin every prayer session with an earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit like the one I have composed for you: Come, Holy Spirit, and overshadow me with your gentle wisdom and power as I endeavor to sit at the feet of Jesus during this period of prayer. Purify my mind and heart as I seek to make the teachings of Jesus my priority in life, thinking, speaking and doing as He desires. You are the keeper of my soul, leading me into God’s heart. May I be docile and submissive to your wisdom and guidance. May my life be a pleasing offering in your sight. Amen.
· Take one of the passages suggested for prayer. During the week you might want to ponder the question, “In what way is Isaiah speaking to me directly through his oracles and messianic prophecies?”
· Lastly, during your prayer make sure you also address God directly and listen for the Holy Spirit’s responses.
· You can end your prayer with the following: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for your gracious companionship. I praise you for being my Creator, Savior and Lord. May I take your blessings to my day, and may your presence envelop and permeate all my thoughts and actions. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PASSAGES FOR PRAYER:
Isaiah 1 & 2: Indictment of Israel and Judah & Zion, the Messianic Capital
Isaiah 3: Judgment of Judah & Jerusalem & the Messianic Branch
Isaiah 6: 1-13: The Call of Isaiah
Isaiah 7: Birth of Emmanuel
Isaiah 9: The Promise of the Messiah and Fall of the Northern Kingdom
Isaiah 11: Emmanuel’s Rule; Union of Ephraim (Northern) & Judah (Southern) kingdoms
Isaiah 12: Song of Thanksgiving
SPIRITUAL READING:
The Imitation of Christ:
After the Bible, this classic is the most widely read. There are four books and 114 chapters in all. You could savor this book three times over if you read a single chapter each day of the retreat. For this week the following chapters might be useful:
Book I: Useful Reminders for the Spiritual Life:
Chapter 3: Of the Teaching of Truth
Chapter 4: Of Thinking before you act
Chapter 7: Of Avoiding empty Hope and Self-Praise.
The Bible:
It would be even more important for you to become familiar with the Bible, especially with the New Testament. Similarly, beginning with the New Testament you can choose to read a few chapters on a daily basis, and/or the ones recommended during this week.
SCRIPTURAL READING:
Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 18: Prophets
1Samuel 8: Request for a King
Isaiah, Chapters 1 through 12
New Testament:
Matthew, Chapter 1; Luke, Chapter 2: The Birth of Jesus
JOURNALING:
- Journal for a few minutes daily about your experience with God in prayer and during the day.
- Your journal will help you with your sharing in spiritual direction
- Gradually patterns of insights, themes, consolations, and resistance to God’s promptings will emerge.
- Your journal will help you appreciate the Holy Spirit’s action in your being
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