Today’s Scripture Reading (January 24, 2020): Isaiah 1
Canada.
According to the anthem, the nation is the “true north, strong and free.” I am
not sure where the idea of the “true north” came from, and I have a suspicion that
other northern nations might question the assertion. But “strong and free” is essential
to the country of north dwellers because, for Canada, “strong and free” is never
easy. Canada has only one land border, and it is with the superpower United
States. But it shares maritime borders with Denmark, via Greenland, and France,
via two small French islands, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, just off the Atlantic
Coast of the country. But maybe more importantly, as the rush for possession of
the Arctic heats up, Canada shares a political border with Russia. We often
look at a flat map and somehow believe that Russia is a long way away on the
other side of the world. But the truth is that Australia is a long way away, on
the other side of the world. Russia exists just a short trip on the other side
of the Arctic ice cap.
Canada is a
country that is literally “torn between two lovers,” or maybe more appropriately,
torn between two superpowers. My American friends often wonder why Canadians
get so obsessed with American politics, but the answer is quite simple. For a
nation that neighbors two superpowers, whatever it is that they do effects
Canada. And Canadians understand that better than any other country in the
world. It is the political reality for a nation that wants to be “strong and
free.”
The opening
verse of the Prophecy of Isaiah clearly states the time and the political
reality of the prophet. By the time of Isaiah, the children of Jacob had dwelt
in Canaan for about 700 years. The nation had spent 400 years under the episodic
leadership of spiritual and military men, and one woman, known as Judges. The
next approximately 120 years were spent as a united kingdom under the reigns of
three kings; Saul, David, and Solomon. And then a civil war split the nation
into a Northern and Southern Kingdom. Isaiah, in his lifetime, would have watched
the death of the Northern Kingdom of Israel at the hands of Assyria during the
reign of the Judean King Ahaz.
But the reality
of Isaiah’s life was that he lived during a time when Judah and Israel lived
caught between three superpowers. The Assyrians reigned over the area from the
north. But the Egyptians still carried influence from the South, and growing
strong in the East were the Babylonians. Isaiah knew what it was like to live
in a small nation dominated on every side by powerful countries who wanted to
rule over the world.
One final note
on the historical placement of Isaiah. The prophet list four kings in the
introduction to his prophecy; Uzziah (good), Jotham (good), Ahaz (bad), and Hezekiah
(good). But there is a strong tradition that says that Isaiah lived during the
reign of a fifth king, Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah. According to Rabbinic
tradition, Manasseh was also the grandson of Isaiah. The tradition states that Hezekiah
had married the daughter of Isaiah, Hephzibah, and it was through that marriage,
the heir to the throne was born. But also according to tradition, Manasseh is believed
to have executed his maternal grandfather, Isaiah, by sawing him in half. Many
see the author of Hebrews mention of prophets who were “sawed in two” (Hebrews 11:37) as a direct reference to the
martyrdom of Isaiah. If so, Isaiah's ministry lasted well over sixty years, and
when he was executed, the prophet would likely have been in his eighties.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah
2
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