Isaiah contrasts the Messianic Promise against the prissy worldliness of his day.
Picture a kingdom without politics. That is, the king rules as kings ought to rule, doing what God expects of kings. All of society from top to bottom is drawn with a shimmering ideal. Ordinary men will become a refuge to those in need, to those who suffer abuse. People with have a clarity of vision, and desire to hear God's Word. The foolish and timid will be changed.
The meaning of "fool" is clarified, as someone who lives fearfully, who does not trust in God to supply according to His promises. Thus, such a person is greedy, unwilling to share God's bounty. The paradox of sinful times is the worst sinners are called "good men" -- identified as those who delight in seeing others suffer, even while they hoard their material blessings. People who cannot treat their stuff as just stuff are people who make the world an awful place to live. Those who are quick to compassionate sharing of worldly possessions are the citizens of God's Kingdom.
Symbolizing all the worst of society in his day, Isaiah singles out the ruthlessly materialistic women of Jerusalem. Where will their proud and sassy demeanor be when the Assyrians take all the food grown in the land? Or when drought comes as the punishing hand of God? They will gaze across the devastated farms and vineyards and weep. People will be forced to leave the comfort of the cities to go out and forage for a bare existence. The cities and great buildings will fall into ruin, become overgrown with weeds. This is a grand picture of the spiritual condition of Israel, right up to the time of Christ.
It would end only on that coming Pentecost, when the disciples gathered to celebrate the coming of Christ's Spirit to His Kingdom on earth. Spiritual fruitfulness will be hard to describe. It will be like a good, wet spring time. The desert itself would bloom. The sense of peace, security and plenty would be the fulfillment of all shalom pointed to in spiritual terms. People secure in the knowledge of God's favor will have no trouble giving away material goods to those in need, because they have nothing to lose. God will supply more than they could ever use. That is but the manifestation of spiritual bounty, because we can't help seeking someone in need.
Such peace and sense of security is unfazed by natural disaster or the grandest scope of human sin. Because they do not fear, they have no trouble going about the normal business of the Kingdom. Such is the Kingdom of God for which true believers in Israel waited, hoping to see the Messiah.
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By Ed Hurst
28 January 2009
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