Week 13: Isaiah 48:1-23

We will return to our Isaiah studies this week by looking at Isaiah 48. In many ways it is an odd chapter because it contains a "sustained juxtaposition of affirmation and rebuke." (Brueggemann) This is the tension that runs throughout the chapter as God first declares God's love for Israel and then criticizes them harshly. It seems analogous to a conversation between a husband and wife when one of the partners has had an affair. The language of love and hurt, longing and betrayal, get mixed in the heated discussions that have to be repeatedly entered into before a decision is made about how the relationship is going to continue. 

It seems that Yahweh's chief complaint is the refusal of Israel to listen. This failure to listen leads to a failure to trust and a failure to obey which ends, as the chapter ends, with a promise that there is no peace for the wicked. It's as if we are listening in to one side of a long argument that is not quite finished. 

Why do we as humans seem so hard of hearing? What is it about us that makes us resist the words of those who love us? And how can we learn to listen a little better?

- Cal

Reading: Brueggemann pages 100-109

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you find it easy to listen to others when they have a word of criticism or complaint against you ? Do you ever think that it is God who is speaking to you through these conversations ? Does God speak to you through the circumstances of your life or the ailments of your bodies ? Do you find it difficult to hear what is being said ?

  2. What do you make of the God portrayed in vs 9-11 ? God seems concerned chiefly with God's reputation and not with God's love for Israel. Is it good for us to think that God might have reasons for acting other than love ?

  3. Have you ever had a conversation where the words of "saving judgement" liberated you and brought you back to yourself ? What helped you to listen ? Are there any practises that you could engage in that would make you a better listener ?

Click here for responses

Back to Blog List

Previous      Next

image by Mihai Christe (see also on Facebook)