{"id":65080,"date":"2019-11-02T19:38:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T17:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65080"},"modified":"2023-05-28T12:14:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-28T09:14:08","slug":"with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[391,423,503],"acf":{"old_id":"65080","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64875,"related_cahpter":"341","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"What can Isaiah teach us about power dynamics for today\u2019s world?","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah 7 feels like a masterclass in power dynamics and their subversion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We see this immediately when we are told the ending of the story (Jerusalem being attacked) at the beginning, before learning all the details which lead up to that point. Talk about a spoiler alert!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God then speaks to both the prophet Isaiah and King Ahaz. If God speaks to both these men equally, they can speak to each other equally, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is demonstrated in Isaiah\u2019s ability to interact with King Ahaz, which is itself a subversion of a power structure, as this level of access to the monarchy indicates an elite social status, and this relationship is not always so even-keeled. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, is portrayed as so low on the social ladder that he is put into jail for spreading the word of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah\u2019s mutual relationship with Ahaz subsequently allows him to demonstrate the typically prophetic function of \u201cspeaking truth to power\u201d, such as when he says \u201clisten now, O House of David!\u201d (Isaiah 7:13). Using the irony of King Ahaz\u2019s regal lineage to call out his refusal to listen to advice, this interaction could be used to argue that Isaiah actually holds a certain power over the monarch, since it was the King who sought his counsel in the first place. Put differently, Isaiah recognises a responsibility to speak up, and he isn\u2019t afraid to do so when necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continuing our theme of subversion of power, we lastly see the King defer to the prophet, when, after God speaks to Ahaz, he states that he \u201cwill not ask\u201d and \u201cwill not test\u201d Adonai (Isaiah 7:10-12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ultimately, although Ahaz will follow his own agenda of granting his kingdom to the Assyrian attackers, we have still seen this uncommonly close bond between monarch and prophet, and a willingness on Isaiah\u2019s behalf to debate and discuss in an arena where personal consequences might have followed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This leaves us with a final question: how can we, in our own lives, utilise the existing power structures around us to bring to light the vision of the prophets, that of a society of justice and mercy, where equality reigns?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May we use the lessons of Isaiah to work towards this better world, one as sweet as \u201cbutter and honey\u201d (Isaiah 7:15).<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":65081,"id":65081,"title":"is7-political power","filename":"is7-political-power.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is7-political-power.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility\/is7-political-power\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is7-political-power","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65080,"date":"2019-11-02 17:38:07","modified":"2019-11-02 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