{"id":67902,"date":"2019-12-31T12:34:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T10:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=67902"},"modified":"2023-07-23T14:06:19","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T11:06:19","slug":"the-great-comfort-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-great-comfort-dialogue\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Comfort Dialogue"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/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":[394,384,608,403],"acf":{"old_id":"67902","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":67893,"related_cahpter":"383","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"God, Isaiah and a heavenly chorus","content":"

Isaiah 49:7-26 is perhaps the most emotionally evocative section of the book. The theme continues through to the end of chapter 54. We read most of this unit through the year, with the haftarot<\/em> of Ekev, Shoftim, Noah, Ki Tisa and Re\u2019eh formed out of these chapters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the text is God speaking through Isaiah, and prefaces with \u201cSo says YHVH\u2026\u201d\u00a0 However, this is a dialogue, and Isaiah addresses Israel directly. Zion is anthropomorphized as a woman bereft of her children. Isaiah talks back to God, and God responds by reinforcing his message of promised redemption. There is also an unnamed voice that might represent some heavenly chorus, or might be the collective voice of all humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s examine the narrative of this conversation:<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>(v. 7) <\/span><\/i>God promised despised and dejected Israel honor and respect from the other nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

II <\/span>(vv. 8-12)<\/span><\/i> God promises to answer the prayers of Israel and rebuild them as a nation in their land by bringing them together from afar, and pour out endless mercies on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

III <\/span>(v. 13) <\/span><\/i>The heavenly chorus\/nations proclaim that the heavens and earth will rise up in a joyous cacophony of praise, since God has had mercy on His chosen people.<\/span><\/p>\n

IV <\/span>(v. 14) <\/span><\/i>Zion – who as we will see, is representing the mother of Israel, and perhaps also the \u201cwife\u201d of God, with Israel being the product of this coupling – cries out: \u201cGod has abandoned me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

V <\/span>(vv. 15-21)<\/span><\/i> God replies to Zion\u2019s brief but tortured lament insisting that a pregnant woman would forget her fetus before He would forget lonely Zion. He takes her on a prophetic journey into a future time where she can see her children (Israel) coming back towards her from every direction, and her children will cover her like bridal jewels. She will go from being empty and desolate to verdant and bursting with people, which will leave her wondering, \u201cWhere did they come from? Who raised my long lost children?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

VI <\/span>(vv. 22-23)<\/span><\/i> God answers the rhetorical questions that he placed in future Zion\u2019s mouth. They were sent away among the nations of the world and they were taken as the adopted children of royalty. They have not only returned but, since they kept their faith and \u201ckept their hope in God\u201d they are the object of adulation of the elites of other nations and will face no further humiliation.<\/span><\/p>\n

VII <\/span>(v. 24)<\/span><\/i> Zion is incredulous: How can my children, captured by their enemies, be brought back? \u201cCan plunder be taken from the mighty?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

VIII <\/span>(vv. 25-26)<\/span><\/i> God answers Zion: Yes indeed, I can take plunder from the mightiest. I will fight your battles and return your children to you. Here God reveals the ultimate intent of all this process that Israel and Zion have endured: That all the world will see this implausible turn of events, and through this they will acknowledge the one true God, on account of His keeping his promise of long ago to Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":67903,"id":67903,"title":"is49-comfort","filename":"is49-comfort.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is49-comfort.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-great-comfort-dialogue\/is49-comfort\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is49-comfort","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":67902,"date":"2019-12-31 10:34:07","modified":"2022-08-01 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