Isaiah 10:20-27 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

The Repentant Remnant of Israel

20 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all the earth.

24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: O my people, who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 The LORD of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 On that day his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck. (Isaiah 10:20-27, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated with revision and supplement here from December 18, 2004, two years ago (Saturday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One):

Isaiah’s promise is that “a remnant will return” (Isa. 10:21). “In Hebrew this is the same as the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-yashub; in 7:3-4 it stands in an oracle of encouragement, but here in an oracle of doom” (Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Isa. 10:21). “For though your people Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all the earth” (Isa. 10:22-23). “But the remnant will be different from their predecessors,” says John N. Oswalt, “in at least one respect. They will no longer ‘rely on’ (10:20), or trust, their worst enemy before they will trust ‘the Holy One of Israel.’ In that coming day when a handful of survivors return to the land from which they have been exiled, they will learn the lesson of trust that Isaiah 7-39 focuses on” (Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary, p. 176, on Isa. 10:20-23).

Isaiah continues with a glimmer of hope appears in the midst of judgment. “O my people, who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction” (vv. 24-25). The LORD will again save Israel from her enemies as in the past. “The LORD of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt” (v. 26). Here,

the prophet turns to two experiences from the past as confirmation of the Lord’s power to protect his people from massive threats. Whether it was the multitude of Midianite troops led by Oreb (Judg. 7:25) or Egypt’s chariot corps, the finest in the world at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 14:26; 15:4), neither was any match for the power of the ‘LORD Almighty’ (lit. ‘Yahweh of armies’). Because of that, the heavy ‘yoke’ of oppression that the Assyrian kings used to boast about putting on the necks of conquered peoples will be ‘broken’ off (10:27). (Oswalt, p. 127, on Isa. 10:24-27).

Oswalt cites an example of such boasting which

appears in the annals of Sargon II, where he says, ‘[I] imposed upon them the yoke of Ashur, my lord’ [note 6: ‘ANET, 285b]. There is some question about the proper reading of the last phrase in 10:27, both because the meaning of the Hebrew is obscure and the versions have a number of different readings. If the Hebrew is correct, then the idea is that the ox is so well fed that its neck becomes so fat it breaks the bow that holds the yoke in place. (Ibid.)

When the nation that was the LORD’s ax, his rod (v. 15), comes under the lashes of his whip (v. 26), “his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck” (v. 27).

Isaiah 33:17-22 (Presbyterian)

17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;

they will behold a land that stretches far away.

18 Your mind will muse on the terror:

“Where is the one who counted?

Where is the one who weighed the tribute?

Where is the one who counted the towers?”

19 No longer will you see the insolent people,

the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,

stammering in a language that you cannot understand.

20 Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!

Your eyes will see Jerusalem,

a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,

whose stakes will never be pulled up,

and none of whose ropes will be broken.

21 But there the LORD in majesty will be for us

a place of broad rivers and streams,

where no galley with oars can go,

nor stately ship can pass.

22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler,

the LORD is our king; he will save us. (Isaiah 33:17-22, NRSV)

Isaiah, chapter 33, has been entitled “The Coming Kingdom of God” (Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah 1-39, Westminster Bible Companion, p. 259, on Isa. 33:1-24, cf. pp. 259-267). Israel, whose leaders have been warned against an alliance with Egypt (30:1-7; 31:1-5), is promised a future “king [who] will reign in righteousness, / and princes [who] will rule with justice” (32:1). According to Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The ideal commonwealth of the future under a Davidic ruler is a major theme of chs. 32-33 (32:1; 33:17)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Isa. 32:1-8). There will be lamenting over the failure of the harvest (vv. 9-14), but the LORD will transform “the natural and moral environment through the spirit of God (Blenkinsopp on vv. 15-20). Chapter 33 begins with a “woe” (hôy), “Ah, you destroyer” (33:1a), warning, “When you have ceased to destroy, / you will be destroyed; / and when you have stopped dealing treacherously, / you will be dealt withy treacherously” (v. 1e, f, g, h). A prayer, “a psalm” follows “expressing confidence in deliverance from hostile attack” (Blenkinsopp, on 33:2-6). As the prophet continues, he describes deserted highways, the broken treaty, and the withered land and vegetation (vv. 7-9). But the LORD, speaking through the prophet, says he will arise (v. 10) and act in behalf of “those who walk righteously and speak uprightly, / who despise the gain of oppression; / who wave away a bribe instead of accepting it, / who stop their ears from hearing of bloodshed / and shut their eyes from looking on evil” (v. 15). The promise is that such people “will live on the heights; / their refuge will be the fortresses of rocks; / their food will be supplied, the water assured” (v. 16).

That background brings us to today’s reading, which echoes 32:1-8 (mentioned above). “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty” (33:17a). According to Blenkinsopp, the repetition of the theme , “the future golden age of Jerusalem” (32:1-8, and 33:17:22), forms “an inclusion,” that is, beginning and end markers for a longer section (on Isa. 33:17-22). The land of God’s people will be extensive, “a land that stretches far away (v. 17b). The people will look back on former terrors. “Your mind will muse on the terror: / “Where is the one who counted? / Where is the one who weighed the tribute? / Where is the one who counted the towers?” (v. 18). The terrors of Assyria’s oppression will be a thing of the past. “No longer will you see the insolent people, / the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, / stammering in a language that you cannot understand” (v. 19). The language not understood would be the Assyrian language (cf. 36:11-12). Zion, or Jerusalem, “the city of our appointed festivals,” will be “a quiet habitation, an immovable tent, / whose stakes will never be pulled up, / and none of whose ropes will be broken” (v. 20). “But there the LORD in majesty will be for us / a place of broad rivers and streams, / where no galley with oars can go, / nor stately ship can pass. Blenkinsopp calls this “a strange image, since Jerusalem has no broad rivers and is not accessible to attack from the sea; the imaging therefore must be mythological; cf. 47:1-12” (on Isa. 33:21). But the reference is to God’s future, not necessarily “mythological, and in the Book of Revelation, the river of life is put in the context of the New Heaven and New Earth (Rev. 21:1). And the reading closes here in Isaiah with the confident assertion that “the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler, / the LORD is our king; he will save us” (v. 22).

Jude 17-25 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

Warnings and Exhortations

17 But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 for they said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.” 19 It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some who are wavering; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.

Benediction

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 17-25, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with some revision and adaptation from December 18, 2004, two years ago (Saturday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One):

Recent Epistle readings have been drawn from Second Peter, chapters one and two (Mon.-Fri., Dec. 13-17). With much that is parallel in Jude and Second Peter, we continue today in Jude, reminding us (as they did their generation) that the Apostles predicted that there would be “scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts” (Jude 17-18; cf. 2 Pet. 3:2-3). Both exhort us to differ from these “scoffers,” but Jude adds that we should “build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still other with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies” (vv. 20-23). Peter’s continuation emphasizes the certainty of the Lord’s coming (2 Pet. 3:10), in spite of apparent delays (vv. 8, 9), and our need to lead “lives of holiness and godliness” (v. 11). Where Jude’s doxology speaks of “him [God] who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing” (Jude 24), Peter urges us to “strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish” (2 Pet. 3:14). But whereas Peter’s admonitions continue (vv. 15, 17-18) before the closing doxology, “To him [Jesus Christ] be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (v. 18), Jude’s admonition to stand without blemish (v. 24) becomes doxology, “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen”(v. 25).

Revelation 22:6-11, 18-20 (Presbyterian)

6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Epilogue and Benediction

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” (Revelation 22:6-11, NRSV)

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:18-20, NRSV)

The following comments on Revelation 22:6-13 and 22:14-21 are repeated here from November 18 and 19, 2005 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year One). Although the readings are divided differently, the texts covered are those of today (Dec. 23, Rev. 22:6-11, 18-20) and tomorrow (Dec. 24, Rev. 22:12-17, 21)

With the completion of John's picture of the New Jerusalem, readings for Friday and Saturday turn to confirmation and encouragement: "These words are trustworthy and true" (Rev. 22:6). "Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book" (v. 7). "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things" (v. 8). "And he [the angel, vv. 1, 8] said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near'" (v. 10). According to D.E. Aune (Harper-Collins Study Bible, on Rev. 22:10), "Most Jewish Apocalypses contain the command to seal the book until the end (see Dan. 12:4, 9).” But John emphasizes the nearness of the end: "See, I [Jesus, cf. v. 16] am coming soon" (v. 12). “The end of the age is too near to allow time for change” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on v. 11). Christ says that he is coming soon, and “my reward is with me to repay according to everyone’s work” (v. 12). He calls himself “the “Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (v. 13), applying “God’s title to himself” (Metzger, on v. 13; cf. Rev. 1:8).

These readings concludes selections from Revelation. Those who are faithful, “who wash their robes . . . will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates” (Rev. 22:14), whereas “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (v. 15). There is a clear and distinct separation–based on God’s judgment, and made by God–a final separation of the sheep from the goats (Mt. 25:33, cf. vv. 31-46). C. S. Lewis puts it well in an often quoted statement from The Screwtape Letters, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way’.” Imbedded within this passage is an invitation extended to any who will respond:

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”

And let everyone who is thirsty come.

Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. (Rev. 22:17, NRSV)

Compare Jesus’ invitation as he spoke to those in the temple for the Feast of Tabernacles:

Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” (Jn. 6:37b-38, NRSV)

I cannot overlook the word “anyone” in these invitations (which I have put in bold face print above).

Luke 3:1-9 (Episcopal and Lutheran)

The Proclamation of John the Baptist (Mt 3.1-12; Mk 1.1-8; Jn 1.19-28)

3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ “

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:1-9, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here from December 18, 2004, two years ago (Saturday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One):

Luke moves from Jesus’ infancy and youth (chap. 2) to the beginning of his story of Jesus’ ministry as an adult. Chapter 3 begins with reference to the historical setting, “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius” (Lk. 3:1, referring to A.D. 26 or 27, Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Lk. 3:1), and to various rulers at the time. The description of John the Baptist and the summary of his message has parallels in Matthew and Mark (Lk. 3:2-6; cf. Mk. 1:2-6; Mt. 3:1-6). But Luke extends the quotation from Isaiah 40 by quoting verses 4 and 5 (Lk. 3:5-6):

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together. (Isa. 40:4, 5a,b)

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (Lk. 3:5-6)

Luke continues with John’s preaching of repentance (Lk. 3:7-9; Mt. 3:7-10). Being children of Abraham is not enough. The ax “lying at the root of the trees” is to remove any hindrance to obedience and spiritual growth.

Luke 1:57-66 (Presbyterian)

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:57-66, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and adaptation here from December 22, 2005, two years ago (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when there was repetition from an E-mail sent December 22, 2003, for December 23, 2003, and from December 4, 2005 (the Second Sunday of Advent, Year Two):

Parents look forward to the child's first words, don't they? They marvel at simple expressions. But when an older man is struck dumb for a while, his later utterances may count as something of a miracle. Because Zechariah could not believe Gabriel's promise of the birth of John, he emerged from his service in the sanctuary unable to speak (Lk. 1:18-20). The birth of John the Baptist (Lk. 1:57) fulfills the promise made to Zechariah by the angel Gabriel while he was fulfilling his priestly duties in the temple (vv. 8-20). It completes the narrative which includes Elizabeth’s conception (v. 24) and the joy that she shared with Mary as “the child leaped in her womb” (v. 41). When the child was to be circumcised and named, “they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father” (v. 59). But the mother knew otherwise; the father, “mute, unable to speak,” because he did not believe Gabriel’s promise” (v. 20), wrote “His name is John” on a writing tablet (v. 63). By this act he confirmed his faith and submission to God’s plan, “his mouth was opened . . . and he began to speak, praising God” (v. 64). But his first spoken words of which we know are the prophecy known as the Benedictus (Lk. 1:67-79). The Benedictus will be included in the reading for tomorrow, the Fourth Sunday of Advent (and also, Christmas Eve). It is one of a series of hymnic poems found in Luke’s Infancy Narratives (cf. the Magnificat, Lk. 1:46-55; the Benedictus, 1:67-79; the angels’ song, Gloria in excelsis, 2:14; and the Nunc dimittis, 2:29-32, each so named from the opening words in Latin).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com