Isaiah 1:1-9

1:1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2 Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;

for the LORD has spoken:

I reared children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s crib;

but Israel does not know,

my people do not understand.

4 Ah, sinful nation,

people laden with iniquity,

offspring who do evil,

children who deal corruptly,

who have forsaken the LORD,

who have despised the Holy One of Israel,

who are utterly estranged!

5 Why do you seek further beatings?

Why do you continue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

and the whole heart faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,

there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

and bleeding wounds;

they have not been drained, or bound up,

or softened with oil.

7 Your country lies desolate,

your cities are burned with fire;

in your very presence

aliens devour your land;

it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

8 And daughter Zion is left

like a booth in a vineyard,

like a shelter in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

9 If the LORD of hosts

had not left us a few survivors,

we would have been like Sodom,

and become like Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:1-9, NRSV)

On December 3, 2006 (the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 28, 2004, (the First Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement.

The superscription (title) of the Book of Isaiah identifies it as a vision (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) “which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (Isa. 1:1). The same term, “vision” (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) appears in the superscription of Obadiah, “The vision (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) of Obadiah” (Ob. 1), and, together with “oracle” (xW0!m1 , maśśā’) in the superscription of Nahum, “An oracle (xW0!m1 , maśśā’) concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) of Nahum of Elkosh” (Nah. 1:1). Sometimes “vision” (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) refers to an ocular vision, so to speak, an ephemeral “vision of the night” (Isa. 29:7), or when God’s spirit is poured out “on all flesh,” and “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,” the “visions” (tOnyz4oH@, chezyōnôth) the young men see (Uxr4y9, yir’ û). But in prophetic book superscriptions, the meaning is. rather, a “revelatory word” (cf. William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. NOzH3 ch ^azôn, where Isa. 1:1 is cited for this meaning). It becomes obvious in the superscription of Nahum in the phrase, “the book of the vision (NOzH3, ch ^azôn) of Nahum” (see above).

Since the report of Isaiah’s vision in the temple and his “call” to prophesy (chap. 6) is dated “in the year that King Uzziah died” (6:1), one should assume that Isaiah’s career began late in the reign of Uzziah, or immediately after, and spanned much of the latter part of the Eighth Century B.C. Joseph Blenkinsopp gives dates for the four kings listed from 785 to 698 or 687, adding that “the chronology is disputed.” He says that identifying the “entire book as a vision” corresponds to “late biblical usage [in which the term] has the broad sense of divine revelation” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Isa. 1:1).

Following the superscription, the message of Isaiah begins with “a poem of indictment and hope” (Benjamin D. Sommer, The Jewish Study Bible, p. 784, on Isa. 1:2-31). He adds:

some view this ch. as a single speech that is especially comprehensive in subject matter and biting in tone. Alternatively, it may be a summary of the contents of the book as a whole, written especially to be an introduction, probably to chs. 1-33, but perhaps to the final form of the book (cf. 1:28-31 with 66:24). Much of this chapter (vv. 1-27) is read as the haftorah, or prophetic reading, on the Sabbath preceding Tish‘ah be’av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple. This section is thus seen as offering theological justification for that event. (ibid.)

Isaiah begins with the LORD’s complaint: The LORD calls upon heaven and earth as witnesses. “Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; / for the LORD has spoken” (Isa. 1:2a, b). “I reared children and brought them up,” says the LORD, “but they have rebelled against me. / The ox knows its owner, / and the donkey its master’s crib; / but Israel does not know, / my people do not understand” (vv. 2c, d, 3). The prophet addresses Israel as a “sinful nation,” a “people laden with iniquity, / offspring who do evil, / children who deal corruptly” (v. 4a, b, c, d). His charge is that they “have forsaken the LORD,” and “have despised the Holy One of Israel, [and thus] are utterly estranged!” (v. 4e, f, g). According to Blenkinsopp, “the prophet indicts Israel for religious infidelity” (op. cit., on vv. 2-31). “The rhetorical call for attention appeals to heaven and earth to witness the LORD’s grievance against his people in the context of a lawsuit concerning Israel’s violation of the covenant . . . The idea of rebellious children recalls the penalty of death imposed on the rebellious son (Deut. 21:18-21).” Blenkinsopp adds that “the appeal to animal behavior is the first of many examples of Isaiah’s appropriation of the didactic tradition of Israel’s sages (e.g., Prov. 6:6-8)” (ibid., on vv. 2-3; cf. Sommer, op. cit., on 2-4).

The LORD (speaking through the prophet) continues with a question that implies previous punishment. “Why do you seek further beatings?” he asks. “Why do you continue to rebel?” (v. 5a, b). This “sinful nation” that has “despised the Holy One of Israel” (v. 4), as deathly ill: “The whole head is sick, / and the whole heart faint. / From the sole of the foot even to the head, / there is no soundness in it, / but bruises and sores/ and bleeding wounds; / they have not been drained, or bound up, / or softened with oil” (vv. 5c, d, 6). Judah is personified as a person that is gravely ill, but not treated medically.

Then the prophet, speaking for the LORD, describes the country of Judah, which “lies desolate, ‘/ your cities are burned with fire; ‘ in your very presence / aliens devour your land; / it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners” (v. 7). Could this description of the land as desolate reflect the Assyrian attacks (chaps. 36-39; cf. Blenkinsopp, op. cit., on vv. 7-9)? Jerusalem is described as “daughter Zion . . . left /like a booth in a vineyard, / like a shelter in a cucumber field, / like a besieged city” (v. 8). The prophet implies the deserted state after the harvest; the booth is an empty shell, as the final line shows, “like a besieged city” (v. 8d). Images of desolation become explicit in the last line. Although there has been no sign of response for the people so far, one may hear their voice, or that of the prophet speaking for them, saying “If the LORD of hosts / had not left us a few survivors, / we would have been like Sodom, / and become like Gomorrah” (v. 9). Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, of course, in the days of Abraham and Lot (Gen. 19).

Desolation described, for “aliens devour your land,” which is “overthrown by foreigners” is related by Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay to “a people heedless of the significance of Judah’s devastation by Tiglath-Pileser III (734-733 B.C.; 7:1-2) or Sennacherib (701 B.C.; 36:1)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Isa. 1:4-9). The past tense here apparently anticipates future invasion; otherwise the call to repentance (vv. 16-20) would seem pointless. Specific sins are mentioned later, especially in Tuesday’s reading (vv. 21-23, 29-30); today’s reading focuses on the desolation.

2 Peter 3:1-10

The Promise of the Lord’s Coming (Gen 6.5-8.22)

3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you 2 that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. 3 First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” 5 They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, 6 through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.

8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. (2 Peter 3:1-10, NRSV)

On December 5, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year Two), comments were repeated from December 3, 2006 (the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 28, 2004, (the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from November 30, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the first Sunday of Advent, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

Our reading begins in 2 Peter, chapter 3, with an explanation. “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you” (2 Pet. 3:1a). In this way, the writer identifies with Peter and the First Epistle of Peter. “In them [i.e., the two letters],” he says, “I am trying to arouse your sincere intention” (v. 1b). That intention would be that the readers appreciate the truth of the Christian gospel and remain faithful to their Christian faith and commitment (cf. 1:4-10). The writer reminds them “that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles” (v. 2). In this way, he refers again to two primary sources for his instruction, “the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets,” in other words, the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), especially the prophetic books, and the apostolic witness to “the commandment of the Lord and Savior.” Chapter 2 of Second Peter warns about false teachers in a manner closely similar to the Book of Jude; but the focus here is on one particular “false teaching,” promoted by “scoffers.” “First of all,” he says, “you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts” (v. 3). The problem posed by these scoffers is their questioning of the Christian hope and expectation of the Lord’s return, his Second Coming, as they ask, “Where is the promise of his coming (parousiva, parousia)?” (v. 4a; cf. 1 Thess. 4:15). They will point to the passage of time, saying, “for ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” (v. 4b). Peter responds by drawing a parallel between the destruction of the world by flood in Noah’s time and the destruction of the world by fire in the coming “day of the Lord” (v. 10). The scoffers, he says, “deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word (lovgoV, logos) of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished” (vv. 5-6). The words, “they deliberately ignore,” says Patrick A. Tiller, stand “in contrast to the repeated exhortation to ‘remember’ (1:9, 12-15; 3:1-2, 8)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 2 Pet. 3:5). He explains the description of creation here as “by God’s word and an original watery state” with reference to Gen. 1:2, 6-10; Ps. 33:6-7” (ibid.). Peter compares the former action through God’s word with the future expectation. “But by the same word (lovgoV, logos [i.e., God’s word] ) the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless” (v. 7). “The flood destroyed the first world and made way for the present one,” says Tiller. “In the same way, fire will destroy the present world, and a third world will replace it” (ibid., on vv. 4-13). According to Richard J. Bauckham says, “Jewish traditions spoke of two universal judgments, one by water (in the past), the other by fire (in the future. Fire is a common biblical image of judgment” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 2 Pet. 3:7).

And so, though delayed, the next judgment will be with fire. The readers are to remember that God’s time is not counted as our time, for “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day” (v. 8). Peter explains that the delay of the parousia is due to God’s desire for people to repent and turn to him. “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (v. 9). “But the day of the Lord will [indeed] come,” says Peter, “like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed” (v. 10). Bauckham explains the coming of “the day of the Lord ” as “a common biblical expression for the time of God’s final judgment. For its coming like a thief,” he adds, “see Mt. 24:43-44; 1 Thess. 5:2)” and “for imagery of it, see Isa 34:4; Mk. 13:25; Rev. 6:13-14. The wicked and their deeds will be disclosed to God’s judicial scrutiny” (ibid., on v. 10). G. H. Boobyer (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, p. 1033, on 2 Pet. 3:1-13) sees in this passage an echo of a theme from chapter one, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:16). He notes the term parousia in 1:16 and 3:4. The Latin Vulgate has praesentiam in 1:16, but adventus in 3:4, but whether 1:16 refers to the first “Advent” or the second, the connection with the Advent season is apparent. If you think about it, the “coming” (advent) is a precondition of the “presence” (parousia).

Matthew 25:1-13

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13, NRSV)

On July 14, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), comments were based, with editing and revision, on earlier comments from an email sent December 17, 2003, from July 12, 2004, in an email sent July 12, 2004 for July 12-18, comments from November 28, 2004 (Monday of the week of the First Sunday in Advent), from December 15, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), from July 14, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 13, Year Two), and from December 20, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is presented only by Matthew. But its admonitions to be watchful and ready are similar to admonitions in Mark and Luke, of which some are indicated in the separate file, Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.

In Matthew, Jesus introduces the parable, saying, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this” (Mt. 25:1a). Coming as it does after the eschatological teaching of chapter twenty-four, Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids has the obvious sense, “Be ready for the coming of the Lord!” Krister Stendahl notes the future reference here, “while the parables about the Kingdom in ch. 13 were introduced by the formula ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .’ we read here ‘Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be like . . .” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 692 l, p. 794 on Mt. 25:1-13). According to Dennis C. Duling, this is the first of “three major parables about the coming (Greek parousia [parousiva] ) of the Son of Man for final judgment” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 25:1-46). He calls the “Parable of the ten bridesmaids, an allegory about readiness for the unexpected Parousia” (ibid., on vv. 1-13).

“Ten bridesmaids (parqevnoi, parthenoi; ‘virgins’ AV/KJV) took their lamps,” says Jesus, “and went to meet the bridegroom” (v. 1b). According to Stendahl, “Some good MSS read ‘the bridegroom and the bride’ in [v.] 1 and this may well be the original reading. By omitting ‘the bride’ the parable becomes an allegory, the groom being the Messiah (cf. 9:15 and 22:1-14)” (ibid.). However, while the longer reading, including “the bride,” is supported by Manuscripts D (5th/6th c.) X* (10^th c.) Q (9^th c.) and others, including early Latin and Syriac manuscripts, the shorter reading is supported by Manuscripts x (4^th c.) B (4^th c.) K (9^th c.) L (8^th c.) W (5^th c.) and others. K. Aland and others omit kai; th:V nuvmfhV (kai tēs nymphēs, “and the bride”) from their printed text and use the letter A to indicate that, in the judgment of the committee, “the text is virtually certain” (The Greek New Testament, 3^rd ed., 1975, apparatus to Mt. 25:1; cf. p. xii). Bruce M. Metzger explains the committee’s reasoning:

It can be argued that the words kai; th:V numfh:V [kai tēs nymphēs] (‘and the bride’), which are witnessed by a rather strong combination of Western and Caesarean witnesses, were omitted because they were felt to be incompatible with the widely held view that Christ, the bridegroom, would come to fetch his bride, the church. But it is doubtful whether copyists would have been so sensitive to the logic of the allegory. Furthermore, those who omitted the words envisaged the wedding as taking place in the home of the fiancée; those who added the words envisaged the bringing of the bride by the bridegroom to his home (or the home of his parents) where the wedding takes place. Since the latter custom was more common in the ancient world,¹ it is probable that the words are an interpolation by copyists who did not notice that the mention of the bride would disturb the allegorical interpretation of the parable. Only the bridegroom is mentioned in what follows. (A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 1971, p. 62, on Mt. 25:1)

Metzger’s footnote 1 compares “Hilma Granqvist, Marriage Conditions in a Palestine Village, [vol.] II, 1935 and works by Joachim Jeremias.

In the parable, Jesus distinguishes two groups. ““Five of them were foolish, and five were wise” (v. 2). The wisdom of the five wise bridesmaids is illustrated by their preparations. “When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” (vv. 3-4). While Luke does not include the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids as such, he does include instruction that makes a similar point. After Jesus’ instructions to his disciples not to worry (Lk. 12:22-34; cf. Mt. 6:25-34), he presents instructions that, as Stendahl puts it, use “the wedding motif as well as the basic point of [Matthew’s] parable” (loc. cit.). “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,” says Jesus; “be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks” (Lk. 12:35-36, cf. vv. 37-38; cf. also Mk. 13:33-37; Lk. 13:25-28; 12:40–texts all included in the table in the separate file, Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids). Stendahl says that “the point in Mt. is made by stressing the wisdom of five of the maidens, the careful planning ([v.] 2: phronimos [frovnimoV]; cf. 25:45), rather than the staying awake” (loc. cit.).

The delayed return of the bridegroom, “As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept” (Mt. 25:5), can be compared to the “waiting [of slaves] for their master to return from the wedding” of those mentioned in Luke 12:36; compare the charge to the slaves to “beware, keep alert . . . Therefore, keep awake” when their master goes “on a journey,” Mk. 13:33-35). In Matthew, Jesus’ parable continues with the actual coming of the bridegroom: “But at midnight [cf. Lk. 12:38; Mk. 13:35b] there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him” (Mt. 25:6); compare the possible nighttime return suggested in Luke, “If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn” (Lk. 12:38), and in Mark, “for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn” (Mk. 13:35).

While the sayings in Luke briefly describe what is to be expected at the master’s return, Matthew’s parable gives a detailed account. “If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so [i.e. ‘alert,’ v. 37],” says Jesus, “blessed are those slaves” (Lk. 12:38). In another context in Luke, Jesus says, “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out” (Lk. 13:26-28; cf. Mt. 7:22-23; 25:41). In Matthew’s parable, the bridesmaids respond to the midnight shout. “Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps” (Mt. 25:7). But some have a problem. “The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! There will not be enough fore you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves’ ” (vv. 8-9). One might wonder who would be selling lamp oil at midnight, but that would not necessarily relate to Jesus’ point here. “And while they went to buy it,” says Jesus, “the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut” (v. 10). And Jesus tells us that the foolish bridesmaids were thus locked out. “Later,” he says, “the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you’ ” (vv. 11-12). And Jesus concludes the parable with the admonition, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (v. 13; cf. Lk. 12:35; Mk. 13:33; Mt. 24:42; Lk. 12:40). Stendahl notes repetition here of “the refrain from the preceding chapter [cf. Mt. 24:42], but,” he says, it “does not fit too well for the details of the Matthean parable since all ten fell asleep (5)” (loc. cit.).

Some who read Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids (Mt. 25:1-13) are inclined to interpret it as an allegory, letting the oil which the wise bridesmaids took with them, and the foolish bridesmaids neglected, represent the Holy Spirit. Having the oil, that is, the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the outcome. “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9b). Dale C. Allison, Jr., calls the parable

an allegory of the parousia of Christ, the heavenly bridegroom: the virgins represent the Christian community, the delay of the bridegroom is the delay of the Son of Man’s return, the sudden coming is the unexpected arrival of his parousia, and the spurning of the foolish virgins is the great assize [judgment]. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 878, on Mt. 25:1-13)

Allison adds that the delay of the parousia “means yet again that no one knows the date of the Son of Man’s parousia,” that the wise virgins “reveal that religious prudence will gain eschatological reward,” and that the foolish virgins “reveal that those unprepared at the end will suffer eschatological punishment” (ibid.).

I would see the main point of the parable as emphasizing the need to be ready when the Lord comes. But if for Zerubbabel, it was "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD," how much more is it so for us? Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [or Helper], to be with you forever" (Jn. 14:16). He "will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (Jn. 14:26). "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn. 16:13). May you know the spiritual power that comes through God's Spirit, and find his renewal and refreshment.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net