Isaiah 13:6-13 (Episcopal); or 1-13 (Presbyterian, Lutheran)

Proclamation against Babylon

13:1 The oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw.

2 On a bare hill raise a signal,

cry aloud to them;

wave the hand for them to enter

the gates of the nobles.

3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,

have summoned my warriors, my proudly exulting ones,

to execute my anger.

4 Listen, a tumult on the mountains

as of a great multitude!

Listen, an uproar of kingdoms,

of nations gathering together!

The LORD of hosts is mustering

an army for battle.

5 They come from a distant land,

from the end of the heavens,

the LORD and the weapons of his indignation,

to destroy the whole earth. (Isaiah 13:1-5, NRSV)

6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty!

7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every human heart will melt,

8 and they will be dismayed.

Pangs and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at one another;

their faces will be aflame.

9 See, the day of the LORD comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the earth a desolation,

and to destroy its sinners from it.

10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations

will not give their light;

the sun will be dark at its rising,

and the moon will not shed its light.

11 I will punish the world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,

and lay low the insolence of tyrants.

12 I will make mortals more rare than fine gold,

and humans than the gold of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

at the wrath of the LORD of hosts

in the day of his fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:6-13, NRSV)

On December 17, 2006 (The Third Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were repeated from December 12, 2004 (the Third Sunday of Advent, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

We note that today’s reading from Isaiah, departs from the sequence of the current consecutive readings, to which it will return tomorrow. Yesterday’s reading was Isaiah 8:1-15; tomorrow’s is Isaiah 8:16-9:1; but today’s reading skips ahead to chapter 13, where we encounter an oracle (xW0!m1, maśśā’) against Babylon (Isa. 13:1-14:23), as a part of a series of oracles against foreign nations (chaps. 13-23). From this section on oracles against foreign nations, there is only one other selection used in the Daily Office Lectionary (of the Book of Common Prayer), Isaiah 19:19-25, the reading for the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One, which follows judgment on Egypt (vv. 1-15) and predicts hope for Egypt through their worship of Israel’s God.

The Presbyterian and Lutheran readings for today begin with Isaiah 13:1 “The oracle (xW0!m1, maśśā’) concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw” (Isa. 13:1 NRSV). The recent Jewish translation says, “The ‘Babylon’ Pronouncement, a prophecy of Isaiah son of Amoz” (Isa. 13:1 NJPS 1985, 1999). Benjamin D. Sommer calls this verse a “superscription,” adding, “the oracle, and hence chs. 13-23 as a whole begins with its own superscription; cf. the superscriptions in 1:1 and 2:1” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Isa. 13:1).

In the oracle proper, the LORD speaks through Isaiah. “On a bare hill raise a signal (sn2, nēs), / cry aloud to them; / wave the hand for them to enter / the gates of the nobles (Myb9yd9n4, n ^edî v îm)” (v. 2). Clearly the LORD is summoning (mustering?) a group. The term “signal” (sn2, nēs) in Isaiah 31:9 means “banner, standard” (William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. sn2, nēs), but gathering the “nobles” is not necessarily the way to muster an army. But the participle translated “nobles” (Myb9yd9n4, n ^edî v îm), that usually means “willing,” or “generous, noble) (ibid., s.v. byd9n!, nādîv), is a form of the verb bd1 n!, nādab, for which the hitpael form can mean “decide voluntarily, volunteer,” for example, to live in repopulated Jerusalem (Neh. 11:2), or “enlist voluntarily, volunteer (for war)” (ibid., s.v. bd1 n!, nādab). If not already, it becomes clear in the next verse that the LORD is raising armed forces to inflict judgment upon Babylon. “I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, / have summoned my warriors (Myr9OBG9, gibbôrîm), my proudly exulting ones, / to execute my anger” (Isa.. 13:3).

In the new stanza, we hear the voice of Isaiah himself again, speaking of the LORD in the third person. He describes the massive military forces, now threatening Babylon, not Judah. “Listen, a tumult on the mountains / as of a great multitude! / Listen, an uproar of kingdoms, / of nations gathering together!” (v. 4). This military force takes on worldwide proportions. “They come from a distant land, / from the end of the heavens, / the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, / to destroy the whole earth” (v. 5). This, says Sommer, describes “the gathering of the armies that will defeat Babylonia” (op. cit., on vv. 2-5).

At this point, the reading from the Book of Common Prayer begins. Babylon is addressed and warned, “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; / it will come like destruction from the Almighty!” (v. 6). The words, “the day of the LORD,” here portend judgment upon Babylon, rather than Israel, as in Amos 5:18-20; perhaps as a part of judgment upon all nations (Ob. 15). At that time, “all hands will be feeble, / and every human heart will melt, / and they will be dismayed” (Isa. 13:7, 8a). The coming judgment will include intense pain: “Pangs and agony will seize them; / they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. / They will look aghast at one another; / their faces will be aflame” (v. 8b, c, d, e). This judgment will have worldwide effects: “See, the day of the LORD comes, / cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, / to make the earth a desolation, / and to destroy its sinners from it” (v. 9). It will even have cosmic proportions: “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations / will not give their light; / the sun will be dark at its rising, / and the moon will not shed its light” (v. 10).

The prophet, speaking for the LORD, reverts again to the first person, as the LORD announces punishment for the wicked: “I will punish the world for its evil, / and the wicked for their iniquity; / I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, / and lay low the insolence of tyrants” (v. 11). This judgment upon the peoples of the world will be so thorough that it “will make mortals more rare than fine gold, / and humans than the gold of Ophir” (v. 12). “Ophir, says J. J. M. Roberts, was “a country of disputed location famous for its fine gold (1 Kings 9:26-28; Job 22:24; 28:16; Ps. 45:9)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Isa. 13:12). From Israel’s perspective, its gold was likely rare indeed. And again, the LORD stresses the cosmic proportions of his judgment: “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, / and the earth will be shaken out of its place, / at the wrath of the LORD of hosts / in the day of his fierce anger” (v. 13).

This chapter and the next seem to be addressed to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, after it superceded the Assyria of Tiglath Pileser and Sennacherib as the superpower of the region. Sommer says, “This oracle assumes that Babylonia, rather than Assyria, is the world power. Hence it is addressed to an exilic audience in the mid-6th century, not to the 8^th-century audience of Isaiah son of Amoz” (op. cit., on vv. 1-22). But Roberts suggests a different understanding:

In Isaiah’s lifetime, Babylon experienced a resurgence under the Chaldean rule of Merodach-baladan (39:1) and his successors, and Assyria was forced to recapture it at least four times (708, 703, 700, 689 BCE), the last after a prolonged siege that led to its total destruction. Such an occasion, rather than the later uncontested surrender of Babylon to Persia (539), may be the background for this oracle. In the later period, however, after the fall of Babylon to Persia, the text would likely have been reread in the light of that more recent conquest of Babylon. (op. cit., on vv. 1-22)

The cosmic dimensions of this text suggest that it could apply to all tyrannies everywhere, even modern ones.

Hebrews 12:18-29

18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29, NRSV)

On May 4, 2008 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments were repeated from February 18, 2007 (the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated from May 28, 2006 (the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year Two). For other treatments of this passage, see references there. The comments of May 4, 2008 are repeated here:

As the writer to the Hebrews does throughout the book, he (or she) compares the Mosaic Covenant with the New Covenant of Christ. When the Israelites gathered at Mt. Sinai and, in preparation for the giving of the Ten Commandments, they saw “a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them” (Heb. 12:18-19; cf. Exod. 19:16, 18-19; 20:19; Deut. 5:4-5). Hebrews adds “For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death” (Heb. 12:20, citing Exod.19:12-23). By way of contrast, he tells the readers that they have come to “Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” where there are “innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Heb. 12:22), and “to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (v. 23). The comparison continues with reference to Jesus, “the mediator of the new covenant,” whose sprinkled blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (v. 24). “Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground, protesting against his murder and appealing for vindication; but the blood of Christ brings a message of cleansing, forgiveness, and peace with God to all who place their faith in him” (F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, rev. ed., 1990, p. 361 on Heb. 12:24).

The point is that the readers must take the revelation of Christ very seriously; if the former revelation was so awesome, how much more so is the latter? F. F. Bruce comments: “Our author reverts to the contrast already pointed in 2:2-4 between the giving of the law and the reception of the gospel. Awesome as were the circumstances of the giving of the law in Moses’ day, more awesome by far are the privileges associated with the gospel, if they are despised or refused” (Bruce, pp. 353-354 on Heb. 12:18-19). So the readers are warned: “See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven!” (v. 25). The writer cites Haggai 2:6, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven” (v. 26), referring to Exodus 19:18, “while the whole mountain shook violently.” The words, “yet once more” (Hag. 2:6 LXX, e[ti a{pax, eti hapax; ‘once again, in a little while’ NRSV for Heb. xyh9 Ff1m4 tH1x1 dOf, ‘ôd ’achat m^e‘at hî’) are interpreted by Hebrews; the phrase “indicates the removal of what is shaken–that is–created things–so that what cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:27). Bruce says of the Haggai passage,

In their context these words declare God’s purpose, in the day when he rises in vindication of his cause, to put down Gentile dominion, to exalt the throne of David, and to make Jerusalem and its temple the center of worship and allegiance for all nations. Our author [the writer to the Hebrews] interprets them of the end of the present world-order; the picture is similar to that in the Apocalypse where earth and heaven flee away from the face of the Judge on the great throne, to be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 20:11; 21:1). (pp. 363-364 on Heb. 12:26)

The unshakeable kingdom that remains (v. 28), “we are receiving,” so we are urged to “ offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe” (v. 29).

John 3:22-30

Jesus and John the Baptist

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24 –John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

25 Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:22-30, NRSV)

On August 12, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year Two), comments on John 3:22-36 were repeated from August 12, 2007 (the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One), and earlier as noted there. Relevant comments for today’s reading, verses 22-30, are repeated here:

The identity of Jesus is the main issue throughout John’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel reading it is emphasized that John is not the Messiah (Jn. 3:28). Jesus, “the one who comes from above” (v. 31), who “speaks the words of God” and “gives the Spirit without measure” (v. 34). Believing in him is a necessary condition of eternal life (v. 36). This reading comes from an early period in Jesus’ ministry, in the Judean countryside (Jn. 3:22), when John the Baptist was still active (v. 23). This early period of Jesus’ Judean ministry is not reported in the Synoptic Gospels. Luke, by reporting John’s imprisonment by Herod Antipas (Lk. 3:19-20) before the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (chap. 4) seems to separate the period of John’s ministry, as the end of the time of the prophets, from the time of Jesus’ ministry, the “middle of time” (Hans Conzelmann, Die Mitte der Zeit, 1953, 2^nd ed., 1957; trans., G. Buswell as The Theology of St. Luke, 1960). But neither Luke nor John provides a complete chronicle of everything Jesus said and did (cf. Jn. 20:30), and Luke himself follows the report of John’s imprisonment in 3:19-20 with a continuation, as John baptizes Jesus (vv. 21-22).

John tells us of a time when Jesus “spent some time there [in the Judean countryside] with them [his disciples] and baptized” (Jn. 3:22; the disciples baptized, not Jesus, 4:2). “John [the Baptist] also was baptizing,” says John the Evangelist, “at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized” (3:23). John the Evangelist makes a point of telling us that John the Baptist “had not yet been thrown into prison” (v. 24). We are given a series of contrasts between John the Baptist and Jesus. As noted, John and Jesus were both baptizing, for “people kept coming” (Jn. 3:23), though it was not “Jesus himself, but his disciples who baptized” (Jn. 4:2; cf. 3:22). Jesus, by turning water into wine earlier (2:1-11), improved on the use of the “jars for the Jewish rites of purification” (2:6), but John’s disciples have a “discussion about purification” with a Jew (v. 25). “No one [John?] can receive anything except what has been given from heaven” (v. 27). This leads to a report of John’s testimony about Jesus: “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him” (v. 28). He identifies Jesus as “the bridegroom” and himself as “the friend of the bridegroom” (v. 29). “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30). Later, Jesus would say, “I tell you, among those born of woman no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Lk. 7:28).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net