This week we conclude our study of 2 Isaiah by looking at the concept of Servanthood. What it means to be “the royal servant” is one of the big themes of Isaiah, but it is also a thread that runs throughout both the Old and New Testaments. We talk about our mission as servants, and what God wants us to learn from Isaiah on the subject.

Resources mentioned in class:

• Slides from week 24

What does God want? What does servanthood look like? In these final two chapters of the book, we look again at what it is that defines righteousness from God’s perspective.

Resources from Class:

• Slides from week 23

In these chapters, God responds to the accusation that he has been distant from his people. He makes it clear that it is they who have created the distance, by pursuing their own way instead of following his guidance. He specifically condemns their devotion to Destiny and Fortune.

Our struggle continues to be the same as theirs. In our need to control our own future, we stop trusting the One who has always provided in the past. God’s answer for us is the same as his answer for them.

Resources used in class:

• Slides from Week 22

The Old Testament contains violent passages, and these sometimes make us uncomfortable. Often our discomfort comes from not understanding the perspective of the original audience. This week we deal with one of those passages in Isaiah 63.

We also examine another type of ancient literature, the community lament. Understanding the form helps us see how the message of Isaiah is still fresh and current for us.

Resources Used in Class:

• Slides from Week 21
• Extended Clip from Band of Brothers

Isaiah 60—62 forms the climax of 3rd Isaiah. It is the “meat in the middle” of the chiasm that starts in chapter 56 and finishes in chapter 66. John Oswalt labels this section “eschatological hope,” and that’s as good a description as any.

In this class period, we talk about the continuing imagery of the role of the people of God as his servants—his royal representatives to the whole world. And we also talk about the importance of names, and of God changing names.

Resources:

• Class slides from week 20
• Kunta Kinte / Toby scene from Roots (warning: this is hard to watch)

God repeatedly teaches in the prophets that he abhors their (our) sacrifices—that the forms of religion are not what he commands. In these chapters, Isaiah 58—59, God says that even though the people think they are doing the right things, they’re not. He then goes on to define what it is exactly that he expects (and it’s the same thing he expects from us).

Resources from Class:

• Ending from Saving Private Ryan
• Slides from Week 19

This week we cover the first two chapters of “3rd Isaiah.” A remnant has returned to the land from Babylonian exile. They find that they are in a state of “Already, but Not Yet” with regards to the promises God made through the prophets.

One of the issues they struggle with is complacence. If God rescued them because of who he is, and not because of anything they did to earn it, then what does it matter how they act now? Their assumption is that God is on their side because they are sons and daughters of Abraham.

But God redefines for them who his people are, and how they access shalom.

Resources Used in Class:

• Slides from Week 18
• Opening Scene from Saving Private Ryan (this clip does not use John Williams’ original score, so it’s not as powerful. Watch the original if you can.)
• The Onion: Local Church Full of Brainwashed Idiots Feeds Town’s Poor Every Week (Warning: The Onion is a satirical publication, and you will almost certainly find some of its content offensive. This particular article is interesting to our point in class, but this is not an endorsement of the publication.)