Isaiah 22; 24-26; 28-30

At the beginning of Isaiah 22, Isaiah sees the destruction of Jerusalem. He describes the city in verse 2 as “full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city….” A footnote at the bottom of the page tells us that the word “stirs” means noise, so this is a typically noisy city that is also full of life. Isaiah’s choice of words when he calls it “joyous” makes it plain that he loves Jerusalem. He wouldn’t have added that word to his description unless he loved it. In verse 4, he writes, “Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.” He is unhappy to see his people’s destruction (Jonah would have a hard time relating).

At the same time, Isaiah knows these people for who they are. In Isaiah 22:11, he writes, “Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.” The people of Jerusalem take their prosperity and their gifts for granted.

On page 24, the lesson guide refers specifically to Isaiah 22:22, which reads, “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” This is clearly a verse that refers to the Savior, and you can look at it in terms of the Savior’s priesthood power: more specifically, his ability to heal us, to raise us from the dead, and to seal us together with our loved ones. But I also found the verses that follow it to be very interesting, in Isaiah 22:23–25.

I have always thought that one of the great things about the next life is the idea that our burdens will be lifted and we will be (finally) in a situation where what happens is just when it needs to be just and merciful where it is appropriate to be merciful. But I had not thought about it in terms of what the next life will mean for the Savior. We often talk about the burden placed on the Savior during the Atonement, and perhaps that is the very time these verses are referring to. But to me, it sounds like it could be more than that. In verse 25, we read, “In that day, saith the Lord of hosts… the burden… shall be cut off….” There is something very beautiful about that. Christ gives us relief for our suffering, but Christ is also given relief from his suffering. To me, that seems like such an intensely personal insight into the needs of our Savior. I think it is also some indication of Isaiah’s compassion and generosity of heart.

The next chapters in the reading assignment are Isaiah 24–26. Isaiah 24 is another exquisitely worded prophesy about destruction. It reads more like the end of the world than the destruction of Israel. For example, Isaiah 24:20 reads, “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” In Isaiah 24:22, Isaiah also talks about Christ visiting the spirit prison after his death. The verse reads, “And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” This verse might also refer to other things, but to me it certainly does sound like Christ’s spirit-world visit after the crucifixion, where he organized missionary efforts on behalf of those who had already died (D&C 138:11–27, 29–35).

Isaiah 25 reads like one of the psalms. I particularly liked verse 4, which reads, “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” Isaiah 25:8–9 is also good. It reads, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Isaiah 26 continues his praise of the Lord. Isaiah 26:9 is a verse of praise. It reads, “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” Isaiah is always so good at finding an intensely personal way to express himself, and this is an example of that. Nothing is as personal as the time we spend alone in the middle of the night. In Isaiah 26:17–18, Isaiah compares the Lord’s people to the striking image of a woman in labor, ineffectually delivering “wind” instead of a baby.

At the end of chapter 26, Isaiah emphasizes the brevity of life. Isaiah 26:20 reads, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” I doubt whether people in the middle of a natural disaster or a war could ever truly feel that what they are experiencing is as brief as what Isaiah suggests, but I can believe that someday when we look back, those moments will indeed seem to us to be just that: moments.

Isaiah 28 is an interesting chapter, but I don’t want to say a whole lot about it. Instead, I would refer you to Avraham Gileadi’s translation of the Book of Isaiah. On p. 77 of the introduction, Gileadi begins an essay that talks specifically about Isaiah 28 and does a far better job than I could possibly hope to do. It looks to me as though this particular book is out of print (after all, it was published in 1988), but you might be able to get a copy from a library, or perhaps Gileadi has covered the same ground in other books.

The one thing I do want to make mention of from Isaiah 28 is Isaiah 28:13, which talks about learning “precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little….” If you are familiar with Saturday’s Warrior and the song, “Line Upon Line,” you know that this song presents a very different approach to this verse than the one presented by Gileadi. The chapter summary for Isaiah 28 seems more in line with the song “Line Upon Line” than with what Gileadi has to say, but I think Isaiah 28:13 is a good example of how the meaning of a scripture can become much richer if you have more background on the subject. I like the song, mind you: it is part of my youth, and I have a lot of good memories associated with it and with the play. But I can remember how forcefully Gileadi’s essay struck me when I first read it and I realized what these verses were actually saying.

Isaiah 29 has several verses that are of particular interest. Isaiah 29:11–12 is an obvious one to talk about, because it has been fulfilled (Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65). I like Isaiah 29:13 because of its insight. It reads, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men….” Now, I realize he has not finished his thought here (you have to go on to the next verse for that) but isn’t this an accurate statement? For some people, what they say and what they do is far apart. I have found this to be comforting, because when I see that kind of a religious disconnect, it is a reminder that people may fool each other, but they can’t fool the Lord. He knows the difference between genuine and false. It is also humbling, because it means I can’t fool him either. All of us have to be genuinely doing our best in order to succeed with the Lord.

The next verse, Isaiah 29:14, finishes the thought and will always remind me of LeGrand Richards: “Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” (The rest of the verses in the chapter, especially verses 15–16, are also good, but I won’t quote them here.)

Isaiah 30 is the last chapter in the reading assignment. I don’t want to say a whole lot about it, but I do want to draw your attention to a few verses. Isaiah 30:9–10 reads,

“…[T]his is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits….” I think there are a lot of people who would rather have things be smooth than honest, even if it means listening to deceit.

The second thing I wanted to mention briefly was Isaiah 30:19–21. This is the only reference I saw for this specific chapter in the Study Guide (on page 25). You should read the entire reference, but in verses 20–21, it reads, “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teacher: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” The thing I liked about these verses was that they were representative of the entire chapter. Isaiah is (as always) pretty blunt, but there is also hope: Israel has really made huge mistakes, and will pay a heavy price for those mistakes, but there is hope for a much better future. He tells us in this chapter that at some point the Lord is going to take us in hand and straighten things out.

The last verse I want to mention is Isaiah 30:29. I like this verse. It reads as follows: “Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.” The footnotes tell us that Isaiah is talking to the righteous survivors, and that “a holy solemnity” is “the sanctifying of a feast day.” In any event, having both a song and gladness of heart both sound pretty good to me.

Sunday School Notebook -September 2006 - Susan Morgan