Isaiah On Israel - Prophecy May Be For You Now

Although Isaiah is a beloved prophet of Israel and Jews, his BOOK (in that name) being the most accurate of the original manuscripts found, taking the date as close to hundred years after Jesus, it could be called "anti-semitic" by our standards and political discourse! Well ... let us go to the text, Isaiah, chapter 1. In 1: 2 (Very second verse, after introducing himself), the Prophet quotes God's complaints against Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital. "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." What an indictment. Then Isaiah goes on to list the punishments - chastisement is the apt biblical term, for a Father's rearing Hand - from famine, to fire, to failed harvest, to foreign threats, and incompetent rulers! Sound familiar? In chapter 3, Isaiah fleshes out the detail that they will have rulers with the mind of children, or incompetent rulers, according to commentators. Sound familiar, too? He says folks would be asked to rule just because they have nicer clothes than the populace! More verses, if you bear with me: "Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners ... The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field ...." (Chapter 1, verses 7-8). Remember, we need to read the whole Bible, to understand our GOD, the YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. In that breath, let me say the most accurate description of Jesus on the cross - Isaiah 53 - is not read in synagogues today. Those descendants of Abraham who want to wait for another Messiah but Jesus, refuse to teach Isaiah 53. That is common about chapters we (the Church) do not like, too. Therefore, you have to read the Bible yourself, or be led like turkeys to someone's Thanksgiving Dinner. It was NOT easy for me, as I was raised Hindu, but I studied at great cost, and that is why I can speak truth to power. The one liberating truth, GOD TELLS THE JEWISH PEOPLE, is for us too: "I did not choose you because you are so big and important ..." but for my plans to use you to teach TORAH, my standards and values, to both the Gentiles and Jews. (See Dueteronomy 7:7 in OLD TESTAMENT, not NT, in the first 5 books, attributed to Moses!) shalom, shalom TAKE HOME: We are equal before God, so be a good neighbor. He's watching!