“Ephraim herds the wind.
Ephraim pursues the east wind
All day long.
They multiply falsehoods.
They multiply violence.
They make a treaty
With Assyria.
Their oil is carried
To Egypt.”
Ephraim followed and gathered the wind to itself. They were all day long pursuing the east wind, the destructive wind. They were full of lies and violence. They made a treaty with Assyria that led to their ruin. They gave gifts of oil to Egypt to keep them from attacking.
“‘If you refrain
From trampling the Sabbath,
Then you shall take delight in Yahweh.
If you refrain
From pursing your own interests
On my holy day,
Then you shall take delight in Yahweh.
If you call the Sabbath a delight
Then you shall take delight in Yahweh.
If you call the holy day of Yahweh honorable
Then you shall take delight in Yahweh.
If you honor it,
Not going your own ways,
Nor seeking your own interests,
Nor pursuing your own affairs,
Then you shall take delight in Yahweh.
I will make you ride
Upon the heights of the earth.
I will feed you
With the heritage of your ancestor Jacob.’
The mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
This chapter of Third Isaiah ends with an oracle from Yahweh about the Sabbath. They had to refrain from trampling the Sabbath and pursuing their own interests on this holy day. If they delighted and honored the Sabbath, they would surely delight in Yahweh. As long as they were not pursuing their own affairs and interests on the Sabbath, Yahweh would make them ride to the heights of the earth. They would be part of the heritage of their ancestor Jacob.
“Listen to me!
You that pursue deliverance!
You that seek Yahweh!
Look to the rock
From which you were hewn!
Look to the quarry
From which you were dug!
Look to Abraham your father!
Look to Sarah who bore you!
He was but one when I called him.
I blessed him.
I made him many.
Yahweh will comfort Zion.
He will comfort all her waste places.
He will make her wilderness
Like Eden.
He will make her desert
Like the garden of Yahweh.
Joy will be found in her.
Gladness will be found in her.
Thanksgiving will be found in her.
The voice of song will be found in her.”
Second Isaiah says that the rock of salvation is Yahweh. If they were pursuing righteousness, they were seeking the Lord, Yahweh. They had to remember where they came from. Here it is not dust, but a rock quarry that they came from. The rock from this quarry was formed to make them. They had to remember not only Abraham but also Sarah, one of the few times that she is mentioned outside of Genesis. Yahweh blessed Abraham so that he had many descendants. Now Yahweh was going to comfort their offspring at Zion. The desert and the wilderness were going to become like the Garden of Eden, the garden of Yahweh. There would be nothing there except joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and hymn singing in this new Garden of Eden.
“Whoever loves gold
Will not be justified.
Whoever pursues money
Will be led astray by it.
Many have come to ruin
Because of gold.
Their destruction has met them
Face to face.
It is a stumbling block
To those who are avid for it.
Every fool
Will be taken captive by it.”
Sirach warns that those who love gold will not be justified. Pursuing money will simply lead you astray. A lot of lives have been ruined over gold. Destruction has come to many, since gold is a stumbling block for those who seek it. Every fool seems to be captivated by a gold rush or the search for gold. Don’t fall in love with gold since it will take hold of you.
“The wicked flee
When no one pursues.
But the righteous
Are as bold as a lion.”
The wicked are afraid of everything. They flee when no one is pursuing them. The righteous, on the other hand, are as bold as a lion. They face the situation as best that they can.
“Yahweh executes justice for the oppressed.
Yahweh gives food to the hungry.
Yahweh sets the prisoners free.
Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind.
Yahweh lifts up those who are bowed down.
Yahweh loves the righteous.
Yahweh watches over the strangers.
Yahweh upholds the orphan and the widow.
Yahweh brings to ruin the way of the wicked.”
Yahweh makes sure that there is justice for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry. He sets prisoners free. He opens the eyes of the blind. He lifts up those who are bowed down. He loves the righteous. He watches over strangers. He helps orphans. He holds up widows. However, he brings to ruin those who are pursuing wicked ways.
“He has put my family far from me.
My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
My relatives and my close friends have failed me.
The guests in my house have forgotten me.
My servant girls count me as a stranger.
I have become an alien in their eyes.
I call to my servant,
But he gives me no answer.
I must myself plead with him.
My breath is repulsive to my wife.
I am loathsome to my own family.
Even young children despise me.
When I rise,
They talk against me.
All my intimate friends abhor me.
Those whom I loved have turned against me.
My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh.
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
Have pity on me!
Have pity on me!
O you my friends,
The hand of God has touched me!
Why do you,
Like God,
Pursue me?
Why are you never satisfied with my flesh?”
Job was an outcast from his family and friends. Everyone had failed him. His own house guests have forgotten him. As if to impress us with his wealth, his servant girls now treat him like a stranger. His servants do not answer him so that now he has to actually plead with them to do things. His wife did not like his breath. Even little kids ran away from him and talked behind his back. His bones clung to his skin since he seemed to lose weight. His teeth were in bad shape. He wanted God to have pity on him. He wanted to know why God was pursuing him. Why was everybody after him?
“With the Almighty as their ally, Judas Maccabeus killed more than nine thousand of the enemy. They wounded and disabled most of Nicanor’s army. They forced them all to flee. They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late. It was the day before the Sabbath. For that reason they did not continue their pursuit. When they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the Sabbath. They gave great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day. He allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy. After the Sabbath, they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured, the widows, and the orphans. They distributed the rest among themselves and their children. When they had done this, they made common supplication. They implored the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.”
This section is a little like the battles in 1 Maccabees, chapter 4, but not quite the same. The leader of the army is Nicanor and Gorgias. As God Almighty was on their side, Judas and his men killed more than 9,000 of the 20,000 enemy soldiers. They also wounded and disabled most of Nicanor’s army, as those who were able, fled the scene. They even got the money that was going to be used to buy Jewish slaves. They had to stop pursuing them since it was the eve of the Sabbath. They then celebrated the Sabbath with great praise and thanksgiving for the Lord’s mercy to them. Then on the day after the Sabbath, they gave some, but not all, of the spoils to those who had been tortured, as well as the widows and orphans. The rest of the money they distributed it among themselves and their children. They once again prayed to the Lord so that he might be reconciled with his servants. There is no longer any mention of religious sacrifices of any kind.
“Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them. He said to the people.
‘Do not be greedy for plunder.
There is a battle before us.
Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills.
But stand now against our enemies!
Fight them!
Afterward seize the plunder boldly.’”
When they turned back from pursuing their enemy, Judas reminded them that the battle was not over yet. He told them not to be greedy for plunder because Gorgias and his forces were still in the surrounding hills. They should stand and fight now. Then afterwards they could seize the plunder.
“At daybreak, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men. However, they did not have armor and swords as much as they desired. They saw the camp of the gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it. These men were trained in war. But Judas said to those who were with him.
‘Do not fear their numbers!
Do not be afraid when they charge!
Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea.
When Pharaoh with his forces pursued them?
Now let us cry to heaven,
To see whether he will favor us
Whether he will remember his covenant with our ancestors?
Will he crush this army before us today?
Then all the gentiles will know
That there is one who redeems and saves Israel.’”
Judas appeared on the plain with 3,000 of his men that did not have armor or swords. They saw the camp of Gorgias with the cavalry surrounding it. Judas then encouraged his troops. He told them not to fear the numbers of the enemy. He told them to remember what happened at the Red Sea when Pharaoh was pursuing their ancestors. He wanted them to cry to heaven to seek the favor of God. Notice he always speaks about heaven and not the God of their ancestors. God would remember his covenant with them and thus redeem and save Israel from the gentiles.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 