the Lord of hosts

August 11, 2016

Harvesting (Isa 28:7-28:29)

“Dill herbs are not threshed

With a threshing sledge.

Nor is a cart wheel rolled over carrot seeds.

But the dill herbs are beaten out with a stick.

The carrot seeds are beaten with a rod.

Grain is crushed for bread.

But one does not thresh it forever.

One drives the cart wheel with horses over it.

But he does not pulverize it.

This also comes from Yahweh of hosts.

He is wonderful in counsel.

He is excellent in wisdom.”

Each crop has a different form of harvesting. The dill herbs and carrot seeds are too fragile to be smashed with a threshing sledge hammer. You do not roll the cart wheels over the herbs and seeds like you do to the wheat and the barley. You beat the herbs and seeds with a stick or a rod that is gentler than the wheel cart. However, the threshing of the wheat and barley requires a heavy horse drawn cart wheel in order to provide grain for bread. However, you do not want to pulverize these grains into nothing. How do these farmers know how to do this? Why, the Lord of hosts, Yahweh has told them how to do it. Yahweh is wonderful in his counsel and excellent in his wisdom, as in the later wisdom tradition.

July 15, 2016

Yahweh as a stumbling stone (Isa 8:11-8:15)

“Yahweh spoke thus to me.

His hand was strong upon me.

He warned me

Not to walk

In the way of this people.

He said.

‘Do not call conspiracy

All that this people call conspiracy!

Do not fear

What they fear!

Do not be in dread!

You shall regard as holy

Yahweh of hosts!

Let him be your fear!

Let him be your dread!

He will become a sanctuary.

He will become a stone

That one strikes against.

For both houses of Israel,

He will become a rock

That one stumbles over.

He will become a trap.

He will become a snare

For the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Many among them shall stumble.

They shall fall.

They shall be broken.

They shall be snared.

They shall be taken.’”

Once again, we have an oracle from Yahweh directly to Isaiah. This time Yahweh also puts his hand on him with a warning not to fall into conspiracy theories. Does that sound familiar? Isaiah was not to fear what most people feared and dreaded. Only Yahweh, the Lord of hosts, is holy. He is the only one that you should fear and dread. Yahweh can, however, become either a sanctuary or a stumbling block. Both houses of Israel, north and south, find that Yahweh is a stumbling block, a trap and a snare. Many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will stumble and fall. They will be taken and broken, as they will get caught in this trap or snare.