Isaiah II
Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be two Isaiah quotes, and you get to pick one of them. Of all of Isaiah's many quotable lines, which would you choose? Why this particular line? Of the lines already suggested by other contributors to this blog (either on this thread or the Isaiah I thread) which of those lines do you think would be the best to have as the secondIsaiah quote? Why?
posted by Ancient Art at 10:25 AM
7 Comments:
I guess the qoute I would pick would be from Capter 66, verse 3, "Merely slaughtering an ox is like slaying man; sacificing a lamb, like breaking a dog's neck; Bringing a cereal offering, like offering swine's blood; burning incense, like paying homage to an idol." This seems to be a reminder of what the Israelites have been doing their entire lives. They go through the rituals of religion, which are similar to that if idol worship, with the hope that God will look with favor upon them, but he never does because the people who perform these rituals do not truly belive in its significance. I also think that what Isaiah is saying is that you do not need rituals to worship God. Simply believing in him, and obeying him is all that is needed. The rituals are there to help keep us on track, but eventually people just start going through the motions and nothing else. This is a forerunner of what Jesus teaches in the New Testament. He did not concern himself with religious rituals, but more with prayer and total obedience to God.
The second verse I would choose would be from Isaiah 1:26-27. Here God is saying that he will restore what was once good, like he always does. So matter how much we screw up and try to destroy the world around us, God will restore what was once good. He will restore his goodness, which is something we should look forward to.
The first verse that I would put into a catalog of great verses from Isaiah is 29:13-14. "(13) The LORD said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; (14) so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden."
This verse is very important, especially after it was quoted by Jesus to describe the elders and Pharisees. Both Jesus and Isaiah saw the corruption of people who gave "lip service" to the religion but did believe in it. They wanted their people to fully devote themselves to the service of God and not become hypocrites.
Another verse that I would use is Isaiah 1:10-11. God states that he does not want his people to offer him burnt offerings. God wants his people to believe in Him and worship Him because He would reward them for their obedience, even without the burnt offering. Burnt offering, in the eyes of God, is another part of how his people pay "lip service" to God but are far from Him in their hearts.
I have to admit, if I were to pick the greatest quote in ancient history from Isaiah, I would probably have to pick Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his s houlders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" Handel used this quote in his "Messiah" which is a very popular piece at Christmas time. I would choose this verse based on my religious values because of the promise that is gives. It prophesies the birth of God's Son to save all mankind. The huge burden Isaiah carries about the people's distruction is relieved with this one verse. Not only does it promise mankind's salvation, but also his own.
The secod quote I would use suggested by a blog entry from last time is: Isaiah 1:18 "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Again, this verse insures redemption, salvation from sin. I think verses such as these made Isaih's message much less of a burden to carry.
The verse that really caught my attention was found in Isaiah 32:3. It says "The eyes of those who see will not be closed; the ears of those who hear will be attentive." I really like that message and it seems to be repeated throughout the bible. To me it means that if you truly believe in God you will see what you wan to see all the time. Everything will look good, the glass will always be half full. The same with the ears if you truly believe in God you will hear only good things.
Another verse that I really enjoyed was found in Isaiah 55:2. It says "Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight delight in rich fare." It is a more than just a good religous saying, it's also very smart. It is saying don't spend your money on stupid things, rather save it and you will be better off. If you believe in God you will be satisfied enough to where you don't need to spend it on things that you think make you happy.
Isaiah 40: 8 “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.”
This verse shows that God will not change the laws; the laws are “written in stone” so everyone knows that what God said centuries ago still applies today.
The other verse from above I would select would be Isaiah 32:3 "The eyes of those who see will not be closed; the ears of those who hear will be attentive." In my opinion, most people today have blinders on when it comes to scripture. People will listen to what the preacher says and believe it without question. People need to keep an open mind and research everything they are taught to include: holidays (should they be observed?), the Sabbath (which day is it really), the Trinity, etc…
The quote that i chose comes from Chapter 12 verse 1, "I will praise you, O lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely god is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The lord, the lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." I feel that this is a very powerful quote and believe that it has help many people have not seen the way through god, which would have angered him, eventually see they way through god and ask for his forgiveness and he will grant it and show mercy.
I also like the quote janet talked about in chapter 66 verse 3"Merely slaughtering an ox is like slaying man; sacificing a lamb, like breaking a dog's neck; Bringing a cereal offering, like offering swine's blood; burning incense, like paying homage to an idol." It basically says that the israelites were just going through the motions and not really having awareness on what significance god has in their life and more of it need to be fore him with acknowledgement.
Well the quote i would have to pick is in 1:11 this is important because god is saying that he doesn't want any more offerings and that they should do something else with their time.
i would have to also say that 55:2 is very important. This quote is a good one because it is stating that if you believe in god and follow what he says he will help you succeed.
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