Bible Study Guide for Sunday, February 6, 2022

• Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]
• Psalm 138
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
• Luke 5:1-11

 

The lectionary this week lists verses 9-13 of Isaiah as optional which is an interesting choice. Without those verses, we have an almost cute scene of God looking for a candidate to send to speak to Israel and Isaiah saying “Here I am; send me!” Unfortunately for Isaiah, the words from the optional verses that God sends him to speak are not hopeful ones. Isaiah will speak words of condemnation and devastation to Israel in God’s name.

In reading Isaiah, it is natural to wonder how God can punish Israel so severely. We know from Isaiah, 1 and 2 Kings, and our other Old Testament books that in the years leading up to the exile, Israel had become an unjust, corrupt, and idolatrous society. But surely, not all were guilty? Did the children of Israel deserve to suffer violence and exile? How do we understand the ruin of Israel as anything other than a gross injustice that spared not even the innocent?

After reading and thinking much on this subject and why God allows the innocent to suffer, the answer I have seen many propose that I find the most satisfactory is that God’s wrath is less direct action against humans and more divine consent to our free will. If humans want to make the world a horrible mess, God will let them. Mr. Rogers, in a letter to a friend, captures the situation in a way that has always spoken to me: “If there is such a thing as a ‘dark corner’ of God’s nature then I think it’s God’s refusal to go back on the promise of ‘the creation’s freedom to love or not.’”

However, Mr. Rogers also notes “If we choose to allow [Love] to grow we’ll be given help.” God’s wrath may be understood as indirect. God’s love, however, is direct tangible action in the form of the birth and life of Jesus Christ. Jesus healed, Jesus taught, and Jesus spoke out on the side of the innocent. We are also blessed with the Holy Spirit which teaches us how to pray, how to love, and how to get through the dark times. God did not abandon Israel, and God will not abandon us.

– Ryan Newberry

How do you relate to the experience of Isaiah as the bearer of bad news or hard truths?

Have you been on the receiving end of such words?

How does the notion of God having a “dark corner” to God’s nature sit with you?

Do you see that “corner” as God’s consent to our free will or something different?