Title: Sensational Words, Nonsense Words
2006.12.31.
If you want to understand the Bible today, you have to go back 2,700 years ago. It's been so long, so it's hard to feel it, but if you open your heart a little and go inside, you'll discover surprising facts. If we can read concrete human life and history from within, that is possible.
After the fall of northern Israel by the Assyrian Empire in 721 BC, southern Judah faced a national crisis. Judah's national power is not good enough to compete with Assyria. However, Judah's pride does not allow it to meekly accept Assyrian's request. The king of Judah at that time was Hezekiah. Although he was a relatively religiously reformer, he appeared to be politically incapable. He turned to Egypt for help to fend off Assyrian military oppression. Exactly why he was compelled to do that is unknown today. He must have thought deeply. You must have received advice from diplomats and military experts. It is similar to whether we should focus our energy on our alliance with the United States for our security these days, be prepared to face pressure from neighboring countries, or seek survival through tightrope diplomacy between the United States, China and Russia. As difficult to find, King Hezekiah must have been at that time too. In any case, he tried to fight Assyria through a military alliance with Egypt, and that choice failed as a result.
In the midst of this, Isaiah, with Hezekiah as the center, criticizes Judah's policy of relying on Egypt's military power. But it seems that Isaiah's criticism at that time was not very convincing in Hezekiah's ears. You may be wondering why Hezekiah didn't listen to the prophet Isaiah. This is because it was difficult to determine whether Isaiah's claims and prophecies were actually the Word of God. If it was clear that his prophecies were the words of God, then Hezekiah could not have listened to him. All of God's words recorded in the Bible were of little interest at the time, but after a long time it was discovered that they were the truth. It is still the same today. There are many sermons being preached from the pulpit of the Korean church today, and it is difficult for us to judge what the true voice of prophecy is among them. Just because a lot of people flock to it doesn't mean that the sermon is true. According to the words of Jesus, the wheat and the tares are distinguished only after the harvest, that is, after history.
temper
Why is it difficult to judge Isaiah's prophecy as the Word of God? The answer is not that far. Look at verse 9. “This people is truly a rebellious people, unbelievable children, children who do not want to follow the teachings of the LORD.” According to Isaiah, the people of Judah hated Yahweh's teachings. That's really weird. Does it make sense to say that people who were strict in the faith of Yahweh disliked Yahweh's teachings? There is nothing strange about it. People are originally like that. They seem to be serving Yahweh, but in reality they are only interested in themselves. If something is going to cause any harm to you, even if it is the word of God, you will not hear it.
I do not fundamentally deny the basic desire of people to live in comfort and abundance. I want to live like that too. I hope that because I have enough money, I can travel the world, have a cultural life, and do well for my children. However, preaching is not a task that satisfies the needs of the people. Such things are craftsmanship, counseling, and success studies. There are many organizations and religions that are interested in such things even if they are not churches. Even the so-called “male and female tiger opening school” strives to satisfy people’s happiness. Stories like these are the ones people are interested in.
nonsense
In Isaiah's eyes, the story the people of Judah want to hear is enticing, but absurd. A prophet is a historian. They are those who see the history of God's reign and proclaim God's will. Isaiah saw that the idea of securing Judah's security through a military alliance with Egypt was not only groundless but also dangerous. Nevertheless, the king of Judah and the people are only listening to that.
People tend to be enthralled by ludicrous, even absurd words. And it's hard to tell them apart. Because people always think in their own way. The protagonist of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni is a playboy. He wins the hearts of women wherever he goes. The reason why so many women, from the shortest to the taller, fall for this flirt is that he knows how to convince absurd but persuasive words. For example, women who are told, “You are the most beautiful in the world,” are absurd, but they still listen because they feel good. Because people tend to judge according to their mood rather than rationally, women are easily overcome by words that match their mood. People in love can be fooled by what the other person is saying, but it's usually not serious to waste your soul on absurd things.
I guess I should be a little more specific about what the nonsense means. The sounds of the world we live in are usually sweet and seductive, but in reality there are many absurd ones. The world forces us to be happy only by what we achieve. They say that a national income of 20,000 dollars will save us. Some presidential candidates are calling for a canal that connects the Han and Nakdong rivers and divides South Korea vertically. Some lawmakers instigate that apartments can be built for half the price. Cosmetic companies advertise as if using their makeup would make all women beautiful. It's tempting, but it's absurd. Live by those advertisements and propaganda. We'll find that after we've done what we want, we're still back to where we were.
Isaiah describes such a condition this way: “Your faults are like a wall that is about to fall, like a wall that is about to fall, and the ship of a high wall will burst and crumble to pieces” (verse 13). Doesn’t our society look like this? It's like a ship bursting out of the wall.
quietly trusting and relying on
What is Isaiah trying to say now? Sennacherib of Assyria, with a large army, pushes further southward. Now Hezekiah, king of Judah, who is dreaming of a military alliance with Egypt and a battle with Assyria to restore the glory of the days of David and Solomon, and Isaiah, who rebukes the people for being like a cracked wall that is about to fall, do you know the reality? are you saying? Why are you saying such demeaning things? Isaiah must have been quite reviled at the time. To say that such a negative person is a prophet, there must have been a lot of scornful people who thought that all the prophets were dead. In any case, what alternatives does Isaiah have to criticize in this perilous time? Or is it an unconditional critique?
In verse 15, Isaiah proclaims the word of Yahweh God like this: “Turning your heart and calming yourself is the way to be saved. Quietly believing and trusting is the way to gain strength.” You may have read these words and wondered a little. What does it mean to calm down when Assyria, with its powerful firepower, is attacking you, to quietly trust and rely on you? I don't know if people with good faith will receive grace from these words. right. Even if war breaks out, we can pray. It is said that all problems will be solved at once by reading the Bible, praying, and worshiping without being swayed by political, economic, and social problems. As long as you live by faith, all your problems will come true as you wish.
What we need to know for sure is that no matter how hard we practice our faith, all our problems cannot be solved by themselves. Even those who believe well in Jesus may have an accident, may not escape poverty, or even die suddenly. Conversely, even if you do not live by faith, you can be miserable in this world. Isaiah is not talking about the fact that if we just trust and rely on quietly, we can defeat Assyria and restore the glory of David and Solomon. Nor is it to shout out loud that Isaiah can solve these international problems. There were dozens or hundreds of prophets in the history of Israel, but they could not prevent the downfall of that nation. The prophets are helpless in the face of this world because it revolves completely against our will. Then I don't know if Isaiah is really irresponsible. While criticizing the military alliance that King Hezekiah and the people of Judah were trying to form with Egypt, he himself did not come up with any clear alternative.
Everyone, listen to Isaiah's advice. Calm your mind. If you are excited that you will have to buy an apartment in Gangnam, Seoul, you need to calm your mind. Calm down the excitement that your child must enter a first-class university, and quietly trust and rely on Yahweh God. You might still think that in this bloody world, that's too irresponsible. How can I be more specific?
What was the problem with Hezekiah? That's because he was so excited that he risked the fate of the country only on foreign policy. The same goes for us personally. We, too, are always focused on who we form a military alliance with, but we are not interested in what the source of life is or how God's grace comes upon us. If you are a person who can fully depend on God in any difficult conditions, you will be saved, and you do not take the fact that you gain strength in your life very seriously. Instead, he flounders and falls into some kind of ingenuity.
Today marks the end of 2006. How did we live for a year? Were your hearts excited by the tempting but absurd remarks, or did you truly rely on God with your heart? Salvation comes only from God, and only here is the true strength of life. I hope that this life will be more abundant for you in 2007. Amen!