Isaiah 7-9 (Part 1- Unto us A Child is Born)

I’m thinking of something.  Can you guess what it is?  Think really hard.  Now make a guess.  Nope! That’s not it.  No not that either.  One more guess.  Nope!  Wouldn’t it be great if you could just peer into my mind?  But that is not an option here in mortality, so we have to use other ways to communicate.  Like this picture- it’s a hint.

Now do you have a better idea of what I’m thinking about?  Did you guess something to do with birds?  Why?  I mean it’s not like you actually saw a bird.  There are no feathers, claws, beaks, or flesh and bone.  No, what you see is a collections of pixels arranged so that they visually represent birds.   Unlike real birds, this collection of pixels could be rearranged to represent something else just as effectively.  And yet, though what we have here are only representations of birds, they do effectively allow me, sitting at my computer in New Mexico, to convey to my friends who can’t be here to see or talk to me, what I am thinking. 

In fact, this representation could very successfully be used to teach someone who has never seen a bird, say a child, what the essential characteristics of a bird are so that when they saw their first real bird they would recognize it immediately as a bird.  It could still be used effectively, even if you were teaching a group whose members spoke different languages.  It doesn’t matter, either, that you are looking at a pixelated representation of what was an ink and paper textbook drawing made several years ago.  Even though times have changed and I can now scan this representation into my computer it doesn’t change how effectively it can be used to convey the idea of birds.  That’s because this representation “conveys the essential or salient characteristics” or “typifies” birds.   (Webster’s Dictionary)

The Lord, of course, is a master teacher and so he makes extensive use of types to teach eternal truths.  By using types and symbols he is able to teach eternal patterns and laws and the “essential and salient” characteristics of Christ and His infinite atoning sacrifice. Nowhere in the scriptures does he make more extensive use of this than in the words of Isaiah. Jacob, Nephi’s brother, said it this way:  And, now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to come; wherefore, I will read unto you the words of Isaiah. In other scriptures this very wording is used to describe eternal truth.  (2 Nephi 6:4 also see Jacob 4:13, D&C 93:24)  And before quoting the large section of Isaiah which included these chapters, Nephi further explained that he:

“Liken(ed)  (Isaiah’s) words unto my people and I will send them forth unto all my children for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him… and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are typifying of (Christ).

My soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord…; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death… And now I write some of the words of Isaiah that whoso… shall see these words may life up their hearts and rejoice for all men.” (2 Nephi 11:2-4 also see Moses 6:63) 

Notice there are two ways in which Nephi hopes we gain from these chapters.  One, that we will let Isaiah’s illustrative types teach us the “essential and salient characteristics” of the Christ- his birth, mission, and above all, begin to explore the redeeming, healing depths of His infinite atonement. (2 Nephi 11:5)  Second, we are to liken these words to us.  Isaiah spills just as much ink, so to speak, using illustrative examples that show the “essential and salient characteristics” of those who refuse to be redeemed, so that we can recognize which “steps” lead us away from the Lord.  This is because Isaiah is illustrating, as Nephi noted, “the great and eternal plan” or as we most commonly refer to it today “the plan of salvation.” 

That is exactly why we have to approach Isaiah with the attitude of a student who has much to learn.  It is essential.  One thing Isaiah repeatedly stresses is how complete the Lord’s perspective and knowledge are, while ours is very limited (Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 49 are really great examples.)   As Paul taught, even as we try to follow the Lord, we only “know in part, and we prophesy in part.”  But the Lord promises that as we do not “harden our hearts” we receive more “parts” or “a greater portion of the word until it is given unto (us) to know the mysteries of God until (we) know them in full. (1 Corithians 13:9, Alma 12:10)  The Savior didn’t just suggest that it might be helpful in this quest to look at Isaiah’s words, He commanded that “ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.”  (3 Nephi 23:1)

I am so grateful for that command because of what searching these words has done for my life.  I've written somewhat of years I carried anger and felt filled with frustrating unanswered questions.  During that time I felt that this quest to understand God and His plan is like being handed a 1000 piece puzzle to solve, and being told that your eternal life depends on it.  It is one of those puzzles with similar colors all over the place and as you get to work solving it, it seems impossible and you strongly suspect there are not 1000 pieces in the box you were given.  Now when I think of that visual I see the scriptures as a priceless resource, freely given, that identifies pieces and how they fit together, as well as helping me see the eternal benefits of this often difficult mortal project.  I love Isaiah because the more I study these words the more often I don’t just get direction on a piece or two and how they fit, but it’s like Isaiah had one of the new digital cameras that doesn’t have to take a panoramic view in several shots, but allows you in one shot to see how a whole panorama fits together.  These particular chapters are a perfect example.

The perfect spot to get this panoramic view is to step into Ahaz’s shoes, for this particular section began as the Lord, through his servant Isaiah, stretched out his hand and beckoned to Ahaz.  Now, as I wrote about last time, you will gain far more if you stand there with an attitude a bit different from Ahaz’s.  So, for a moment, stand where he stood, but with an open heart ready to be taught, and let him be an eternal type for the choices of mortality before you.    

He was born into a time and place where, according to Nephi, he was taught not only about the Law of Moses, but that “we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled…wherefore, we look forward unto life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given.”  (2 Nephi 25:25-27) Remember, Nephi quoted Isaiah to his people to “more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.”  (1 Nephi 19:23)  Isaiah had been teaching these things as the Lord’s prophet in Judah from at least the final year of Ahaz’s grandfather’s rule, so for most of Ahaz’s mortal life.  And like all prophets before and after him, he taught that Israel had not reached their full potential as individuals and a nation because of their “iniquities” (obeying a bit, but then twisting or changing other commands).  The problem was not with the Lord keeping his promises, but with Israel fully keeping hers.  (Isaiah 50:1, Jeremiah 6:16, Ezekiel 18:30)

However, there were many other influences in Ahaz’s life besides Isaiah.  The princes of Judah saw themselves, as people born into prosperous circumstances throughout the ages often have, as entitled to enjoy that wealth and privilege, rather than as servants to their people. Moreover, as I wrote of in the last entry, Assyria, once a smaller city state than Judah, was now the greatest empire the world had yet known.  Israel in its united glory days, under Solomon’s rule, had never come close in lands or wealth to what Assyria boasted.  Just as they would in Christ’s time, many of the ruling class and some religious leaders felt that if Judah were to survive and even thrive, they needed to let go of the restrictive, old fashioned ideas that were holding Judah back. This view is just as often repeated in the history of the Lord’s dealing with mankind as the Lord’s admonitions.  Korihor, from the Book of Mormon, might have had a spiritual twin among those who influenced Ahaz when he taught:

“O ye that are bound down under a foolish and vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything to come.  Behold these things ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold they are foolish traditions of your fathers…Every man prosper(s) according to his genius, and every man conquer(s) according to his strength, and…I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priest, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads…”( Alma13-23)

Now, Ahaz is facing some serious problems, and deciding which voices to listen to for council and guidance.  He has watched for years as the temple priests made sacrifice after sacrifice to the Lord.  He participated in the worship the way he was supposed to, first as co-regent, and then king.  Yet his kingdom and army have shrunk.  Economic ruin and foreign conquest both seem real possibilities.  From his perspective the argument that, “It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?  And now we call the proud happy, yea they that work wickedness (step off the Lord’s path) are set up; they yea that tempt God are even delivered,” was very persuasive indeed. (Malachi 3:14-15, 3 Nephi 24:14-15)  And so he is taking matters fully into his own hands and becoming one of those who are “set up” and “delivered.” 

Now the Lord’s prophet stands before Ahaz promising that the Lord will prove His presence and power to him with any sign “either in the depth, or in the heights above.”  (Isaiah 7:11)  When Ahaz refuses this offer, the prophet says that the Lord will give him a sign anyway to prove that God is still with Israel (Immanuel) and this great sign will be - a young woman will conceive and a baby will be born.  That’s right, for Moses there was the parting of the Red Sea.  Joshua had the Lord cast down stones on Amorites when they threatened Israel. (Joshua 10:11)   Elijah had fire come down from heaven.  These things don’t happen every day and they are very effective in turning away would be conquerors.  But at the most difficult and frightening time of Ahaz’s life he is supposed to believe that the conception and birth of a baby in the near future is a sign from God?!  Babies are born every day!  And as far as those who threaten him, he has planned to stop Assyria from conquering him by offering himself as an ally.  In the process he will report that Syria (Damascus) and the Kingdom of Israel, who are supposed to already be conquered vassals of Assyria,  have tried to get him to join them against Assyria.  Reporting their defiance to the Assyrian king and having him take care of Israel and Syria is kind of the game plan. 

No, standing here in Ahaz’s shoes, it becomes pretty clear that the sign given by Isaiah was not calculated to wow and amaze Ahaz into reconsidering his course, so why was Isaiah, as the Lord’s servant, told to go and meet Ahaz and make this prophesy?  One important thing to remember, especially as Isaiah also calls himself and his children signs, is what the word “sign,” as used here, really means.  It is the same word in noun form as the word used for a mark or signature one would make in signing a contract, or in this case, a covenant.  In the noun form it meant a token or sign that assured one party in a covenant of the other party’s fidelity. 

For a visual, imagine a written contract for the Lord’s covenant with Israel.  The Lord has signed the covenant promising eternal life for all his children who enter into the covenant with Him.   Israel was chosen to have that opportunity from birth so that they could be an instrument through which that opportunity is offered to the world.  In order to do that, Israel must first sign and keep their part of the covenant.  Although the Lord continually keeps his part of the covenant, each individual, in a sense, gets the opportunity to sign for themselves.  For Israel, the equivalent of a signature is obedient discipleship – essentially faith in action.  Only when they sign, so to speak, by personal acts of obedience and discipleship, is the Lord authorized to fulfill His part of the covenant, which was that his guidance, strength, wisdom, redeeming power and governance, peace and love – in short- His “presence (would) go” with Israel as they serve the world or Immanuel (God is with us.) (Exodus 24:3, Exodus 33:14)  Above all, Isaiah’s prophecy was a reminder from the Lord, as he so eloquently put it in our day, “I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.  I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”  (D&C 82:9-10)

Remember, Isaiah was commanded to take his son to that meeting as another sign from the Lord.  That son’s name translates to “a remnant returns.”  I want to explore that in-depth in a later post, but for now it is sufficient to note that the word “return” is the word used for what we define as repentance.  This is living admonition and invitation to be among those who do return to the Lord, and make and keep their own personal covenant.  He stands as a visual reminder next to Isaiah, whose name and life testified “Salvation is of God.” 

 

So, looking at the scene so far we have a call to be among those who return to their covenant with God, a testimony that only the Lord God of Israel (Yahweh) is truly salvation, and a prophecy that the circumstances surrounding a child born would testify that God remained with all those who covenanted to be Israel.  Next Isaiah adds the horrible circumstances of economic failure and conquest to emphasize that for those who do return, despite the adverse circumstances still surrounding them- Immanuel (God is with them) (Isaiah 8:8,10)  That to those who do return He will be a sanctuary (Isaiah 8:14). That his salvation cannot be prevented even by death. (Isaiah 9:3) That even slavery and oppression would only be temporary and compensated for. (Isaiah 9:4-5)  Nothing, absolutely nothing, that man, or death, or Satan himself can do, can prevent Immanuel because unto us a child is born. (Isaiah 9:6, also see Romans 8:37-39)

Perhaps it is important, given our current cultural use of the word name, to discuss why the messiah promised in Isaiah 9:6-7 is given several names.  Especially as the Immanuel prophecy is a dual prophecy, fulfilled in Ahaz’s lifetime and also repeated by Matthew as a type prophesying Christ’s birth (Matthew 1:23). So by the time we reach Isaiah 9:7 we have been told several names for this promised child.  I read a scathing critique of the foolishness of Christian belief that ended by saying that if Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6-7 were prophecies of Jesus Christ, then why was Joseph commanded to name him Jesus?  That shows our 20^th century, American understanding of what it means to name something.  The word correctly used in Hebrew as name, in several cases is also translated as “reputation,”  “character,” or “renown.”  It comes from a root that means “to breathe” and is closely related to the word for “aroma” as well as “fame.”  We still have a remnant of this kind of relation when we say what a person said or did “stinks.”  But we don’t usually relate character and name.

In the Hebrew culture a name was considered an insight into essential characteristics of an individual.  This is part of the gospel culture, too.  Thus when we “take upon us the name of Christ” it does not mean we change our names for legal purposes, but that we are disciples of Christ and are striving to change our character to become like His.  In the Old Testament names are often used this way.  In this section “Immanuel” and all the names in Isaiah 9:6-7 name the characteristics of Christ and what his atonement means to us. Isaiah’s two sons are types for the choices before Israel: either to be among those that return to Christ or those who sell themselves for their iniquities.  (I’ll cover all this in more detail in separate posts.)        

Now, putting it all together and considering the view before me as I stand in Ahaz’s shoes, looking at what Isaiah has taught me, I am struck with how familiar its feels.  This is not an isolated incident.  Like Ahaz, I am one of the children of Israel.  I have been raised to see, and participate in the ordinances of the gospel.  Like Ahaz I have faced circumstances that seemed shattering and left me fearfully questioning what good my obedience had done.  I know what it means to feel like what I wanted was good, and have felt angry despite my obedience I had not been “blessed” with those things.  Like Ahaz I have felt that the logical answers were at odds with what I had been taught was the Lord’s command.  I’ve felt tempted by voices telling me it was those very commands that prevented my happiness.  But, like Ahaz I have been taught that I do have and need a Redeemer and Savior.  I have been taught that a child born, in a place and time that seems to have nothing to do with my current dilemma is the greatest sign and manifestation of God’s love and commitment to me. (John 3:16)   

Standing here I realize that in this way of telling of his experience with Ahaz, Isaiah has created a type which shows the essential test of mortality.  For everyone, the heart of the matter, the salient questions are the same as those before Ahaz:  Do I want to know truth, even if it isn’t easy?  Do I really believe that God created this earth with a plan for mankind?  Do I really believe that he knew even the most difficult and shattering things that could happen here?  Do I really believe that a baby born so far in time, culture, and place from me could truly be the greatest gift of God’s love and greatest proof that God is with mankind?  Could that one life really be the source of help and peace for me?  And as I search these words, I find my conviction growing that the answer to each of those question is a resounding, absolute yes. 

But I am finding another question repeatedly arising - one that feels like it arises because my eyes are seeing a panoramic vista, instead of a narrow, earthbound flash.  This question, for all I feel the need to explore it, brings feelings of stability, enduring power, and deep sustaining peace.  It is a question filled with gratitude, wonder and hope.  No matter how much I learn, how much more I come to understand, the question remains :  Could it be that every negative feeling, every moment of discouragement, every moment that feels dark and dreary is still so because I know so little about the depth of the infinite atonement?

Thank you, Isaiah and my Savior, for this view.

 

Isaiah's World- Major Players at the Time of Isaiah



 

One of the obstacles for us in understanding Isaiah is the historical players.  I have charts and maps, and the ones in the back of the LDS version of the Bible are really helpful, but it took awhile to get it all straight.  For instance there is Israel, as in all the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob.  Then then there is the Kingdom of Israel, which was once united with the Kingdom of Judah under Kings David and Solomon. Isaiah also refers to it as Samaria.  Confusing right?  I found a really helpful article in the March New Era, with this map.  Isaiah will be referring to these "players" repeatedly from here on out, so I thought it might be helpful to have this to refer to to keep them straight.  I found it very helpful.  Here is the link: https://www.lds.org/new-era/2012/03/how-can-i-understand-isaiah?lang=eng

Isaiah 7 (Introduction): Love and Hate OR I am Israel; Am I Isaiah-like or Ahazish

This is a lump of what is now called earthenware clay – to differentiate it from more modern oil and plastic based clays.  If you are into pottery or sculpturing you can expect to pay anywhere from .03 cents to almost a cent per ounce.  Expensive stuff, right? 

Yet here is another piece of clay, weighing in at less than an ounce.  Once upon a time it was discarded as used up trash, not even worth a few cents- yet now it is considered a near priceless treasure.  It was used by a man named Ahaz, who just happened to be King of Judah from about 732-716 B.C., to seal up some important document.  A bulla, like this one, was used to make sure important documents were not tampered with.  First the letter or scroll was tied with a string, then the bulla was put over top the knot, and then a signet ring would be used to press the bulla into the string and leave an imprint identifying where the important document came from.  Tampering with a bulla with a king’s seal generally meant certain death.  After the recipient received the important document with bulla/string combo intact, the bulla would have no further use. The ones that have survived are generally found in the burnt out ruins of sacked cities. The “burnt out” part is important because the burning of the city worked like a kiln for the bulla changing it from a piece of hardened clay trash to a well preserved historical treasure.  
 Amazing what fire can do! And amazing how two lumps of seemingly ordinary clay, so to speak, can be valued so very differently.  Even if I took that lump of clay and modeled it to look exactly like the original bulla, it would still be virtually worthless. Why is one a treasure and the other not?  In a word- authenticity.  No matter how careful I am, no matter how faithfully I mimic the original, from my finite position I cannot create a bulla that was actually there at the time of Ahaz.  In to which he pressed his signet ring.  That has a thumb print permanently fixed by fire that if it does not belong to Ahaz, certainly belongs to someone who worked closely with him.  No, those are all things that I, in my present limited sphere, cannot remake – no one can. And those irreplaceable intangible things that make it authentic are also what make it such a treasure. 

Which brings me to a promise I read some years back that stirred deep within me a sense of hope and awe, something I now recognize as the authentic whisperings of the Holy Ghost, but then only knew that it riveted my attention soul deep.  It was some months after the experience I described in “What’s IN the Question.” (9-30-2010).  I had been thinking about the Savior’s admonition that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” and thinking about what I truly treasured and, as I’ve said before, how hard bad habits of thought and desire are to break. (Matthew 6:21)  This led me to do a topical search on the word “treasure.”  When I read this one, it seemed that it was addressed to me personally.  To me it read:

“Behold, thou art (Annette), and I have spoken to thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart.  Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.”  (D&C 6:20)

First, I thought of my desires.  They were a mixed bag, but wanting to know the truth and live faithful to it was certainly there, and most of the time it mattered most.  I seemed to hear that still, soft instructor teach me not to be discouraged by my imperfections – He wasn’t – but to just concentrate on the Lord’s instruction and promise.  It occurred to me that I had resented so much the constant reminders of my duty to study the scriptures, and approached the scriptures so doggedly, that I hadn’t even considered they might bring a treasure hunt even more exciting that the searching for and finding lost historical treasures.  What a difference that approach made!  It wasn’t long before I decided my encounters with scripture treasure should not occur at bedtime- it was all too exciting and I needed sleep.  

And some months later when my 3 year old daughter and I had a rare, baby-brother free moment, I was startled to realize just how fully the promise that I would be “encircled in the arms of (his) Love”  was being fulfilled in my life.  She was sitting on my lap, with my arms wrapped around her and holding up the book we were reading together.  She snuggled into me as we explored Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom together, and I wished so much there was some way she could know how precious she is to me.  After she was asleep I felt the need to open the scriptures and spend a little more time with the Lord – even if it cost me precious sleep.  I can’t tell you what I read, but I can tell you how it felt.  I saw in my mind’s eye that there were moments in my searching and treasuring those words that I was the little child nestled in the arms of a loving parent as I learned the ABC’s of spiritual growth.  I knew that He wanted me to know how infinitely precious I was to Him.  It was an irreplaceable, intangible priceless treasure.

I thought of that experience recently as I, once again, found my study of Isaiah 7-9 (they just go together) leading me on a tremendously rich expedition through the scriptures.  One of the first things that struck me, one that I had not explored before, is oddity of the little meeting between King Ahaz and Isaiah at the beginning of chapter 7.  Now it is not the content of meeting, so much as where it is recorded that struck me anew.  By the time King Ahaz came to full power Isaiah had been prophesying for years.  And yet the retelling of this meeting comes directly after Isaiah recounts his meeting with the Lord which happened years before, in the year Ahaz’s grandfather died.  In that meeting Isaiah received a much deeper, but not unrelated reassurance to the one I received – that his deepest desire to serve and learn from the God of truth and light, coupled with actions inspired by that desire, were enough- the Lord wasn’t overly concerned with Isaiah’s imperfections because the atonement had already made it possible for what he lacked to be bridged and for Isaiah to know what it meant to be “encircled about in His arms” and to learn personally from Him.  Increasingly, everything about this mortal opportunity became a means for Isaiah to grow, learn, and prepare for the greatest of all treasures.   And as Isaiah is not the only child of God to enter mortality, God has made the same offer available to all his children.

“Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and behold the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.  Behold he that hath eternal life is rich.” (D&C 11:7)

and

“And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”  ( D&C 14:7)

In short, Isaiah was one example we can study and learn from, who did accept the Lord’s love and love him in return.  His writings abound with wonder and surety that, though he lived in horribly tumultuous times, he also lived with an assurance that he was encircled, cared for, and instructed by the Lord every step of the way.  (See Deuteronomy 32:10 including footnotes.)

Enter Ahaz.  If ever there was a compelling counter-example to the choices Isaiah made and the eternal consequences of those choices, not only for him, but for countless of his brothers and sisters, it is Ahaz.  I think it jumped out at me so forcefully because since the last time I read through Isaiah I relearned about Ahaz’s life- and this time it seems to have stuck and added context to this interview.

First note that Isaiah was told by the Lord where he could meet up with Ahaz in a public venue.  In other words, the message Isaiah was to deliver to Ahaz wouldn’t make it if Isaiah simply tried, as was the norm, to get an audience with Ahaz.  Ahaz had no desire to hear from Jehovah’s messenger.  This is particularly noteworthy when you read the historical context because Ahaz was grappling with international problems that threatened his reign and his kingdom.  

At this time Assyria had become the dominate power.  In fact it had been increasing in power and dominance for nearly 200 years and was, at that point, the most extensive empire the world had yet seen. The Assyrian kingdom had been around a lot longer than Judah, but it had started as an even smaller city state.  Most of the nations around Judah, including Israel, were reluctant vassals who were brutally forced to pay tribute, on and off, to Assyria.  I say on and off because there had been years of civil unrest in Assyria - like say when there was a fight for the throne – when the vassals tended to go their own way.  Israel had fairly recently been brutally recalled to its onerous duty by the current Assyrian King, Tiglath-pileser.  Its neighbor, Syria, had suffered the same fate.  Judah, up to this point had remained independent. The king of Israel, Pekah, and the king of Syria, Rezin, had come to Ahaz and argued that it was only a matter of time until Tiglath-pileser made his way to Judah, and that Judah should unite with them to overthrow their Assyrian overlords.  Ahaz thought it very unwise to risk catching Assyria’s attention by siding with rebellious vassals.  Reasonable: if the Assyrian king wasn’t focused on his little kingdom, why risk declaring himself an enemy?   Rezin and Pekah did not like Ahaz’s refusal to unite with them, so they decided to overthrow Ahaz and place a king on the throne of Judah who would be more amenable to an alliance with them.   Their first attempt failed in that goal, but it was a costly win for Ahaz.  He lost a province as well as suffered heavy losses to his army.  Now word had come that Pekah and Rezin would try again. 

“And when the house of David was informed…the king’s mind and minds of his people were shaken, as trees in a forest are shaken by the gale.  (Isaiah 7:2 as translated by Avraham Gileadi)

Pretty powerful picture.  Can you imagine what it would feel like to be leaf blown about by gale force winds?  What an apt word-picture to describe the inability of King Ahaz to save himself and his kingdom.  There was simply no earthly way for Judah to be able to stand against it would be allies, and even less chance it could withstand the unstoppable Assyrian army.  It would take a miracle along the lines of, say, the parting of the Red Sea- which is exactly what Isaiah is authorized to offer Ahaz as proof that Jehovah’s “hand” is not “shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or … deliver.”  (Isaiah 50:2)  Ahaz is told not to fear, and that as he can ask for “a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or the heights above.”  (Isaiah 7:11)

Ahaz’s response is an absolute refusal to test or prove Jehovah.   Now, again, mark the contrast.  Isaiah lives in Judah; he has a family.  This is a scary proposition for him, too.  But he doesn’t get offered a miraculous sign- he doesn’t need it because he is in that lovely, encircled position, and the Lord is able to speak directly to him and tells him, just as he had Isaiah tell Ahaz, not to fear this conspiracy.  What is recorded next resonated with me long before I came to appreciate the beauty and depth, and brilliance of how the words fit together.

“Sanctify (set apart, separate and make more important than anything else) the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear (the thing that moves you – think of the picture of the leaves in the wind) and your dread (what you consider so powerful it causes you awe or dread) and he shall be for (you) a sanctuary (a place set apart where one finds purpose, rest, peace, sustenance, hope, salvation.)” (Isaiah 8:13-14 also see Jeremiah 17:7-8 for  a tree  word- picture comparison.)

Just as in English, “sanctify” and “sanctuary” are variations on the same word that indicates, at its root, something set apart for a special purpose.  Jacob, another prophet trying to teach his people the same marvelous principle used these words:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent (return), and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you.  And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of day, harden not your hearts.”  (Jacob 6:5)

The word cleave means to join with, and is a synonym with a word used a few times when describing the Lord’s love for his children.  The word most commonly used for love means much like our love, to have affection for and place a priority on, and that is the word the used in the commands given to us to love the Lord.  But this word means to join with or be bound to because of affection, it is also translated as delight in.  In other words, those who sanctify the Lord or cleave to the Lord come to see… well:

While we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind.⁸ In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. (President Dieter F. Uctdorf,“You Matter to Him,” Ensign, November 2011)

But, if you look at the rest of Isaiah 8:14, you see that even though God doesn’t change, the way his children perceive all that he has prepared for them does.  What was created to “save and exalt mankind” becomes a “stone of stumbling” and “rock of offense.”  Instead of a sanctuary they feel they are in a place they fall, stumble, are broken, snared and taken captive.  Note, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and many others lived through the same outward circumstances, but that didn’t stop them from knowing the Lord was their sanctuary and this mortal experience served its purpose in their eternal lives.  The difference is not in the outward circumstance, but, once again the heart of the matter lies within- do we love, sanctify, and cleave to the Lord or do we hate.

I realize hate is a very strong word in English.  But the Hebrew is much deeper and encompasses many attitudes, frames of mind and heart, so to speak, that all have one thing in common:

“Behold, (mankind) do(es) not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught (place little to no value) his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.:”  (Helaman 12:6) 

The Hebrew word for “hate” adds to this wonderful description a powerful word- picture.  It is made from the word that also means “thorn” (as in a prickly thing that keeps the unwanted at a distance) and another root that means “strength, power, or authority.”    Mormon nailed it, didn’t he. And, Ahaz provides a particularly compelling example.

 It is probable that Isaiah met up with Ahaz after he had already come to a critical decision, in which he had decided it was not the Lord God of Israel he would cleave to.  Hence, he wasn’t interested in any show of power or authority from Him.  Instead, he had decided he would go to the King of Assyria and offer to align his country voluntarily.  The strategy was that if Assyria had a goose that voluntarily laid the golden egg, so to speak, it would take care of that golden goose instead of eating it for dinner, right?   So, if Ahaz shared Judah’s wealth and resources voluntarily he would stay on the throne and Assyria would take care of its rebel vassals, who were currently his greatest threat. (Which it immediately did.)   And there was one place he could get his he hands on the needed treasure without either using his own wealth, or taking it from his princes – the temple. That’s right, Ahaz planned to use the tithes and offerings, under the Mosaic Law considered God’s property and not the property of the King, to pay tribute to the King of Assyria.

Please understand that the small city state of Ashur, which was the beginning of the Assyrian Empire, was built in honor of and dedicated to Ashur, the ward god in the Mesopotamian pantheon of gods.  The king of Assyria, being the leader of the nation’s armies, was also considered the highest ecclesiastical authority.  No pesky priests or prophets to question his authority!  Moreover, while it started as a much smaller kingdom than Judah, it had successfully become the greatest empire the world had yet known.  Ahaz’s choice was not only to align with the King of Assyria, but to pay homage to the god that had apparently worked so well for Tiglath-pileser.  Tiglath-pileser was a king who had complete command, and whose god, according to his beliefs, worked as a powerful ally. 

 In fact, from a certain perspective, you could even say that Ashur worked as a powerful servant.  Tiglath-pileser wanted more land, more power, and more wealth.  He made the appropriate sacrifices (often other humans) to his powerful servant/ally and then Ashur put his power behind Tiglath-pileser’s efforts and, according to Assyrian lore, so completely vanquished the gods of the countries they conquered that those gods left for good. What Ashur never did was try to tell Tiglath-pileser what to do.  He never sent messengers to chastise and correct, to give direction that, based on our current human perspective, seemed very impractical. 

Ashur was a god Ahaz could love, so much so, that when he returned from Assyria he ordered the temple remodeled after what he saw in Assyria!  In didn’t work out as well as he wished, even though he did go so far as to make his son a human sacrifice.  In fact at some point he became quit miserable and disillusioned, and the temple doors were barred and nailed shut. He died a man so hated by his own people that it was agreed, without protest, that he would not be buried on the consecrated ground set apart for the Davidic kings.  He paid such a huge price for his choice! (2 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 28)

Isaiah and Ahaz were two men, so similar in that they were both born into the ruling class in the same society, both educated on the Mosaic Law, and they faced many of the same obstacles and questions about life and faith.  They both faced, at its most basic, the same spiritual choice. One chose the authentic God, and came to declare with wonder and awe his amazement at all his Lord had done for Israel.  He repeatedly bears his witness of what God has done for him personally.  He knows he is not more loved than any other of God’s children, and bear witness he became a type, a sign and wonder, of what the Lord can do with any piece of willing human clay. 

Isaiah is, of course, just one example given in the scriptures.  One other example I think illustrates so well the choice placed before both Ahaz and Isaiah is about a King that had everything Ahaz went shopping for a "better" servant/god to obtain.  Known to us as King Lamoni's father, He was high King over a large kingdom- even his own sons bowed to him.  He had been taught all his life that whatever he chose was right- no pesky prophets bothering or arguing with him!  He had wealth and power and no major threats to his throne or his kingdom.  Yet, when he saw something he couldn’t explain, namely, evidence of God’s great love in the form of an enemy willing to risk his life for another, he made a choice.  Note how small the evidence was, say in comparison to the parting of the Red Sea!  His beautiful prayer captures for all to see and treasure the pivotal choice of mortality:

And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the kind did bow down before the Lord upon his knew; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth and cried mightily, saying:  Oh God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make myself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee…” (Alma 22:17-18)

A truly pivotal choice.  One it seems, if you are anything like me, you have to repeatedly renew.  Yet it is the choice that makes the difference ind what we obtain through mortality.  It also is the choice that opens up the  treasure of "great worth" found in the messianic prophecies given through Isaiah. (2 Nephi 25:8,3 Nephi 22:1)  But that is a discussion for next time.

 

 

Little Things That Mean A Lot

This is a little, often insignificant, member of the insect family known as a pine beetle.  As this picture illustrates, the largest of these beetles is only 1/3 inches in length, about the size of a grain of wheat.  Most of the time, the pine beetle mates and lays its eggs in weaker, sickly trees, actually improving the overall health of a large forest.  It also provides a food source for Wood Peckers, and other grub feeders.  The trees that are attacked are killed by a combination of the beetle and its larvae feeding on its core, and by a blue colored fungi the beetle introduces into the tree.  The thing is, a tree killed by the pine beetle, while damaged on the inside, will not show outward signs that it is dead until about nine months after the beetles have done their damage.  By that time, the offspring of the beetle have moved on to other trees.  In protected, overgrown forests, like those I just visited near Grand Lake, Colorado, this has led to an epidemic infestation.  Literally millions of acres of forest- whole mountain sides- now look like this.  

Or like this, because the only way for the forest to recover is to remove the dead trees, so that the “baby” trees (as my daughter likes to call them) have access to the resources they need to grow. Isn’t it amazing that something so small and common, a natural part of the forests ecosystem, often fairly innocuous, if left unchecked can become such a source of devastation?  It seemed a perfect illustrative example of the things I had been thinking about during my scripture chain journeys brought about by considering Isaiah’s words upon seeing the Lord,

 “Woe is me! I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine yes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”  (Isaiah 6:5)

Now mind you, Isaiah’s reaction, while sobering, was of a completely different sort than, say, Alma the younger ‘s or Saul’s (Paul) upon seeing, not the Lord himself, but a mere angelic messenger.   Both Alma and Saul received their visits to receive extensive course correction, and they suffered keenly both in body and spirit.  But Isaiah was already striving to walk the path of the Lord. That is why Isaiah’s reaction is so sobering. And the Lord’s response so joyously hopeful. 

The sobering part is considering for myself what it might feel like to stand in the presence of the Lord.  Isaiah’s reaction illustrates what Alma, after tasting it for himself, taught about what it means to stand in the presence of pure light and truth so that we see things, including our own condition, as they really are:

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch  that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned. For our words will condemn us, year, all our works will condemn us, our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.  But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory… and acknowledge… that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.  (Alma 12:13-15 Also see Alma 36:12-13 for Alma’s description of his experience.)

Obviously Isaiah did not find the presence of the Lord so unbearable that he wanted to be buried at the bottom of a rock pile.  In fact, he is soon so confident in the Lord’s presence that he volunteers to be the Lord’s messenger.  The phrase he uses to answer the Lord’s call, “here I am, send me,” tell us a lot.  Isaiah was a learned man, he knew what that phrase meant.  That it had been used pre-mortally by the one who would come as the Messiah. (Abraham 3:27)  And that it meant he wasn’t just going on a mission or receiving  a calling that would end during his mortal life; his life would be wholly committed to being the Lord’s messenger and representative to His people, just as Moses’s and Abraham’s were. (Genesis 22:7, Exodus 3:4)

Considering those things, I found it particularly compelling to consider what it was that did trouble Isaiah, and made him unconfident and scared, as he stood in the Lord’s presence- his “unclean lips.”    The word used for lips in Hebrew is also sometimes translated and “language” or “speech.”  And this is where the image of those little beetles destroying literally millions of acres of forests tied with Isaiah’s lament and with what James, in the New Testament, writes about how we use our relatively little tongues and  the little words we think and say each day.  He uses the idea of a rudder on a ship, so small in comparison to the total bulk of the ship, and yet the way that rudder is turned can control which destination a very large ship will reach. (James 3:1-3)  He also tells us how we can become perfect before the Lord:

For all of us make many mistakes. If someone does not make any mistakes when he speaks, he is perfect and able to control his whole body.(James 3:2 American Standard Version)

So in one scripture is Isaiah, a faithful, righteous man who, when standing in the light of the Lord recognizes he still makes mistakes when he speaks, and in another James telling us that if we have righteous control of our tongues, we can become perfect.  It would seem that coming to understand and avoid what the Lord considers “mistakes” when we speak is a sure way to make progress towards becoming a confident student in the Lord’s presence.  Being a perfect teacher, the Lord has given instruction on that very thing:

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish they thoughts unceasingly ; then shall they confidence wax strong in the presence of God. (Doctrine & Covenants 121:45)

Breaking the Lord’s instruction down into parts turned out to be most illuminating.  First, let’s look at the word “bowels.”  Most of us now associate that word with our intestines, especially the lower part.  However, that limited connotation is fairly modern.  Even today, if someone said “the bowels of the earth,” we would know they were most likely talking about the inner most part of the earth, and not about the earth having intestines.  That is a lot closer to the way “bowels” is used in scriptures that are giving gospel instruction. Literally it means “That which is deep within.”  Hence the whole area from neck to hips, where the vital organs reside, is, in the scriptural sense, the bowels. 
   
In addition this particular study did a lot to help me see what the Lord was teaching with the instructions he gives for sacrifices under the Mosaic Law.  The internal organs, with their fat, are completely burned on the altar of sacrifice.  Seeing the significance of that requirement meant recognizing and suspending the the idea of that the body is separate from the mind, or rational thought, which came with Greek philosophy.  Although you can’t miss the fact that conscious thoughts are organized in the brain, most ancient cultures believed that the seat, or origin, of all feelings, and both unconscious and conscious thought, was what we would today call the vital organs.  So the spirit or soul of man was inseparably connected to the state of his vital organs. The most important of these was the heart.

In the Old Testament two words are used for heart. The first is the most common.  It is the Hebrew word for the physical organ we call the heart and it literally means “the authority within.”  It is used like we commonly use mind or brain.  Thus, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Psalms 23:7)

The other word means “something enclosed” and a more technical translation would be “internal organ”, often it is used for “kidney” or “liver.”   It is associated with feelings, so translating it “heart” comes closer to helping us understand the intention of the passage.  There is a word used only to refer to the “kidney”, and that is the one used in Leviticus when describing how blood sacrifices were to be performed.  Interestingly, it is also used for “reins” as in Jeremiah 17:10:  “I the Lord search the hearts (the authority within) and the reins (kidneys- which come from roots literally meaning “tamed for the yoke” or “complete”).

 So, in addition to the sacrifices signifying the atoning sacrifice of the savior, the way the sacrifice was offered was to teach Israel their part- “a broken and contrite heart.” ( Psalms 51:17 )  This sacrifice was offered to the Lord, as Hosea reminded Israel only a few years before Isaiah began to prophesy, by “tak(ing) with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips.”  (Hosea 14:2, And yes, the word there is “calves” as in young cattle- a clear reference to the sacrifices performed under the Mosaic Law.)

Isn't it interesting that what the Lord says will make us confident in his presence focuses on the internal talking we do to ourselves - “let(ting) (that which is deep within)our bowels be filled with charity and let(ting) virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly.”  After all, nothing has ever passed my lips, nor have my hands ever done an action, but what it has been part of my feelings and thoughts first. 

Which brings us back to the boundary, or threshold (and yes the word for doorway or threshold is related to the word used for lips by Isaiah and Hosea) through which what is deep inside us most often passes to those around us.  Christ taught:

There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him; but those things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man, that proceedeth out of his heart….whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man in cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught…that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts… All evil things come from within and defile a man.  (Mark 7:15-23 also Matthew 15:)

You might notice that I didn’t quote that reference in entirety.  In there is a long list of the evils that can come out of the heart – and I’m not trying to downplay the reality of murder, lying, stealing. I just want to emphasize how what Christ taught here has great import to everyone.  One thing that helped me see the personal application was the incident that initiated the discussion.  In Mark 7:2 it says the Pharisees were intentionally joining along with those who came to hear Christ teach for one purpose- to see if they could “find fault” with him. They found it- he didn’t wash his hands before eating. (See Matthew 15 for a parallel account.)   In Luke 6:7 it describes their outlook as watching him “that they might find accusation against him.”  Later in that chapter Christ teaches:

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not , and ye shall not be judged; condemn not and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven…Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they both not fall into a ditch?...And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceives not the beam that is in thine own eye. (Luke 6:36-41)                                                                                                                     Now if that quote seemed somewhat familiar, but different, it is because we most often quote the more lengthy and detailed account found in the Sermon on the Mount.  But I love the way Luke’s account makes it clear that it is the “beam” of being critical and accusing others that causes the blindness.  Surely it is not a coincidence that Satan means “the accuser.”  And “the temptations of the (accuser)…blindeth they eyes and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men.” (1 Nephi 12:17)

And that is the greatest tragedy of thought habits that arise from an accusing heart; the blindness doesn’t stop with not seeing others clearly.  Our accusations ultimately are accusation of God- of his plan, of him giving others too much agency, of his character for not being good enough to give us the good things we asked for, and so on.  Just like it did for the Pharisees’ when Christ walked and a performed vivid, visual miracles among them, an accusing heart blinds us so we can’t see truth when it is right in front of our eyes.  Even if we don’t voice the accusations, as we carry them in our hearts, they blind us spiritually- killing from the inside out the way the pine beetles kill trees. 

And yet, we live in a world where there is hurt, injustice, as well as others accusing us. So I think it a beautiful treasure that Matthews’s record intertwines the parallel quote about what defiles a man with the parable of the blind leading the blind, with one important addition: He tells his disciples to “Let them (the accusers) alone.”  (Matthew 15:14)  I understand that to mean exactly what a modern apostle taught in more detail:

 As true disciples, our primary concern must be others’ welfare, not personal vindication. Questions and criticisms give us an opportunity to reach out to others and demonstrate that they matter to our Heavenly Father and to us. Our aim should be to help them understand the truth, not defend our egos or score points in a theological debate. Our heartfelt testimonies are the most powerful answer we can give our accusers. And such testimonies can only be borne in love and meekness…. By arguments and accusations, some people bait us to leave the high ground. The high ground is where the light is. It’s where we see the first light of morning and the last light in the evening. It is the safe ground. It is true and where knowledge is…. We are always better staying on the higher ground of mutual respect and love. (Robert D. Hales, “Christian Courage: The Price of Discipleship,” Ensign, November 2008)

It has been over 17 years since I was told in a very clear and personal revelation to stop fretting over a family member’s obviously wrong choice, to stop trying to argue them into admitting I was right, and instead concentrate on “get(ting) the beam out of (my) own eye.”  So some of things I’ve shared here have been a part of my thought processes for some time-thankfully- and some just got added to the ongoing effort.  I can’t begin to express my gratitude for the experience that started me on that path and I have no idea how far I have to go, but I love to look back and see the difference in how it feels to be alive and how precious, in general, I now find other people.  The changes happened little thought by little thought, slowly over time and at first I was more than a little discouraged at how this approach didn’t seem to take care of the problem!  I gratefully found encouragement in the Lord's response to Isaiah.  An angel of the Lord took a coal from the temple altar and laid it upon his mouth and said:
“Lo, this has touched they lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and they sin purged.”

There is some beautiful symbolism there, but I think this entry is past long enough.  So for the  purposes of this discussion, the most salient point is that the Lord did not say anything accusing or condemning.  Rather he showed him how, because he had done his part and offered a contrite heart, the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, typified in the temple sacrifices made on the altar, would do the rest.  We don’t have to do it alone. We weren’t meant to do it alone.  In fact, the atonement is there because we absolutely can’t do it alone.

The second salient point is that Isaiah believed the Lord.  Whatever doubts Isaiah had about himself, his faith in the Lord was firm. 
Whenever I think of Isaiah’s experience I think of Enos, another less than perfect soul who felt his imperfections keenly and went contritely to the Lord in prayer.  The Lord also accepts his offering and sends the message, “Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.”  Enos then writes “I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore my guilt was swept away.” (Enos 1:5-6)

A modern prophet expressed the same eternal principle this way:   Only when we truly accept the undeserved love of the Lord, do we begin to become free to love others the same way. (President Gordon B. Hinckly, Ensign, Nov. 2006, p. 115)

That “undeserved love of the Lord,” is also called “the pure love of Christ” or “Charity” in the Book of Mormon.  In fact, it is a scripture about charity that caused me to start thinking of the Book of Mormon as my “how to” book.  Whenever I think of that scripture I think of what happened for Isaiah, for Enos, for Nephi, for Peter- you get the idea- and how this scripture gives me the “how to” to have it happen for me.

“Wherefore, my beloved bretheren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons(daughters) of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.”  (Moroni 7:48)

From here on out, the words of Isaiah will deal with some of the most difficult, inhumane things that can happen in this life side by side with the infinite power of the atonement of Christ.  He was told straight out by the Lord how hard his mission would be- yet he moved forward in confidence because he had “this hope.”  Above all Isaiah has taught me that when it comes to the most important personal goal of this life- what I am becoming- never, never limit or doubt what the Lord can do.