“Did You not rend the heavens? You did come down,
from Your Presence did mountains flow. (As fire kindles stubble, fire causes
water to boil) To make known Your Name to Your adversaries, from Your Presence
do nations tremble.” (Isaiah 64:1-2)
The Prophet once again proclaims God's dominion
over His Creation in these verses that evoke the times of the Exodus from
Egypt. These are the introduction for us to assimilate that God's Redemption is
imminent, as evident as His power.
Here we reflect on the metaphors indicating that
God not only creates but also sustains what He creates. As fire's power to
transform stubble into ashes and water into steam, God's will fulfill His
promise to transform the negative trends and traits in consciousness (His “adversaries”
and the “nations”) into the positive qualities that will rule all aspects and
dimensions of life in the Messianic era.
“In Your doing fearful things we expect not. You
did come down, from Your presence did mountains flow. Even from antiquity men
have not heard, they have not given ear. Eye has not seen God saves you
(Israel). He does work for those waiting for Him.” (64:3-4)
The Prophet states something that most believers
fear from the Creator, and it is destruction. It is not an unfunded fear,
considering the Torah's narrative on the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah, and the plagues in Egypt among others. What they do not consider are
the moral and ethical reasons behind such episodes.
They also may argue that in similar or worse
conditions in human history, the “hand of God” has been apparently absent. We
have referred to this in other commentaries in this blog, saying that
God's Creation is, has been and will be good, and the choices and the negative
deeds we allow have consequences. Therefore, before pointing out to God or
blaming Him for the negative happenings in this world, we first must examine
what we have made of it.
Once we assimilate in the possible deepest level
that “wickedness causes the death of the wicked” (Psalms 34:21), we will
understand what the Torah means by divine destruction. Let's focus in what
Isaiah wants to point out by saying that we don't expect “fearful things” in
God's “doing”.
The Prophet mentions God's power to put His Creation in movement
through His Love, and since ancient times humankind rather ignore it. This
includes God's salvation of Israel as it happened in Egypt. Isaiah evokes God's
Love as the source and sustenance of His Creation as the premise to “wait for
Him”. Earlier the Prophet also states God's power to redeem Israel in the end
of times.
“You [Israel] have met with the Rejoicer and the
Doer of righteousness. In Your ways they remember You. Lo, You have been wroth
when we sin, by them is continuance, and we are redeemed.” (64:5)
The Prophet recalls Israel's encounter with the
Creator after the Exodus from Egypt, which we are commanded by Him to remember
daily and never forget. Then he speaks in first person plural as the people of
Israel, while mentioning the “continuance of them” in a possible reference to
the nations or those among Israel who persist in sinning.
We can infer from this verse that sin implies a
learning process by which we end up pursuing our redemption from it. In this
sense the redemption from sin is our redemption from evil and its negative
traits and trends in consciousness.
No comments:
Post a Comment