Its Sunday. War looms on the horizon. Famine is ravaging the earth, and tens of millions are about to perish. As is typical for a Sunday, or anyday for that matter, the airwaves are full of useless religion, sterile religion that bears little resemblance to the books on which is supposedly based. Meanwhile American politicians invoke God at the drop of a hat. This leads me to ask, what if Isaiah were alive today?
Background Information
Putting a human face on the famine
The World Food Program's famine map of Africa
The famine is a disastrous collaboration between nature and politics, including the withholding of aid by donors. In addition the policy of privatization has caused a sell off a large part of national food reserves, as the grain markets were liberalised and deregulated as part of economic directives dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and replaced with unregulated private traders. What we have here is an example of a one size fits all policy that forbids any government intervention and forces privitization of everything under the sun in return for 'aid' that has combined with natural forces to create a disaster. Usually in the mainstream press you hear that aid is being withheld because of 'government corruption', which could be a buzz word for non compliance with IMF policies, pick pocketing being endemic in third world dictatorships all through the last century with Mobuto of the Congo and his cronies (one time pals of Pat Robertson) raking in an estimated 100 billion, the Marcos tens of billions that are known about, Pol Pot retiring to an island, etc., still it seems to be the case that big boys are corrupt and the poorest of the poor starve to death in 'punishment' including the smallest of the small, the poorest children being the first to go. The IMF also continues, according to All Africa.com to encourage donor countries to withhold aid because the governments need to 'cut spending'.
What if Isaiah was alive today?
Woe betide those who enact unjust laws and draft oppressive decrees, depriving the poor of the world of justice and the robbing the weakest of the earth's people of their rights, plundering the helpless and despoiling the most needy. What will you do when you are called to account, when devastation from afar suddenly confronts you? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you hide your wealth? There is nothing left for you but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain.
My people, those who lead you are leading you astray, and putting you on the path to ruin. YAHWEH opens the indictment against the powerful among the people. It is you that have ravaged my vineyard; in your mansions are the spoils and plunder you have robbed from the poor. Is it nothing to you that you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor? This is the Word of YAHWEH OF HOSTS.
Your rulers are rebels, associates of robbers and thieves. Everyone of them loves a bribe and chases after contributions. They deny the destitute their rights and the cause of the poor is never ever heard.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who make darkness light and light darkness, who make bitter sweet and sweet bitter. Woe betide those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own esteem. Woe betide the great heroes, those valiant mixers of drinks, who acquit the guilty for a contribution and deny justice to the poor of the world who are in the right. As the tongues of fire lick up the stubble and chaff shrivels in the flames, so their roots will molder away and their opening buds vanish like fine dust, for the anger of YAHWEH is kindled against these people, and God's arm is stretched out to strike them down.
For YAHWEH has a day of doom in store for all that is proud and lofty, for all that is high and lifted up, for all the towering Cedars and all the mighty oaks, for all the lofty mountains and all the high hills, for every tall tower and every towering wall. Their pride will be brought low and all loftiness humbled and YAHWEH alone will be exalted on that day. Creep into the caves and hide yourself in the holes in the ground from the dread presence of YAHWEH and from the splendor of God's majesty. On that day they will fling away their silver and their gold onto the dung heap, hurl it to the dung beetles and the moles, and they themselves will creep under the rocks and into the holes in the ground, to hide themselves from the dread presence of YAHWEH and from the splendor of God's majesty, when God arises to fill the world with terror. Put no trust in them. What are they worth?
Woe betide the rebellious children, says YAHWEH, who make plans, but not of my devising, who weave schemes, but no inspired by me, so piling sin upon sin. They hurry down to Egypt, to take shelter under Pharaoh's protection, to take refuge under Egypt's shadow. Pharaoh's protection will lead to humiliation and refuge under Egypt's shadow will bring you disgrace. Though his Generals are at Zoan and his armies reach as far as Hanes, that unprofitable nation will leave everyone in a sorry plight, they will find neither help nor any profit, only humiliation and contempt. Worthless and futile is the help of Egypt. Therefore I have given her this name : The Dragon Subdued.
Sing a new song to YAHWEH, sing God's praise throughout the world, let them cry out from the hilltops. For YAHWEH will go forth as a warrior, roused to the fury of battle, and will shout and raise the battle cry, and triumph over the foe.
Take note all you nations gathering for war. You will be shattered. Listen all you distant lands. Arm yourselves and be shattered, arm yourselves and be shattered. Devise your plans, but they will be foiled. Propose what you will, but it will not be carried out, for God is with us.
Listen! It is the thunder of a mighty army, a thundering like the thunder of the sea. Listen! It is the roar of the nations, a roaring like the roaring of the mighty waters. But at God's rebuke they flee far away, driven like chaff before the wind, like thistledown in a storm. At evening all is terror, but before the morning it is gone.
See how still the oppressor has become, how still his raging arrogance? For YAHWEH has broken the wicked scepter of Kings, who in anger struck down peoples with unerring blows, who in fury trod nations under their feet with relentless persecution. The whole world rests undisturbed, it breaks out into cries of joy.
On that day, YAHWEH will punish the kings of the earth. They are herded together and packed like prisoners in the dungeon, shut up in jail, and punished. The moon will grow pale and the sun will hide its face in shame; for YAHWEH alone is revealed in glory.
For the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who lived in land as dark as death, a light has dawned. You have increased their joy, and given them great gladness. For you have broken the yoke that burdened them, the whip laid on their shoulders, the slave driver's goad. The boots of earth shaking armies on the march, the soldiers cloaks covered with blood, all are tossed into the fire, food for the fire.
For this many a cruel nation holds God in honor, the cities of ruthless peoples treat you with awe. Truly God has been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in the time of their greatest distress, shelter from the tempest, shade from the heat. For the blast of the ruthless is like an icy storm or a scorching drought. You subdue the roar of the foe, and the song of the ruthless dies away.
Go, swift messengers, to a tall people, a people dreaded around the world, a nation powerful and aggressive. All you people of the world, you dwellers on earth, will see when the standard is hoisted on the mountains, and hear when the trumpet sounds. These were the words of YAHWEH to me. "From my dwelling place I shall look on do nothing, when the heat shimmers in the sun, when the dew is heavy at the time of harvest. Before the vintage, when the budding is over, and flower ripens into a berry, the shoots will be cut down with pruning knives, the branches struck off and cleared away. All will be left to birds of prey on the hills and to the wild beasts of the earth. At that tribute will be brought to YAHWEH OF HOSTS from a tall people, a people dreaded around the world, a nation powerful and aggressive. They will bring it to the place where the name of YAHWEH OF HOSTS dwells, to the mountain of Eden.
The poor and the needy look for water, and find none, but YAHWEH shall provide for the needs, God will not forsake them. I shall open rivers on the desert heights, and wells in the valleys. I shall turn the desert into pools and the dry land into springs of water, that everyone may see and know, may once for all observe and understand that YAHWEH has done this, is the creation of God the Holy One. Some come and present your case. Foretell what the future holds for us. Declare the meaning of these past events, that we may reflect upon it. Predict the future to us that we may know what it holds. The works of their religion are nonexistent. To choose that would be outrageous. Isaiah
Shout aloud without restraint and lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to the religious their transgressions, to the whole congregation their sins. Although they pray to God day after day, and say they delight in knowing God's ways, as if they were a people who had done what is right, and had not abandoned the just decrees of God. Rather is this not what God requires, to loose the fetters of injustice, and to break the chains of the yoke, is it not giving food to the starving, and taking in the homeless poor, is it not clothing the naked and never evading your duty to your fellow human beings. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and the righteousness of God will be your guard, and when you call God will answer. If you cease to pervert justice, to point your fingers and hurl accusations, if you see that the starving get food and bring justice to the wretched of the earth then light will rise for you out of darkness, and you will be like a well watered garden, and you will restore the ancient foundations. You will be called the rebuilder of all the broken walls, the restorer of a house in ruins. For God has not gone deaf nor is God's arm grown weak, but rather your sinful inequities put a barrier between you and your God. You are involved in the bloodshed of the world, your fingers are found in their crimes, and your lips repeat their lies, and you tongue speaks their injustice. No one pleads the just cause, all rely on empty words and lies, they conceive mischief and bring forth wickedness. They hatch snake eggs and spin cobwebs. Everyone who eats those rotten eggs will die, for only rottenness can hatch from their rotten eggs, and no one can cloth themselves with those cob webs they weave. They rush headlong into violence, in furious haste to shed innocent blood. Their works breed wickedness all over the world and their hands are constantly busy with acts of violence. Their schemes are deadly and they leave behind them a trail of havoc and ruin. They are strangers to the path of peace and no justice ever guides their steps. All the ways they choose are violent and perversely crooked, and therefore none of them ever feel safe.
References : Isaiah 10 : 1, Isaiah 3 : 14, Isaiah 1 : 23, Isaiah 5 : 20, Isaiah 2 : 12, Isaiah 30 : 1, Isaiah 42 : 10, Isaiah 8 : 9, Isaiah 17 : 12, Isaiah 14 : 3, Isaiah 24 : 21, Isaiah 9 : 2, Isaiah 25 : 3, Isaiah 18 : 1, Isaiah 41 : 17, Isaiah 58 : 1
