In Septuagint Volume 2 of Isaiah, God speaks directly to his people. One difficulty in understanding this speech is that God often alternates rapidly between words of chastisement and warning and words of comfort and blessing. As asked in previous posts (Isaiah Devotional 60, Isaiah Devotional 2.14), is God schizophrenic? Does he have multiple personalities? Do the frequent changes of tone in God’s speech and intention indicate a supreme being who waffles? Someone who cannot make up his mind? Do these frequent changes indicate uncertainty on God’s part? The thesis of this devotional blog on the Septuagint text of Isaiah is that God addresses differing groups of Israel’s people. Some people displayed hearts which in the long run sought to obey God, while others remained steadfastly rebellious and hard of heart in their behaviors concerning God. God addresses each of these sorts of people separately. …
Who Is The Suffering Servant? Isaiah Devotional 2.44
But Who Is the Servant? Is the servant Israel?… Is the servant Isaiah?… Who can the servant be?… The list of characters in the book of Isaiah is very short: 1. Isaiah the narrator 2. Israel the nation 3. Israel the people 4. The enemies of Israel 5. The Gentiles who find favor with God 6. The Servant 7. God… If the Servant is neither Isaiah the prophet nor the people of Israel, then there is really no one else he could be other than the Servant of God identified throughout the book as someone whom God accords glory on a par with his own… Other “My Servant” Passages…
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Isaiah 52:1-12 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.39
The people of Jerusalem represent all of God’s people (“my people”, verse 4). Formerly, he sent them into exile (Isaiah 5:13; 27:6-8). Now, he commands them to sit in his presence. What causes this huge change in God’s actions toward Jerusalem? Verse six states the cause, as it clearly pronounces God’s incarnation in his Servant. In verse six, for readers who have followed Isaiah closely, the voice of God and the voice of his incarnated Servant are indistinguishable. …
Isaiah 51:9-16 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.36
The Septuagint text allows two possible speakers in Septuagint Isaiah 51:9-11. First, God may be addressing the people of Jerusalem, or second, the prophet Isaiah may be addressing them. Because the text switches from second person vocative (direct address) in verses 9-10 to third person in verse 11, the grammatical structure leans toward Isaiah as speaker (see also Isaiah 50:10). …
Isaiah 51:1-8 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.35
Obedience Not Ethnicity
The passage in Isaiah 51:1-8 narrows down to two people groups: those who follow God and those who do not. In these verses the emphasis falls on obedience, not ethnicity. God clearly elects to include the blessing of salvation to both the faithful of ethnic Israel and to the faithful among the Gentile nations. The two become one. This occurs within the context of God’s Servant. …
Isaiah 49:9-13 LXX: Isaiah Devotional 2.30
Reading Isaiah’s text straight through from verse 1 through 13, the conclusion that makes most sense is that “people” refers both to God’s people of Israel and God’s people of the Gentile nations. Verse 13 seamlessly unites both groups without distinction. To claim that this verse refers exclusively to Israel does not make contextual sense. Indeed, the Apostle Paul’s message throughout the New Testament, and especially in Romans 9-11, is that Gentiles have been grafted in to God’s family. …