July 18th, 2020

​I have mentioned before that Isaiah is the most often used book for the Old Testament texts in the three-year series, so it is not too surprising that this Sunday, once again, the text is from that book [44:6-8]. But such frequent usage should not be too surprising. In the Gospel according to John, the writer basically says that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him (12:41). Who else in the Old Testament has a similar description?

I have also mentioned before that a prophet has a close relationship to the king, sort of a palace spokesman. Almost at the very beginning of the bible (Genesis 20:7), Abraham is described as ‘a prophet’ and is very close to God and, because of that, Abraham’s prayers will save another king. It is interesting that the name of the king who is saved is ‘Abimelech’, and this name means ‘father of the king’, and THAT name carries with it a LOT of authority. Near the very end of the bible, the topic of prophecy is also mentioned, and John writes, ‘I witness to everyone hearing the words of this prophecy of this bible: If anyone adds upon them, God will add upon him the plagues having been written in this bible; and if anyone takes away from the words of the bible of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city of the things having been written in this bible (Revelation 22:18-19; this translation is quite literal, and the word ‘bible’ could also be translated as ‘book’ or ‘scroll’).

The vast majority of the times that ‘king’ is mentioned in Isaiah, it is talking about one or more earthly kings. The text for this Sunday happens to be one of the last times the word ‘king’ is used in the singular form in Isaiah. The only time after this is at Isaiah 57:9 where it is written, ‘You traveled to the king with the olive oil (again, the translation is quite literal).’ A king has already been anointed, but here you have someone traveling to the king and giving him something that is not needed.

This action is very similar to some of the sad stories about some Israelite children being sacrificed to the false god Molech, whose name means, quite literally, king. It is easy to go off the right path. What helps to avoid doing that is to see where that wrong path ends.

Immediately after this Sunday’s text from Isaiah is a detailed look at what happens when a person worships another god that is not the true God (44:9-20). At the height of the comparison, the man uses half of the wood to heat his food and the other half to make a false god, before which he bows down.

In stark contrast to this path is the path that Isaiah gives us at the very beginning of the text. The LORD is described (again, literally) in three, very important ways: ‘The King of Israel, the One redeeming him (that is, Israel), and the LORD of hosts.’

One of the more popular and somewhat unique ways of describing the LORD in Isaiah is ‘the Holy One of Israel’. This description is significantly different than ‘King of Israel’. As was mentioned above, the vast majority of the uses of ‘king’ in this book is when describing a ‘regular’ king, but this time, the extent of kingship is very limited. This king is ‘down-to-earth’.

The next way he is described is as redeeming. We usually think of the New Testament right away when we hear that word, but if we stay in the Old Testament, we think of Job. But the book of Ruth is the best example of a redeemer in the Old Testament, and this is essentially a protector of the family.

The last way is the most powerful. Not only does the name LORD mean ‘He is’—meaning that he is basically the only thing that truly IS—but the word ‘hosts’ refers to military service, ranks and divisions of troops (see The Lutheran Study Bible, page 1291; published by Concordia Publishing House; St. Louis, Missouri, 2009).
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The progression within this description leads us on, not only to other similar—and even more significant—references, but to a New Testament that certainly shows the glory of THE Redeemer. Jesus talks about being glorified when he is lifted up. That is where he finally accepts the title above his thorn-crowned head, the KING of the Jews.