Sin, Salvation, Judgment, and Repentance: The Holiness of Yahweh
By Alexa Lindseth, NU Alumni
Introduction
The Book of Isaiah, which is split into three sections or three books, begins with a message addressed to Judah, a tribe led by Davidic kings (Ahaz and Hezekiah), in the shadow of the Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 1-39). It transitions into a narrative of Judah’s suffering as exiles at the heart of the Babylonian Empire (Isaiah 40-55). It comes to an end with the Judean colony’s being addressed at the fringes of the Persian Empire (56-66). The address to the three differing audiences is confirmed in the final form.[1] The first book of Isaiah is especially concerned with judgment and woe oracles contrasting the last book, which is filled with the sound of hope, the echo of redemption, and the freedom of salvation.
Throughout all three texts, the holiness of Yahweh unifies the major subtopics of the writings—such as salvation, judgment, and the human activity of sin and repentance—which are delivered through prophetic oracles and then either responded to or ignored by the people. Despite its differences contextually and chronologically, Isaiah as a whole is a testament to the sovereign Lord of all nations. Much of the following discussion will be centralized around the unique, yet key, passage of Isaiah 6, but theology will also be explored throughout the text as a whole. Because of the holiness of Yahweh, there is judgment and salvation for a sinful people who struggle with rebellion and the necessity of true repentance.
Oracles Against the Nation (OAN)
The major collection of Oracles Against the Nations (OAN) is found in the first book of Isaiah from 13.1-23.1 and also in 30.6. The oracle against the leading power of Babylon (13.1-14.23) is followed by the oracle against the older representation of power: Assyria (14:24-27). There is an oracle against Philistia (14:28-32), Moab (15.1-16.14), Damascus (17.1-3), Ethiopia (18.1-7), Egypt (19.1-25), again Babylon (21:1-10), Dumah (21:11-12), the desert places (21.13-15), Kedar (21.16-17), and then Tyre (23.1-18). While these oracles are given within specific sociopolitical military contexts, the recovery and full understanding of these contexts are difficult, but the theological context is evident.[2] The holy Yahweh’s judgment and salvation will reign over the nation, and the point will be made that he is sovereign and Lord over Israel.
The display of God’s relationship with Assyria preconceives a way that intertwines divine sovereignty with human response. In 5.26, Yahweh summons the army of Assyria. In 10.4, the club or staff that is wielded is an expression of God’s wrath Assyria is being criticized because of its action—it is not simply a means for Yahweh to act against Ephraim, but there is also the goal of devastating an entire series of nations (10.7-8). The treatment of Jerusalem and Samaria is that of the other Middle Eastern cities (10.9-11).[3]
The OAN is clearly an intrinsic aspect of the Isaianic message of judgment on Israel. Isaiah’s theology is greatly affected by his OAN and the view of history is that Yahweh controls the destinies of all the nations and takes a particular interest in Israel. According to Northwest University associate professor of Old Testament studies Dr. David Hymes, the purpose of the Oracles Against the Nations in Isaiah, is not as much about pronouncing judgment on nations as it is about announcing the salvation of Israel—if they would just trust the Lord.[4] The part about trusting the Lord is what Israel greatly struggles with, and their tendency to look for help in other places, especially in the first book of Isaiah, is what elicits the OAN. The House of David is referred to in 7.2, telling of a nation that can and should trust in the ever-steadfast, but is doubting and fearfully looking to an alternative—another nation—for help. This oracle found in 7.1-9 displays the unfounded distrust Yahweh’s people have in him, even though long-term support was pledged to the House of David in 2 Samuel 7.11-16.[5]
Chapters 13-23 of Isaiah are known as the Prophecies Against the Nations because of the amount of suffering and trouble it addresses to other nations, contrasted with any sort of blessing. The descriptions of these intimidating oracles are named by titles such as “Babylon Prophecy” or “Moab Prophecy.” It is interesting to note that there is a neutral naming of these oracles and that they were not actually delivered to the other nations; they are in fact delivered to Judah, just like many of the other prophecies. The point of these Oracles Against the Nations seems to be an effective implementation of Yahweh’s intentions for these nations. They were a word of God that allowed his purposes to unfold, but the relaying is an aspect of a prophet’s ministry to God’s people. The objective of delivering messages about other nations to Judah is found in some major parts: The emphasis on catastrophe connects with Judah’s inevitable terror of those nations, and the flipside is that Judah has a tendency to put their hope and trust in other nations. Additionally, Yahweh wants to assert his lordship over all nations and remind Judah of his power to do with them as he pleases. These oracles are meant to get that point across; in order to do so, they go to extremes—shown in chapter 20 when Isaiah is barefoot and naked while wandering through Jerusalem to physically symbolize the fate of those nations (Egypt and Sudan).[6]
Hoy (Woe) Oracle
The hoy or woe oracle has a pattern that is made up of two parts: accusation and threat. The last oracle that pertains to this study is the one that has to do with admonition. The pattern in this one includes a call for repentance. Its three parts are: messenger formula; admonition (often utilizing an imperative, which elicits the call for repentance); and reason.[7]
One especially unique oracle is when Isaiah, in his call narrative in chapter 6, pronounces a woe on himself that is normally reserved for the nations. When he sees the Holy One, he becomes more aware of himself than he has ever been and his consciousness of sin is intensified in 6.5: “Woe is me for I am lost; I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for my eyes haves seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah 28-35 includes six distinctive parts denoted by the word “woe.” The first three “woes” have to do with divine action, and the latter three deal with relaying similar application to history and eschatology. The inherent message found in the repetitive hoy oracles is that trust must be in Yahweh. One thing each occurrence has in common is the fact that they come to a climactic head at the last day. The faith the people to whom God is revealing his sovereignty is a practical key to live how they are supposed to: in fear, in faith, and in obedience to the holy Yahweh. In chapter 28, the principle found is that destruction succeeds the people’s rejection of God’s word and covenant. In chapters 33-35, one can see the application in that though the people may think and appear to be in control, divine sovereignty not only remains, but rules; the adversaries will eventually be destroyed and the redeemed will collect at Zion.[8]
If the OANs were imparted so Yahweh’s lordship could be displayed over the nations and Israel would truly see and fear God as the one who had control and sovereignty, the prerogative of the Hoy Oracle was given so God could address Judah’s foolishness in not trusting him. Both serve as warnings steeped in judgment and devastation, but that is so the people will hear and repent. If the people see the direness of their unfaithfulness, and, therefore, their faithfulness also, they will turn and repent. Moreover, the possibility remains that the prophecies will become obsolete. If the people collectively respond, there may be salvation before judgment.
Judgment Oracle
For the judgment oracle, one can expect to see three major parts: the messenger formula; followed by a threat or predictive statement; and the accusation, which constitutes the reason for the threat.[9] Chapter 2 is clearly an oracle of judgment. It is Yahweh dealing with his people through the prophet’s oracle, which is utilizing the messenger formula. His people are consumed in their arrogant pride and caught up in materialistic and pagan ways. The predictive statement is found in the announcement of judgment through the three-time repetition of the phrases “in that day” and “there is a day belonging to the Lord.” This is indicative of the Day of the Lord. The gravity of this threat is found in verse 9, when it says that man will be humbled, brought low, and not forgiven. The expected result of this oracle is to glorify Yahweh by penetrating and destroying man’s narcissistic acclamation. The reason for this judgment is seen in the intensity of Israel’s unorthodox worship and wrong religious practices. This leads to the harshness of Yahweh’s response and affirms the ideas that forgiveness is impossible without castigation of sin, and that specifically the sins of arrogant pride, idolatry and obstinacy may impede forgiveness. This is not insinuating any desire of destruction on the part of the prophet, but the urgency and finality of the oracle may be in hopes of quickly pushing the people into repentance.[10] The judgment oracle is necessary in not only communicating the power and the holiness of Yahweh toward Israel, but also his desire for their worship.
Salvation Oracle
Like the other oracles, there is a structure for the Salvation Oracle—found in four parts: the messenger formula, the explanation of the situation, the promise, and the reason.[11] The Salvation Oracles found in Isaiah are rooted in the Old Testament theology. Going through the initial deliverance at the start connotes for Israel that the Holy One of Israel will remain their savior. Just as he was the savior at the beginning, so it follows that his rescue continues to be anticipated, prayed for, and known. Yahweh is the God who saves. In reference to God’s rescue of the Israelites from Egypt (the Exodus), “God’s saving act at the beginning of the history of Israel is regarded as the nucleus of the tradition, of the transmission to future generations.”[12]
It is the multi-faceted lament after the demise (e.g. Isa 40:27) to which the revelation of the prophet, in the form of the salvation oracle, results in the divine response to the people’s lament. Forgiveness of amassed sin is an innate aspect of Yahweh’s salvation and has to be explicitly relayed to the people: “… [T]he message of comfort in Deutero-Isaiah is, in the initial words, immediately based upon the announcement of forgiveness (Isa. 40:2).”[13]
Throughout Isaiah 44.21-22, God assures that he has removed the Israelites’ transgressions, sins like a metaphorical thick cloud or heavy mist, and by this has redeemed them. This allots them the chance to “return to [him].” God’s extension of grace is not contingent on the people’s repentance, but in some cases goes before it. Within Isaiah, sin is cured through what is articulated in the opening chapter: the urgent beckoning for man’s repentance and the divine act of refining. In lieu of the time of God’s refinement, it is the proclamation and action of divine grace that is displayed as crucial to human repentance.[14]
The Holy One of Israel is the one who is capable of salvation and judgment. Salvation and judgment are best understood when they are seen together like in Isa. 10-11, 13-15. Once again, there is a consistency in the poetic format of the oracle, and a pattern is found in the combination of the two being relayed together. This pattern consists of five parts: the accusation or threat, the promise, the accusation or threat again, oracles of salvation and judgment, and the concluding promise of salvation.[15]
The Sin Problem
From the start of the Old Testament, sin is seen as a violation of God’s command and, therefore, a betrayal of the relationship between God and humans. In the Latter Prophets, it is often the sins against humanity that come more into focus with special emphasis, not exclusively on the violation of orthodox worship, but also acts of social injustice, killing, deceiving, thieving, and sexual immorality. Throughout the Old Testament, sin is not necessarily of individual intent, but it can be, and often is, a corporate or generational act—for the Latter Prophets, there is no exception. There are various remedies presented in the Old Testament for sin, and the prophets play a role in the delivery of those remedies. Divine discipline, which is what sin elicits, is interchanged or accompanied by the prophetic voice, interpreting or warning about the divine punishment with the hope of a penitential repentance of the people.[16]
Isaiah 53 sheds new light and gives another dimension to theology regarding sin, salvation, judgment, and repentance. This is the dimension that displays how vicarious suffering deals with the problem of sin. This passage is understood as the fourth of the servant songs and it has five strophes that allow the speakers to be somewhat identifiable (52.13-15; 53.1-3, 4-6, 7-10, and 11-12). Vicariousness and atonement reveal their importance in the face of sin. There is a link between the attitude and exercise of individual and collective retribution; it is natural that there would be a law punishing guilt and that there would be no avoiding the consequences. It may at first seem that vicarious suffering and atonement would not work, on account of every individual’s being responsible for their sin, but once it can be clarified that every sin collectively affects the created order, it begins to make more sense. When it comes to suffering, it does not mean replacement, as much as it means sharing in the wretchedness and pain. The difference comes in the attitude of submission to the suffering and this allows for reconciliation and restoration collectively, as well as individually. The heart of willing atonement on behalf of others’ sins denotes the necessity of counteraction against the collective nature of guilt. As a result of the overarching effect of sin, healing actualizes when a person (or persons) are willing to suffer atonement for others’ guilt. The crucial point in this vicariousness is being able to identify the interconnectedness of guilt, punishment, and atonement. The more people see sin as a socio-communal facet, the brighter, more hopeful the servant’s song. This is the best representation of the desired response of God’s beckoning to repentance for the result of reconciliation and restorative healing. Shared suffering and decisive atonement are demanded so that there is a display of true righteousness and a representation of the mercy and grace of the Holy One.[17]
Repentance
Although repentance may not always necessarily bring about God’s salvation or spare God’s judgment, it can play a role. The discussion of repentance and its effect on salvation through judgment can begin in Isaiah 6. In that passage, it states God’s holiness from the holistic and broader context, which establishes God as the one who is absolute and distinctively divine in being and activity. When this is truly revealed to Isaiah, he begins to comprehend where his people and he truly stand in relation to God. His consciousness of collective and individual sin is deepened in his vision, and he speaks the woe on himself that is generally pronounced over others. As a result of this devastating revelation, Isaiah does not beg for mercy but instead cries out in a despair that rings with the expectation of judgment. Surprisingly enough, instead of what Isaiah anticipates, there is divine intervention on his behalf and the prophet’s sinfulness and guilt are taken away. This is what qualifies Isaiah to play the role of emissary-prophet.[18] This commission sets the stage for the rest of First Isaiah in regard to salvation through judgment, and begins to help answer the question of whether or not human repentance is necessary for salvation.
Examining the argument posed in Isaiah 1:19-20, it is clear that there is no offer of repentance nor escaping of judgment. This is a case where Yahweh has made his verdict of judgment for the sinful people, who presumptuously assumed that Yahweh would just wipe out their iniquity and save them. How their sin is to be handled differs from the expected conditional exhortation of the covenantal context. This is a disregarded exhortation that lends to the accusatory nature of the passage. In this text, there is no indication that repentance will spare them from judgment.[19]
The Remnant
In Isaiah, both salvation and judgment entail a remnant. Remnant is most commonly used in regard to a people who have remained alive through catastrophe or undergone devastation. The theological sense indicates either God’s judgment on his sinful people or his mercy in conserving a few as a source of hope in expectation for the future.[20] The idea of the remnant unfolds throughout stories of the prophets and in the prophetic books. An example displayed in Isaiah is that the concept of the remnant is not a static notion, only maintaining a singularly constant linguistic piece. Therefore, static definitions are insufficient and one could define the remnant as being the remainder of a community succeeding a catastrophic event—given that there is an understanding of the dynamic nature of the actual catastrophe and community throughout the numerous stages of the history of Israel.[21]
In Isaiah 6.9-10, God sends Isaiah with an unusual, unexpected, and ironic message that has the opposite intent and effect than the repentance of the people. If one first takes into consideration that throughout scripture God’s longing for his people focuses on reform and deliverance, one can then accept the assertion that repentance is not always necessary for God’s salvation. This is proved by the fact that when God saw that his people were beyond repentance and their stubbornness and pride were irrevocable, he still sent Isaiah. The prophet’s message only hardened the people even more, because they were so caught up in their own wisdom, they condemned themselves. Even though Isaiah pleads for their mercy, it is apparently too late (Isa. 6:11b-13). The hope is intended for future generations—although Isaiah himself has been saved because of his desire for restoration and submission to the divine. Isaiah is speaking to a specific generation of people. Despite the absolute nature of his message, it is only temporary. This is a divine beckoning for the obedience and redemption of future generations. Future generations have to exist in order to adhere to this, though, so the destruction of the current generation cannot be absolute—God would not send a prophet with a message such as Isaiah’s if there were no hope. If Isaiah and his family are purified and become the remnant, this leaves open the possibility for others to do the same. This is showing that God’s judgment is not always equivalent to total destruction and, in fact, can lead to salvation. There is a positive effect in God’s divine judgment: he destroys in order to rebuild. A holy nation can come up from a remaining root, and it will be one that has experienced cleansing judgment.[22]
The message within Isaiah is that the Lord is trustworthy, and the focus is on the providence of God. This is Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, who is capable of judgment, but also salvation. This underlying theology creates the necessity for the prophet’s urgent pushback against Israel’s pride, unrepentance, and pretense. That pushback is the announcement of total destruction. It is this reality that produces the difficulty in understanding the provenance within the prophecies that deal with the future deliverance.[23]
The remnant of his people is a phrase used to describe the restoration of the purified people as set apart from the section of the community that had been wiped away.[24] Mark J. Boda finds the second vision of Zion in Isa. 4.2-6 to be a safe haven for Israel. It sees Zion filled with the remnant, the survivors, after God’s cleansing judgment—the remedy for sin and the path to salvation.[25] Boda later argues that repentance requires more than just a change of allegiance, but also a behavioral change. His example comes from Isaiah 28-33. Succeeding a passage that had rejected trust in Yahweh and ended in a fear-stricken flight, 30.18-26 speaks to the Israelite people seeking a day when Yahweh will show grace and compassion to the ones who wait upon him. This grace is found for those who cry out of affliction to Yahweh. He will rescue them, lead them out of idolatry, and heal the wounds of discipline and judgment—once again leading to salvation and creating a transformed people.[26]
Remnant theology is unique in its tie to judgment and salvation and its unveiling of the holiness of Yahweh because it provides a way out for the faithful, but it still allows for the devastating judgment of the whole of the community. Yahweh will keep his covenant to his people who repent and trust in him (like the prophet Isaiah in chapter 6), but his holiness is still displayed in the catastrophic judgment of his people. There is a paradoxical tension shown in the holiness of Yahweh—bringing salvation through judgment.
Isaianic Theology
Isaianic theology can be brought together through the holiness of God. The themes of sin, judgment, salvation, and repentance find themselves subject to, and a result of, Yahweh’s holiness. In each text, it uniquely shows his holiness—whether it is through his wrath and judgment, through his mercy and salvation, in a combination of the two. Within the call narrative of Isaiah 6, the trajectory for all of the theology of Trito Isaiah (the third section of Isaiah) is directed. The judgment of the Holy One is clearly seen in the trembling realization that Isaiah himself is a sinner and should not be in the presence of Yahweh, because the individual and national sin of the people are subject to the judgment of the Holy One. There could be a connection back to Exodus 19.18, in that it is the holiness of God that ushers in salvation. Similarly in Exodus, the smoke of holiness left the resources for salvation at the altar. Keeping verse 6 in mind of Isaiah 6, while still relating it to this Exodus passage, the seraph flew to minister the cleansing atonement for the sinner. Isaianic theology centers around the Holy One of Israel and the judgment and salvation he brings to repentant and unrepentant sinners.[27]
Conclusion
Salvation can come through judgment and restoration through punishment. The varying types of oracles and interactions between Yahweh, the prophets, and his people are displays of the dynamic relationship within the framework of the covenant. It can be seen that though some things are foretold with resounding finality, and Isaiah may be considered the prophet of doom, things can be subject to change. The repentance of the people is key and returning to true worship of Yahweh is the underlying motivation that the prophecies and oracles are founded on. The holiness of God is the factor that brings everything together, and it is where judgment and salvation stem from. While the hoy and judgment oracles may appear as solely bleak and hopeless, a sinful and rebellious people are in relationship with a holy God, who desires to give them salvation. This may be Yahweh’s purpose in sending prophets to declare doom and devastation. The holy God of Israel is constantly providing a way out and a way of hope—even for those who do not deserve, or seemingly desire, it. All that is required is trust and repentance—human action affects the Holy One of Israel. If they truly turned and feared, trusted and served God, the problem of sin would be reversed and salvation could precede judgment, instead of coming through it.
Bibliography
Alexander, David, and Pat Alexander. Eerdmans’ Concise Bible Handbook. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1980.
Boda, Mark J. A Severe Mercy: Sin and Its Remedy in the Old Testament. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.
Brueggemann, Walter. Isaiah. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
Goldingay, John. The Theology of the Book of Isaiah. Downers Grove, IL; InterVarsity Press, 2014.
Hunter, A. Vanlier. Seek the Lord! A Study of the Meaning and Function of the Exhortations in Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and Zephaniah. Baltimore: John D. Lucas Printing Co., 1982.
Kaiser, Otto. Isaiah 1-12: A Commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.
Krasovec, Joze. Reward, Punishment, and Forgiveness: The Thinking and Beliefs of Ancient Israel in the Light of Greek and Modern Views. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV, 1999.
Umoren, Gerald Emem. The Salvation of the Remnant in Isaiah 11:11-12: An Exegesis of a Prophecy of Hope and Its Relevance Today. Boca Raton, FL: Dissertation.com, 2006. Accessed April 20, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=ocZ9r7YCkiQC&lpg=PP1&dq=remnant theology of Isaiah&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q=remnant theology of Isaiah&f=false. Westermann, Claus. Elements of Old Testament Theology. United States of America: John Knox Press, 1982.
Westermann, Claus. Isaiah 40-66; A Commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1969.
Windsor, Lionel. “The Development and Significance of the Remnant.” Remnant in the Old Testament Prophets. 2003. Accessed April 29, 2016.http://www.lionelwindsor.net/bibleresources/bible/old/Remnant.htm.
[1] Mark J. Boda, A Severe Mercy: Sin and Its Remedy in the Old Testament. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009, 190.
[2] Walter Brueggemann. Isaiah. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, 112-113.
[3] John Goldingay. The Theology of the Book of Isaiah. Downers Grove: IL; InterVarsity Press, 2014, 131-132.
[4] Hymes, 2016.
[5] Brueggemann, 65.
[6] Goldingay, 38.
[7] Hymes, 2016.
[8] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1993, 227-228.
[9] Hymes, David. Lecture, General Handout of the Isaiah Material, Northwest University, Kirkland, WA. January 28, 2016.
[10] Krasovec, 392-393.
[11] Hymes, 2016.
[12] Westermann, 37.
[13] Westermann, 142-143.
[14] Boda, 205-206; 222.
[15] Hymes, 2016.
[16] Boda, 519-521.
[17] Krasovec, 497-498.
[18] Krasovec, Joze. Reward, Punishment and Forgiveness; The Thinking and Beliefs of Ancient Israel in Light of Greek and Modern Views. The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV, 1999, 377.
[19] Hunter, A. Vanlier. Seek the Lord! A Study of the Meaning and Function of the Exhortations in Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, and Zephaniah. St. Mary’s Seminary and University. Baltimore,1982, 198.
[20] Gerald Emem Umoren, The Salvation of the Remnant in Isaiah 11:11-12: An Exegesis of a Prophecy of Hope and Its Relevance Today. Boca Raton, FL: Dissertation.com, 2006, 18. Accessed April 20, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?id=ocZ9r7YCkiQC&lpg=PP1&dq=remnant theology of Isaiah&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q=remnant theology of Isaiah&f=false.
[21] Windsor, Lionel. “The Development and Significance of the Remnant.” Remnant in the Old Testament Prophets. 2003. Accessed April 29, 2016. http://www.lionelwindsor.net/bibleresources/bible/old/Remnant.htm.
[22] Krasovec, 378-381.
[23] Krasovec, 1999.
[24] Krasovec, 400.
[25] Boda, Mark J. A Severe Mercy: Sin and Its Remedy in the Old Testament. Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009, 193-194.
[26] Boda, 200.
[27] Motyer, J. Alec. The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993, 17.
