Prophetic and Poetic Vision - December 15
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48; Isa. 9:1-7; 2 Pet. 1:12-21; Luke 22:54-69
Today’s Reflection
The Book of Isaiah is one of both prophecy and poetry—the superscription that introduces this collection of texts declares that this is “the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (1:1). Such a vision can be understood as “a message from God, given in symbolic form” (ESV Study Bible 1240). Some scholars of the prophetic literature are quick to point out that the prophets were speaking these messages from God into their own times and places, and this is certainly true. However, this does not mean that these messages were not also being spoken to convey a message about the future. Part of the puzzle of prophetic literature is that it offers messages that enlighten us across time and place, giving those who hear or read it insight into things past, present, and future, which makes sense if we believe that the ultimate author of the prophetic texts is a God who is beyond time, speaking through faithful messengers such as Isaiah.
In the passage we read today from the Second Letter of Peter, he addresses questions that people in his own time had about the reliability of prophetic witness: “We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place…knowing this first of all, that no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1: 18-21). Here, Peter was connecting his own experience at the Transfiguration with the experiences of the prophets, believing it gave him further insight into what it means to hear God’s voice. One commentator observes that, in this, “Peter is reassuring his readers that all the OT [Old Testament] scriptures that pointed to Christ were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that the readers should pay close attention to them” (ESV 2420).
So, returning to the passage of prophetic poetry we find in Isaiah 9: 2-7, we know that this text is often read during this, the Season of Advent. We read this now because it is considered by many to be Isaiah’s vision of the coming, long-awaited Messiah. Indeed, in the explanation that precedes this poem, we learn how “in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” (9:1). One thing to understand about the prophetic voice is that it moves in and out of various verb tenses, speaking as it does with a vision meant to give insight all at once into the past, present, and future. So, when we hear “in the latter time,” we find that a past tense verb is used “because the prophetic eye sees the future in a vision” (ESV 1257). A vision one has had already is recalled in past tense because the vision itself is past, but what the vision refers to may be yet to be fulfilled.
As we observe this Season of Advent, we re-live what it is like for “The people who have walked in darkness” who “have seen a great light” (9:2). The prophetic poetry is so powerful because it transports us backward in time to imagine what it was like for the people anticipating the first coming of the Messiah, of what it meant “for those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness” to wait for and finally receive this clearer vision of the light that was yet to come.
God gave Isaiah a vision of what was yet to come, a vision that we believe was fulfilled when Jesus was born of Mary, and then went on to live and die as one of us: “For to us a child is born, and to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. … The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (9: 6-7).
Again, understanding the way verbs work in the prophetic voice, we can understand this passage as alluding to the coming of Christ if we keep in mind that, “Isaiah presents the events as if it were the time of the child’s arrival, with an expectation of what he will achieve” (ESV 1257). Within the vision Isaiah received from God, Isaiah has already seen this child born, the vision anticipating historical events yet to occur. The Apostle Peter and the people who walked alongside Jesus were very familiar with Isaiah and the visions he received from God, as we find Isaiah mentioned and quoted throughout our New Testament scriptures. Peter and others in the early church believed that they had seen the fulfillment of Isaiah’s visions in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
In which historical events and literary texts have you found wisdom and insight into the world in which we are living today?
Do you believe that God still speaks through prophetic visions in our own time? If so, whose prophetic voices have you resonated with? What in their messages has struck you as being from God?
Daily Challenge
Look through some of the books of the New Testament to find some examples of how Isaiah and other prophets are referenced there. Reflect on why it is important to trace these threads of the prophetic tradition as they run through our New Testament texts. What do we learn about God and his love for us as we do this?