As Isaiah progresses, we look this week at Book II, the section of the work associated with the Judean’s exile experience in Babylon. A powerful message of comfort and hope for the exiles, Isaiah 40-55 paints a picture of Jerusalem (Zion) as a mighty centre for salvation with the People of Yahweh as its rulers.

While the prophet Isaiah proclaimed mostly judgement, these later writers develop his thinner themes of restoration. This Book is a wake-up call; a steely-eyed assertion that the Babylonians time was up and the day of Zion could begin.

With the benefit of hindsight it is easy to miss what ‘Isaiah’ is claiming. We know that the religion of Yahweh only continued post-exile as a minority faith and that Jerusalem never regained its former glory. Isaiah’s confidence, in other words, was somewhat misplaced. For the brave-new-worlders in Babylon however, rumours of the coming Persian army sounded the end of Babylonian captivity. Rather than fear their continued ignominy, those in the Isaiah tradition imagine wildly; not just the regained glory of David and Solomon, but a ‘new world order’: Zion.

Incredibly, for a people so decimated by their previous fifty years of history, these new voices speak of restoration in the immediate. King Cyrus of Persia is appointed, at least in their minds, as Liberator, a servant of Yahweh who would release Judah and crush the evils of Babylon (44:24-45:25). Messianic passages abound as Israel dream of new and inspirational leadership (42:1-7, 49:1-7, 52:13-53:12). Babylon and her gods would bow (46-47) and Jerusalem would emerge as an epicentre of Yahweh’s rule on the earth.

There is no particular coherence to this vision of the future. Isaiah is not a blueprint for Israel’s tomorrow; it is a prophetic trumpet-call for her today! A crushed people must lift up their tired heads and see the potential that comes with the power of Yahweh. They may be judged and beaten, but they are still his. On that basis, echoes the call, ‘clothe yourself with strength’ (51:9, 52:1); a new day has come.

So far-fetched is their belief that it seems truly incredible. This is the power of hope, especially hope that believes God to be onside. Was it good for Israel to believe something so outrageously unlikely? Perhaps not; the following centuries showed their painfully desperate clutching at these straws. It may be, however, that without this confidence Israel would have given up on Yahweh altogether. Better to fail together than drift apart in mediocrity?

From the perspective of the Christian tradition, these texts have become, rightly or wrongly, re-appropriated for a future time where the Kingdom of God, led by Jesus the Messiah is established on the earth. There is of course huge spectrum of opinion on the matter, Zion causing particular problems. What perhaps is still potent, however, is the enduring hope of a people empowered by the most unlikely of beliefs. That Jesus could bring, and is bringing, in a ‘new world order,’ where swords are beaten into ploughshares and the wolf will live with the lamb (2:4, 11:6) is an outrageous and utterly incredible vision; a dream worth living.