Brother came home, and there is much rejoicing :) I will probably have to post tomorrow. Sorry!
[Here it is at last.] I don't know how many times ultimate agony is portrayed in the Bible as a woman in birthing pains, but it seems to be a lot. My brother pointed out that the books of the Bible were written by men, so they must have been really impressed (and terrified) by labor. I guess all those one room houses were far more effective than any explanations people try to give today... Anyway, here Isaiah compares Israel under the chastisement of God with a woman in labor. They writhe in pain in God's presence because of the weight of their sin. It further describes the effects of sin as giving birth to wind and not achieving salvation. This reminds me of a lot of modern day philosophies. We can spend decades immersed in relativism and saying why we can't reach Truth, why morals can't extend beyond one person, why there is nothing beyond living for your own dreams if you can even manage that, but after all that intellectual writhing, we give birth to wind. There's nothing in there to live for.
The interesting thing is that despite the pain of chastisement, Isaiah points out the plight of those who are "spared" correction. The wicked man who lives in prosperity doesn't see the majesty of God or that his hand is uplifted against him. This is not a good situation for him because eventually, he too will answer to God.
Chapter 27 goes on to say what must be done for the correction to end. They must tear down their places of pagan worship, even to the point of pulverizing the stones of the alters. Sounds like a lot of work to me, but well worth the end of labor!
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2 comments:
THAT MEANS SHEPHERDS PIES.
YUM.
Lol. I'm glad Drew could come home for Christmas.
I'm not sure why they continued to bring up women in labour, but the familiar traumatisation of the women who were supposed to be such pictures of beauty and domestic efficiency turning into gorgons must have gleaned some kind of reaction . . . probably kept the more bookish ones awake!
There is a theory running about in some circles that Ruth might actually have been written by a woman, though I can't give you research to support it--my prof brought it up in my Bible as Lit. class and it has teased me ever since.
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