On Politics, Activism, and Waiting for the LORD: A Sermon on Isaiah 30:1-18

My church is currently going through Isaiah and yesterday was my turn to stand behind the lectern. I ‘felt led’ (to use a pious phrase) to take on Isaiah 30:1-18 and somehow supplement this with Matthew 6:24-34. I’m not sure I did a great job, despite (a) canvassing for opinion on how to approach political issues and (b) getting some positive feedback afterwards. I think my uncertainty about this sermon’s quality stems from what seems to be a blind acceptance that everything’s going to turn out okay, despite the fact that I loathe this sort of theology; but isn’t that the nature of trust? I’m also wary that it might look as though I’m anti-activism, which I’m not, and the adjectives I use throughout (e.g. panicked activism) were chosen deliberately. Finally, it does raise the issue of how far preachers should use sermons to denounce particular people, especially those in the political realm. As someone who merely has permission from his bishop to preach occasionally in his church, I don’t believe that this is my task when preaching. Anyway, enough waffle: enjoy!

Isaiah 30:1-18; Matthew 6:24-34

The book of Isaiah contains some of the Bible’s best known and much loved passages. ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given’ (Isa. 9:6 kjv)—a Christmas favourite! ‘Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles’ (Isa. 40:31 nrsv)—comfort for the weary and despondent. ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me . . . to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners’ (Isa. 61:1 nrsv)—motivation for justice, and hope for those trapped by injustice and inequality. Isaiah also contains prophecies about Jesus, a ‘man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief’ (Isa. 53:3 kjv), and prophecies about the Lord God’s plans to ‘create new heavens and a new earth’ where ‘the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind’ (Isa. 65:17 nrsv). What illumination, what comfort, what inspiration we’d all miss if we neglect to read or listen to the prophet Isaiah!

But we should not forget that Isaiah is an intensely political book. Isaiah prophesied during a time of immense international upheaval. The Assyrian Empire constantly sought to expand its territory by invading other countries, drowning those countries’ inhabitants and land in a tsunami of violence and bloodshed. Smaller nations could not defend themselves; they couldn’t stand against the Assyrian armies. And one by one, they were defeated, swallowed whole by the insatiable Assyrian monstrosity. It is against this backdrop that Isaiah prophesied.

This is where today’s reading from Isaiah 30 comes in. At first glance, it looks a little obscure: all this talk about plans and alliances and lionesses and horses and so on. But the political scene underlying the book of Isaiah as a whole helps us to understand what’s going on. The Assyrian Empire had already done away with the northern kingdom of Israel and was now banging on the door of Judah, the southern kingdom. Judah was a small nation and would not have been able to defend itself effectively against the Assyrians. And so the leaders of Judah thought the most obvious thing to do, the best thing to do, would be to ask Egypt, to the southwest, to help them repel the Assyrian invaders: to make a united stand against a common enemy, fight together, pool resources. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Practical, sensible; obvious.

Isaiah doesn’t think so. In our reading today, we see Isaiah railing against the people, or perhaps more specifically the people’s leaders, denouncing their decision to make a deal with Egypt. In verses one to seven, we see Judah attempting to forge an alliance with Egypt, despite Isaiah’s warning that the Egyptians are no longer the military force of old. ‘Egypt’s help is worthless and empty,’ Isaiah prophesies; Egypt is ‘“Rahab who sits still”,’ a once-mighty beast who has been cut down to size, all bark and no bite. Any alliance with Egypt is sure to be a waste of time, given the power and size of the Assyrian juggernaut.

Even so, precisely what is Isaiah’s problem here? Assyria may well end up destroying the combined armies of Judah and Egypt, but isn’t it better to take a stand against oppression than simply to give in? Wouldn’t it better for them to take matters into their own hands rather than let the Assyrians march all over them? Surely Isaiah wouldn’t want his own people and their allies wiped from the face of the earth without a fight?

Well, maybe not. But Isaiah objects to a deal with Egypt for one simple reason: the Lord hadn’t told Judah to do this! In fact, the Lord had told them quite the opposite: Judah was not to turn to Egypt for military assistance. Instead, Judah was to trust in the Lord alone for salvation. Verse fifteen:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

In returning and rest you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.

In other words, says the Lord, don’t be afraid of the Assyrians, don’t be worried about what the Assyrians might do to you; just get on with your lives, says the Lord, and trust me.

But—and I do sympathise with them—the people couldn’t do this. They couldn’t wait for the Lord to do something and so tried to take matters into their own hands. The people trusted their leaders to negotiate a good deal to ensure the security and prosperity of the land. But things didn’t work out this way. In the end, only the Lord’s direct intervention prevented Judah from total devastation. You can read about this in Isaiah 36–37 and 2 Kings 18–19 if you wish!

photo from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/extinction-rebellion-protests-scientists-climate-change-london-amsterdam-a9154336.html

That’s the history lesson over; but what relevance does all this have for us in a week when Brexit and Extinction Rebellion and the Turkish attacks on Syria have dominated the news? First, let’s be clear: it would be all too easy to take individual verses from this passage and apply them to our current political situation; easy, but simplistic. It is too simplistic to take, say, verse twelve, with its talk of putting trust in ‘oppression and deceit,’ and make some kind of connection, justified or otherwise, to the Prime Minister or any other world leader. We need to be careful—even as I need to be careful right now—when using the Bible to interpret current events, otherwise we might end up glorifying our own political views while demonising those of others. Whatever similarities or resonances there are between international politics then and international politics now, we simply cannot extract seemingly relevant verses from the Bible and slap them across the face of whichever global player we dislike most.

The key here, I think, lies in the fact that Judah sought Egypt’s help in defiance of the Lord’s command to wait for the Lord to act. ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved’—not by making deals with military powers. ‘In quietness and in trust shall be your strength’—not by panicked activism or reliance on Judah’s own political nous or resources. This command to wait and do nothing was a challenge to the people of Judah, not least because the most terrifying of foreign powers was breathing hot air down their necks, chomping at the bit to charge in and devour them frenziedly. But waiting and doing nothing was precisely what the Lord requested of God’s people at that time.

At that time . . . but not now, perhaps? Surely now it’s time to take a stand against those who abuse democracy, against those whose businesses and lifestyles threaten the future of our planet, against those who thrive on the misery and ill-fortune of others! Let’s stand up to our leaders when necessary; let’s break the finger bones of the corrupt and the powerful when their grip begins to tighten around the necks of the poor and powerless; let’s fight inequality and injustice and prejudice with all our might, so far as we are able. Let’s do it! All this is surely what any self-aware and empathetic citizen of this world should be fighting for, right?

Yes! But let’s remember that Christians are not just citizens of this world. The apostle Paul says ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil. 3:20), and Jesus himself encourages us to pray for God’s kingdom to come so that God’s will is ‘done, on earth as in heaven’ (Mt. 6:10). Indeed, in our Gospel reading today, from Matthew 6, Jesus tells us to ‘strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness’. This is our priority as Christians: to proclaim the good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life (1 Cor. 15:3-4); to make disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:19). What this means in practice will vary, of course, from person to person, and it’s up to each one of us here today to discern what God is calling us to do in order to expand God’s kingdom. The body of Christ has many parts and we don’t all need to do precisely the same thing.

But what does this have to do with Isaiah 30? Have I been sidetracked? I don’t think so. A few moments ago, I said that there is no direct comparison between the political situation in ancient Judah and our own present situation. But I do think God’s challenge to Judah then is potentially a challenge to us now. And what is this challenge? To recognise our strength and security are found in nothing and no-one else but God alone. Judah tried to make a deal with a neighbour to defend itself against a common enemy, but left the Lord out of the picture. And there is always a danger for us to do likewise, to make political gestures and protest against corruption and abusive power while forgetting that God has not called us to construct a utopia, but to grow God’s kingdom. We can build a better tomorrow, I’m sure of it; but only God can birth—and, in Christ, has birthed—the age to come. Salvation, truly transformative salvation, is from the Lord alone.

The Lord provides

What else can we say? How about this: If we listen carefully, in both Isaiah 30 and in Matthew 6, we can hear God say, ‘Trust me.’ Despite the Assyrian presence on their doorstep, the people of Judah were told to do nothing other than trust in the Lord. And in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells us not to worry about what we’ll eat or drink or wear, because, he says, God our heavenly Father will give us what we need to live faithfully as disciples. As counterintuitive as it appears, we need not worry hopelessly or helplessly about the world or society in which we live. There are things we can do to improve the world around us; sometimes we are the answers to our own prayers. But some things only God can do, and many social changes can and will come about because God’s Spirit is at work when Christians like us—citizens of heaven, remember—when Christians like us act in Christ’s name for the good of this world. And so the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ says to us: ‘I am building my kingdom, despite the confusion and instability you see all around you. Don’t worry about tomorrow; trust me today and every day. I, the Lord, wait to be gracious to you; I will rise up to show mercy to you. For I, the Lord, am a God of justice; blessed are all you who wait for me.’