Haftara Ki Tietze Isaiah 54:1-10 08/04

For Isaiah and his generation, the destruction of the Temple and exile to Babylon in 586 BCE was a defining moment of the bond between God and His people. A people schooled in the belief that they were the chosen of the Lord could not but read the events of the destruction as an episode of Divine rage. How does a prophet navigate the sensitivities of a people so humbled and whose perception was that they were being abused by an angry God?

The Isaiah sustains God's just indignation upon his people's disloyalty, but the images speak further. God's anger is fueled not by hatred, but by love spurned. The metaphor of God as disappointed lover explains the severity of the destruction while it promises, as always, imminent hope for reconciliation with Him. Isaiah seeks to soften the experience of the destruction, so that the people can begin to trust both themselves and God again.

Isaiah 54 1 "Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman," says the LORD.

2"Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.

3For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.

4"Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth,  and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

5For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;  He is called the God of the whole earth.

6For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused," says your God.

7"For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great love I will gather you.

8With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer.

9"For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

10For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, ut My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

In this fifth Haftarah of comfort between Tisha B'av and Rosh Hashana, Isaiah is chosen to express the movement from despair to hope. Once again, as is common among the prophets, Israel is God's love mate whom he has spurned for her faithlessness. The prophet tells his community that God's distemper is momentary, his love enduring. 7 "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great love I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. He never forsakes us! And, quickly following verse 7 He clarifies that our perception is that he has forsaken us, but in reality, He has, just for a moment hid His face from us. His face is still there, in the pain, the darkness, the confusion . . . just hidden for a moment in order that we will search for Him, once again, trust Him, once again, and throw our confused and problematic lives into His hands once again. He is there to deliver us, to save us, and to be our strength, always.

We must remember that all affliction, all suffering, and all misfortune are momentary . . . as His great love for us directs all things toward our ultimate good. Remaining faithful through hardship is the secret that brings us to an emergence of relief and ultimate redemption. And always, it requires stepping further into faith that we have ever had to go before. There is a constant cycle of despair, teshuvah, and growth (nearness and trust) . . . ever climbing higher, never motionless, never retreating. He never abandons us, and our momentary afflictions and discomfort, when mixed with patience and faithfulness will ultimately bring redemption and recovery.

Psalm 30:5

For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime (or in His favor is life). Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

2 Corinthians 4:17

For our light, momentary affliction (the distress of this passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!].

There is always a new day, and with the dawning of that new day, comes renewed hope, glimpses of freedom, and joy . . . for if we search for Him in the darkness, we will find Him.

Jeremiah 29:10-14

10For thus says the Lord, When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. 12 Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. 13 Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.