Exodus 1:1 – 6:1

Isaiah’s message of redemption mirrors that told to Moses at the burning bush in this week’s Parshah. Isaiah suggests the return of all the Jews lost in Assyria or exiled in Egypt will make their way to the Holy Mount in Jerusalem upon the sounding of a great Shofar.

But of course, there’s rarely promises of future good fortune without some kind of admonition about bad behaviour. Isaiah reprimands folks for what seems like some pretty hefty drunken revelry which left “vomit and odure” on the tables, and turned usually well-behaved men into errant and corrupt men, who at some point wronged the prophet and “justice stumbled.”

There’s also plenty of smiting foretold, and of the offending nation, Isaiah warns that the fortified city is a solitary city. It will eventually burn up its own resources and its people will be ignorant of their situation. “When its branches dry out, [Read more…]