Study Format:
1. Read passage aloud. What did you notice in the reading? What words or phrase caught your attention?
2. Read passage aloud a second time. What questions would you ask the text?
3. Read passage aloud a third time. What do you hear God calling you to do or be in response to this text?
Interesting Ideas to Consider:
Isaiah 9:2-7
• Isaiah is a complicated book to place in one specific time frame, because it is really a compilation of many sources, from as early as 1000 BCE to as late as the fourth or fifth centuries BCE. Isaiah 9:2-7 comes mainly from the time following the Syro-Ephraimitic War of 734 BCE. Prior to this time, Assyria (the massive empire to Israel’s north) had been engaged in internal conflicts that had kept them occupied for the early part of the 8th Century. When Tigleth-pileser III ursurped the throne, he brought order to Assyria and refocused them on external conquest, leading to Assyria’s conquest of Syria and the northern country of Israel in the Syro-Epraimitic War. Most of Isaiah 1-39 is oracles against the southern country of Judah, warning them that if they do not repent and straighten up their lives, they will go the same way as Israel.
• A bit of history. During the reign of Tigleth-pileser III, Ahaz was the king of Judah. Both Isaiah and 2 Kings present Ahaz as faithless and fearful because in the face of Assyrian aggression, Ahaz chose to become a vassal of the Assyrian empire rather than join with the kings of Damascus and Samaria to oppose Assyrian rule. After Ahaz’s death in 715 BCE, his son Hezekiah ascended the throne. Hezekiah is viewed by the Deuteronomistic histories (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings) as one of the most important kings of Judah. Per 2 Kings 18:5, “there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him, or among those who were before him.” Part of the reason for Hezekiah’s importance was his faithfulness to the Deuteronomistic interpretation of proper religious life. From 2 Kings 18:3-4, 6, “[Hezekiah] did what was right in the sight of the Lord just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole [places of idol worship]. He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehustan… He held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord had commanded Moses.” The other reason for Hezekiah’s importance was unlike his father, Hezekiah asserted Judah’s independence from Assyria. He was a daring nationalist who exploited the influx of refugees into Judah from the fall of Israel to the north to reestablish a central Judean monarchy.
• There are two major theories on the purpose for this poem. Some scholars see it as part of the coronation ritual for King Hezekiah. The more likely purpose is to announce the birth of a new crown prince, possibly still Hezekiah. Even with the impending threat of Assyria, the birth of a new descendant of David is a sign of God’s continued presence with and deliverance of God’s people.
• The poem structure is that of a hymn of thanksgiving. The first section outlines the trouble and what God has done (v. 2-3), and the second offers praise by listing the reasons for celebration (4-7). The first two reasons given for celebration are release from military and political danger. The third is also political, the birth of a new king who will bring a reign of justice and righteousness.
• The tense of this poem is the past (ex. “the people who walked,” “have seen,” “saw,” “you have shattered,” “a child has been born,” etc.). The only switch is in v. 7, “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” This poem is about reflecting on what God has done in the past as a basis for confidence in what God will do in the future.
• Per Dr. Tucker: “The central message of this text is that the birth and its celebration are signs of hope, grounds for confidence in God’s future… In Isaiah’s view, God’s will for justice, righteousness, and peace is made flesh in the weakest of human creatures, a little baby.”
• The nature of a king’s reign, as described in Isaiah, is one of perpetual peace founded on justice and righteousness.
Psalm 96
• Psalm 96 is part of a collection of enthronement psalms, psalms that exalt God as King and emphasize God’s reign. As is typical for an enthronement psalm, Psalm 96 is structured as a song of praise, starting with an invitation to praise, and following with reasons for praise.
• One potential use for Psalm 96 was that it might have been sung in the Temple at the annual New Year festival (1 Chr 16:23-33 includes most of Psalm 96 as part of the praises accompanying David moving the ark of Jerusalem).
Titus 2:11-14
• Paul (or someone writing from the tradition of Paul) wrote this letter to Titus to encourage and guide him as he established a Christian church in Crete. The beginning of the letter deals mostly with basic ethics of behavior for church leaders. They are strict and can read as harsh to a modern audience. Parts of Titus have regularly been used to subjugate women and support slavery. Even dealing with the historical context, Titus seems to be very much about what we are to do instead of what God has done. It is very works oriented.
• So why read Titus? Because of these verses. These verses provide the theological framework to hang the behavior lesson. “Simply put, Christians should live in right relationship with each other and society because God’s grace, or gift (charis), has already appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, bringing salvation for all (understanding soterios, “bringing salvation,” in verse 11 as linked with soter, “Savior,” in verse 13; see also Titus 3:4).”
• There is action expected of believers, but v. 14 makes clear that action is not in order to earn salvation, but as a response to what God has done. “Christians are to be zealous for good deeds as a living, grateful expression of who they already are by divine grace: part of God’s chosen people.”
Works Sourced:
McCann Jr., J. Clinton. “The Book of Psalms.” The New Interpreter’s Bible Volume IV. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Pietz, Jenny. “Commentary on Titus 2:1-11.” Working Preacher. < http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3511>. Accessed: 20 December 2017.
Tucker, Gene M. “The Book of Isaiah 1-39.” The New Interpreter’s Bible Volume VI. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2001.
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