And You Thought Names Today Were Strange

Click here to read Isaiah 8

So, we now meet Isaiah's second son whose name is not Immanuel, but Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.  And you thought people came up with strange names and spellings today.  His son's name means "quick to plunder and swift to spoil."  The name becomes a prophecy about what will happen to Judah and Jerusalem.  And in case we did not get that from the name, the rest of Isaiah 8 tells you that things are going to get bad, really bad.  Water is going to spill over the banks, hear in that images of Noah's Ark or even Genesis 1, when in the beginning it was God and the watery surging and slurping chaos hanging out together. Until God's Spirit surfed and sang out and creation sprung forth.  So, it make sense in times of brokenness to point out that even in Genesis 1 the watery chaos was never completely controlled.  Of course, we know that all too well as images from Super Storm Sandy continue to be broadcast on the news.

Even as the people try to rise up against the chaos, it is for naught.  We heard back in Isaiah 2 about the hope that people would no longer learn to wage war, but that hope remains distant for Isaiah and perhaps for us as well.  Instead, the people (and us today as well) know fear of the other and we stumble and we are held captive by our human ways.  Sometimes Isaiah's brutal honesty can be refreshing and sometimes it can simply cause my shoulders to slouch and for me to wonder, "What is the use?"

Then comes verse 19 about consulting the mediums and spiritualists who whisper and mutter.  Now, one could that that quite literally and we might think of people who log on to psychic network.com to see what their future holds.  Or I remember as a kid how big ouija boards were and often came out at sleepovers.  But I also think how easily I am swayed by the whispers and mutters of culture today.  I see the Lexus commercial and think the way we show love is to buy something big.  I see the Burger King ad and think, "Why yes, I do deserve a break today."  Every where I turn there are whispers that I can feel better if I just find something to buy.

But part of what is so powerful about this passage is at the end, when the people are distraught and devastated it is then that they wonder, "Where is God?"  I know I can feel that way.  When things are great and laughter comes easy, I don't say, "I wonder where is God?"  Usually, those questions come in the midst of darkness and pain and brokenness.  Now, please do not hear me say that the question is a bad one.  Throughout the psalms are are laments, heartfelt cries of pain in the midst of brokenness. The psalms are what  Jesus even turned to on the cross .  So, there is certainly a place for crying out to God.  It is appropriate and honest.  And I do not think God just wants us to face suffering silently.  But I also wonder, about why I question God more in times of trouble?  To put that mathematically: as the amount of brokenness in my life increases, so does my pondering about God's presence.  And as that brokenness diminishes, so does my pondering about God's presence.  Again, I don't want this to come across as a criticism of anyone.  This is an honest assessment of my own faith.

That is why I find Isaiah so compelling.  He shines a light in some places that too often we don't expect polite religion to go.  He challenges me to consider my own actions and responses to God's presence (Immanuel).  And while I am still not sure of the name he gave his second son, what he has to say about my faith makes a whole of sense.

May the traces of God's grace sustain you and surround you this day.

Blessings and peace!