NOTES for Isa 9:9-21
9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, |
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. |
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; |
12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. |
13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. |
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. |
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. |
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. |
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. |
18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. |
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. |
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: |
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. |
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Today we read Isaiah's prophecy, which was fulfilled already during the prophet's lifetime: words about the destruction of Samaria, which together with the whole Northern Kingdom was destroyed in 722 BC. And in this prophecy there are several things that draw attention by their relevance. The prophet speaks of people (a believing people) who do not see in their own disasters the fruit of their lawless deeds. This is precisely what makes the catastrophe unavoidable.
Never mind, the northerners say, that the country is in decline, impoverished and ruined. We will not lose heart, but will rebuild our dear... Samaria, of course, even more beautifully. But, the prophet says, the people do not turn to the One who strikes them, and they do not seek the Lord of Hosts. That means that under conditions of decline and disintegration, when the economy is dying and abuse of power is multiplying, when the country is falling apart like a sandcastle, the right thing would be not only to think about how we should arrange... Samaria, of course. The right thing would be to think: "What is our sin that has brought us to this?" and to seek the Lord of Hosts.
The key words of the whole prophecy are verses 1-2 of chapter 10. The prophet accuses those who enact unjust laws and write cruel decrees, who deprive the poor of justice and rob the weak among the people of their rights. This denunciation is addressed by no means only to Pekah and Hoshea, the kings of Samaria at that time, but to the whole country. This common responsibility is perhaps the reverse side of the unity of a nation, the unity of a country. And therefore the cruelty and tragedy of our history is a matter for our common repentance.
Readings for 10 March 2026
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