Isaiah's broken pot--and the scholar's unintended help

“…on the day of the great slaughter

when the strongholds fall.” –Isaiah 30:25b

This verse, this fragment of a verse, comes near the end of chapter 30, and  follows immediately upon a vision of security and comfort, of abundance and peace—an almost Eden-like vision—and that placement caught my attention so I went searching for some guidance from footnotes and commentaries, trying to find out what the scholars had to say.  And here is what I learned.

First: scholars speak of the fragmentary nature of the book of Isaiah. They even speak of three different Isaiahs: first (ch. 1-39), second (40-55) and third Isaiah (56-66) writing over a period of hundreds of years. This fragmentariness is emphasized in my Catholic Study Bible (Oxford 2007) by referring to the chapters as “a collection of collections” (RG 205).  The implication being that over hundreds of years followers of Isaiah were gathering pieces of manuscripts and sayings and scraps of sayings and only much later someone(s) began organizing them into a book as best they could. But, in no way are we to imagine that the book is even meant to be a cohesive whole. It should be read as a kind of library of sayings—almost a crazy quilt of sayings attributed to or connected to the prophet. But, definitely not an unadulterated vision from a single individual named, Isaiah.  

As evidence of this theory scholars offer the surprising awkwardness of this phrase (and others like it). The sudden abrupt change of tone from peace and comfort to slaughter and destruction is, in this theory, a sign of that fragmentary structure.  The Jerome Biblical Commentary calls this “day of destruction” passage a “surprising thought” which appears to belong somewhere else (JBC 279.16:52c).  Okay. Maybe so.

Second: Another thought about this particular “fragment” is that the abrupt change of tone is intentional.  They interpret the phrase as referring not to Israel’s destruction, but the slaughter of Israel’s enemies (in particular, the Assyrians). Read this way, the verse seems to explain why Israel will experience abundance and tranquility: because her enemies will be destroyed!  Okay. I can see how that might make sense.

Third: But… my concern is not the same as the scholar’s. My concern is with God's word, the text that God has given us, not with the text a human hand, community, culture created (or intended).  As a reader of faith, my concern is with the Bible we have, not the one that we might have had.  The creation of the Bible, possible sources, fragmentary verses, questions of translation and alternative manuscripts, etc, Yes! Those are appropriate scholarly concerns worthy of all their efforts.  And if they shed light on the meaning of difficult passages –or even complicate our understanding of easier passages, that is all good. And deserving of their work.  I don’t want to demean that.  As people of faith we want the best and most accurate translations and annotations we can get, as tools to help us understand God’s word. God’s meaning. These can be useful tools for opening the eyes of faith to the eternal truths living in His word.  And I think that is what happened for me as I contemplated this “surprising thought.”  

I want to show how a brief note to an obscure fragment of a pieced together verse in the midst of a massive and difficult and sometimes quite obscure text, opened my eyes and ears to a truth planted there by an author eye has not seen and a voice ear has not heard… so to speak.

Because the fragment stood out, because it didn’t seem to make, it caught my attention.  Because of that, I went in search of commentary to help me understand.  And because of that, I stumbled upon a footnote that questioned whether the fragment even belonged where it is in Isaiah.  But, because it is there, and seems slightly out of place, it caught my attention. 

Let me step back for a moment and say, my first instinct was to question not the text, but the footnote. My initial instinct was to challenge the so-called experts: The emperor has no clothes! so to speak. These so-called experts with all their degrees and studies and training… Who are they to tell me how to read the Bible?!  

Yet, because of the note, I went back and reread the whole chapter. This time paying extra attention to the imagery of the verses leading up to that “day of destruction.”  In search of clues, I even got out a different translation to see if that would help. And reading the passage with new eyes, through this different translation, I discovered this:

“He will shatter it like an earthenware pot, ruthlessly

knocking it to pieces… not one shard can be found

with which to take up fire from the hearth or

scoop water from the storage-well.” (Isaiah 30:14)

Clearly there is something here that reminds us of that “day of destruction” imagery. And this is part of a prophetic statement about Israel’s disloyalty that starts in verse 12. It calls to mind her rejection of the “Holy One of Israel,” and tells of how Israel’s sin will become a breach in her security, a “bulge at the top of a wall which suddenly and all-at-once comes crashing down” (30:13b), and rereading all of this I thought: Yes! This image, this language, it prefigures that destruction, even that falling stronghold.  This seemed to me clear evidence that this “surprising thought” which “may be displaced from another section” (JBC 279.16:52) might not be as as surprising and displaced as it seems.

In fact: where else could it belong? Rereading the whole chapter, because of the scholar’s note, I could see with fresh eyes the movement of the chapter: from warnings to prophecies to testaments against Israel and her ill-advised alliance with Egypt to promises of mercy and guidance, forbearance and forgiveness, of rain and abundance of crops and flowing streams on every hill top then abruptly back to a vision of “great slaughter” and falling strongholds that echoes God’s earlier promise to shatter like a clay pot our walls of security (our battlements) so completely that we won’t even be able to find a piece large enough to carry a hot coal or scoop up a tiny drink of water.

It is as if God (or the prophet) were lulling us into a false sense of security –like the one we get from our earthly alliances (our wealth, our position, our reputation, etc)—only to shatter it by reminding us that God’s grace is not comfortable.  It does not come cheaply. It is not easy. All God asks is… Everything.  Take up your cross and follow Him to the Mountain of the Lord where streams flow and the bread is abundant, rich and nourishing (cf.30:23) where even the oxen and donkey eat sorrel by the shovel full.

Letting go of my ego, my pride, my sin isn’t easy.  Those are my security blankets. My battlements, my stronghold, so to speak. Letting them go makes me feel vulnerable. My walls are broken, my tower has fallen, my defenses are breached, shattered even.  Which may be exactly where God wants us. For, in that moment of vulnerability and brokenness, God assures us He will be right there with us, sharing with us the “bread of suffering, the waters of distress…” (cf. 30:20).  And He will no longer hide Himself from us, but we will see Him with our own eyes, and hear His voice guiding us:

“This is the way; walk in it…” (30:21b)

And so, in the end, I am left to wonder not what this verse meant to the ancient writer, not what it was intended to say by the later scholars who created the book of Isaiah, and not whether it applies to Israel or to Assyria or any other enemies... In this broken shard, this tiny fragment, I hear a word that speaks to me. A voice that says on the day of destruction, when my tower has fallen, God will be with me. And I begin to wonder, is it possible that only in our brokenness, only when our walls are breached and our towers and battlements shattered, only in our hour of weakness and vulnerability can we actually begin to hear the that was always there, always calling to us those merciful, compassionate words of loving guidance:

“This is the way; walk in it.”

Calling us to come climb the Lord’s mountain of love, where water flows free and the earth abundant in her gifts; climb the Lord's mountain and walk with Him in the beautiful garden.

Maybe that isn’t exactly what the scholars are seeking as they gather their footnotes, but thanks to their notes, (and God’s grace) it is what I hear. And I needed to take a moment to thank them for their help in opening my ears.