“Your land is desolate,” Isaiah says to Judah, “your cities are burned with fire” (1:7). That means they are under the curses of the covenant, such as those detailed in Leviticus 26:33, which warns about the “desolation” of the land and the wasting of cities.
It also means that someone is carrying out herem warfare against Judah. Prior to Isaiah, the only city spoken of as actually being desolate is Ai, “a heap forever, a desolation to this day” (Joshua 8:28). Yahweh of hosts, the Holy One, has turned his weapons against His people.
Isaiah, of course, holds out hope in the end. One day, Jerusalem “shall no more be called Foraken, nor shall your land be claled Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah,” because Yahweh will be married again to the land (Isaiah 62:4). Jerusalem, once the harlot bride who was burned with fire, will rise from the ashes and again become the Bride of Yahweh.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Moral Certitude and the Iran War
The current military engagement with Iran calls renewed attention to just war theory in the Catholic tradition.…
The Slow Death of England: New and Notable Books
The fate of England is much in the news as popular resistance to mass immigration grows, limits…
Ethics of Rhetoric in Times of War
What we say matters. And the way we say it matters. This is especially true in times…
