Day 197: Woe and Consolation

Isaiah 11:1-9 A shoot from the stump of Jesse: This prophecy of the coming Messiah speaks about Jesse, who was the father of David. The future Messiah would be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah mentions six of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that are received in Confirmation. These gifts help the recipient to live the supernatural virtues by enlightening the mind and moving the will to walk in the way of Christ. The prophets also foretold how the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon the Messiah as a compelling sign that he was anointed by the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist identified Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah (cf. Jn 1:32). (CCC 536, 672, 1286, 1830-1831)

Ch 11:6-9 The flowering of this shoot of Jesse signifies the advent of perfect peace and joy. This colorful imagery refers metaphorically to the Incarnation of the Son of God. (CCC 712)

Ch 11:10-16 The restoration would begin with the return of the exiles from Babylon and other places where the Jews had been dispersed. The Church, being the perfect fulfillment of the Covenant, is a continuation of this faithful remnant of God’s Chosen People. (CCC 1081)

Ch 12:1-6 This prophecy closes with a prediction that the people of Israel would someday be filled with gratitude on account of God’s mercy. Moreover, God’s punishment served as a vehicle of purification and conversion. 

Ch 12:2 Faith involves complete trust in and reliance on God regardless of the immediate outcome. (CCC 227)

Ch 12:3 As a sign of cleansing, healing, and life, water is a common metaphor in Scripture. Likewise, the image of thirst is present frequently in both the Old and New Testaments, signifying every person’s innate desire to know the truth and find happiness. This verse in particular stresses water’s cleansing and life-giving power. (CCC 2561)

Ch 12:4-5 Make known his deeds among the nations: In referring to this verse, St. John Paul II said that our salvation “must be witnessed to the world, so that all humanity may run to the fountain of peace, joy, and freedom” (General Audience, April 17, 2002). Prayers of praise give glory to God because of his infinite mercy and wisdom. (CCC 2649)

Ch 13:1-22 This chapter includes the first of eleven consecutive chapters that reproach various foreign nations, a particular person, and Jerusalem itself. God’s absolute authority and power over the world constitutes the central message of these chapters. He will judge and praise, punish and forgive according to his purposes but always with an eye toward the repentance of his people. He will sometimes use foreign invaders as his instruments to mete out his punishment against his people. The first prophecy concerns Babylon, which defeated Judah and exiled its leaders and gifted citizens, only to be defeated a generation later by the Persians and Medes. 

Tobit 13:1-18 The Canticle of Tobit is rendered differently in various manuscripts and biblical translations, but in essence it is a hymn of praise that makes reference to several historical episodes in the history of Israel. Yet, it is vague enough to be meaningful to Jews during any of the periods of exile. The hymn resembles the Psalms and other canticles of Scripture, and it is particularly notable for its description of a New Jerusalem that will last forever: a hint of the glory of Heaven that has yet to be fully revealed. 

Ch 13:2 The attribute of God as All-powerful is expressed explicitly with references to his justice, his mercy, and his absolute authority over all creatures. (CCC 269)

Ch 14:1-15 Like many of the ancient fathers, Tobit left a kind of spiritual last testament before he died. He urged Tobias to move back to the home of Raguel and Edna, believing that Nineveh would be destroyed. He foresaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the return of the exiled Jews to their homeland. He continued to urge attention to the works of mercy that were so much a part of his life, particularly the burying of the dead and the giving of alms. Tobias did as his father asked and lived an exemplary life in the model of his father. 

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• Tobit stands like a refreshing fountain in the middle of the swamp of the northern rebellion. 

• Amidst a society whose apostasy, addiction to power, and obsession with material wealth had merited the condemnation of prophets like Amos and Hosea, stories like Tobit show that there WERE SOME GOOD ISRAELITES WHO REMAINED FAITHFUL TO GOD.

• The Israelite characters in the story lived a devout life filled with prayer and good deeds such as burying the dead, giving alms, honoring their parents and elders, keeping the dietary laws in the Torah, and showing hospitality to guests even while living in exile amid Gentiles.

(Walking With God: A Journey Through The Bible by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)

• Congratulations!

• Did you ever think that around 200 days ago that maybe you’d do The Bible in a Year?

• And now HERE YOU ARE AT DAY 197!!

• Gosh, you guys!

• The Book of the Prophet Isaiah is HIT AFTER HIT

• SO GOOD

• Overall when you are looking at the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, keep this in mind

• It is both BEFORE the EXILE and DURING the EXILE

• Isaiah is primarily a Prophet to the Kingdom of Judah (SOUTHERN KINGDOM)

• Isaiah has also spoken to Israel (NORTHERN KINGDOM) while it still existed

• BUT…

• He is PRIMARILY a prophet to the SOUTHERN KINGDOM

• The Kingdom of the North is going to be destroyed, as we have noted many times, by Assyria

• The Kingdom of the South is going to be EXILED by Babylon

• Isaiah Ch 13 we read an Oracle Concerning Babylon

• Isaiah 13:1, “The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw…”

• We are going to see this in the future

• Remember, back in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, Isaiah was present with King Hezekiah when he had to face down the Assyrians

• Remember that this was so good because Hezekiah got this decree from the King of Assyria 

• Hezekiah went to the Temple of the Lord and asked God to deliver them 

• God delivered them from the Kingdom of Assyria and Sennecharib that day

• So God SAVED THEM

• BUT…

• God is NOT going to save them from the BABYLONIANS

• STAY TUNED…

• The Book of the Prophet Isaiah can kinda sorta be divided into TWO MAIN SECTIONS (some people divide it into 3 sections...we are going to divide them into 2)

• The Book of Woe or the Book of Condemnation (we’ll call it The Book of Woe)

• The Book of Consolation

• The Book of Woe is Chs 1-39, so we will be with this book for the next few days

• We’ll think about the People of God and wonder

• WHY DON’T THEY COME BACK??

• WHY AREN’T THEY REPENTING??

• HERE IS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!!

• After The Book of Woe, Chs 40-66 is The Book of Consolation

• There is SO MUCH CONSOLATION GOING ON

• GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU

• YES, YOU ARE EXPERIENCING JUDGMENT RIGHT NOW, BUT IT IS NOT FOREVER AND YOU ARE GOING TO COME BACK HOME

• The GREAT NEWS is that even in The Book of Woe, THERE IS CONSOLATION!!

• Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”

• What is that?

• Remember, Jessie was the father of King David

• The Promise of God was that the Dynasty of David WOULD NOT FAIL

• The MESSIAH would ultimately come from THE LINE OF DAVID

• THAT KINGDOM WILL ENDURE FOREVER

• When you look at it in THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY, you would think that the KINGDOM IS DONE

• We had a couple decent kings, but not very many

• THIS IS OVER

• It is like a tree that has been cut down and all you have left is a stump

• Isaiah says yes, but there is a shoot that comes from this stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of its roots

• Basically, IT IS NOT OVER YET!!

• Even in The Book of Woe we have CONSOLATION

• Right after that Isaiah says in 11:2, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor…”

• We realize that THIS IS JESUS

• This is ANOTHER PROPHECY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

• Remember, when Jesus goes into the synagogue in Nazareth, He unrolls the scroll and teaches

• He preaches from Isaiah Ch 61, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, He has sent me to proclaim good news to captives, a year of favor from our God, recovery of sight to the blind…”

• We realize that the Spirit of the Lord here in Isaiah Ch 11 is THE SAME Spirit of the Lord PROPHESIED in Isaiah Ch 61!!

• The SAME Spirit of the Lord that is upon Jesus as He is preaching and proclaiming the GOOD NEWS to the people in Nazareth

• THINK ABOUT THIS...GOOD NEWS

• We have heard that term A THOUSAND TIMES

• THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS

• THE GOSPEL OF JESUS

• AND YET…

• Look at this HISTORY that we have been LIVING THROUGH for the last 197 days

• This HISTORY of God’s promises

• This HISTORY of the people’s UNFAITHFULNESS AND FAITHLESSNESS

• This HISTORY of destruction and violence

• This HISTORY of brokenness

• This HISTORY of people who were SUPPOSED to be great but they WERE NOT GREAT

• This HISTORY of people who were given the SPIRIT OF THE LORD and they GAVE UP ON HIM

• And here is Jesus who comes along and says, “Actually, what you heard written over 700 years ago in the Prophet Isaiah, that Spirit has come upon me. And yes the day is going to come when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the kid and the calf and the lion and the fatling together and the little child shall lead them.”

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• WHAT AN INCREDIBLE GIFT!!

• So we are at the end of the Book of Tobit

• Tobit Ch 13 is the Prayer of Tobit

• Most priests, deacons, and other religious pray it on a regular basis in the LITURGY OF THE HOURS

• If you pray the LITURGY OF THE HOURS then you pray through ALL 150 PSALMS, the CANTICLES of both the Old Testament and New Testament

• One of those CANTICLES is Tobit’s prayer in Tobit Ch 13

• We don’t always get the CONTEXT

• BUT…

• Here is the CONTEXT for Tobit’s Prayer, who is STILL IN EXILE

• At the end of the Book of Tobit, Tobit says, “Remember Jonah preached to Nineveh that it would be destroyed. That is still going to happen. They repented for a moment, but they are not going to stay in repentance. It is going to be destroyed so you have got to get out of here.”

• Tobit gives a prophecy of what is going to happen in Ch 14

• In Tobit Ch 13, he says “Do what I have been doing.”

• Tobit 13:3, “Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel; for he has scattered us among them.”

• Rather than just saying that they were scattered and WOE IS US

• Tobit says ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AMONG THESE NATIONS

• SO MAKE GOD’S GREATNESS KNOWN THERE

• Tobit 13:4, “Make his greatness known there, and exalt him in the presence of all the living; because he is our Lord and God, he is our Father forever. Turn to Him with your whole heart and maybe the people around us will also turn to Him.”

• WHAT A GIFT!

• Here is Tobit who is saying, “Even in EXILE I can still praise God. In fact, because I am in EXILE I will praise Him EVEN MORE so that the people around me, who have no idea who God is, will come to know WHO GOD IS.”

• MAN!! WHAT A GIFT!!

• For those of you who are going through the Book of Tobit for the first time (LIKE ME!!!)  hopefully it was a GOOD, UPLIFTING, EDIFYING, INSPIRING STORY

• Hopefully it CONVICTED US ALL

• I can do what I can do

• I don’t have to mourn and lament the fact that I can’t do EVERYTHING

• I can only do SOME THINGS

• Just because I can’t do EVERYTHING doesn’t mean that I can’t do ANYTHING

• Tobit is a great example of that

• Not only doing what we CAN

• But also knowing that God hears our prayers no matter where we are praying FROM

• Whether that is a PRISON CELL

• Whether that is BLINDNESS

• Whether that is EXILE

• Whether that is OUR HOMES

• GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS!!

• GOD LOVES YOU!!

• GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!

• GOD HEARS EVERY ONE OF YOUR PRAYERS!!

• GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU!!

• FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU!!

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• WHAT A GIFT THIS IS!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. We thank you so much for this opportunity once again, gosh, so many days in a row to be able to, whether or not in a row, Lord God you have given us this opportunity to come back and allow you to speak to us. To speak to us and to give us your wisdom, to speak to us and to call us back to you, to speak to us and to remind us of the great consolation you have in store for us in our lives. And so we give you praise and we just offer you our thanks. We offer you praise because like we heard yesterday, ‘Keep the secrets of a king but give God exultant praise, exultant glory.’ And God may you be exalted in praise and glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”