THE FORBIDDEN CHAPTER: Message 4
By Solomon Ostrovsky
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.- Isaiah 53:4 A. The prophet continues to contemplate the central Figure of his prophecy and sees in Him not only a great Sufferer, but also the historical point at which the people of Israel parted ways with their God. By his natural intelligence and human logic man found another explanation, opposed to the one which the Holy One, blessed be His Name, revealed here to the prophet. “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
There are those who think that the prophet is referring here to the nation of Israel suffering on behalf of the nations. While it is true that for many centuries the people of Israel has suffered at the hands of the nations, it is not at all true that Israel has suffered for, or ON BEHALF of the nations. And how is it that the people of Israel came to occupy such a special position of being separate and different from all other nations and yet have been required to undergo time and again such great sufferings? Is it not true that the very fact of Israel being distinct and separate (from other nations) springs from the Messianic destiny, for which the Holy One, blessed be His Name, chose her? And the sufferings and the Diaspora of Israel, are they not the NEGATIVE aspect of this destiny? In other words, was not the Diaspora the direct result of Israel’s unfaithfulness to her God, of her straying from His paths, of her spiritual blindness? The prophet sees this turning away from the Messianic Figure as the deciding factor in the fate of Israel for generations. This is the rift between God and the people of Israel. “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
B. At the time of the second Temple Jesus of Nazareth appeared and declared Himself to be the Anointed of God, the Messiah. At the beginning of His public ministry “he came, as was his custom on the Sabbath, to the synagogue at Nazareth” and was honoured by being asked to read a portion in the Prophets. He opened the book of Isaiah and read from chapter 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And WE thought He was a blasphemer and handed Him over to the Romans, who were then ruling the land of Israel. The Romans put Him to death, and “WE esteemed him stricken, smitten of GOD and afflicted.” The famous Jew, Rambam, writing the Teman letter in the twelfth century, said, “He (Jesus) deserved to die this cruel death.” But in a mysterious way the Shekinah glory departed from us at that time, and the period of the Diaspora began, the era of our wanderings, which have been going on for almost 2000 years. Our destiny was to be the head of the nations as sons of Divine light spreading peace and blessing throughout the world. Instead of this, for two thousand years we became the “tail” and the problem of the nations. And although we have had the privilege of seeing the resurrection of the State of Israel, and with all our hearts we bless the One “Who has brought us to this time,” the mountain of the Lord’s house continues desolate, and peace is still far from us.
C. But as great as have been the sufferings and the bitterness of the Diaspora, so great will be the change which will take place in the nation of Israel. Once more her thoughts will be the thoughts of God and her ways the ways of God. “WE esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted,” but “HE bore OUR griefs and carried OUR sorrows.”
The redemption of Israel is primarily an internal redemption, bringing her into peace with God and complete harmony with Him in all His thoughts. Our meeting-place with God is the Messiah. “WE esteemed him stricken…of God” – that was the beginning of the Diaspora. “He bore our griefs” – the confession of this marks the point of our return to God, the beginning of the real “return to Zion,” the return to a life illumined by the light of God. For the first time we shall know ourselves as we ought – “our GRIEFS, our SORROWS” and we shall know HIM, who “BORE our griefs and CARRIED our sorrows.”
D. Finally, note well the message of the prophet. The word translated “griefs” is in the singular in the Hebrew and alludes to our inborn sin, the root of the various sins, which are simply the fruits of sin that dwells in the heart. This basic sin is revolt against God and refusal of the Messiah. The Messiah came to solve the universal human problem. In the words of John, son of Zechariah, “Behold the Lamb of God, who beareth away the sin of the world.” Eventually the people of Israel will recognise this and the disharmony between the Messiah and the nation will cease. That day will be the perfect Sabbath; its blessing and peace will spread throughout the world.
Rabbi Saul of Tarsus in his famous letter to the Romans wrote: “Have they (Israel) stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their inclusion mean! … if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? … O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.”
...Back to Messiah in the Tanach | Message 5...
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
©2004-2007 New Covenant House. All rights reserved. Copyright to individual articles held by authors. View Privacy Policy.