What's All the Shouting About

Isaiah 12:2-6

My boys and I are big Star Wars fans. One character who made a big impression on me was Darth Vader. I remember the first time I saw the menacing mask on the big screen – that guy was scary. I even dressed as Darth Vader for Trick-or-Treat. But recently I saw a picture entitled “the many emotions of Darth Vader” in which there were multiple pictures, all the same expressionless mask, and underneath each picture was listed an emotion.

Hopefully most of us are a little more open with our emotions. But how do you show that you are really excited? One thing that has bothered me for over twenty-five years is how I can see church people behave so differently depending on the setting. I can understand decorum and respect and reverence, but the same people can stand for an entire basketball game and shout when their team scores and scream at the referee, but two hymns is too long to stand, and don’t expect to see any emotion.

For some reason, we have divorced emotion from the Christian experience, and that’s wrong. Isaiah calls for the people of God to shout aloud and sing for joy. What is there that can bring about that kind of reaction? What can we get excited about?

Isaiah also gives hints in the text about why he is singing and shouting. You can read your Bible every day and miss out on some important information if you’re not reading your Bible for all it’s worth. To read the Bible for all it’s worth, you have to read it like it would have been read by its original audience. You need to bring an Ancient Near East mindset into your reading. I’ve mentioned to you before about repetition, but it bears repeating (I hope people get this joke). When a Hebrew writer repeats himself, you have to stop and take notice. For example, if I were a Hebrew writer, and you asked me how I liked a restaurant, and I said it was “good” then it probably was good. But if I said it was “good good” you would know that it was really good, that I would probably be going back again and again.

But if I said it was “good good good” and repeated it three times, I’m not just saying that it’s really good – I am now saying that it is the height of goodness. So when we see the six-winged seraphs in Isaiah 6, and we read that they are calling to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3), and then in Revelation 4:8, we read about the four living creatures who never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Just an aside here – this is why it’s vitally important to study the Old Testament before you try to get into a study of Revelation. If you haven’t studied Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, don’t try to jump into Revelation and understand any of it).

The angels aren’t just stuck on a chorus. They aren’t just repeating themselves to fill a line in a song. The original audience would have known that they are repeating “Holy” three times to let you know that the Lord God Almighty is the ultimate of Holy, the definition of holy, that there is none holier.

So when you see a triple repetition, think two things: first, the author wants to get your attention, and second, whatever is repeated could carry a deeper meaning. So in the passage from Isaiah 12, there are two words or concepts repeated three times. The first that I’m going to mention is secondary, because it is simply a concept mentioned three times over the course of five verses – the repetition here is simply for emphasis. The concept is singing.

There is a reason why we sing in any worship services. In fact, if you ask what worship is, most people will answer something about singing. There is something about singing good music that opens us up to something deeper. Even Alzheimer patients who don’t readily recognize members of their immediate family can often sing along with favorite hymns. Music touches us deeply, and singing is a highly vulnerable activity. After all, to sing is to open yourself up to critique. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in our current entertainment. How many singing contests are there out there? I used to like to watch the opening rounds of American Idol, where everyone who thinks they can sing would get on there and embarrass themselves. The whole draw of the early rounds was to make fun of people who can’t sing, wasn’t it?

Here’s a sad fact: when you ask people about singing, there are plenty who say, “I only sing in the shower” because they don’t want the humiliation of having someone else hear them sing. I tease Gary about joining the choir – he tells me that if we want to clear out the sanctuary, he’ll sing. The problem with this mentality is that it makes something that should be joyful into a contest.

Besides, if you are singing for a contest, can you truly sing for joy? And are you really singing to the Lord? No, you are singing for yourself. It’s not a bad thing to sing well, but, as in everything else, the key is the motivation. But here, God is bringing the motivation.

To understand this fully, you have to know the context (you should be getting used to hearing me say this – I’ll keep saying it, because the three most important factors for biblical interpretation are context, context, context). From the beginning of the book of Isaiah we hear God pronounce judgment on his people. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. (Isaiah 1:4). Though God continues to give hope if his people will only follow, the context is that of woes and judgments. In Isaiah 7, Judah is facing attack by Ephraim and Syria, and King Ahaz is so scared of them that he can’t believe God is with them.

Have you ever wondered if God is with you?

Ahaz can’t believe that God is with him, so he makes an alliance with the big number one enemy, Assyria. I think we can be tempted in the same way, maybe not making alliances with enemy nations, but certainly putting our trust in things other than in God. We trust in our money, oh, that’s a big one – we think if we just have a little more, then we’ll be OK. We trust in our ability to self-medicate our deepest pains and sorrows and our fruitless search for meaning and significance – why else would we be drowning in substance abuse issues?

And the question still remains: is God enough?

Isaiah comes to the conclusion: Yes, God is enough. More than enough, even. That brings me to the second repetition, and this one is serious: Isaiah repeats one word three times in two verses. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3). Did you hear the repeated word?

Salvation.

The question that was asked was: Is God enough? Can God save his people from their enemies? And the answer is an emphatic yes. God is salvation. Notice that I didn’t say that God brings salvation: God is salvation.

To understand the deliverance that Isaiah is proclaiming, you need to hear some of the things he said before this moment: In Isaiah 7:14, we read: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. In Isaiah 9:2, we read: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  And listen to Isaiah 11:1: A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit…

Does anyone have a guess as to what Isaiah is referring when he talks about salvation? Or, rather, to Whom…

And the verse from Isaiah 12 that the Lectionary omitted from the reading: In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord: Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.” (Isaiah 12:1) How does God accomplish this? Only in the person of Jesus Christ!

When we come face-to-face with this reality, there is only one way we can respond: Give thanks to the Lord! This is where the singing praise comes in; we are put in a spot where the only thing we can so is break into spontaneous song. Listen to the chorus from the Chris Tomlin song How Can I Keep From Singing.

How can I keep from singing your praise? How can I ever say enough, how amazing is your love? How can I keep from shouting your name? I know I am loved by the king, and it makes my heart want to sing.

But notice that the singing response is not the only response. That’s the internal part, if you will, but there is also an external part.  In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. (Isaiah 12:4-5)

Once we realize salvation, our job is to make him known among the nations and to make him known to all the world. This isn’t a new command – it’s not new at all. In fact, it goes all the way back to Abraham. God never forgot his covenant with Abraham, who was called Abram at the time. In Genesis 12 (this is a very important passage), God calls Abram and tells him to leave his father’s household and go to a land that God would show him. Then he gives him the covenant: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

The word “bless” is one of those Christianese words that has lost its meaning over the years. There are about three uses left for “bless” – the first is when someone sneezes; some of you have been conditioned so whenever you hear a sneeze, you involuntarily emit a “Bless you” – having no idea that this concept came way back when people believed that during the process of sneezing, you actually sneezed your soul out, and if you didn’t get a blessing, a demon would possess you before your soul could re-enter. Another use of “bless” is a generic Christian term meaning something good has happened. I’ve been blessed by… and we can fill in whatever good thing that has happened. The third is more pervasive in the South, where the response “Bless her heart” usually means “what an idiot.”

But blessing really has one meaning and one use in scripture: It’s all about being given life. God is the life giver. He is the one who created and put his breath into us. And in John 10:10, Jesus contrasts himself with Satan: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This is the life that Isaiah prophesies.

It’s the same life God promised in Genesis 12 in his covenant with Abram. God gives us the ability and responsibility to be life-givers as well. This is the blessing, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

The goal of blessing, of God giving you life, is for you to give it to others. This is the mission of the church. As we put it, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. When we make new disciples of Jesus Christ, we are giving them life. And that transforms the world, from death to life.

So as we prepare for Christmas, we do so in giving life. How will you give life and life to the full for Christmas? Will that be accomplished by your usual gift-giving, or are you going to have to do something different this year?