Engaging the Doctrine of Marriage. Matthew Levering

Engaging the Doctrine of Marriage - Matthew Levering


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Andrew Davies, Barton draws attention to the passage from Isaiah 3 that I have quoted above: “Even if we grant that there is something wrong with the women of Isaiah 3:16–4:1, who take such pleasure in their jewelry and cosmetics, it is impossible to find any human moral principle that would justify the cruel and degrading punishment with which the prophet threatens them.”162

      Yet, I think the point of the first chapters of Isaiah is far from unjust: God has abandoned Israel to her enemies, because Israel has become deeply corrupt. As God says in his law case against Israel, “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them” (Isa 1:23). God adds that the “land is filled with idols” (Is 2:8)—as archeological evidence confirms was the case. In sum, I do not agree with Barton insofar as he implies that God’s abandonment of Israel—which follows from Israel’s abandonment of God—is unjust. The imagery of the smiting of the “daughters of Zion” (Isa 3:15) is paired with similar insistence that the men of Israel will be humiliated and punished. As God says through the prophet Isaiah, “The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: ‘It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?’” (Isa 3:14–15).


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