Jeremiah and Isaiah: A Study of the Fall and Redemption of Israel and Judah:

C. Michael Stewart

The prophets have always preached against sin and death and adulated life
and salvation (Deut. 30:15-16; Proverbs 11:19; Jer. 21:8; Ezekiel 18:23; Romans
5:17, 21). In what ways have the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah proclaimed and
compared this doctrinal association of sin and death to the consequences
Israel/Judah received at the hand of other nations (Isa. 8:6-8; Jer. 20:5) and at
their own hands (Isa. 3:1-5, 14-15; Jer. 19:9)?
Sin and condemnation, forgiveness and redemption are recurring themes
throughout the biblical text. In particular the prophetic passages are rife with
example and source material. One thing that sets a prophet apart from the world
and gives him/her the perspective in which to judge mankind, aside from his/her
calling by God, is that of their personal righteousness before God. Isaiah
addresses his calling and personal redemption in Isaiah 6 when he speaks of the
cherub placing the coal against his lips (Isa. 6:5-7). Jeremiah speaks of the word
of God being a fire in his bones, causing him to preach and to exhort even though
he had vowed never preach to the people again (Jer. 20:9; chapter 20 entire).
Having this purity before the Lord and maintaining the level of commitment
to the rightness of the way, they were called of God and consecrated for His
purposes, even from before their birth in the womb (Jer. 1:5) Having this great
knowledge of God and His magnificent workings; having a knowledge of His love,
power, and redemption; and having this passion burning within their bosoms (Mosiah
28:3) they were constrained of the Spirit to go out and preach to the people
concerning their wickedness before the face of the Lord (Mosiah 12:29 (25-29).
Judah and Israel believed that they were keeping the commandments and
statutes of the Lord; while Jeremiah tells us that the people are guilty of living
the Law superficially. They were not living the Law in their hearts, therefore
they were under condemnation (Jer. 5:1, 7, 26-28; 9:1-6; 18). The Book of Mormon,
also, has reference to this in its beginning chapters.
In these chapters Laman and Lemuel, the two eldest brothers of Nephi, state
that their father Lehi is a visionary man and is leading them out of the land by
following his own vain imaginings. They go on to state that the people of Judah#,
from whence they had come, were a righteous and a just people before the Lord.
Claiming that the Jewry kept the commandments as they ought to have done, they
condemn their father for condemning them (1 Nephi 17:22). This they say when, in
fact, the children of the Israel, both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern, were
rebelling in mighty strength against the Lord and seeking after the gods of other
nations.# They were not living the laws of the Jubilee and Sabbath (2 Chron.
36:21; Jer. 25:12);# and they were not trusting in the Lord as they ought to have
done, but were looking to their own strength, might, and power (Jer. 17:5).
Isaiah, in chapter 1, gives us his three main points in which Israel/Judah
were committing sin in the eyes of God. First they are guilty of pride,
ingratitude, and hypocrisy (Isa. 1:2-3, 10-13); second they are guilty of a love
of violence and bloodshed (Isa. 1:15, 21); and, third, they are guilty of sexual
aberrations and sin (Isa. 1:29-31).# These are things which Jeremiah, also, tells
us the people are guilty of at the time of his ministry (Jer. 3:4-5; 7:8-10).
For an illustrative example, at one point Isaiah goes to Ahaz, king of
Judah, who is standing at the pool of Siloam and tells him to demand a sign from
God that He is the only true Lord of the people. Ahaz, in his hypocritical nature,
refuses to do so and Isaiah tells him that he shall receive a sign nevertheless
(Isa. 7:13-16); proceeding with the “Immanuel Prophecy”#.#
The situation in which Isaiah approaches Ahaz is while he (Ahaz) is
inspecting the Upper Pool which is fed by the spring at Gihon. It is likely that
he was there to inspect the water supply in case of an attack by the confederacy
of Israel and Syria. It is here that Isaiah informs Ahaz that there is not going
to be a war, for the two kings are as “smoking firebrands” and will soon burn out
(Isa. 7:4)# and then instructs him to ask for a sign from God that he may know
that God is with Judah if they repent. Ahaz, here in his refusal, is showing the
lack of faith that seems to have permeated throughout all of the cities of Israel
and Judah.# Ahaz is hoping that this pool will allow the people to hold out
against the siege which he convinced is sure to come under the hands of “Rezin and
Remaliah’s son.” (Isa. 7:8-9) Then, after refusing to ask for a sign, Ahaz goes
off to make a sacrifice of his own: his son in the fires of Moloch# (2 Kings 16).
Thus showing us that he sought for strength in his own hand, but needing the
protection and power of the “gods” has gone out and performed this heinous act;
something which God had never commanded, nor had come into God’s mind or heart
(Jer. 32:35).#
Talmage (1981) teaches us, “Man possesses an instinct for worship; he craves
and will find some object of adoration. When he fell into the darkness of
persistent transgression, and forgot the author of his being and the God of his
fathers, he sought for other deities. […] “Idolatry/Idolatrous practices in
some of their phases came to be associated with rites of horrible cruelties, as in
the custom of sacrificing children to Moloch […]. The gods that human-kind have
set up for themselves are heartless, pitiless, cruel.”#
Isaiah, at another time, tells Ahaz that he should not make agreements with
other nations, such as Assyria, for they shall come to naught (2 Kings 16:7-9;
Isa. 8-9) and the people will end up in bondage to the nation.# As Ludlow (1982),
Baker, Zuck (1985), and Merrill (2008) teach us: because Ahaz did not trust in the
Lord as he ought to have done, he ends up paying tribute to Assyria to avoid war
with them - something that the Lord could have prevented had the king and the
people but trusted in Him.#
Now, due to these sins of idolatry; as well as sins of pride; insincere,
hypocritical faith; “[grinding] the faces of the poor” (Isa. 3:14-15); sexual sin;
rejecting the prophets and stoning/slaying them (e.g. Jer. 2:30); etc. the Lord
chose to rebuke and correct the children of Israel and, later, of Judah for their
transgressions before Him. In His just and mighty wrath the Lord calls upon the
Assyrians, Babylonians, Syrians, and Egyptians to put Israel in their place.
Leading them into captivity to teach them subservience and humility (Isa. 7:20),
and to give them a contrite heart (e.g. Jer. 31:33).#
Additionally, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah tell the people that the time
will come when they will resort to cannibalism in order to keep themselves alive
(Isa. 9:20; Jer. 19:9). Josephus informs us that this happened more than once in
the history of the nation (Deut. 28:53-57; Lev. 26:29; 2 Kings 6:26-29; Jer. 19:9;
Ezek. 5:10; and Lamentations 4:10 to name a few), and provides us with at least
one example.#
Likewise the Lord tells the people that they shall be scattered; considered
a hiss and a byword; and that they shall be persecuted by the Gentiles (1 Kings
9:7; Ps. 44 (vs. 14 specific); 1 Ne. 19:13-14) until they have suffered doubly for
their sins and transgressions before Him (Jer. 16:18; Isa. 40:2). Monte S. Nyman
(1982) teaches: “The double payment, also mentioned by Isaiah (Isa. 40:2) was
probably based upon the seriousness of their sins (see Ex. 22:4).#” Exodus 22:4
provides Israel with the commandment that if there is theft of an animal or
anything else and it is found out, the thief shall restore doubly what he stole.
In this situation, Israel and Judah had stolen themselves from God and His
covenant; selling themselves into bondage (Isa. 50:1-2).#
After the sin and condemnation of Israel and Judah, the prophets teach us
that the time would come when the Lord would bring them back into His presence,
allowing them, once again, to partake of His goodness and mercy. Promising them
that the Messiah shall arise “with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2). Using the
prophets to teach them what they must do and to whom they must look and rejoice if
this redemption is to occur, the Lord promises great things to them who would have
Him to be their God. According to the words of the prophets, though the Lord
allows Israel to be scattered and Judah to be taken into captivity, He also makes
a covenant# and a promise with them: the time will come when they would return to
the land of their fathers (Isa. 40:1-2; 49:22-23). How very unlike when the Lord
destroyed those who lived before (I.e. the Great Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the
Canaanites, Perizzites, Philistines, etc.); for in the case of Israel and Judah,
God promises the people through His prophets He will redeem them for they are His
“peculiar treasure” and His “prized possession.” And this because of His promises
to the Fathers and in accordance to the faith and prayers of His holy prophets
(Gen. 17; 22:15-18; Gen. 26:1-4, 24; Gen. 28; 35:9-13; 48:3-4; Ex. 6:6-9; Ex.
19:4-6; Gal. 3).
As part of the redemptive covenant, Jeremiah tells them to build way marks
and “high heaps” as they are led out into the world that they may remember and
return again to the land (Jer. 31:21; Isa 51:10-11).# And Isaiah tells the people
that they need not fear for the Lord has not forgotten them (Isa 49:15-16) and
will yet redeem them - through a mortal messiah (Cyrus of Persia - Ezra 1; 3:7;
Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; Daniel 1:21; 6:28; 10:1; etc) and a spiritual leader ( Jesus
Christ - Isa 53; 61). Though they may have been tried as silver in the fining pot
(Proverbs 17:3; Isa. 48:10) and have received doubly for their transgression (Ex.
22:4; Isa. 40:2), the Lord will not forget them nor forsake them (Isa. 49:14-16).
Jeremiah, even when he is condemning Judah for their sins, tells them the
time will come when the Lord would place in them a new heart. As Merrill (2008)
says it was not to be a heart of stone but one of flesh.# This is in accordance to
Paul’s commentary about the altar of the temple and its sacrifices: they were not
to be sacrifices which the priests would eat made upon an altar of stone but in
our hearts upon an altar of flesh and spirit (Hebrews 13:9-10). Jeremiah, like
Ezekiel later and Isaiah before, does not spend all of his time condemning and
chastening Israel for their transgressions; he is very secure in the promises that
Israel would be gathered from the far countries and returned to their homeland. In
fact, as Merrill (2008) states, Jeremiah “redeemed a piece of land and hid the
deed in an earthen jar, fully expecting his heirs to return to claim it (Jer.
32:6-15).”# This is done even when Jeremiah, who is commonly referred to as the
“weeping prophet,” is lamenting the state of his people as they are entering into
the bondage of (goyim) the nations (Jer. 9:1-2).#
As for Isaiah, his words are not negative and harsh against the people, but
are rather positive and forward looking. Though Isaiah is called upon by the Lord,
as with all prophets, to rebuke Israel and Judah for their sins, his focus is upon
the redemption of the people and the land in the latter days; in days when the
earth shall sing a new song (Isa. 44:23), the lion “shall eat straw like the ox
[…] and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrices den (Isa. 11:7-
9).”# Indeed, as Merrill (2008) tells us concerning the last 27 chapters of
Isaiah, these chapters “express an entirely different approach to the prophet’s
ministry. Whereas the first part was largely historical, though interspersed
heavily with various oracles, this latter section is wholly predictive, with
special attention to the eschatological aspects of Israel’s future.#” Isaiah’s
message is one of hope and desire for the redemption of His Messiah who would come
in the fullness of time (2 Ne. 2:3; 11:2).
In conclusion we can see that the Lord is merciful and seeking only that we,
for we are of Israel#, turn unto Him with full purpose of heart (2 Ne. 31:13;
Ezek. 18:21). Isaiah and Jeremiah, as with all of the prophets, sought only that
the children of Israel would repent of their sins and return to the Lord their God
so that He could bless them. And though the people would have none of this,
seeking unto peeping wizards and other gods to guide and protect them (Isa. 8:19;
47:13; Jer. 27:9), yet the Lord will still, in His infinite mercy, gather them in
like a hen gathers her chicks (Luke 13:34). And though I may not see yet the city
which is prepared for me of God; yet in Him will I rest my faith and hope, knowing
that He is faithful and able to render unto man even that which He will. Even so,
amen.

References:

# See Terry B. Ball; “Isaiah and the Gentiles;” “30th Annual Sydney B. Sperry
Symposium;” pgs. 181-184
# Eugene H. Merrill; “An Historical Survey of the Old Testament;” 2008; chapters
8-9 (marvelous examples on nearly every page of the idolatry of Israel during this
period)

# See also Bible Dictionary “Sabbatical Year” located in the LDS edition of the
KJV Bible

# Kent Hunter, MA; personal conversation about Isaiah

# Victor Ludlow; “Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet;” pg 143; 1982, 2001. See also
Merrill; “Historical Survey;” pg. 263; 2008 - Merrill here makes the statement
that Isaiah goes in unto his wife and she conceives and bears a child. Before this
child is of age the land will be forsaken of both of her kings. Likewise, Isaiah
is using a form of antithetical parallelism in this prophecy for this is also a
future tense reference to the birth of the Savior - for both Israel and Judah have
lost their kings… Like Jeremiah illustrates when he breaks the pottery to pieces,
the land was utterly broken and scattered (Jer. 19:1-12).

# See, for instance, “The Bible Knowledge Commentary“ by Walter L Baker, John F.
Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary; pg 1047; accessed on
http://books.google.com/books?id=M7YEkfybiMEC&pg=PA1047&lpg=PA1047&dq=upper+pool+a
haz&source=bl&ots=hEsmH1MaMe&sig=86PeXk2bWLEpwQdci2CaWYwLLuw&hl=en&ei=ZDzySe7GN42E
tAOImfznCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPA1047,M1; access date: April
23, 2009. Here they inform us that both kings die within two years and never
actually complete the siege against Judah.

# Compare Matthew O. Richardson; “The Kings Law: A Framework for Leadership;”

“30th Annual Sydney B. Sperry Symposium;” 2001 to Isaiah 3:1-5, 12; 5:13; 9:16.

# http://www.searchgodsword.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T6121; accessed April 21,

2009; http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Moloch); accessed April 21, 2009. See also
Merrill; “Historical Survey;” pg. 261; 2008

# James E. Talmage; “Articles of Faith;” pg. 41; 1981. See also James E. Talmage;
“Articles of Faith;” pg. 419; 1981

# Ludlow; “Isaiah;” pg. 142; 1982, 2001. See also Merrill; “Historical Survey;”
pg. 248-249; 2008

# Ludlow; “Isaiah;” pg. 142; 1982, 2001. Baker, Zuck; “Bible Knowledge
Commentary;” pg. 1047 (referenced above); 1985. Merrill; “Historical Survey;” pg.
248; 2008.

# The beard was a sacred totem to the religious culture of the Israelites. David's
men do not return to the city, in one instance, because an Ammonite king had had
them shaved from the one half of their face down to their buttocks (2 Sam. 10:4-
5).
Isaiah, later, uses the analogy of a razor to describe Assyrian captivity by
the Northern tribes; saying, "In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor from
the east..." (Isaiah 7:20) Basically, this was God's way of saying that they had
violated a covenant agreement with Him and that He was going to remove their
haughty stature.
In Assyrian times they would completely shave their slaves and captives -
men and women alike - in an attempt to humiliate the people as well as to keep the
people who may harbor them from doing so. If a person came to another place,
completely shaven (against Bedouin culture as well), the people knew that they
were slaves and captives and would not harbor them for fear of retribution.
Though the Assyrian and Babylonian empires were not God-fearing people, they
were instruments in His hands. As Isaiah says, concerning the haughtiness of the
kings, "Shall the axe say of him who heweth it, I have no need of him?" (Isaiah
10) The Lord had used the Israelites, after the Canaanites had grown ripe in
wickedness, to cleanse the land. In like manner the Lord uses other goyim to
humble His chosen people and to afflict them. Where-as the Canaanites were to be
completely cut off, the Israelites were promised redemption at a later time. Thus,
the Lord did not completely cut off the covenant agreement, but humbled and
chastened His people (Hebrews 12).

# Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews 9:4:4 (65-66);” trans. Whiston

# Monte S. Nyman; “Great are the words of Jeremiah;” pg. 57; 1982

# The people are the Lord’s segullah, His peculiar treasure and prize possession
(Ex. 6:6-8; Ex. 19:5 (4-6); 1 Peter 2:9; etc.). The Lord is their go-el and, as
such, He owns them for He has paid the price for them (the Atonement). Because of
Israel’s wanting to be as other nations and “whoring” after other gods, they have
effectively sold themselves into bondage to their sins and to the other nations
who surround them (Isa. 50:1-2).

# According to Kent Hunter, MA, in a personal conversation, these way marks and
“high heaps” that Jeremiah speaks of are temples which shall be built in the
latter days during the gathering of the tribes to their lands. As the way marks
and “high heaps” were to lead the people of Israel back to their lands, so are the
temples built to point us towards God and lead us back to our heavenly home; the
temple being a parable of heaven. See also Margaret Barker; “Gate of Heaven;” pg
16 (quoted in Kevin Christensen’s essay: “The Temple, the Monarchy, and Wisdom:
Lehi’s World and the Scholarship of Margaret Barker;” “Glimpses of Lehi’s
Jerusalem;” pg. 458; 2004)

# Merrill; “Historic Survey;” pg. 275; 2008. See also Isaiah 51:7; Jeremiah 31:31-
34; Ezekiel 11:19, 18:31, 36:26.

# Ibid.; pg 275; 2008

# Merrill; “Historical Survey;” pg. 274; 2008. See also Nyman; “Great are the
Words;” pg. 100; 1982

# See the works of Margaret Barker for more information on the subject.

# Merrill; “Historic Survey;” pg. 264; 2008

# This is one of the reasons for the scattering of the tribes: so that all the
nations of the earth could be blessed with the seed of Abraham. As the scriptures
teach us only those of Abraham’s seed, whether by blood lineage or through the
adoption allowed by Christ’s atonement, will be able to enter into the kingdom of
Heaven (Gal. 3:7-9, 14, 16-18, 21-29 (entire chapter); Lev. 26:42 (entire
chapter); Gen 17; Matt 3:9).
Robert L. Millet espouses this when he writes, “Paul’s message to those who
took pride and license in their lineage was clear. He declared boldly that it is a
blessed privilege to be a chosen people, to be heirs to the adoption, the glory,
the covenants, and the promises (Romans 9:4). But the true heirship is to be
secured through adoption into the family of the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘For there is
no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved’ (Romans 10:12-13).” (Robert L. Millet; “Walking in Newness of
Life: Doctrinal Themes of the Apostle Paul;” “23rd Annual Sydney B. Sperry
Symposium;” pg. 146-147; 1994).
 Abraham, being the ‘father of the faithful,’ was the first to recognize that
there was but one God in the universe in whom all things come together (See
Josephus; “Antiquities 1:7:1-2;” trans. Whiston). Because of this recognition in
the face of the idolatry surrounding him Abram/Abraham was given the blessing of
having his seed be that through which the Lord and Savior of mankind should come
(Gal. 3:16, 18; Hebrews 11:8-16).