Isaiah 17-37/Ephesians 5-6/Romans 1-4

Isaiah
There is a break in prophecies against other kingdoms in chapter 20, and we get a bit of acted-out prophetic sign. You will read of more of these, in which prophets don't merely speak, but actually act out in some way the things that God is saying.

The prophecy against Babylon is echoed in the book of Revelation.

Chapters 24-27 are further judgment on enemies. It is a loose collection of passages. These are sometimes considered a kind of apocalypse, thought that genre doesn't really take form until later. In the midst of 25 there is the promise of a final feast that echoes our own ideas of the marriage supper of the lamb.

Chapter 28 starts a series of oracles against Israel (Ephraim) and Judah. Again we get the sense of judgment and mercy, or hard times that are followed by deliverance. Chapter 29 stands out as it speaks of a siege that is miraculously broken, as the siege of Sennacherib during the reign of Hezekiah. 31 warns against an alliance with Egypt and that the Assyrians will flee.

32 begins with another description of a glorious kingdom, though it seems a failed harvest makes way for it. 33 of the end of a despotic ruler replaced by the salvation of Yahweh. 34 speaks judgment on Edom, Israel's cousin who sometimes turned against it. The idea of a place being reclaimed by nature is a powerful symbol for depopulated and abandoned land.

35 is a famous passage, an image of return and re-establishment. It became an important vision of the kingdom of God.

36-37 is the story of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib. Hezekiah pleads to God, consults Isaiah and God defeats the army of Sennacherib, who flees back home, where he is killed much later. Understand the force we're talking about here. Assyria was the superpower of the time, and nearly undefeated. Imagine if the US laid siege to Panama and lost 100,000 soldiers in one night to some unknown plague. We might pull out as well. The Panamanians would certainly have a couple of interpretations of what happened as well.

Ephesians
Paul continues his discussion of new life - and digresses extensively into the similarity of marriage between man and woman and Christ and the church. As a man and wife are one flesh, so Christ is one flesh with his church. Don't get too wrapped up in "women should submit" stuff - it's a pretty weak interpretation of this passage that would seem to emphasize unity and mutual care.

Finally this letter concludes with an encouragement to stay strong in the faith and to pray for one another, for Paul and his ministry and the church. He concludes with a short mention of someone - the most personal he has been in the entire letter.

Romans
Romans is probably, from a theological standpoint, Paul's most significant work. It has very little of the particularity that we see in Philippians or Corinthians. It is written to a church Paul has yet to visit. Perhaps for that reason Paul sets out on a theological project that became his masterpiece.

To quote N. T. Wright: Romans is "neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision".

1: Paul opens with a very Jewish framework by way of introduction. This comes into play later in his discussion about "the Jews." There had been anti-Jewish pogroms in the empire, and it is sometimes thought that this Roman church had an anti-Jewish bent. He continues to emphasize the Jewishness of the gospel, which comes to the Jew first and then the Greek, and then proceeds to excoriate pagan worship practices with the unnaturally immoderate indulgence of their sexual appetites (it is unlikely this passage has anything to do with what we think of as "sexual orientation" today) and worship of animals instead of immortal God.

2: This is all about accountability. Paul is making it very clear that no one gets away from the judgment of God - he expands this later in chapter 3. Even those who keep the law do not always follow the heart of the law and the purpose of the law.

3: The law reveals our sin and condemns us. Grace forgives us and frees us. That is pretty much it - it is a gift that cannot be boasted about - whether Jew or Greek. Because of our inability to fulfill the law, God forgives us through the one who did fulfill it, Jesus.

4: The example of Abraham, who becomes the forefather of the religion. He is saved by his faith in God. He trusts God regardless of the circumstances and it is that that saves him. There was no Law before Moses, so Abraham could not be saved by it.