Isaiah must have been a very sad man. I mean, from what I’ve read so far, he has nothing but bad news to give to his people from God, and from what I can see, he saw it all coming. It must be tremendously unnerving to see your people plunge into the depths of exactly who they were never meant to be, to know what God would do about it, and to have to be the one to tell them so.
But Isaiah had to also be extremely compassionate. It oozes from his words. It flows from his clever Hebrew rhymes. It springs from his explosive imagery and careful word choice. I know that he was God’s mouthpiece and all, but I think that God uses people because, among other reasons, of what is in them and what will come out of them when they obey Him and act in His power and inspiration.
I am writing my way through this particular message from God, and I am loving it. Today, I recorded some of my first works, and here is chapter 1. Tentative title: “once my people.” You should read Isaiah 1, either before or after you listen to this.
You were once my people
Proudly bearing my name
You were once my children
Pleased to do what Daddy said
Now, you have no leader
Hopeless, lost, and wandering
Rebellious and forsaken
All of you is wounded
Breaks my heart to call you
Sodom and Gomorrah
I gave you my blessing
So all the earth would know me
You hijacked my goodness
Stealing what was mine to give
Now, you’ve been commodified
Whores for many nations
But the orphan and the widow
Need to know my justice
Hold onto my goodness
Throw away your evil
So c’mon, come to me, wash yourself clean
Give to me your scarlet sin, and you’ll be white as snow
Desire me, trust my words; I’ll give you what is good
But you rebel, and you refuse
And you will be, you will be consumed
kim:eubanks 