Covenant failure and the call of Isaiah

Overview

Woe against those who call evil good and good evil and cry of the seraphim.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What do the prophets mean by covenant failure?

   Model answer

   Covenant failure is Israel's breach of the obligations accepted at Sinai. The prophets identify it in idolatry, in the oppression of the poor and in worship offered without justice.

2. 2

   What literary form does Isaiah 5:8-24 take?

   Model answer

   Isaiah 5:8-24 is a series of woe oracles. Each opens with a cry of woe, names a specific offence and then announces its consequence.

3. 3

   Whom does the first woe of Isaiah 5 condemn?

   Model answer

   The first woe condemns those who join house to house and add field to field until there is no room left and they live alone in the land.

4. 4

   Why was the accumulation of land treated as a covenant offence?

   Model answer

   Land in Israel was held as an inheritance received from God for each family. Absorbing a neighbour's holding therefore destroyed that family's share in the promise as well as its livelihood.

5. 5

   Explain the woe against those who call evil good and good evil.

   Model answer

   Isaiah condemns the deliberate inversion of moral judgement, described also as putting darkness for light and bitter for sweet. Wrongdoing is then defended as though it were right.

6. 6

   What image does Isaiah 5:26-30 use for the coming invader?

   Model answer

   God is said to whistle for a distant nation which comes swiftly, arrows sharpened and bows bent, hooves like flint and a roar like a lion. Darkness then covers the land.

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