Isaiah on Oppression and Justice

The message of Isaiah is relevant not only for Isaiah’s time, but also to NT times, also to all of U.S. history and it is very relevant to America in January, 2019.

We begin looking at Isaiah 10:1-2 which describes an oppressive status quo during Isaiah’s time.  Here is how The Message translates these two verses:

“Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims---Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, exploit defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children.”

Isaiah is not only blunt in his analysis of the problem, but he is also specific on the solution to oppression.  He lists six messianic passages predicting Jesus coming as the Messiah, as the king of the NT kingdom of God.  Here are these six different passages:

Isaiah 9:7

Isaiah 11:2(a):

“The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding.”

Isaiah 11:4(a):

“He’ll judge the needy by what is right, render decisions on earth’s poor with justice.”

Isaiah 16:5

Isaiah 28:16-17

Isaiah 42:1-4:

“I bathed him [the Messiah] with my Spirit.  He’ll set everything right among the nations . . . . He won’t brush aside the bruised and hurt . . . . He’ll steadily and firmly set things right.”

The last of the Messianic Passages is 61:1-4

Now we fast-forward to the NT times.  This is Jesus’ description how oppressive the status quo was then.  Jesus said, “Woe to the rich.” 

Jesus described the Pharisees as greedy; as neglecting justice.  Jesus described the sacred Temple as a den of robbers.  And Jesus also described the kingdom of God as a Jubilee Justice that would release the oppressed.

Fast-forward to U.S. history.  The early British colonists and the Anglo-Saxon founding fathers engaged in Indian genocide and land theft.  They also engaged in African enslavement.  So Isaiah 10:1-2 perfectly describes the oppressive nature of U.S. history.  It also perfectly describes 400 years of U.S. history.  And describes American society in January 2019 where we have the mass incarceration of young black and Hispanic males; where we have a massive income and wealth gap between rich and poor.

The white American church could have and should have been practicing the justice of the Messianic passages in Isaiah.  Instead the church  has participated in or tolerated the oppressive status quo.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid that both American history and Haitian history have been plagued by an oppressive status quo.  The church in neither country preaches or practices the kingdom of God justice that releases the oppressed.