Summary
Flowers Emerge
The prophets from Isaiah to Malachi unfold across a vast desert landscape—the desert of God's righteous judgment and wrath against sin. Before rushing to look for relief, it is worth pausing to see the stark beauty of that desert itself: the unchanging holiness of God, His unswerving faithfulness to His Word, and His abhorrence of sin. Even in wrath, the character of God shines with a terrible beauty, because God will not be other than who He has revealed Himself to be.
Yet across that same landscape, flowers emerge. Sometimes a single bloom, sometimes whole gardens of grace, breaking up out of the parched ground without warning. The pattern is consistent throughout the writing prophets: words of judgment are interrupted by sudden, vivid promises of mercy, and then the desert returns again. Learning to read the prophets in this rhythm trains the eye to expect grace precisely where the ground looks most dead.
A few bearings help when walking this terrain. First, distinguish writing prophets (whose books bear their names) from non-writing prophets like Elijah and Elisha. Second, "major" and "minor" describe length, not importance—Isaiah, Jeremiah (with Lamentations), Ezekiel, and Daniel are longer; the Twelve are shorter. Third, locate each prophet against three historical moments: before the Assyrian invasion and deportation of the northern kingdom of Israel; the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and exile of Judah; and the return under Cyrus of Persia, the kingdom God raised up to bless His people and send them home.
The prophets also understood their own calling. Although prophecy includes the foretelling of future events, the bulk of it is forth-telling—God's Word spoken to God's people in their own moment, calling them to repentance. The prophets knew the barrenness of the human will in the things of God. Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions describe the natural heart as stone or brick: free in matters below God (whether to wear the black cleric or the gray), but bound in matters above God. Luther's Bondage of the Will simply echoes what the prophets already knew: we are born enemies of God, and the will must be transformed into a "yes" by the Spirit who blows where He wills.
This is why every flower that blooms in the desert is God's doing. When a sinner repents, when faith is born, when growth occurs, the credit belongs entirely to God. Paul puts it plainly: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" 1 Corinthians 3:5-7. Isaiah says the same of redemption itself: "I looked, but there was no one to help… so my own arm brought me salvation" Isaiah 63:5. To make conversion depend even slightly on the strength of our "yes" is to put the human will on the throne and turn faith itself into a saving work. The prophets refuse that move; the flowers belong to God alone.
Isaiah is almost a little Bible—sixty-six chapters, with the first thirty-nine pressing the people's idolatry and the last twenty-seven announcing the comfort of the Messiah. The opening chapter sets the desert: Israel does not know its Master; the nation is laden with iniquity Isaiah 1. But by chapter 2 a flower bursts open—the mountain of the Lord's house lifted up, the nations streaming in, swords beaten into plowshares Isaiah 2:2-4. This is a spiritual peace, going forth from Jerusalem through the Word, and consummated only at Christ's return. After more chapters of rebuke, another flower: the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, for unto us a child is born, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:1-7. Isaiah even names Cyrus and the Persian release from captivity generations before Persia existed as a kingdom—evidence of how trustworthy this prophetic Word is. Micah, working alongside Isaiah, names the very town: out of Bethlehem of Ephrathah will come the ruler whose origin is from of old Micah 5:2.
The same pattern shapes the Christian life. The deserts we walk through—affliction, grief, the discipline of the Lord—are not the end of the story. Flowers always emerge, because God has bound Himself by promise: "all things work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" Romans 8:28. A simple discipline at the end of the day is to look back over its hours and notice the flowers: a kind word given or received, an unexpected provision, a sustaining strength in adversity. Like the memorial stones planted by Israel at significant places, these remembered graces become reminders that strengthen confidence for tomorrow. Just as flowers emerged today, they will emerge again—because the God who made them bloom does not change.
Video citations
- Flowers Emerge 1-13-19 — We studied last week in our walk in this class called Flowers in the Desert. And specifically, we're taking a look at the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi. And as you walk through that landscape of…