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Haftarah Shoftim

“Rear Guard Comforter”

Isaiah 51:12-52:12 (or finish at 53:12)

excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations

Our Torah reading for this week, Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9), deals initially with the selection of judges and officials to rule over the people of Israel, as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land.[1] Selecting individuals with proper qualifications, not subject to bribes, intimidation, or prejudiced in their judgment, is critical for proper governance.[2] Shoftim also mentions the requirements for Israel’s future kings.[3] Additionally, the reference to a future prophet like Moses—which causes many of us to think immediately about Messiah Yeshua—of whom the Lord will hold everyone accountable, cannot be overlooked:

“I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:18-19, WMB).

These criteria for governance, are all powerful descriptions of how order is to be maintained among God’s people. And yet, as students of the Torah digest these descriptions about contemporary and future leadership, our Haftarah selection is another compelling passage from Isaiah—reminding us how it is the Holy One of Israel, rather than selected human leaders, who comforts His people. The opening verses contrast mortal frailty with the Divine majesty:

“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass? Have you forgotten the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth? Do you live in fear continually all day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepares to destroy? Where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile will speedily be freed. He will not die and go down into the pit. His bread won’t fail. For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. the LORD of Hosts is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and tell Zion, ‘You are my people’” (Isaiah 51:12-15, WMB).

After speaking on just how powerful the Lord is, the Prophet Isaiah went on to speak to some of the realities of a people who will be judged by some tormentors. But once again, the rhetorical question, “How shall I comfort you?” reminded Israel how it had an awesome advocate in the Lord. In His timing, He would put the chalice of His anger in the very hand of Israel’s tormentors, and make them pay for their inflicting pain upon His people:

“Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the LORD’s hand the cup of his wrath. You have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it. There is no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth; and there is no one who takes her by the hand among all the sons whom she has brought up. These two things have happened to you—who will grieve with you?—desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you? Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the LORD’s wrath, the rebuke of your God. Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Your Lord GOD, your God who pleads the cause of his people, says, ‘Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath. You will not drink it any more. I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, “Bow down, that we may walk over you;” and you have laid your back as the ground, like a street to those who walk over’” (Isaiah 51:17-23, WMB).

The Holy One, through Isaiah, began to exhort His people to awake from their slumber, and stand up to those who were oppressing them. A little historical recollection is in order, but ultimately it is the Almighty who will rise up and speak the comforting words that “Here I am,” hineini:

“Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city, for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you. Shake yourself from the dust! Arise, sit up, Jerusalem! Release yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion! For the LORD says, ‘You were sold for nothing; and you will be redeemed without money.’ For the Lord GOD says: ‘My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what do I do here,’ says the LORD, ‘seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,’ says the LORD, ‘and my name is blasphemed continually all day long. Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks. Behold, it is I’” (Isaiah 52:1-6, WMB).

Isaiah now shifted to the future, and described the wonderful task of taking the good news of salvation from Mount Zion to the world. At some point in the future, people will shout “Your God reigns!” and recognize how the Lord has continued to comfort His people even through trying times. This testimony will be undeniable throughout the world. Finally, there is a great reminder that the Lord will not only go before His people, but that He will protect them, and be their rear guard from those who might try to harm them:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Your watchmen lift up their voice. Together they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD returns to Zion. Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Depart! Depart! Go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry the LORD’s vessels. For you shall not go out in haste, neither shall you go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 52:7-12, WMB).

When Isaiah reminded his audience of the rear guard protection of the Lord, the thought of the Amalekites’ methods for attacking the weak and weary, at the rear of the Israelites’ wilderness march, might come to mind. Amalek was noted for not fearing God and taking advantage of the stragglers:

“Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came out of Egypt, how he met you by the way, and struck the rearmost of you, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he didn’t fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky. You shall not forget” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19, WMB).

Today, we need to be reminded that the weak and weary in the faith will always be with us. In fact, as our Torah portion relates, there are certain exemptions in Deuteronomy 20 which allow the fearful to avoid the rigors of warfare. The Holy One requires a fighting force which is not weakened by the fainthearted, and who are not fully committed to the battles of life:

“The officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit. What man is there who has pledged to be married to a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.’ The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart’” (Deuteronomy 20:5-8, WMB).

We also need to remember how the forces of Amalek have never been totally defeated. The spirit of Amalek is still around seeking to rob, steal, and destroy the weak and susceptible—and we are always in great need of the Holy One to be our rear guard. But as Isaiah’s words remind us, the God of Israel will always go before His people to fight the spiritual battles which will persist until Yeshua returns.

We can take great comfort that our Protector, Deliverer, Fortress, and Shield was, is, and will continue to be the One in whom we trust! However, it is still incumbent upon God’s people to arouse themselves, awake themselves, shake off the dust from their feet, and enter into the spiritual battles of life. While the Lord continues to promise to comfort His people, we are still going to be held accountable for our actions, as we battle with those who oppose the will of the Almighty.

May we take comfort in the ultimate outcome, but always be girded for the daily skirmishes.