Haftarah Yitro
“Smoke-Spoken Revelation”
Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6[6-7] (A); 6:1-13 (S)
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
Encountering the Living God, is an awesome experience, no matter when it occurs. In this week’s Torah portion (Exodus 18:1-20:23[26]) and its corresponding Haftarah reading, two eyewitness accounts—those of Moses and Isaiah—depict their personal experiences of theophany. We have the privilege of comparing and meditating upon them, being encouraged that we too can see God in all His glory!
First in Yitro, we find Moses receiving wise organizational counsel from his father-in-law, as the infant nation of Ancient Israel began its wilderness crawl and transformation into a kingdom of priests. In short order, Yitro’s instructions on how to handle disputes and delegate the work of serving in order to lead the people,[1] are followed by the Ten Words spoken directly to Moses on a smoke-shrouded Mount Sinai by the Lord.[2] These essential commandments on how to love God and one’s fellow, established the foundational preamble, for the rest of Israel’s constitution found in the balance of the Torah.
For comparative reflective purposes, Isaiah’s testimony came several centuries later, as the holy nation was reeling from disobedience and found itself on the precipice of judgment. In the smoke-filled Temple of God which the Prophet Isaiah envisioned, he received further revelation about not only his vocational calling, but the judgment coming to a dim-eyed and dull-of-hearing unholy Israel. Thankfully, our Haftarah reading concludes with a description of the future Kingdom of God, established upon a justice and righteousness which will last forever.
There is little doubt, that while many in today’s world may not know the exact details of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai, their impact on how Western Civilization has legally and morally developed is unparalleled. Part of God’s plan for the Creation, was to set-apart a specific group of people for His own possession, who would be His voice-obeying, covenant-keeping, kingdom of priests and holy nation. Moses heard and recorded the following in the third month of Israel’s wilderness sojourn:
“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6, WMB).
Furthermore, to confirm to the Israelites that Moses was His vessel to deliver His Word to them, the Lord told Moses that there would be a visible and audible recitation of His Instruction, to make it perfectly clear how Moses was the intermediary:
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.’ Moses told the words of the people to the LORD” (Exodus 19:9, WMB).
When the day of reckoning came after the warnings were adhered to, the presence of visible smoke, accentuated by thunder, lightning, a quaking mountain, and the sound of the trumpet—generated great fear among the Israelites assembled:
“On the third day, when it was morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud shofar; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lower part of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai smoked, because the LORD descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. When the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice” (Exodus 19:16-19, WMB).
After the Decalogue was communicated, the people of Israel declared that listening to the voice of God was so frightening, that they would prefer to have Moses listen for them instead, because they feared death:
“All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. They said to Moses, ‘Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.’ The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18-21, WMB).
We see that the primary reason why God spoke forcefully from the smoke-laden mountain, was to instill a fear of Himself so that the people would not sin.
By the time readers witness the Prophet Isaiah’s experience in the smoke-filled Temple, God’s people were on the verge of judgment, requiring Him to appoint another vessel to deliver His words—this time words of rebuke:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. One called to another, and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory!’ The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1-4, WMB).
This theophany of God’s Throne occurred at a time when both the Southern and Northern Kingdoms of Israel were not obeying the voice of the Lord, or following His commandments. Isaiah responded to the Lord’s question about who He should send with the hard words of judgment, exclaiming hineni shelacheini, “Here am I. Send me!”:
“I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go, and tell this people, “You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.” Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.’ Then I said, ‘Lord, how long?’ He answered, ‘Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste, and the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land. If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak whose stump remains when they are cut down, so the holy seed is its stump’” (Isaiah 6:8-13, WMB).
The judgment on the disobedient people was manifest in insensitive hearts, dull ears, and dim eyes—resulting so that they would not understand with their hearts, hear with their hears, or see with their eyes in order that they might return and be healed. God was preparing to judge the disobedient, but there would always be a remnant—perhaps as large as a tenth—similar to the stump of a tree. After the various judgments were completed against disobedient Israel, there would be a future time when a child to be born would inaugurate the era of justice and righteousness:
“For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, WMB).
Messiah Yeshua has come and has initiated a reign, where lasting peace, justice, and righteousness will be established and maintained forevermore, over not only the world, but the whole of Creation. Such a reign begins in our hearts today! It is our responsibility as Believers to make sure that we are performing our call as a part of His Kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:9), where we can see that His reign has begun in the lives of others, before He returns to Earth and judges those who fail to repent. Despite the different tests which His people down through the ages have had to face, often because of disobedience, a zealous remnant of the faithful has always been present. Is it possible that in our obedience to Him today, we can see that more than a remnant might be saved?
Those of us living today need to regularly envision the stark scene of Mount Sinai covered in the smoke of God’s presence, or His Temple filled with the smoke of His glory. In so doing, we place the attention of our hearts and minds upon that future day when God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). May we persevere until that glorious time!
NOTES
[1] Exodus 18:17-27.
[2] Exodus 20:1-17.
