Unwavering Faithfulness
New book from Westminster John Knox Press explores pivotal moments in the Book of Isaiah
LOUISVILLE — In “Unwavering Faithfulness: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Isaiah,” Walter Brueggemann and Brent Strawn lead readers through the prophetic book of Isaiah, moving between looming predictions of punishment against Israel for breaking covenant with God and exultation in the ultimate hope of Israel’s restoration.
Available beginning Tuesday, “Unwavering Faithfulness” provides an accessible guide to Isaiah, helping contemporary readers grasp both the uncompromising demands of God’s holiness and God’s unshakable faithfulness to covenant relationship and desire to bring about a good future for God’s people.
Isaiah is a dramatic book of prophecy and oracles that sweeps through the histories of Israel’s kings and dealings with surrounding nations, levying judgment but also offering the hope of restoration, blessing, and shalom.
This great prophet’s words are a lot to take in. Israel is taken to task for exploiting the poor and seeking security in political treaties and the human economy rather than in the fidelity of God.
Ignoring the call of covenant to enact economic justice and righteousness for neighbors, Israel experiences the holy rule of God as working through geopolitical events that lead to the destruction of Jerusalem.
But Isaiah doesn’t rest here, and “Unwavering Faithfulness” forecasts ahead to the promise of Israel’s return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile and to the imagination of the early church, inspired by the poetry of Isaiah to place its hope in Jesus the Messiah.
The ultimacy of God’s governance and faithfulness in the swirl of global political chaos anchors this Bible study, helping readers grasp Isaiah’s vision of the covenantal fidelity of the Lord who wills newness and redemption amid failed histories.
This book will help readers seek to identify the movement of God in the midst of the natural consequences of forsaking the holy way on a global scale (climate disaster and the self-destruction of fearful, power-mongering governments) and to continue to look for the inbreaking of God’s shalom.
Questions for reflection and discussion are included at the end of each chapter, making this book ideal for individual or group study.
About the authors
Brent A. Strawn is Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law at the Duke Divinity School. He is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including “The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment” and “The Old Testament: A Concise Introduction.”
Walter Brueggemann was a beloved and prolific writer, astute biblical theologian and Old Testament scholar, and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Brueggemann, who died June 5 at age 92, taught for 17 years at Columbia Theological Seminary. He wrote dozens of acclaimed books, including “Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now,” “Interrupting Silence: God’s Command to Speak Out,” and “Truth and Hope: Essays for a Perilous Age.” Often heralded as a prophetic voice in our time, Brueggemann constantly reminded readers of God’s covenantal love and God’s call to speak truth to power, to remember that grace abounds, and to loosen the bonds of injustice.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.
