Isaiah's gone to meddlin'

The further I delve into Isaiah's book this time around, more convinced I become that it's not the historical context and figurative language that keeps people from engaging the prophets. I think they hit too close to home. I think that people understand that Isaiah has (as my family in Texas would say) quit preachin' and gone to meddlin'. He's stepping on toes. He's pointing out our role in God's anger and frustration. He's pointing out the bad choices and outright rebellion that we are guilty of. Take chapter 29 for example.

You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
    “You know nothing”?

 Isaiah is not saying anything new. Through him, God is pointing out that the disconnect between himself and humanity has not changed since Adam and Eve took the fruit. The disconnect, the thing that breaks our relationship with our creator is our desire to be in charge, to worship ourselves, to suggest that we don't need him and are not in debt to him. But God is not like that kid in 3rd grade who reminded you every five seconds that you owed him a quarter and you need to pay him back because it's his milk money and if he doesn't get it back he won't have any milk today and he really needs his quarter because he really likes milk. That's not who God is. He's not a nag. He doesn't NEED anything from us. He WANTS a relationship with us. He wants to be intimately connected to us. He wants to be known by us in the same way that he already knows us. He wants to redeem and restore us. And none of this is for his benefit. It's all for our benefit because he is incomprehensibly loving and gracious.

Look at how the chapter ends. This is always the goal. Sometimes our rebellion is at a point where his methods must be severe, but this is always the goal of God intervention in the lives of humans.

No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
    no longer will their faces grow pale.
 When they see among them their children,
    the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
 Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding;
    those who complain will accept instruction.”

Reconciliation. Redemption. Restoration. Salvation. Healing. This is God's relentless pursuit of humanity. He longs to help us understand that to admit our weakness, to admit our dependence on him, to admit our flaws and failures is the only way to be strong, the only way to actually live.