As we have observed many times before, the OT writers were not concerned to formulate general truths about God or humanity, but spoke primarily about their own times and people and the ways of God as they perceived them in Israel’s experience. Therefore, many of the biblical texts do not lend themselves simply or religious instruction for modern readers, and it is difficult to move directly from Isaiah 40 and Ezekiel 34 to our own situation. They are concerned, after all, with the conditions and prospects of Israel in the sixth century B.C. One of our responsibilities as interpreters of the Bible is to acknowledge the time-bound features of these texts and not try to force them to speak to us in ways they were not meant to do. Nevertheless, there are elements in them which can illuminate our understanding of God.
God is the savior in Isaiah 40 and Ezekiel 34. This is the understanding of God that dominates the story of Israel in the Pentateuch and the Psalms, and it reappears again and again in the prophets. Christians are often unaware of this, or disregard it. It is common for Christians to exalt the NT at the expense of the OT, by contrasting the NT message of salvation with “the OT message of judgment.” However, this is an inadequate interpretation of the Bible. There is judgment in both testaments, but both are founded in faith in God as creator and redeemer. The story of Israel is a story of salvation. The prophecy of salvation in Isaiah 40 and Ezekiel 34 is a renewal of God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12) and to Moses (Exodus 3), and it is the message that unites the OT, as well as the NT. The primary relevance of these two texts (and the others we have discussed) for modern readers lies in this understanding of God as creator and savior. The basic meaning of these texts was what they said to Judean exiles 2500 years ago about their situation, their prospects, and their faith. Their meaning for us is twofold. We can see the witness of faith in God as it worked in ancient Israel, and we can reaffirm that faith ourselves. The fruits of God’s word are always appropriate to the time in which it is spoken, and they may not be the same in every age. And yet, it is the same God whose word is spoken. Knowledge of the prophets’ faith in God, which found expression in their writings but which even more undergirded them, is the principal meaning of these texts for us.