Someone to Lean On

 

O LORD, be gracious to us;

We have waited for You.

Be their arm every morning,

Our salvation also in the time of trouble (Isaiah 33;2)

 

Judah was in trouble. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, had agreed to accept ransom-money from Judah's King Hezekiah and break off his siege of the city of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13–18). But Sennacherib double-crossed Hezekiah, took the money and pressed on with the siege. 

 

Not to worry, Isaiah assured Hezekiah. Sennacherib would get his comeuppance in due time (Isaiah 3:1). In the meantime, all Hezekiah and the nation could was shelter in place and “wait” on the Lord, a word that combines the tension of waiting with an attitude of hope and  expectancy. 

 

The interesting thing about this text is the unexpected possessive pronoun in the third line: “be their arm.” You would expect “be our arm.” In fact some translators, spotting this anomaly, arbitrarily change the text to "our." 

 

But there's no need to alter the text. At this point Isaiah is slipping in a cameo prayer for his friends and neighbors: “Be their arm every morning.”

 

It seems to me that Isaiah’s prayer is a prayer I must pray for my friends and neighbors while we’re in this current “siege.” We all need someone to lean on. 

 

David Roper

7.31.20