Introduction: God's Sovereignty
David Porter

Comment: Love Your Neighbour
Michael Wardlow

Wish You Were Here
David McMillan

Victims of Violence
David Bolton

Celebrating the Past
Philip Johnston

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CELEBRATING THE PAST?
The Prophets' alternative perspective of God's dealings with his people in history

It was certainly a year to remember, a great victory to celebrate. One can easily imagine the annual parades with the drums and bands, flags and banners, bright colours and sashes. The streets would be filled with cheering kids, the field full of rousing sermons, and everyone basking in the feel-good factor of their victory. No problem about traditional routes! There was good reason to march - the siege had been lifted and the foreign army defeated on a single incredible day. It was like 1689 and 1690 all rolled into one. Yes, 701 loomed large in popular folklore.

That was the year when big brother superpower had cracked the whip, and everyone was supposed to jump. For several decades a weak government had complied with his orders, and everyone had to pay up to keep him happy. Then a new government had come in and slowly but surely the situation changed. Religious laws were ignored, taxes were unaccountably 'delayed', and friendships with other suppressed peoples were fostered. Big brother was angry. He swept into all the rebel states crushing all resistance. There was one temporary diversion to deal with, that other big power to the south, and then one final tin-pot little country to mop up.

No one else had been able to stop him and all their so called gods were hopeless. Now there they were, thousands of hardened soldiers with all the latest weaponry threatening to crush yet another irritating little group of ill equipped peasants. All the locals could do was to pray, and they certainly did - government, preachers and people.

That's when the whole situation suddenly and dramatically changed. The mighty army was decimated overnight by a strange illness and fled in utter defeat. The little people had won; God was on their side. They had plenty to celebrate.

The unexpected defeat of the Assyrian army in 701 BC was a great victory; a high point in the history of Old Testament Israel. A victory to remember and recount with gratitude (2 Kings 18-19; 2Chron. 32; Is. 36-37). In this portentous year Hezekiah the King of Israel rebelled against mighty Assyria, a nation his father Ahaz had served, and predictably revenge was swift and seemingly unstoppable. With the threat of destruction edging its way towards Jerusalem King Hezekiah, the prophet Isaiah and presumably everyone else prayed with urgency and God answered decisively. Jerusalem was saved, God had delivered his people. A great victory that must surely confer divine approval on the state of Israel - the monarchy, the temple, the whole system! God was on their side, the defeat of Assyria was a sign of this, and assuredly God always would be.

However, this is by no means the whole story. Other biblical texts show that God's verdict is never so final, and historical events cannot be interpreted so straightforwardly. The three major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, provide us with an alternative perspective on God's dealings with his people in history.

Isaiah: Deliverance does not mean complete approval
To prepare for the inevitable Assyrian attack, Hezekiah strengthened the city's defences and built the now famous tunnel to bring water into the city. Isaiah, the great Jerusalem prophet, would surely commend him for this and for his moves to throw off the hated foreign yoke! Well Isaiah certainly saw all the activity but he noticed that Hezekiah trusted more in the physical defences than in God and chided him for this (Is. 22:8-11). However, overall Hezekiah was a good ruler and is highly praised in the Book of Kings. His sincerity and humility are the cause for God's healing intervention when he was dying (Is. 38:1-7). And it is under his faithful leadership that Jerusalem is delivered. Hezekiah was a monarch approved by God but we should not assume that general approval and miraculous deliverance are an unqualified affirmation of everything he believed and practiced.

Jeremiah: Past deliverance does not excuse present evil
One hundred years after this memorable victory, people still celebrated. The introductory image of 'annual parades' may be poetic license, but Israel's historical recall had created a conviction that God would never let his city be captured. All those psalms that extol Jerusalem (e.g. 46) would have been sung with great gusto. The talisman motto was 'This is the Lord's temple' (Jer. 7:4), how could it ever be captured? Jeremiah had to remind Israel of the fate of the Lord's earlier temple at Shiloh. It had been destroyed by the Philistines in divine punishment for Israel's sin. Given the present selfish and sacrilegious behaviour, worse was to come! The slogan 'For God and Jerusalem' on processional banners cut no ice with God. God was more interested in honesty in business, friendship to those facing discrimination, and worship that wasn't clogged up by money or compromised by political expediency. Jeremiah's message is one of awful impending judgement ~er.7).

Ezekiel: Restoration after judgement is not reinstatement
A generation later God's terrible judgement fell. Jerusalem was destroyed and its inhabitants swept away into captivity by a new world power, Babylon. It was only when the Israelites finally accepted the implications of their exile that Ezekiel predicted their restoration. In Ezekiel 33-48 the prophet preaches comfort and hope to the dispirited exiles. He describes a restored nation, a reinhabited land, a new Davidic leader and a glorious temple. What is interesting about Ezekiel's words is how little he says about Jerusalem, David's city, the famous capital. The city is only mentioned once, in a passing historical reference (36:38). Also Ezekiel makes no reference to past deliverance or future independence. Yes, there would certainly be restoration. However the conditions of Israel's existence would be markedly different.

Historically, that's how it turned out. From then on Jerusalem and Judea were simply a small part of a distant province of the current empire - Persia, Greece or Rome. True, there was a period of independence for about 100 years following the Maccabean revolt, but it was an unhappy time of wheeling and dealing abroad and of back-stabbing and oppression at home. However there was to be no return to a stable, independent monarchy, the exile had changed that for good.

Lessons for today
We all like to celebrate and no where more so than in Ulster. Each year each side commemorates past victories, sees itself vindicated by history and consequently draws strength for present conflict. With the assurance of historic deliverance and present devotion we confidently thank God that he is on our side.

However, in the history of Israel, where divine approval was shown mainly in material ways, things weren't nearly that simple. The God who promised his people land, city, temple, monarchy and independence, and delivered them in times of crisis, still judged their lack of faith. God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed and the people exiled for persistent sin, and he never give them back a meaningful independence. In the Old Testament account of Israel, God's past promises and previous deliverance do not ultimately determine the present.

In the historical context of Northern Ireland a victory over 300 years ago does not necessarily mean God approved of our cause or of our heroes. It most certainly does not excuse any contemporary economic or social injustice. God is always more interested in present obedience and concern for others than in past success or failure. Further, if judgement comes - and today's troubles are partly rooted in yesterday's discrimination - then a new settlement may be significantly different from the old one. Too many people in Ulster instinctively hope that when peace is restored, we can all go back to life as it was before. History, and in particular the divinely sanctioned history of Israel, would suggest otherwise.

Dr Philip Johnston is currently lecturing in Old Testament studies at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He previously lectured at the Irish Baptist College, Belfast.