Thus Saith the Lord: The Revolutionary Moral Vision of Isaiah and Jeremiah

It's not only that Richard Rubenstein has done an exhaustive amount of historical, anthropological and social research into the world that the Isaiahs and Jeremiah lived in, which is great enough. He is an incredible story teller. I couldn't put this book down just because it was so exciting. I also highly recommend another of his books, "When Jesus Became God." which tells the story of how the early Christian Church fought over and who finally won the battle for whether Jesus would be considered Prophet, Rabi, Messiah or God Incarnate.

Author Richard Rubenstein has compiled a compelling text that reads like a tale of high adventure worthy of any of today's movie-going audiences. I was riveted to it from page one. Rubenstein has intensely studied the historical texts that cover the time periods related by the Old Testament, and then added the scriptures themselves to produce an eye-popping treatise. In reading Thus Saith the Lord, I came to know Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah in a new and awesome light. They were all serious prophets to be reckoned with, and they were not to be denied. They spoke the truth. Reading about them may enable us to recognize the prophets speaking the truth today. Not all will accept the truth, but the truth will not be denied. In Israel and Judah, Jeremiah and Isaiah advised different kings and priests with the words of God delivered through them as messenger-prophets. Such men warned a people to return to their moral roots and to right the wrongs of current society, because it was their calling to do so. Their words were not always heeded, and catastrophes of war came to pass for those who turned away, but the prophecies came to pass in full. Isaiah spoke in poetic stanzas and Jeremiah used terrifying words. Elijah and Elisha had been their forerunners, using messages from God and outlandish deeds to warn the leadership of the Middle East to seek right conduct. Together, they all contributed to the development of our contemporary methods of justice and ethical conduct, under Jehovah God. Today, we want an unflinching standard and a hero who will enforce it for us. That does not always occur, but we do have two dozen brands of court TV, each meting out a small measure of justice. How we wish that this could be broadened to encompass the world of wars and powers! Rubenstein's chapter titles about a time when justice was more certain are attention-grabbing, including: -- If YHVH Is God, Follow Him!--Elijah, I Kings 18:21 -- The Heart Is More Devious Than Any Other Thing--Jeremiah 17:9 -- I Will Make You the Light of the Nations--Isaiah 49:6 I was entranced by each chapter. Armchair Interviews says: Those interested in history, justice, and adventure will love this book.

Feel the need for religious voices advocating for the cause of justice and inclusion rather than hatred and arrogance? Wondering whose vision will lead us in a moral direction? Welcome to Thus Saith the Lord! Rubenstein not only brings people and historical periods to life, he also shows their effect on the present. Maps, endnotes, a selected bibliography and an index enhance the text. Readers of all faiths, or none, can enjoy and profit from Rubenstein's insights.

Thus Saith the Lord is one of the best commentaries on the Bible I have ever read. Professor Rubenstein masterfully reconstructs the original political, social and psychological contexts from which the great prophets Hebrew Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke. Meticulously researched and skillfully presented, this book makes these ancient messages come alive with a clarity and impact that speaks to our times. Rubenstein has succeeded in combining enthusiasm, insight and compassion to produce a book that manages to be both deeply profound and highly readable at the same time. I found myself cruising through the chapters. This inspiring book has given me new hope and a fresh outlook on the current world situation. I have already begun to apply Thus Saith the Lord to my work as a rabbi.

Richard Rubenstein has again accomplished the difficult task of delivering the lyrics of religious history with such clarity and ease as to win religious and secular audiences alike. While one might expect this book to be about ancient religious history, it is in fact about the eternal resonance of God's earliest Prophets even as we struggle today as individuals, nations, and a world system to make moral sense. It is a recalling of the living voice of the Prophets to guide us through *our* troubled times, at once incomprehensibly more complex than those faced by Jeremiah and Isaiah, and essentially the same. Globalization, empires, wars for resources and religion, societies struggling with their moral responsibilities, shape lives now as then. This book brings alive the Bible's portraits of some of humanity's earliest spiritual heroes and invites them into our lives to remind us how we might respond to our central questions. While elsewhere the author has explored how Jesus became God, here Jesus is located within a prophetic tradition driving a moral revolution demanded by a vision of the unity of God that invites us to a human unity as well, through moral unity. Jolting yet breezy in its originality, provocative and compelling, this book brings the eternal resonance of the Prophets through the pages into the reality of our lives and our choices now. Stirring the mind with clear and enjoyable language accessible to all, Thus Saith The Lord echoes the prophetic call, reminding us of our highest hopes and champions of God who challenged us to live and grow in our darkest hours as well as the light. I found my copy of this Rubenstein book in the philosophy section of an old bricks and mortar shop between Rousseau and Russell, but it could as easily be located between spirituality and politics, and coupled with ancient history and current events. This is one of those books that brings things all together, with a freshness and a familiarity that invites us all to reinvent. Thus Saith The Lord is about the way things are and the way they can be, as told to us by the voice of YHVH on prophetic tongues, from the taproot of monotheistic tradition to our own enactments of empire and globalization, our own opportunities for revolutionary moral action. This book is funny, deep, and serious. More than anything it is immediately relevant.