The Mission motif of selected passages of the book of Isaiah

Abstract

This study was directed by two main purposes: (1) to investigate the motif of mission in selected passages in the Book of Isaiah and (2) to discover the theological significance of the motif of mission and how the mission motif contributes to the overall theology of the Book of Isaiah. The twofold task was undertaken through literary and linguistic analyses and theological synthesis. The methodology and its application to the biblical text may yield profitable results and may help espouse mission as a theology of Isaiah. A review of pertinent literature has shown that despite the volume of scholarly discourse to the theology of Isaiah, there remains a question on the motif of mission. Guided by the criteria for the selection of passages in Isaiah, the linguistic analysis was carried out where the morpho-syntactic features of the passages in the Book of Isaiah were examined. The syntactic features and patterns were described as much as possible according to their exact attestation in the mission passages of Isaiah. Furthermore, an investigation of the literary issues was carried out which yielded some themes from the pericopes. Here, the structure and theme of the mission passages were investigated to help yield a better understanding of the context in relation to the mission motif in the selected passages in the Book of Isaiah. The mission motifs that emanate from the analyses were discussed. In the theological synthesis, the investigation established that there is a connection between YHWH, His attributes, mission, Israel, and the nations. The study revealed how YHWH relates to His mission and creation as well as to His redemptive purpose for all humanity. The study came up with 10 principles of mission as espoused from the selected passages in the Book of Isaiah. The principles postulate that mission is centered on God, requires the participation of all, and shows the response of God’s people to their relationship with Him. The study also notes the theological synthesis that connects the mission motif in the selected passages with the theology of the Book of Isaiah. Attention was devoted to some Isaianic theology such as creation, covenant, salvation, judgment, and eschatology. The relationship of the mission motif of the selected passages in Isaiah to the theology of mission in the OT was investigated. The study noted the linguistic and the thematic connections and explored the contribution of the mission motif in selected passages in the Book of Isaiah to the theology of mission in the OT. In the end, some practical implications of mission that articulate the participation of YHWH’s peoples in His mission today are outlined. The study hopes that the motif of mission in Isaiah, along with the increasing number of scholarly contributions to the Isaianic literature and mission in the OT, will lead to a better appreciation and rediscovery of the relevance of what the HB says about mission. The study will achieve its goal if its readers are willing to navigate the corpus of Isaiah and, as they do, find that being aware of YHWH’s mission motif enables them to traverse better and acknowledge the pointy, yet awe-inspiring, message of global, cross-cultural, and national mission aspects of the Book of Isaiah.