In the story of the Bible, Jerusalem is introduced as the city of God, a city of justice and peace,

a city that can unite heaven and earth.

And this is especially true under the reign of King David, who founds the city of Jerusalem.

Yet even the city of Jerusalem is corrupted by human folly and violence, so much so that

the prophet says.

See how the faithful city has become a prostitute.

You were like silver, you were like choice wine, you were like a faithful partner, but

now you're like a prostitute.

Your rulers or rebels, your partners or thieves, they love bribery.

Nobody defends the cause of the orphan.

In the widow's case, it doesn't even make it into court these days.

For Isaiah, one of the key indicators that Jerusalem was rotting from within was how it treated

the poor and the marginalized.

In the laws of the Torah, how people who are the most economically vulnerable in the city

or in their society, women, immigrants, orphans are the most vulnerable in that social

setup.

How these types of people are treated is the barometer of how faithful Israel is being to their

covenant or not.

And so for the prophets, they bring up these people as the signs of the times.

For Isaiah, Israel was meant to be a picture of the heavenly cosmic city of God, but instead

it has become like a Babylon, like Nineveh Sodom and Gomorrah.

And so Yahweh is going to enact judgments on his covenant partners who have now become

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