Isaiah 30:20: “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be hidden any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:”
The word give (nathan) is in an imperfect form and should be translated: “And even if the Lord will give you bread.” The word for water is mayim. This could come from two possible root words mi for waters or yim for hot spring. Water has many symbolic meanings in Hebrew. One meaning is that water can be so powerful it can drill through rocks. Hence the waters of affliction. Thus the sages teach that God will give you an affliction that will drill through the rocky covering of your heart to penetrate your heart with the love of God. The bread of adversity. Bread also has many symbolic meanings. One aspect is how bread is made. This done by the taking of wheat, pounding it into a flower, rolling it and then baking it at a high temperature. It is a custom in baking bread for Rosh Hashanah to invite people who have hurt you during the year and as you roll your bread you forgive them. Hence the bread of adversity. The sages would teach that the adversity brought on by your sinful acts are pounded, rolled and baked to bring you to repentance and the forgiveness of God. I would also like to add another thought to this. That grain which is pounded, rolled and baked comes out as something new (bread) to bring nourishment to others. Many people have had to go through the pounding, rolling and baking trials by God to bring them to repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Christ so that Jesus can make them into something new, something of value to others, to bring nourishment to others.
“Your teachers shall not be hidden from you.” It is interesting that the word used here for teachers is yarah in Hebrew. The most common word for teacher, lamad, oddly enough this is not used in this passage. Yarah has the idea of throwing out, or an archer who is shooting an arrow. A teacher is throwing out knowledge, or shooting out knowledge which is aimed at a target. This teacher will not be hidden. The word hidden is kanaph. This is the word for wings, or a loose flowing skirt. These particular words give a picture of an archer shooting at a winged creature but because of its elusiveness, the arrow does not meet it’s target. I remember as a child listening to a man names Tom Hanlon who started the Bible Rescue Mission. He told how, as a homeless alcoholic, he would go to the mission and hear the Gospel from a preacher (yarah). He went to the mission and he heard the Gospel from a teacher (yarah). He went to the mission and he heard the Gospel from business man (yarah). Then one day he went to the mission and he HEARD THE GOSPEL from a moreka.” That is probably the best way to explain this.
The last part of this verse really explains this explains what this means. “And your eyes will see your teachers (moreka).” The word see is ra’ah which is a reference to spiritual seeing, spiritual insight. Your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will see the redemption offer by because of the moreka. Here we have a different word used for teachers. Teachers in this case is moreka. This particular form is a participial noun, 2nd person singular. Note that it is singular not plural. It is a teaching teacher or a master teacher. I wonder who or what this master teacher is? Is it the conviction of the Holy Spirit? Is it the presence of Jesus Christ? Or is it the mi or yim waters or hot springs of affliction? Perhaps it is all of the above. There are many human teachers’ yarah(s) out there who give the Word of God but far too often it misses its target and has no effect. Sometimes the only person or thing that someone will listen to is the moreka, the Master Teacher. I will leave it to you to decide who or what this moreka is.
What is clear is that the prophet is saying that God is always speaking to us, to give us direction, to set us on the right path or way (see the following verse) but sometimes it just does not get through our thick head of ours, and God may have to bring the bread of adversity, (adversity that will bring us into repentance and the forgiveness of God) and
the hot springs of affliction to drill through that hard shell of our heart and pierce it with the love of God through Jesus Christ. Next Sabbath you may wish to listen to the teachings of your local yarah (human teacher) and let his teachings hit the bulls’ eye of your heart, for if you are like that bird that just flies away from the arrow of God’s
Word, then the moreka may just come next.
You mentioned thick heads. I think mine must be iron because my afflictions have been many. But yes, it seems they have penetrated the iron. I would much rather have learned via a person teacher but that never used to work for me. It doesn’t really matter at this point. The important thing is that the arrow has hit the mark, not that I’ve arrived yet. I believe we will continue learning throughout our existence, both here and hereafter. There is so much to learn about our God that a millennium couldn’t teach us all of it. I find that refreshing and exciting. Someone once told me that excitement is for kids. Well, I guess the shoe fits. Ha! Thanks for another good one!