Abstract

OLANISEBE, Samson O.. The justice of God in his anger: A narrative analysis of Isaiah 5:1-7 and its implications for socio-economic and security challenges in Nigeria. Old testam. essays [online]. 2015, vol.28, n.2, pp.481-496. ISSN 2312-3621.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2015/V28N2A14.

The passage of Isa 5:1-7 could be regarded as a dirge about the unfruitfulness and wastefulness of God's resources by the people of Judah. The people were provided with every resource needed to blossom in their endeavours, they were given the enabling environment and favourable weather, but when the time of harvest came, instead of bringing forth good fruit and bountiful harvest, they brought forth wild grape. The output does not justify the input. The owner of the resources was angered by this situation and took up a complaint against the people and decided to punish them severely. This situation of Judah is not dissimilar with that of Nigeria, who is presently experiencing endemic poverty, insecurity, corruption and political instability in the midst of abundance of minerals, human and material resources. The aim of this article is to carry out a narrative analysis of Isa 5:1-7, looking at the complaint of Yahweh against the people of Judah and contextualize the results of the exegesis, with the aid of intercultural hermeneutics, to the Nigerian situation, whose current socio-economic and political experience is not different from that of Judah.

Keywords : God; Justice; Parable of the Vineyard; Insecurity and Nigeria.

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