Introduction to Isaiah

ISAIAH

Evangelist – Prophet

THE PROPHETS

For many Christians, the prophecy-books of the Bible are not of much interest. That may be in part to the language style of writing which is somewhat poetic. It may be that they don’t feel the messages in the prophets are relevant to us in this day and age. When the Spirit of God included the messages of the prophets in the scriptures, we know there was a good reason for Him to do that. We are able to learn truths in the books of the prophets that are useful lessons that help meet the needs of God’s people in every age. Much of human history follows the same pattern of life as it was lived in the times of the prophets. There are obviously external differences because of the place things happened and the circumstances surrounding them. But the spiritual principles are there for our learning as well as our admonition.

Historical events can give us lessons as to how to avoid things that are bad or how to promote that which is good. The spoken words of prophets, the preachers of that time, who heralded out the messages of the Lord, puts shoes on the feet of history for our instruction. Those early spokespersons for the Lord were loyal in their service for God, and they were willing to risk everything they had, even their lives, to confront the people of their time with the word of God. That need remains the same today. We cannot overlook the consequences of sin and departure that are happening now and are taking away the moral fiber of our nation, the moral conduct of the lives of the citizens, and the moral leadership of those in places of authority in our governments.

The prophets of the Old Testament poured out their hearts and souls into carrying out their responsibility to God by calling for repentance on the part of sinful people, and a return to the Lord for mercy. They knew the dangers and results of idolatry. They knew the teaching and practice of idolatry was contrary in every way to the worship and service of the One True God. Even though in the early days of human history when people like Enoch, Noah and Abraham were God’s messengers to warn the people of the consequences of sin, it was Moses who was the first one designated to fill that role which we read about in Exodus 3 and 4.

Words God commonly told the prophets were such as, “Go; speak; I will send” etc. and they in turn would call upon people to “hear the word of the Lord,” or “thus saith the Lord.” The Lord through His servants the prophets, made it plain that He was the authority over the prophets and the people to whom they spoke. The prophets were obligated to obey Him, although some like Jonah, resisted occasionally. They knew they were responsible to represent the Sovereign of the universe. That gave a sense of urgency to be their Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message, as Haggai wrote. Whether the hearers obeyed or rebelled was not in their power to control. They were also responsible to report back to the Lord in prayer, and some of those prayers were very emotional because of the lack of response by the people. Jeremiah wept when he heard what was going to happen, and he wept when he knew the response of the people.

Samuel started out young in his prophetic ministry, and both Elijah and Elisha had long years of service for the Lord as prophets to God’s people in both good and bad times. Whether a prophet is called “major” or “minor” has to do with the amount of written material they have and the length of their service. It has nothing to do as to whether some of them were more important than the others. The times in which they lived and preached were much like our times. In our day “evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The whole course of society is morally downward and away from God and His divine will and purposes. The mindset of many in our day is “down with God – up with man.” It doesn’t seem like we are making any headway against all the moral and spiritual decline going on world-wide, but it is still our responsibility to speak out for God even though we might seem like John the Baptist, “a voice crying in the wilderness.” We can learn much from those men and women that we can apply to ourselves, our service for the Lord and the times in which we live.

Generally speaking, prophets were God’s messengers to His own people, but sometimes there were messages to those who were in some way connected with Israel. Hosea experienced in a personal way, his prophecy. It reads like a pathetic, sad story of love lost and a family breakup, but it was God’s way of impressing His message on the people. So, we learn that there is more than one way to pass on the messages God wants to give to those He loves. Enemies of God’s people were spoken against on occasions because the contrast of God’s covenant people Israel to be a holy nation, stood out against the immoral practices of other idol worshiping nations in the name of religion. Local gods of human imaginations were designed to please the people and satisfy the basic sinful lusts of unregenerate mankind. Even though the Israelites rebelled over and over against the Lord He still sent His prophets to warn His people, teach them and guide them.

Most prophecies fall into these categories: There was a call to repent and turn to the Lord. Then there was the promise of salvation to those who obeyed the Lord and acted upon His word. Thirdly, there was given a look ahead to the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Jewish forefathers, which the Israelis today still look to see happen. The prophets also gave people of their day, and us, a look way ahead to the time when the nation of Israel will be a society of people who will be wholehearted in their devotion to the Lord, and that will result in a fruitful country and happy populace. The ultimate prophecy as far as looking into the future will be when the whole world will be blessed through the Messiah of Israel. Our Lord Jesus Christ, will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords in a time of universal peace. Faith in the prophecies of God gives to us a sense of security and purpose in our lives today. To life for the Lord, means that we trust Him and His word to be true, and as those who believe on Him our confidence is strong in every situation in which we find ourselves. That gives meaning to all that we do, and joy in doing it.