Whisper Of God Ministries

Isaiah 

We now come to the prophecy book that most people are familiar with.  The book is Isaiah.  The prophet Isaiah, who ministered from about 740 B.C, the year that King Uzziah died, until after 701 B.C, wrote this book.  He lived during the time of other great prophets like Amos, Hosea, and Micah.  He was married and had at least two sons that we are aware of because they are named in the Bible – Shear-Jashub and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.  He spent most of his time in Jerusalem prophesying during the reigns of Jothan and Ahaz.  He saw his greatest influence during the reign of Hezekiah.  During Hezekiah’s time, the Assyrians attached Jerusalem and destroyed Judah’s countryside.  Hezekiah trusted the Lord’s word that came through Isaiah, and Jerusalem was saved.  Jewish tradition tells us that during the reign of Mannasseh, Isaiah was trapped inside the hollow trunk of a tree and martyred by being sawed in half while still inside the tree.

While Isaiah is the only author mentioned in the book and, traditionally, has always been said to be the author, for the last several centuries, liberal Biblical scholars have contented that Isaiah did not write the entire book.  They basically divide the book into three sections – chapters 1-39 which they ascribe to Isaiah, chapters 40-55 which they ascribe to a “second Isaiah,” and chapters 56-66 which is ascribed to a “third Isaiah.”  The main difficulty for theses liberal scholars is that they cannot accept that God can speak through his prophet about the future.  These “scholars” do not believe that Isaiah could predict the future decree of Cyrus to allow the Israelites to return to Jerusalem from Babylonia almost two hundred years before the event.  Likewise they fail to accept that he could predict the Virgin would bring forth a Child.  They cannot accept these prophecies because they do not have an adequate view of the true God.  Isaiah is a book that shows God’s punishment for sin of his children and the hope of salvation.   He is commissioned when heaven is opened up to him (chapter 6), and he goes on to declare judgment on the people of Israel and Judah because of their continued sinfulness.  He is sent to condemn the people and not to try and get them to repent.  The first part of the book concerns God’s judgment on Israel – the northern kingdom.  Assyria will carry them away as God’s judgment falls on them for their pride and idolatry.  The last part of the prophecy is to the returning exiles that their punishment has been paid and about the ultimate hope they have in a future redeemer – Jesus Christ.

A master of language and imagery writes this book.  Isaiah uses a richness of vocabulary not found in many other books.  He paints vivid pictures.  Most of us are familiar with several passages found here – Isaiah’s calling in chapter 6, the virgin birth of Immanuel – God with us – in chapter 7, and chapters 40-66 which contain so many references to Christ.  Read Isaiah with and open mind and heart.  God will fill you with a beauty and gratitude for your salvation through the one who was despised and rejected by men but by whose wounds we are healed.

The Prophets 

This week we enter the last large group of books in the Old Testament called the Prophets.  This section is further divided into two smaller sections called the “Major Prophets” and the “Minor Prophets.”  This distinction is not because the value of the prophecies varies in quality but simply because the “Major Prophets” are longer books and the “Minor Prophets” are shorter books.  The idea of a prophet dates back to the time of Moses when Aaron was appointed to be his spokesman.  A prophet was a spokesman for God.  He declared what God said – “thus says the Lord”.  This declaration could be good news or a warning of judgment to come.  The prophet was God’s mouthpiece to the people. 

I have attached a chart to help you place the various prophets in a timeline.  Prophets were found throughout most of Old Testament time.  In the history books of 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings you read of various prophets such as Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha.  These prophets did not write down their prophecies and so are often remembered for their actions like causing an axe head to float - Elisha.  During the Divided Kingdom, especially the eighth and seventh centuries, prophets wrote down their prophecies onto scrolls.  This is the classical period for prophecy in the Old Testament.  Most of these prophets were engaged around two major events – the fall of Israel or the fall of Judah.  The final group of prophets was the exile and post-exilic prophets who spoke for God while the people were in captivity or after the remnant returned to Judah.

The last great “Old Testament” prophet was John the Baptist as a forerunner to the Christ.  The Old Testament is full of prophecies about Christ.  He fulfills over 100 Old Testament prophecies in his life.  The role of the prophet in Old Testament times ended with the coming of Jesus.  Christ himself fulfills the role of prophet for us.  He is the Word of God in living reality.

“If my heart has been lead by my eyes”Job 31:7 This verse comes from a section in the book of Job where Job is refuting his friends.  What occurred to me though as I read this part is simply that our society as a whole has fallen into the trap of exactly what Job is saying he has not done.  The visual media rules in our world today.  Oversized televisions, movies, video games are the staple of the culture.  We have become a society that thinks with our eyes.  The only truth that many people get is what they see portrayed before their eyes in living color.  Twenty-four hour news beams instant images to our homes. 

For the Christian, how are we to be led?  What forms the basis of our worldview?  What do we follow?  God’s Word would tell us that the Holy Spirit is our guide.  His Word is our truth.  Unfortunately, our culture has become hardened to the things of God in many ways because of the visual revolution that has taken over.  We would rather watch than read.  We need action all around us, sound surrounding us.  For many, the fear of simply being quiet and alone with ourselves and God in prayer is more than we can bear. The Bible is to be read, reasoned through; its truth planted and nurtured in our hearts as it passes through our minds.  We are called to think about God.  We are called to be still and know God.  One of the calls of God upon my heart is to train up children with a tender conscience.  That is why I am so involved in a Christian school.  I want children to reach college age and still possess the capacity to be offended by sin.  The visual assault on us all, especially our children, is a war we seem to be loosing.  The more we see, the less we are offended; simple repetition breeds contentment and complacency.   

Just look at television over the last 20 years.  As producers push the envelope of what is acceptable to air, they have slowly moved the line further out.  What would have offended a nation twenty years ago is simply common place today.  The same holds true for the church.  As the church has allowed more and more complacency with God, we have moved further from Him and his character.  My prayer is that God would raise up a generation of leaders that would recapture God’s Word in all its truth — that the Christians of tomorrow would again reengage the culture to battle for the hearts and minds of the world — that their hearts would be lead by the eternal truth and not a visual moment.    Look at your own life.  Do you have the necessary barriers in place to keep your conscience tender?  Do you avoid those things that make you insensitive to sin?  Guard your life!  It is so easy to become complacent in our daily battle with sin and evil.