DAY 26: GOD CHOSE ISAIAH

 THE RHEMA WORD FOR TODAY

(A DAILY DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM)

 

TOPIC: GOD CHOSE ISAIAH

DATE: 26 SEPTEMBER, 2020

BIBLE READING: ISAIAH 6

MEDITATION/MEMORY VERSE: ISAIAH 49:5 (CEV)

Even before I was born, the Lord God chose me to serve him and to lead back the people of Israel. So the Lord has honoured me and made me strong.

 

Earlier in our 30 days journey, we saw how Christ chose the 12 apostles of the Lamb and how God chose Paul, to be an apostle. And we established the fact that God is still raising for himself apostles.

Many have preached that the offices of the apostles and prophets ended when apostle wrote the book of Revelation; using Ephesian 2:20 as a foundation for their teaching. How true is that? Well we’ve seen that it is untrue for the apostles, what about the prophets because Hebrews 1:1-2 may seem to agree to it. And so in the next three Bible characters, we will be looking at, we will find out if that is true and what Hebrews 1:1-2 is saying.

According to classical Bible teaching there are three Major Prophets in the Bible; Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They are referred to as the Major Prophets because of the volume of chapters they wrote by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Before we look at the first- Prophet Isiah, who is a prophet?

A prophet in the Hebrew word is nabi; which is gotten from naba- meaning to prophesy (that is to speak or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse). So nabi literally means an inspired man or better put, a spokesman. An inspired man is someone who has supernatural authority through divine influence and he is also qualified to communicate divine truth to people. While a spokesman is someone who speaks as a voice of a group of people (in context the Godhead). The inspired man’s inspiration is either in prediction or simple a voice for the Godhead, then his inspiration is from the Godhead.

 

2 Pet. 1:21 NKJV

For no prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit

2 Tim. 3:16a NKJV

All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God…

 

Now concerning prediction, a prophet was first a seer (1 Sam. 9:9) - so not all seers in Old Testament are prophets (Deut. 13:1-5). A prophet speaks as a voice of God to the people, that is, God puts His words in their mouth- He is God’s mouthpiece (Ref. Ex. 4:12. 15; Numb. 23:5; Deut. 18:15, 18; Isa. 50:4; 51:16; 59:21; Jer. 1:9). That’s why in scriptures we read, ‘thus says the Lord’ (Ref. Ex. 4:22; Josh. 7:13; 1 Sam. 2:27; 10:18; 2 Sam. 7:5; 12:7; 2 Kings 7:1; 9:3; Isa. 22:15; Jer. 2:5; 6:6; Ezek. 2:4; 3:27; 11:5 and over 400 occurrences in the Old Testament).

In our Bible reading, God needed a yielded vessel who will stand as a prophet for His people because as at that time, God needed to act. ‘Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret plan [of the judgment to come] to His servants the prophets.’ (Amos 3:7 AMP) (cf. Gen. 18:17; Ps.25:14; Rev. 1:1). God needed a yielded vessel to tell His plan of the exile of the Israel to His people and the redemption of mankind thereafter. And Isaiah, a man with unclean lips made himself available and yielded unto God’s need. And so, before God could use him, He had to purify the vessel and made him fit for the job; God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. And Isaiah wrote down the very words of God; “Come now let us reason together”, says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isa. 1:18 NKJV). “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you- the sure mercies of David.” (Isa. 55:3 NKJV).

Just come the way you, Jesus said, ‘… whoever comes to me, I will never drive away.’ (Jn. 6:37b NIV). ‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16 NIV).

 

DECLARATION: DEAR JESUS, I COME BOLDLY TO OBTAIN MERCY. MAKE ME FIT FOR YOUR SERVICE.

 

FURTHER STUDY: 2 KINGS 20