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Study No.22 : Isaiah (1)

A. Readings

2 Kings 19:1-8, 14-36, 20:1-11, 14-19

B. Think:

1. How did Hezekiah initially view Isaiah?

2. At the first incident, how did Isaiah bring reassurance?

3. How did he bring reassurance in the second incident?

4. How did Isaiah appear to do an about-face when Hezekiah was ill?

5. What was the purpose of his final word to Hezekiah?

C. Comment:

     For this study we will purely look at the historical narratives involving Isaiah. Much more could be said from his book.

     We see from these passages that Isaiah has the role of an elder-statesman-consultant to the king. When a crisis occurs the king turns to Isaiah as one who can hear from the Lord. His trust in Isaiah is not misplaced for twice Isaiah brings the word of God that brings reassurance. On each occasion the Lord moves and delivers Israel. Now he could have done that without telling Israel but having spoken it before it happens it allows no room for doubt that these were His actions. By foretelling God's activity, the prophet opens the way for glory to be given to God when salvation does come. Sadly there is no report here of national thanksgiving for the Lord's deliverance!

     Isaiah has such a respected relationship with the king that when the king is ill he is able to come and bring rebuke. Note, however, that as soon as Hezekiah submits to the Lord's will, the word is released to Isaiah that healing can come, together with wisdom as to how to bring that healing. Finally when pride rises up in Hezekiah, it is Isaiah again who bring rebuke. We see here, therefore, a prophet who has attained such credibility in the eyes of the authority of the land that he becomes the go-between to God and a channel for blessing, deliverance and healing.

D. Lessons:

1. A prophet CAN achieve credibility in the eyes of the world.

2. When such credibility is achieved it opens the way to bring guidance,

    hope, healing and rebuke.

   

Study No.23 : Isaiah (2)

A. Readings

Isaiah 6:1-13

B. Think:

1. Why did Isaiah feel he was ruined?

2. How was he cleansed?

3. What was he told to do and for how long?

C. Comment:

      The call of most prophets in Scripture is not given, but Isaiah is a significant exception. It is thought that chapters 1-5 of Isaiah are summaries of so much of the rest of what he brought and recorded. In one sense we might have expected this passage to have been at the beginning of the book.

     Isaiah's calling comes from a revelation he is given of the Lord. With that revelation comes a sense of complete unworthiness and uncleanness. When he has a vision of the Lord he is suddenly aware that everything that has come from his lips is unclean or impure. Yet immediately there comes heavenly cleansing for him and he then hears the divine call which comes generally. To this general call comes his specific volunteering of himself. God never forces people into the sort of ministry that Isaiah is about to enter.

     Next we see what he is to do: he is to speak to a people who will hear but not hear, see but not see. Yes the people will hear his words but they will not penetrate their hearts and bring change. This people have such hard hearts that, like Pharaoh, when God's word comes through his prophet, it will simply harden their hearts further, until the time when God brings judgement on them and removes them from the land for their unfaithfulness.

     Prophets will not always see a wonderful turning of people's hearts to the Lord, but it is simply their job to be obedient to the Lord and bring what they are told to bring. The point at this part of history is that the people will never be able to say they weren't told!

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets are those called and cleansed and sent with a purpose.

2. That purpose may not appear very glamorous!

  

Study No.24 : Jeremiah (1)

A. Readings

Jer 1:4-19

B. Think:

1. When did the Lord say he had appointed Jeremiah?

2. Why was Jeremiah fearful?

3. What was the Lord's answer to his fear?

4. What did the Lord say He had appointed Jeremiah to do?

5. How did he test him?

 

C. Comment:

     Various things to do with Jeremiah's call are note worthy.

     First, observe the word of encouragement from the start, that the Lord had appointed him from before his birth. There is a sense of that with us also (see Eph 1:4).

     Second, note the continuing encouragement from the Lord in the face of Jeremiah's sense of inadequacy; He promises to be with Jeremiah all the time and to rescue him when that is needed.

     Third, note the clarity of the calling: to come against and affect nations with God's word. Jeremiah would speak to kings and thus have great impact.

     Fourth, note the instant lesson the Lord gives to Jeremiah; He shows him a picture and then checks to see how much of it he has taken in. When the Lord is sure that Jeremiah has looked and taken in carefully, He then gives him the meaning of the pictures and yet again confirms His presence with Jeremiah.

    Jeremiah thus shows us that the calling of a prophet is not casual or haphazard; it is within the overall plan and purpose of God, planned before the foundation of time. He also shows us that the prophet does not operate on his own but always with the Lord with him. We have also seen that the prophet needs to learn to carefully take note of all that the Lord shows him so that he does not miss bits of it, or miss significant parts of the picture. We also see that he needs the interpretation from the Lord as to the meaning of the picture. Finally we have seen that the prophet must rely on the Lord's protection.

D. Lessons:

1. The Lord initiates the calling now, formulated long back in history.

2. The Lord trains His prophets. It is a learning process

    

Study No.25 : Jeremiah (2)

A. Readings

1. Jer 29:1-14

2. Jer 37:4-21, 38:1-13

3. Jer 40:1-6, 42:1 - 44:30

 

B. Think:

1. What did Jeremiah prophesy for the exiles & what for Jerusalem

2. What tribulations did he suffer as God's prophet?

3. Where did he end up and doing what?

C. Comment:

     Jeremiah was “God's man on the spot” in the most crucial point of Israel's history, as the Lord sends the nation into captivity for seventy years. Jeremiah was the man in the crisis “reporting on the news” - from heaven! He called the people again and again to repent but they refused. He knew what was inevitable and wrote to the exiles already in Babylon to settle down there for they would be there for their lifetime. He prophesied in Jerusalem right up to the end, that if the people would only surrender peaceably they would be saved - but they refused to listen. As a consequence he was thrown into prison, put in a pit, put in chains, until he was released by the Babylonians. Finally he prophesied to the remnant left in Jerusalem to remain there but when they refused and went to Egypt he went with them and the last picture we have of him is him still prophesying steadily but now about the fate of Egypt. Nothing can stop this man of God!

     Jeremiah teaches us that the way for the man of God is not always easy if he is to faithfully bring God's word, yet as he does it God will be faithful to protect and preserve him when He has said He will do that. Jeremiah understood God's purposes in the midst of an impending crisis and faithfully proclaimed it even at the risk of his own life. He remained in the place where he could continue to be God's voice to God's remaining people. He could have opted for peace in Babylon but instead remained with the remnant. What a man!

D. Lessons:

1. Jeremiah is a supreme example of steadfast faithfulness.

2. He is also an example of a man honoured by God.

  

Study No.26 : Ezekiel

A. Readings

Ezek 1:25 - 3:27

B. Think:

1. What made Ezekiel keep falling down?

2. What kept raising him up?

3. What was he told to do and where did he start doing it?

4. What responsibility was laid upon him?

C. Comment:

     Ezekiel's calling has both similarities and differences from that of Isaiah. It was similar in that it came out of a heavenly vision given to him. It was different in that the heavenly vision was so different. It was similar in that he was warned he would go to a people who would not hear. It was different in that he was going to a people coming up to and during the exile.

     We also observe that whenever he saw the glory of the Lord he fell on his face, but each time the word of God came to him and the Holy Spirit lifted him up. When he goes he goes according to the word or in the power of the Spirit. He is a prophet who is totally taken up by the experience of the Lord. For Ezekiel the glory of the Lord was revealed again and again.

     We also see that Ezekiel was given a strong warning of the responsibility upon him, that he would be held accountable if he did not pass on God's word that he was given. Whereas Jeremiah was God's “man-on-the-spot” in Jerusalem coming up to the final deportation, Ezekiel was God's man already in Babylon , already with the exiles just before those final days of Jerusalem . We see Ezekiel with the exiles in Babylonia , a prophet as a man swept away in the exile but then called of God to bring God's word to bear on the exiles and on the people back at home. He is totally caught up in the events of history, there is no standing separate for Ezekiel, he is in the thick of it on God's behalf.

D. Lessons:

1. Ezekiel prophesied by word and by action.

2. He was a sign in the last days of Israel before captivity.

   

Study No.27 : Daniel

A. Readings

1. Dan 1:17 , 2:24 -28, 45-49, 4:19 -27, 5:11-30

2. Dan 7:1-3, 15-18, 8:1-4, 15-19, 9:1-4, 20-24, 10:1-21

 

B. Think:

1. How was Daniel mainly used by the various kings?

2. How did God's word mainly come to him?

3. How is he similar to and different from “a prophet”?

C. Comment:

      Daniel is the third of “God's men-on-the-spot”. Similar to Ezekiel he was carried away in the early days of exile, but unlike Ezekiel he did not live with the ordinary people but with the rulers, and his gift of understanding revelations brought him acceptance and promotion in the royal court of the day - again and again.

      Unlike the usual picture of a prophet, he didn't keep on getting words from the Lord for people, but instead was called to interpret pictures that God was giving the rulers of Babylon . Why did it happen this way? Possibly because the Lord knew that the rulers of Babylon were such powerful people in their own right and so arrogant, that if he sent a prophet to them they would simply have killed them. So instead the Lord directly gives the various kings pictures in dreams that leave them mystified.

    Being superstitious they know the dreams have meanings and therefore ask for help. In this context Daniel steps forward and brings the revelation given him. Yes, we would suggest, he is a prophet but operating in a quite different way. He does hear God's voice and he does bring God's word. In the latter part of the book he receives dreams and visions that are clearly prophecy, not for individuals but for the understanding of history by the world! In this sense Daniel is very much a prophet, and he challenges us to expand our often limited ideas of what a prophet is and how he works. He is clearly a man who hears from God but the means is more often by dreams or visions and their interpretation.

D. Lessons:

1. The key feature of a prophet is that he hears and understands God.

2. He is also there to pass it on to others.

   

Study No.28 : Haggai

A. Readings

1. Ezra 4:24 - 5:2, 6:14

2. Haggai 1:1-3, 12-15, 2:1-9, 10-19, 20-23

B. Think:

1. What was the main problem that Haggai spoke into?

2. What response did he get and what simple word then came?

3. How did he further encourage Zerubbabel?

C. Comment:

     Haggai takes us into the post-exile period when the Jews have started to return to Jerusalem and are about to rebuild the temple. It is the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah that bring the provocation and encouragement to the returning exiles to get on with the job. They had started rebuilding the temple but when opposition came they gave up and settled down just re-establishing their own homes. It is at this point that the word of the Lord comes to Haggai. His recorded prophecies come in a space of four months, though being a prophet he may well have spoken other words not recorded.

     Haggai's first recorded word is one that chides the people for being concerned about their own homes but forgetting the house of God. He challenges them to face the facts of their fruitless situation and then declares that this is because of the Lord. Zerubbabel responds to this and is rewarded with the encouragement of the Lord declaring that He is with them. Nearly two months later another word comes for Zerubbabel to encourage him. Nearly two months later a further encouraging word for Zerubbabel comes.

     From all this we see that Haggai was a prophet who apparently had a limited task of stirring into action the leaders of the returning exiles, in an ongoing way, to bring about the rebuilding of the temple. In this he brings about the establishing of the central focus of the Lord in the life of the exiles. That surely must be the primary cause of action of any prophet in whatever period they appear.

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets can encourage leaders to pursue God's purposes.

2. Prophets call people to place God at the centre of their lives.

Study No.29 : Zechariah

A. Readings

Ezra 4:24 - 5:2 / Zech 1:1-6, 7,  7:1-10

B. Think:

1. When did Zechariah prophesy?

2. How do his prophecies differ in tone from those of Haggai?

C. Comment:

     We need to see Zechariah alongside Haggai. His first recorded prophecy comes one month later than Haggai's first recorded prophecy. He obviously prophesied alongside Haggai to encourage the leaders of the returned remnant to push on and rebuild the temple, but the style of his encouraging is totally different to that of Haggai. By comparison to Zechariah, Haggai seems almost gentle.

     Zechariah's prophecies seem very much alive and direct and he uses picture language a great deal. However he is also a prophet who understands grace in a big way. In chapter 3 he has a picture of Joshua the priest being cleansed. In chapter 4 he understands it is by the work of the Holy Spirit that all is accomplished, by the grace of God (v.6,7). In chapter 12 he understands that God will come by grace to Jerusalem (v.10) and do His work. There is a depth of understanding in him.

     So what do we learn here? That it is good for prophets to minister together, for their different approaches to compliment one another. It is also good that the prophet understands the purposes of God but especially the grace of God. The prophet can see the things wrong in a person or situation, but he also needs to realise that it is the grace of God that wants to come and cleanse and redeem that person or situation. The strength of God's correction may come but the Lord also wants to bring cleansing and restoration to enable that person, if they will receive it, to go on and fulfil God's good purpose for their life and not remain in a place of guilt, condemnation and failure. God wants to deliver each person from that into something better.

D. Lessons:

1. Prophets may see things differently from one another.

2. Prophets can bring correction with grace.

Study No.30 : Jonah

A. Readings

Jonah 1-4

B. Think:

1. What did God tell Jonah to do and what was his reaction? 1:1-3

2. How did the Lord deal with this? 1:4,17, 2:10, 3:1

3. What was the result of Jonah's eventual obedience? 3:4-10

4. Yet what was Jonah's reaction to this? 4:1-3

5. Why do you think he felt this?

C. Comment:

     In the last of these studies we look at a very human prophet! We perhaps take for granted the fact that God called each of these men and assume it was easy to respond: it wasn't! Moses argued long with the Lord over his calling, Jeremiah felt he was too young and Jonah felt he was too ordinary.

     When the word of God came to Jonah he did what many of us try to do, run away. Now we can get caught up in all the mechanics of what happened to Jonah but the long and short of it was that God acted in such a way that Jonah came to a place where he was obedient. When God calls someone He KNOWS they can be successful to achieve what needs achieving. God does not waste His words on calling those who will fail. It's not for us to determine what “success” means in this context but if we simply respond to God then we WILL achieve what He wants achieving.

     There is also one further lesson here with Jonah: when God does achieve what he achieves through us, we are NOT to say, “Well it would have happened anyway!” That is denying the working of God which, admittedly, is sometimes difficult to discern. But if God has told us to do or say something, and results follow, then just be blessed with those results, that God HAS moved and things HAVE changed. God is looking to bless His world in the best way. Sometimes that means bringing conviction leading to repentance.

D. Lessons:

1. God is sure of success.

2. We can rest in that assurance when He calls us.

RECAP No.4  : The "Big Names"

Content:

Covered in these final 9 studies:

- Isaiah           - an elder statesman advisor

                        - who had a mighty encounter with God

- Jeremiah     - called and trained by God

                        - faithful despite the opposition

- Ezekiel         - seeing the glory of God in tough times

- Daniel           - God's voice in the court of the pagan kings

- Haggai          - a gentle encourager to go on with the job

- Zechariah    - a strong encourager who knew about grace

- Jonah           - God will succeed

 

Comment:

      Some of the prophets we may think of as “big names” were just ordinary men who had extra-ordinary experiences of a big God. Each of these seven men prophesied in tough times: Isaiah preceding Israel's downfall; Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel during Judah's downfall; Haggai and Zechariah during a standstill in the purposes of God later on, and Jonah in the face of a hostile alien people. Tough times but a glorious task!

 

Lessons:

- Prophets can achieve credibility in the eyes of the world

- Prophets emerge from divine encounters that break them

- If we are a genuine prophet, it is because God called

- Prophets need to go through much learning

- Prophets are called to be steadfast and faithful

- Prophets may be signs to those around them

- Prophets may have God's wisdom in the midst of ungodliness

- That wisdom can bring an openness to the things of God

- Prophets call people to make God their central focus

- Prophets need to bring God's word, full of grace and truth

- God will work obedience in those He has called to be prophets.

 

Application & Prayer

       The call to be a prophet is not a light thing. Do you have it? Talk to the Lord about what you have heard in these lessons.

CONCLUDING

     As we arrive at the end of these Studies, we hope you will have looked up all the verse references. The following may be some of the things we should hold onto:

 

1. The Essential Nature of Prophecy

     Prophecy is hearing what God says for the now moment and the coming days, and passing it on as He directs.   It is bringing a word that originates in God's heart. The goal of all prophecy should be to bring people into a deeper relationship with God through the work of Jesus Christ.

 

2. The Heart of Prophecy Today

     Prophecy may bring correction, but whenever it comes to Christians it is to come with grace and blessing.  God is for us (Rom 8:31) and works all things for our good (Rom 8:28), and even when we have gone astray He longs to bring us back and restore us to Himself (1 John 2:1 & Gal 6:1). Jesus has become a curse to bring blessing to us (Gal 3:13,14) and therefore any word of correction or discipline should also be accompanied by the word of hope.

     Prophecy brought to non-Christians may bring revelation about their lives, to help them realise that they are exposed to the gaze of God, but the basic message to any non-Christian must simply be to repent and believe in Jesus.

 

3. Charisma and Character

      God will gift us (make us charismatic) by His Spirit and use us even when we are imperfect. Indeed if He waited until we were perfect in character, He would never speak through us. Yet it is His goal to conform us to the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:18, Rom 8:29), and that means that although He loves us just as we are, He also loves us so much that He doesn't want us to stay as we are,  i.e. He wants to change us for the better. The Lord is therefore, constantly working to change His servants to become more like His Son. Don't make excuses, let Him change you! He'll use tough situations and opposition from people, but His grace is there and it's sufficient for you. He looks for your co-operation and your obedience to flow with Him to become a greater and greater blessing to others.  May it be so for His glory!