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Worship in the old and new testaments
Reflection on the book of Isaiah
Reflection on the book of Isaiah
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Recommended: Worship in the old and new testaments
The book of Isaiah, written and compiled more than 2,000 years ago, speaks to us today in a place and time when we must hear the difficult words about God’s anger over sin, wickedness, and injustice. We also need the words of Isaiah because we need a message of hope, comfort and salvation during difficult times.
THE CALL OF ISAIAH
What is a prophet? The prophets are perhaps the most mysterious and misunderstood of all biblical characters. Our modern day perception of prophets and their work (prophecy) has been coloured by our fascination with fortune-telling, horoscopes, and our desire to know the future. In order to understand Isaiah, we must understand something about biblical prophets.
Prophets are found in nearly every period of biblical history, but the period which extends from approximately 750 to 550 B.C. is the most famous. Certainly most of the persons whom we think of as biblical prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, among others) ministered during those two hundred years. What are the characteristics of these so-called “classical prophets”?
One of my college professors, Dr. J.K. Thompson, identified two important characteristics of the prophets. First, the prophets brought God to the people. In other words, they proclaimed the word of God to His people. Second, the prophet’s message grew out of the present-day
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Every word that passes my lips is sinful… “The word for “sinful” in verse 5 actually means “ritually unclean.” In other words, Isaiah’s lips are dirty and therefore, unfit to proclaim God’s message. God, however, is calling Isaiah to be “His spokesperson. That is exactly the dilemma of everyone who is called to proclaim God’s message of salvation and judgement. On the one hand, we must proclaim the good news, but on the other, we cannot because we fall short of God’s greatness and
A most interesting film detailing the history and role of the prophet in the Jewish tradition. The first question we must explore is what a prophet is. A prophet by definition is a person who speaks by divine inspiration. Others will say that a prophet is one whose eye is open. A person who can see things that others cannot. In order to understand the prophets and their appearance in history we must first understand the politics of the times.
The role of the prophet changes with the society in which he lives. In modern society, a prophet is a visionary, telling people what they can become; in Biblical times, a prophet was the voice of God, telling his people what they had to become to fulfill their covenant with God. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the prophet is a peaceful lad, Simon. He alone saw that the jungle, which represented freedom and the lack of civilization, was not to be feared but to be understood; he alone knew that the mythical Beast of the island, feared by all the boys, was, in fact, their own inherent savagery. Through these truths Simon represents a Christ figure paralleling Christ's misunderstood message and Christ's death.
Owen Meany demonstrated many characteristics of a prophet, and could be linked to a prophetic figure. On more than one occasion, he had visions of future events which affected other people around him physically and spiritually. Throughout his life he also maintained a special relationship and strong faith in God. Many of Owens morals and values that he voiced became strong teachings about life. Although everyone in the world did not know him, many believed he was special for his wisdom at such a young age. Through these accomplishments, Owen leads himself to the stage of being a prophet. Today, prophets could be all among us, yet society turns away from the idea. The idea of a teacher for the subject of life fascinates many, but the idea of God sending messengers to us repels those who lack faith. What would it take for you to recognize a prophet? Many prophets may go unrecognized in the world and yet the only way they can exist is if someone will believe in them.
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
In this book we shall begin with the main points which the teacher of this book as addressed to its reader, these points are mysterious, injustice and the frustrations of life. And in all these circumstances of life we see that God is the ruler and the controller of our destine. The first thing which the book as addressed to its reader is how someone can enjoy life through the gift of working hard which God as given to the sons of men under the sun. in this book life is been understood as useless because of its complications were by, no matter how somebody may spend the all entire life working and laboring hard, the question is this what do they have to show for it? Life is like casing after the wind because generation comes and go, but life continues. Therefore, no satisfactions, not even the ears can hear enough. In addition to this under the sun there is nothing new and there is no difference between the wise and the foolish because both of them they have same destine (death). This book teaches that the wiser you are, the more worries; the more you gain understand the more it hu...
Even though the prophets were met with hostility and rebuking from the people, due to the evil in peoples hearts, they continued to speak the words of God. The Prophets knew they would face danger because of the words they spoke, but they also knew the words of God had to be heard. The prophets were an important tool in redirecting the people which makes their role in the history of Israel and Judah one of the most important roles.
In chapter two Johnson deals with the fulfillment of the Torah and how Luke uses prophecy as a literature shape. Chapter three however is what really sets the reader up for the “meat” of the book. In chapter three he talks about the characteristics of a prophet. The first key characteristic for a prophet he says is being led by the spirit of God. In order to support this claim he gives many examples of prophets such as Moses, Ezekiel, and Elijah who all had the Holy Spirit to empower them as they did Gods work. The second element to a prophet is speaking Gods word to humans. Not only do prophets do the work of God but they will also speak for him. I find Johnsons main example Moses to be the most helpful when looking at this step of the prophet. This is because countless times God spoke to Moses and then Moses would tell the Israelites. This key characteristic goes well with the third characteristic that the prophet embodies God’s word. Countless times we see Moses doing this throughout the Old Testament. An example of this is in Exodus 20:1 when God tells Moses the ten commandments that he passes on to his people by carving them into stone. The fourth characteristic of the prophet is working to make humanity into God’s vision for it. Moses again shows this characteristic by appointing elders to help watch over the Israelites in Exodus 18. The final distinguishing trait for
Also, according to Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The...
Isaiah was written before Messiah came, and wanted the people to be ready for when Messiah did come. I believe this passage fits in context with the book in that it serves as both an encouragement and a warning to the people. First, the people should be encouraged that Messiah is indeed coming to save the people. However, I believe Isaiah wrote this passage to warn the people that they needed to prepare themselves for the coming Messiah. Isaiah wrote this knowing that Jesus would be despised by many, and I believe he was trying to tell the people to be in expectance of him, in hopes that they would not turn against their Lord.
Smith, James E. The Major Prophet. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992. Print. The. Old Testament Survey Series -.
In the Pentateuch, Aaron and Miriam are the only two other individuals who are called prophet and prophetess. In Exodus 7:1, the Lord says to Moses that Aaron would be his prophet and would help him talk to Pharaoh in order to ask him to let the Israelites go. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam, Aaron’s sister, is also looked upon as a prophetess. When the people were crossing the Red Sea, Miriam leads all the women with timbrels and with dancing while she praised the Lord for what he had done. Another place where someone is quickly referred to as a prophet is in Genesis 20:7, when Abram is given this title by God, but it does not seem to be as relevant as the previous latter instances where Aaron and Miriam are given these titles.
The prophets themselves declared that they are not the instigator of the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is the divine source of the truth they accept. It is written all over the Bible the prophets’ acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit agency. Human agents are acquainted as well as the Holy Spirit operation is asserted. God knows when is the time human needs to be given instruction and can receive and understand the message. That is when the Holy Spirit reveals the message.
Although an ideal-type is designed to be a purposeful exaggeration, Max Weber 's description of the ideal prophet may not be as exaggerated for certain applications. Muhammed, the Arabian prophet, comes awfully close to embodying all the characteristics described in Weber 's "maximum outline" for defining a prophet (Pals ...). Charisma is perhaps the essential characteristic of any type of social leader, including prophets, rulers, and priests alike. Muhammad undoubtedly exemplified this necessary charisma and the transformative power that allowed him to carry out his divinely-ordained mission and proclaim a life-altering message. His mark on history and role in establishing one of the world 's largest religions both largely qualify him for
Isaiah is thought to be one of the greatest poets of the Bible, and his book a classic of the Hebrew language. His writing has a very concise style, effective imagery, and an equilibrium between form and content which classify the type of poetry as classical. From the theological aspect, Isaiah moves in the religious tradition influenced by David's dynasty and the election of Sion, and also contributed to the shape and expression of the messianic hopes (Obstat, p.278).
The book is an account of the past of the Jewish people. It is powerful in its ability to foretell the future. Isaiah is a book, much like Jeremiah from our previous assignment that calls out to God and questions why things are unjust. People at times wonder if God has left themor no one or nothing is in actual control—these are questions that are being asked today. The answer today is the same as yesterday—Isaiah reminds us that we are limited in our true understanding of God’s ways and