THOUGHTS WHILE READING THE PROPHETS




 Image result for google clip art showing thoughts    There are several observations that I make as I read the Major and Minor Prophet Books in Scripture:  Many of the prophets had visions, some with sight and sound; their prophesies were both for then and the future; and their great grief over the message that they had to deliver to Israel or Judah in order to remain true to their calling by God.  Thrown into the mix of God's wrath and judgment on sin which infected the people and their heart and lifestyle, we see GRACE.  Grace as God reveals to the prophet how He is going to restore and gather the enslaved people back to Israel and Judah. Grace in His plan of correction and discipline as He always includes a reminder of the coming Messiah.   The people went out of their homeland in slavery, in great numbers, but will come back to their homeland as a remnant. Please see the grace of the Lord as He has been long-suffering and patient with the people.  Father God has been gracious enough to send constant warnings, specifically the prophets, and many were persecuted and murdered for their message which conflicted with the message of the culture.  This same God speaks in 2017.

Most of the prophets lived and ministered some 800+ years before the birth of Christ.  What accuracy in "telling forth" and "forth telling" of their messages.  Their messages were not their opinions, but were the words which God spoke to them to pronounce to the hearers and even those who would refuse to receive the message.  What grace again from our Lord. 

Perhaps, you may wonder why read "gloom, despair, and agony" in the books of  the prophets?  I Corinthians 10:11, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us; on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come."  I think it is as imperative that we learn WHAT NOT TO DO  as it is to learn WHAT TO DO.  His Word, because it is sharp, quick, and very alive, has the ability to speak to us in 2017. Whether I am reading from either Testament, I usually come away asking, "Lord, what are You specifically speaking to me today that I need to hear and obey?" 

I know this is nothing much, but they are some thoughts that I must work through as I am reading God's Word.  Just know, you will never drown in the depth of my thoughts!  Blessings as you read and learn in God's Word.  Ever learning!  In process!  #IHAVETHREESONS.   
 

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