Isaiah .. in the past and today
Prophet Isaiah is a well known figure and recognized prophet, a servant of The MOST HIGH. His legacy lives on centuries after his death, much beloved and admired. Almost everywhere you go, you will meet an Isaiah named after this beloved servant of The MOST HIGH. He is the prophet behind one of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a CHILD is born, unto us a SON is given; And the government will be upon HIS shoulder. And HIS NAME will be called WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, ALMIGHTY GOD, The Everlasting FATHER, PRINCE of Peace . Of the increase of HIS government and peace, there will be no end..”
Isaiah, it is said and rumored, probably exited this world through the hands of Manasseh, a king so wicked that The MOST HIGH passed judgment on Jerusalem and Judah, saying HE will “….wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish , wiping it and turning it upside down..”2 Kings 21:11-15. And so The MOST HIGH handed over HIS beloved Judah to her enemies. Because of one man, a man so wicked, he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood from one end to another. 2 Kings 21:16. Probably, the blood of Isaiah flowed among this blood. Some say that the reference in Hebrews 11:37 of people of GOD who were sawn in two also refers to Isaiah.
It is interesting to note that this Manasseh was born to King Hezekiah after Hezekiah pleaded with The MOST HIGH for his life. Interestingly, Isaiah communicated the message to King Hezekiah of his, Hezekiah’s, impending death and also communicated the message of the extension of his life for a further fifteen years. After this, prophecy, three years later Manasseh was born.
Just a question, should King Hezekiah just have accepted the message from The LORD and just died instead of living to produce a child who brought judgment to a whole nation? I’m just asking. Food for thought.
The Bible is clear that one of Manasseh’s descendants, King Josiah tried his best to steer Judah back to the right path but “….Nevertheless, The LORD did not turn from the fierceness of HIS great wrath, with which HIS anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked HIM..” 2 Kings 23:26.
And so, like that, Judah went into captivity together with the grandeur of The Temple King Solomon built.
Let us look at the things that Manasseh did which provoked The LORD.
i. He built places for people to worship idols, in high places and in physical places altars where the common people could access.
ii. He made idols. 2 Kings 21:3. See in Isaiah 44:8-20. See Isaiah 44:9 “ Those who make an image, all of them are useless.” He even put these idols in the House of The LORD. 2Kings 21:7. Nowadays, in the houses of GOD, there are physical idols and mental idols. Ideological idols which we worship and adhere to so strictly.
iii. He worshipped the host of heaven. (Nowadays, some of these ancient hosts of heaven are given fancy names and presented to our children in what are labeled as fictional stories. Teaching children to depend on strange spirits and demons camouflaged as genies with lamps, strong men and gods of the seas with their mermaid daughters and characters with hammers who fall in love with foolish human women.)
iv. He served the host of heaven. (Most likely demonic entities)
v. He built altars in the house of The LORD and in the two courts of the house of The LORD.
vi. He made his son pass through fire, a form of evil dedication, a satanic ritual.
vii. He practiced soothsaying.
viii. He used witchcraft. Openly taught and promoted nowadays with characters like Sophia the great and her wand. Children see nothing wrong with it, but why should they if the parents see nothing wrong with it and are using love charms and spells and wearing bracelets and lockets called lucky charms and rabbits foot and reading horoscopes and consulting astrologers and having their fortunes read and Christianizing Halloween etc. Beloved, wake up and smell the coffee.
ix. He consulted spirits and mediums. Beloved, you are not supposed to entertain these spirits at all costs. This is one of the actions that caused King Saul to fall out with The MOST HIGH.
x. He seduced the people to do evil.
xi. He even outdid the Amorites who lived before him in evil 2 Kings 21:11. Nowadays, we Christians are even outdoing the world in evil and causing The NAME of The LORD to be blasphemed among the gentiles. Romans 2:24. In Ezekiel 36:23, The LORD prays HE will sanctify HIS great NAME which has been profaned among the nations. Even the nations we call pagan wonder why women walk naked, why we don’t practice restitution. Why we are so selfish and how we permit such filth on our airwaves. When they, the so called heathens and pagans, try to regulate their content, we scream “human rights violation!” and send our armies and non-governmental organizations to install human rights and rescue people from oppressive regimes.
xii. He killed innocent people
Beloved, aren’t these things being done today by us and our leaders in the church.
Note, that The LORD was seeing all the things Manasseh was doing and we even have a record of what Manasseh did. Manasseh died but the judgment for his actions fell on the people and on the nation.
Beloved, The LORD does not exonerate evil. In Exodus 34:7, The LORD describes HIMSELF and declares that HE “..by no means clearing the guilty..”. Beloved, you will not escape judgment. Israel did not escape. Judah did not escape. Persist in evil, and you will not escape. And neither will the actions of a Josiah rectify the evil you do. The actions of a Josiah will serve the Josiah himself according to the will of The LORD. Please for the sake of the coming generations, and for your own sake change your ways and put away these evil acts.
You say, what do you mean? Look keenly, the evil things Manasseh did are in the church today. Murder is in the house of GOD. So called servants of GOD, sacrifice their children and family members to demonic powers for what they term ‘success in ministry’. They also kill fellow workers in the ministry, creating more widows and orphans, then go ahead to conduct burials for the servants of GOD they killed and provide for the widows and orphans they created or worse still leave the widows and orphans to their own devices. Witchcraft, spells, curses, hexes, manipulation, disobedience and rebellion are rife in the church. Occultism, strange signs, strange symbols, chants, songs are all over in the church. Sexual immorality, sexual crimes, abortion, temple prostitutes, marriage breakers, adulterers, haters, money worshippers, extortionists, fill our pews and we lift our hands and say ”Holy”. And we don’t even know that we are lost. We have become so blind, we cannot even recognize the sin leave alone point it out and show the paths of righteousness to the lost. Talk about the blind leading the blind.
Beloved, The LORD, The MOST HIGH watched all this and decreed judgment when the actors of the evil were dead. HE is the same, yesterday, today and forever. What makes you think HIS stance on evil has changed?
Let me address you, servant of GOD, and servant of The MOST HIGH. You, who are faithful and dedicated, like Isaiah. Isaiah means YAHWEH is my Salvation. Isaiah lived in a very evil time but he was faithful to his call, faithful to what we would call his ministry. He died, but was that the end of it all for him? No, of course, he went on to his eternal reward. But there is more to this.
A look at Isaiah 43:1-5, tells us not to fear. The LORD is with us. We are not to fear when we pass through the waters, HE, YAHWEH our Salvation is with us, the rivers will not overflow us, the fire shall not burn us, the flames shall not scorch us. Be encouraged and stand on this. You are precious in HIS sight and He loves you. You are honored, just like Isaiah. Therefore, HE will give men for you and people for your life.
What does this mean? Isaiah probably died a cruel death at the hands of Manasseh. But he is the one who uttered the words in Isaiah 43:4. Sometime after he died, we see the whole of Judah, a nation given over to it’s enemies. This could be a general reference, but it could as well infer that Isaiah was so greatly honored and loved that partly or wholly , because of his murder, the entire nation of Judah suffered greatly and was punished.
Beloved, servant of GOD, trust GOD with your life. HE will avenge you, whether in this body or not. Revenge is The LORD’S. Stay true. Focus on your mission. Do your work . The LORD will do HIS part. The judgment on your enemies who are the enemies of The LORD will be swift and sure. Beloved, The LORD does not take you lightly. You are honored and treasured. Your enemies will not get away with it. The LORD will avenge you.
Set your eyes, Beloved, on higher things. We can see the signs of the time and we say we are living in the end times. It is a common saying nowadays. But let us be even more practical, let us learn from The LORD to number our days. See our friend, King Hezekiah, when his time was up, it was difficult to swallow and he didn’t swallow it, see the result. See the reward, Isaiah got. But GOD is sovereign, may HIS NAME be praised now and forever.
See our friend, Jeremiah, who was told not to marry and have children for they were all for destruction. If such an instruction was given to day, we would all be mostly like Hezekiah and less like Jeremiah. We would beg and scream and throw tantrums until The LORD gave us what we wanted. Here, where I come from, there is a proverb: When a child cries for a razor blade, give him. In other words, if you do not give it to him, he will look for ways to get it and it will hurt him anyway. So you better just give it to him and let him learn his lesson there and then and later on nurse his wounds with a serious tongue lashing on the danger of razor blades , which may not be necessary because hopefully , the child has learnt the lesson the hard way.
Beloved, be very careful, what you pray for; heaven may just give it to you. Let us be like our SAVIOR.” FATHER, not my will, but YOUR will be done.” We do not have to learn the hard way. Beloved, experience is a teacher alright , but it can be a merciless and painful teacher. Learn from the experience of others. For those who say experience is the best teacher, according to one Dr. Olukoya, you may not live to learn anything from your experience.
A certain preacher, says that when GOD answers your prayers, it is either for the magnification of and glorification of HIS NAME and purposes or because HE is done with you and is finishing up with you both in this world and in the world to come. So, HE is rewarding you, for all the good that is in you. After that , if you don’t come to your senses, you will perish eternally. See the response of Abraham, to the rich man.
Beloved, The MOST HIGH says in Ezekiel, that if you come before HIM in prayer with an idol in your heart, HE will answer you in accordance with what is in your heart. So, a thought or an idea can also be an idol? Be warned, Beloved. Ezekiel 14:4. Beloved, let us trust in The LORD with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Let us be willing and able to accept the will of GOD and let it be done in our lives.
But who are we? We are as hard hearted as ever. We will pray, scream, cry, fast and seemingly force the hand of heaven. Just like the prophets of baal on Mount Carmel. We will plead the Blood of JESUS, call the Fire of The HOLY SPIRIT, ask for legions of angels to come, and even use physical resources to avert the will and purposes of GOD. All this unlike our SAVIOR. Sometimes, Beloved, the prayer is very simple; “LORD, let your will be done, not my will”. “Our FATHER, who art in heaven, hallowed be THY NAME, THY Kingdom come and THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven..”
I came across a testimony of Pastor Takim, an apostle in my country. He narrates an instance where he sought the face of The LORD on behalf of a sister who desperately wanted to get married. The word of The LORD came to him and the word was that she was a daughter of Jephthah, meaning in a nutshell, that in the perfect will of GOD , marriage was not in the plan for her. Justifiably, he hesitated to deliver the message, but the sister insisted. On delivery of the message, you can imagine what happened to the man of GOD. The sister ignored the word went ahead and got herself a man and married him only to run into turbulence later. Now, Beloved, surely in a case like this , what do we want the servants of GOD to do, what do we expect GOD to do when we are so adamant that we must have our way and we throw caution to the wind and do what we want and think? So, The LORD is righteous when HE says HE will answer you according to the idols and ideas you are worshipping in your heart. Don’t blame HIM and/ or HIS servants.
Beloved, the words in Ezekiel 14 are not mine. The scripture says that the ways of The LORD are not our ways. As far as the east is from the west, so HIS methods differ from ours. HE is eternal. HE sees the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning and HE does what HE pleases. HE is also good and gracious and loves and honors HIS servants. Beloved, trust in The LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge HIM and HE will direct your path. Beloved, The LORD is sovereign. Trust HIM and let HIS will be done in your life.
One more thing, Beloved, why do we treat our descendants so callously? We claim to love our children, but then do things that bring eternal judgment and wrath upon them. We stash all sorts of earthly and physical treasures for them but stack up our sins and sow evil seeds for our children to reap. Making the path of life and salvation even more difficult for our children. The words in the book of Job that it were better not to be born come to mind. But Beloved, we are here, we were born and we are still alive. Cry to The LORD for mercy and direction, and then turn away from your sins and follow that direction that HE gives. JESUS is The Way, The Truth and The Life, no person will go to the FATHER except through HIM.
Why do I ask about the callous treatment of our descendants by ourselves? Let us look at King Hezekiah and his son Manasseh.
After King Hezekiah was healed, a delegation from the son of the king of Babylon, came to see him because they had heard he was sick. King Hezekiah gave them a tour and showed them all his treasures. A damning prophesy came from Isaiah telling him that all his treasures will end up in Babylon and his descendants will be castrated in Babylon. See Hezekiah’s response in 2 Kings 20:19 : So, Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of The LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”
This is the same Hezekiah who cried bitterly when he was on the death bed and death was postponed. Could he not have cried for his descendants? Could he not have asked for mercy? Remember, Isaiah was right there with him. The same Isaiah of 2 Kings 20:11.
We see Manasseh coming next and putting the final nail in the affairs of Judah. 2 Kings 23: 25 -26. Not even the valiant and decisive actions of Josiah could change the mind of The MOST HIGH. King Josiah was given a personal word in 2 Kings 22:15-20. The LORD assured King Josiah that HE had heard him and because he had humbled himself before The LORD, his eyes would not see the calamity that The LORD would bring on Judah.
Beloved, my Pastor keeps telling us that prayer and crying to The LORD can change any prophecy. What ailed Hezekiah that he did not intercede for his descendants but interceded for himself? We see a similar situation in the conversation between The LORD and our beloved father Abraham; The LORD tells him that his descendants will be slaves for 400 years and Abraham says nothing, and so it comes to pass. Contrast this with Moses, when The MOST HIGH tells him that HE is going to destroy Israel because HE has tired of them and their complaining, Moses intercedes passionately and the judgment is changed. The LORD is sovereign and above all and able to do all, one way or another, HIS will will be done.
Beloved, The LORD is waiting for you to reverse evil judgments and decrees on behalf of yourself , your family, descendants and nation. HE is waiting for you to say something.
In all this we see personal and collective ramifications for our actions. Beloved, these kings and the mentioned prophets have all gone on to their eternal rewards, but you are still here, you still have breath lent to you by The SPIRIT of GOD . What you will do with this life you have is up to you. In addition, you have testimonies both good and bad from people who have gone before to help you decide in the way you should go. The choice is yours.
Remember The LORD. The MOST HIGH is not a man. HE is GOD and there is no other, there has never been and there never will be. Isaiah 43:10. HE humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and the earth. Psalms 113:6. In other words, HE is very aware of all what you are doing, it is being recorded and there will be consequences, not just for you but also for those around you and those coming after you. No one makes a fool of GOD, you and others will reap exactly what you plant.
HE says, “ I , even I, am The LORD, And besides ME there is no savior.” Isaiah 43:11
Isaiah 43:13. “ Indeed before the day was, I am HE; And there is no one who can deliver out of MY Hand; I work, and who will reverse it?”
Beloved, let us stop the games we play, the evil we do and humble ourselves before The LORD and fulfill our callings in peace.
Psalms 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace.
1John 2:17 And the world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of GOD abides forever.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind , that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable will of GOD.
Beloved, call on The NAME of The LORD, seek HIM while HE may still be found. Cry for mercy and do not do anything that will allow your name to be removed from the LAMB’s Book of Life.
Beloved, the scripture informs us, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15.
Do you want to know JESUS as your personal Lord and Savior? Your eternity is at stake! JESUS has opened the door of salvation to every person. But there is coming a day when the door will be closed. Today is the day of salvation. Choose to be in the family of GOD. JESUS died so that we can spend eternity in Heaven with HIM. Don't delay! And if you want to begin a relationship with GOD or resume a broken one, say this: O GOD, I come to YOU today. I know I am a sinner. I believe that JESUS died on the cross to save me and HE resurrected on the third day. I repent of my sins and forsake them. I confess JESUS as my LORD and SAVIOR . I invite JESUS into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank YOU JESUS for saving me and making me a child of GOD. Amen
