The prophets were messengers… they carried God’s word to an audience, the people, encouraging them to live their lives according to the word.
The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” 2 Kings 17:13.
They also, at times, predicted the future, including the events related to the coming of Christ.
The kings in charge back in the day were generally a bad lot, leading the people to worship false, pagan gods. The prophets were called to help bring the people back to God from their moral and spiritual decline.
The Career Path Of A Prophet… how did one climb this corporate ladder?
I’ve chosen the quest of Isaiah as an example.
Isaiah began the quest as a scribe in the time of King Uzziah’s throne. Isaiah was commissioned to serve as a prophet by answering to God’s calling with “Here I Â am. Send me!” Isaiah responded to a vision of the Lord. Isaiah’s mission was a difficult one… he had to deliver a message: The Lord will destroy you because of your disobedience. The people thought the opposite… that they were, in fact, blessed by God.
Isaiah message from the Lord: help the people see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts.
Isaiah was a rebel with a cause. Hard to imagine that religious people were giving him flack? Think again. Isaiah, like other prophets, was heavily persecuted. He was also considered by some to be a traitor. The people did not want to hear what he had to say. His journey was filled with many trials. He carried God’s message to the people through the reign of 5 kings.
Suffering in the land…
… and while Isaiah brought a warning of judgement, he also brought a message of great hope.
One of my favorite Bible verses is from Isaiah…
“The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
Being a prophet would be a difficult assignment for me. I really like my simple existence of just being a growing believer in Jesus… a father and grandpa (aka Papi)… an aspiring author and Geologist.
Answering to God’s calling… and your quest… it could be quite simple… or like the career path of a prophet.
Answering to God’s calling… what would your answer be?
“Here I am. Send me!” ??
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Terrific post, Chris. Some of my favorite passages are from Isaiah too:
The one you cited, of course (I didn’t realize “weary” was in it so many times!)
Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 9:6 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 53:3-5 – “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Yep, old Isaiah was definitely a man used of God to speak truth to the nations.
there really is a lot in Isaiah, I feel like I’m just getting started there!
Awesomeness. Thank you for sharing those verses! Wonderful post.
Thank YOU Suzette 🙂
Typically, my response is: “Here I am. WHY me?”
But the more often I allow myself to be used by God, the more I understand that even if I’m not equippped, it’s not about me, so I needn’t worry. God will be doing the “doing.” I’m just supplying the physical body.
Great post, Chris-the-geological-prophet.
I’ve had that response too at times… Why me?
Thank you for sharing the quest if Isaiah.Great job!
does this mean a promotion? (just kidding!) Thank you Debra!!
nicely written…
it’s better to obey since the opposite gets us in a terrible fix
yep, I’m with you JB !!
Through Advent and the Christmas season we’ve been getting a lot of Isaiah in our readings. Gotta love someone who waves his hand and says, “Here I am, Pick me!” Christ, of course, chose Isaiah to declare that the coming of the kingdom was “fulfilled in your hearing.”
Isaiah 54:10 is my wife’s favorite Bible verse. It’s seen her through a lot of hard times. Peace and Blessings
Peace be with you too EG 🙂
Nice take on this month’s topic. I agree with Carol…some days I wonder what in the world God is thinking or planning and what I have to do with it. But we can’t always see the bigger picture (at least not yet).
Good to have you back Mike, hope you had a wonderful break!
I really liked the title “Career Path of a Prophet.” It caused me to think of how we get to that point where we say, “Here I am.” Our pastor uses a phrase often, “God hits straight licks with crooked sticks.” Isaiah saw himself as crooked until he was cleased of his sins by God. Afterwards he was ready to be sent.
… and a painful cleansing it was…
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:6-7
Thanks Mike!
Isaiah is one of my favorites.
The prophets back in the day had a difficult job. It’s no different now.
Thank you for sharing this.
oh to love a prophet, thanks Deborah!!
Isaiah’s career path makes corporate America seem easy and tame; i often need to be reminded that “even youths grow weary,” (and thanks for reminding me of it–i need it this week)
It’s funny that we so often forget how difficult it was for men (and women) of Truth. I so often focus on how much more difficult our culture makes it to make wise and healthy choices, how the constant onslaught of the media teaches us to devalue ourselves, etc. But in reality, it’s just history repeating. Over and over and over again.
I know I’ve made some repeat mistakes but I’m hopefully getting better at this walk. I really appreciate you sharing here Christine!
Isaiah is such a rich book. Thanks for this glimpse into the life of a prophet
Rich and deep too!!
Great post Chris, I love your blessed heart. If anyone truly understood how the career path of a prophet ended in what the world would describe as nothing at all- no one would would have waved their hands.. we would think anyone with any sense would run away far and fast. Oops I forgot Jonah, tried that…didn’t work out too good.
Highly blessed are those who accepted the call of God without any thought of personal comfort or calamity. How highly honored are they now and for all eternity. How we love to quote things they wrote at the Lords leading. How we marvel at their visions and how we are try to understand the mysteries God spoke to them that were not realized for many years or those which came to pass in their lifetimes.
Of course no one would want to suffer some the things they did, however the things they suffered were not their own sins, but the sins of others. I guess the real question is do we have the courage to say..”may it be as you will Lord…I am your servant”
I guess you could say this most got my thoughts flowing. Blessings Chris!!!
wow wee Terrie, that’s nearly a post in itself! I guess from that perspective… knowing how highly honored they are for all of eternity… that makes whatever He calls us to do seem small knowing that we will be highly blessed for all of eternity. Good stuff Terrie!!
You’re giving me a painful reminder here of how much more often I’m the guy who’s saying, “There he is, Lord! Send him! He looks MUCH more qualified!”
But then again, Christ did tell us to “count the cost.” He knew–better than any of us, surely–what the career path of a prophet is like. He knows what he’s asking of us. And I don’t think he wants us blindly stumbling into anything in front of us that seems like a good idea at the time.
Faith to trust. Obedience to move forward. Wisdom to follow the right path. That’s the ticket.
Great post, Chris.
Thank you Scott, Jesus really gave it all for us!
Chris, I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to deliver the messages God asked Isaiah to speak. Unpopular and persecuted just barely begin to cover what he must have experienced. I’m so happy to be in the background, to serve quietly, to write instead of speak. Yet…I never want to miss the best God has for me, never want to give up an opportunity for Him to use me, as hard as it is to say, “Here am I, send me.” But isn’t that the heart of trust, of faith, of believing in what (Whom) we cannot see?
Really enjoyed your post today, Chris! Blessings to you!
so true Cindee. I know I still have so much to learn!!
‘Being a prophet would be a difficult assignment for me. I really like my simple existence of just being a growing believer in Jesus… a father and grandpa (aka Papi)… an aspiring author and Geologist.’ I love your honesty here and feel that I share that boat.
Thank you Keith for stopping by and sharing!
Challenging.
I think I would find Isaiah’s mission pretty tough too.
It makes me wonder – if I had lived in the day, would I have scoffed at him as a false prophet?
Good point Adam, I think many of us would have for sure!
“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength”
…amen…and just what I needed to hear. Thank you.
… cool how that works sometimes 🙂