"The righteous perishes and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." (Isaiah 57:1)
In both the old and the new, we become privy to the Word of the Lord, and how to seek His counsel in all matters. In the new testament, we see the greatest love story ever told unveiled in Jesus, when the Lord of glory Himself ripped the veil from top to bottom -- heaven declaring peace and good will to all on the cross. The Word that was God was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1-18; Titus 3:4-7; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 42:13; Isaiah 9:6)
"He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. (John 1:10-11)
Yes, the same God who created the world in the beginning, prepared for Himself a body and personally delivered His plan of salvation. God became our Saviour. Herein, the Lord Jesus said that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. He Himself set the example of water baptism when He was baptized by John in the river Jordan. John pointed to Jesus, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God." And Jesus did so in order for us to be clothed in His righteousness when we believe in Jesus by faith, and are subsequently water baptized in His Name -- the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:36-38; Acts 10:44-48; I Peter 3:21-22; I Corinthians 10:1-4)
"And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38)
The same Holy Ghost who overshadowed Mary so that she could bring forth a son. (Luke 1:35) This same Holy Ghost spoke through the prophets in the old covenant, warning us of these very days in which we live, so that we would not be ignorant of the knowledge or Word of the Lord. And that we would know that the Lord would come forth out of His place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. (Micah 1:1-3) The Lord coming forth as a mighty man (Isaiah 42:13; Micah 1:1-3)
"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 9:6)
In the volume of the book, Jesus said, it is written of Me. Jesus -- the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the (Revelation 1:8, 11) In no other Name can one be saved in this current dispensation of grace. (Acts 4:12)
Why? Because in Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. (Colossians 2:9) He who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice through the blood He shed on the cross.
"And for this cause, He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance ... for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." (Hebrews 9:15-18)
But in the old, the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. (Hebrews 9:8)
This is why the Lord spoke His Word through the prophets in the old covenant, warning of the times which would come when the truth of His love and grace would be compromised by the traditions of men. For example, speaking through the prophet Hosea, the Lord spoke of those priests in the temples who would move us away from the Word of the Lord and His abundance of blessings in favour of the error of their own ways. Their own words, making profit from those who sinned. That in the last day, there would be teachers and prophets who would willingly compromise the Word of the Lord, in favour of their own fine sounding teachings.
Indeed, the Lord said, "My people perish for lack of knowledge ..." (Hosea 4:6)
Note that Hosea was not the only prophet that the Lord chose. The Word of the Lord also came to Micah, the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (kings of Judah) which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. "Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple, for behold the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth ..." (Micah 1:1-3)
God is not the author of confusion. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and so too His message wherein we are to turn to Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:28-31; Deuteronomy 6:4) But I digress, somewhat.
The Lord through Micah said, "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make their people err, that bite with their teeth and cry, "Peace" and He that puts not into their mouths, they even prepare war against Him. Therefore, night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision, and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer of God.
But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgement, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgement and pervert all equity, they build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money, yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, "Is not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us?" Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." (Micah 3:1-12)
Why is this prophecy instructive? Because as the Lord Jesus similarly pointed out in Revelation, we are to come out from amongst them, so that we too do not suffer their plagues. In other words, the Word of the Lord is truth, and in His Word are we sanctified. Who is the Word? Jesus, who after He was taken up, now gives His commandments and instruction through the Holy Ghost. (Acts 1:2-3)! In both the old and the new, He gives the same warning about those who teach in error. That is, "Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you even with a sore destruction." (Micah 2:10)
But for those who are His, and have taken on His Name in all that they do, in that day will He make up His jewels, "and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him." (Malachi 3:16-17)
We have so much to be thankful for, because even in our human despair, surrounded by the chaos of a world gone array, the Lord Jesus has chosen for us a much better fast. It is herein that the Lord God came forth as a mighty man, to show those who will listen to His Word what is right and just and true. This is why the Lord hath said beforehand, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? And that thou bring to the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"
Because God Himself became the dayspring of our salvation. And when we believe in the Name that He has given to us for this day, then shall Thy light -- this same Jesus who said He was the light of the world break forth as morning, shining brightly in our hearts.
" ... and thine health shall bring forth speadily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward ... and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day, and the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of Thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, "The repairer of the breach. The restorer of paths to dwell in."
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shall honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasures, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 58:1-14; Luke 4:18-19)
This is why we cry aloud, and spare not, lifting up our voice like a trumpet, to "show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins -- and preach to one and all He who willingly became our Saviour. In Jesus is our hope. And to those who put our faith in Him ... "He that puts his trust in Me," saith the Lord, "shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain."
Stand in the offering plate with the Lord God our Saviour Jesus the Christ today.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
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