old prophets / new meaning
one of the gems of the Scriptures are the Old Testament prophets. at first glance they seem to be raving madmen, on a mission from God… sort of like the misguided curbside prophet you see in Oakland or disaster movies that tells you the end is coming. at a deeper level, they have a rich meaning because they convey God’s heart to his people – his long-suffering, his compassion, his patience, his ability to redeem, his calling to men and women, etc.
one of the most powerful realities of the prophetic messages is that they have unending meanings… they had a specific meaning in its time, they often pointed to a meaning that was fulfilled in Christ or His ministry, and they also have had numerous meanings revealed to God’s people in the ages since. in other words, someone can read Isaiah and know that a specific idea had 1) a meaning for God’s people who were contemporary with Isaiah, 2) a meaning fulfilled in Christ, 3) multiple meaning fulfilled in say the 3rd century, the 16th century and the 21st century.
for the next few weeks, as i’m able, i’m going to blog through a number of prophetic messages that the Lord has been revealing to me. i’ll be spending time in isaiah, ezekiel, jeremiah… and maybe some of the little guys too (Amos, Micah, etc.).
I hope you’ll join me… stay tuned.
I’ve been meditating on your Aug. 7th post (Isaiah 51) about fighting for freedom … and deliverance from fear and shame. My dad liked Psalm 118:6 … and I’ve been looking at Psalm 34:4-5 and Psalm 77:1-14. Good topic, Doug, for deepening our walk with the Lord. “Relax, God is in charge!”