The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Obadiah 1a,
"The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign Lord says..."
One time the Lord told Moses, his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam, "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams." Moses would be different than any of these, but the point is made that the Lord will reveal himself in visions when a prophet of the Lord is among the people.
It is interesting how the Lord does this. I note that although there have been many over the years who have put themselves forward, claiming to be a prophet, the authentic prophets of God have been chosen by God himself. The occupation of being a prophet of God is not something one can apply for and is certainly not something that is arrived at through self-appointment. Peter tells us, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. Note Peter's observation, "prophecy never had its origin in the will of man..."
At times we hear that today's prophets are the pastors who preach in our worship services on Sunday mornings or those who teach our Bible studies from the Scriptures; or those who evangelize. While these are certainly important tasks that the Lord has asked of the church, such an understanding only serves to obscure the true nature of prophets and the visions revealed to them.
Isaiah had visions, "The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." Isaiah 1:1. These visions were not always something a prophet might find satisfying or pleasing: "A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused. At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me." Isaiah 21:2-4.
Many have claimed to have prophesied but have been false prophets, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.'" Jeremiah 23:16. There are times when there is no prophecy from the Lord at all, "...her [the Daughter of Zion] prophets no longer find visions from the Lord." Lamentations 2:9b. This was at a time when Judah experienced the judgment of God for abandoning him - silence.
Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Nahum, Zechariah, Paul, Peter, John and many others had visions from the Lord. Visions of things the Lord wanted them to pass on to us, visions that tell of the Lord's character and nature, his agenda for mankind, what the future holds for us, his great love for us, his plan of redemption and the tremendous hope we have in the resurrection. All these visions have as their ultimate purpose to point us to Jesus Christ and how our faith in him can bring us a place in his family.
How astonishing this reality of visions that God has given man!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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