A Love that Redeems

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:  though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  Isaiah 1:18-19, ESV

This week we began diving into the prophets of the Old Testament.  For those of you new to the study of Scripture, there are two different categories of prophets:  major prophets and minor prophets.  We read from both this week.  Amos and Hosea are minor prophets, while Isaiah is one of the major prophets.  If your Bible has an introduction to each book, I encourage you to read that for each of these prophets so you understand what people/nation he was sent to prophesy and why.

As a teacher, I want to be so careful not to "spoon feed you" from my time in God's Word.  You will only truly grow from YOUR time with the LORD in His Word.  And yet, I want to make sure you get the most from your time of Bible reading so that you understand the significance of what you are reading.  If I had not put myself under the discipleship of great teachers over the course of many years, I would not know what I do today and be able to continually learn more because of the historical background which I have.  So right now, I feel the need to encourage you to do the same.  If you really want to grow in your knowledge of God's Word, find a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) or CBS (Community Bible Study) class to begin this fall when the new classes start (and do so quickly, because many classes fill up).  I attended several years of BSF classes, along with many Beth Moore studies, and I am so daily thankful as I read my Bible and see the notes I took in the margin as I did those studies.  As I am reading through the Bible this year, God is helping me to build upon that knowledge base.  There is always something new to learn!

With that in mind, I want to point out a few significant things from our readings this week.

1. Read Amos 8:11-12.  Amos prophesies what kind of famine?  For what will all people be desperately searching?
2. What Amos prophesies to the people of Israel and Judah comes true after the last words of Malachi the prophet (the last book of the Old Testament).  God's people will have a time of silence from God--no more prophetic visions, no more angelic appearances, no more words from the Sovereign LORD...for 400 years!  Sound familiar?  Think back to the time between Joseph and Moses, when God's people were in slavery in Egypt.  Just as God promised to send a deliverer to His people in bondage to Pharoah, so God now promises to send a Deliverer to His people in bondage to sin.
3. Read what Malachi prophesies in Malachi 4:5-6.  Who will come to break the silence of God?  What else will he do?
4. Now turn to Luke 1:5-19...and watch God's story unfold!
5. Who broke the silence?  (hint: he stands in the presence of God; v. 19)
6. Who was the promised prophet to come in the spirit and power of Elijah?  (Read more about his ministry in John 1:19-34.)
7. What was John the Baptist's sole purpose in life? (hint: see the end of v. 17; compare with Mark 1:2-9)

Lest you skim right over that short passage in Amos about the famine to come, I wanted you to grasp the full significance of those two verses.  God would send a famine; then He would send the Bread of Life!

Speaking of Redeemer, I hope you took the time to read all of Hosea this week.  That is a story of Redeeming Love.  In fact, a wonderful Christian fiction writer has written a fantastic book that I know several of you have read, and it is completely based on Hosea taking a prostitute as his wife to be a real-life drama of God choosing us and loving us and redeeming us in the midst of our sin.  Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of the best fictional books I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.

Finally, we whet our appetite with just the first four chapters of Isaiah, one of my favorite books in all of the Bible.  A few fun facts about Isaiah:

• the Bible has 66 books; Isaiah has 66 chapters
• the first 39 books of the Bible are Old Testament; the first 39 chapters of Isaiah prophesy mainly about events leading up to Captivity (God's judgement of Israel)
• the last 27 books of the Bible are New Testament; the last 27 books of Isaiah prophesy about events beyond the Captivity (God's redemption of Israel)
• the keyword of Isaiah is "salvation"
• Isaiah is the prophet of redemption; his name means "Salvation of Jehovah."
• Messianic prophesies (prophesy the coming of the Messiah--Jesus):  Isaiah 2:4; 7:14; 9:2,6; 11:10; 28:16; 42:1; 53(most often quoted Old Testament chapter in the New Testament); 59:16; 61:1; 63:1

(some of the above is from the Thompson Chain-Reference comprehensive Bible helps)

There's more I could share about Isaiah, but I'll wait until we dive deeper into this beautiful portrait of our Savior.  For now, soak up every word.  It is beauty.

"In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel."  Isaiah 4:2