Te Paipera Tapu - A Story Leading to Jesus: Week 6
How to read Prophets
Opening Prayer:
Lord God,
You continually call us to yourself, in good times, bad times, when we are close, when we are far.
Give us the wisdom to hear your voice and to respond quickly and with gratitude for your limitless love.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Key Scriptures:
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honourable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 58
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Sermon Summary:
Prophetic books in the bible (like all biblical books) have to be read in context – though for the books of the prophets this is even more necessary due to the distance in both space and time between us and them.
The Prophets were about calling people back to God. They were God’s messengers, called to deliver a message to his people, usually when they had stumbled from the path, gone astray, turned away from God. The prophets would call out the people’s behaviour and point them back to God.
They would do so by convicting them. They would explicitly state where the Israelites had got it wrong. They would outline what happens – or would happen - when things do go wrong. They would remind the people of how they were supposed to be acting and what being faithfully obedient servants of God was supposed to look like: loving God and loving their neighbour. A simple task, yet one people kept getting wrong.
But the prophets also offered comfort. They remind the people that even though they have sinned and transgressed, God still loves them, and they are still his people. Isaiah 41:10 says “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This is God's response - astonishing hope born of God's grace.
The prophets also point ahead to Christ. We are to model life from Jesus, not from the law. Jesus came to fulfil the law, not abolish it. Jesus is the new covenant. He fulfilled the purpose of the law in himself.
Finally, the prophets issue a call to action. They remind the people of the work God has for them to do; the reason he has called them to be his chosen people. The prophets beckon the people towards a purpose. Return to me declares the Lord. As Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. This is what God is calling us back to: to be a community that lives with God at its centre. The message of God is hope for the world through Jesus.
Questions to Consider:
Who are the prophets? What is their basic message?
What is prophecy? Why is it important? What is its purpose?
How do the prophets point to the past, the present and the future? How are they linked?
What does Isaiah 58 teach about the connection between our worship of God and our treatment of others?
How do the themes of judgement and hope function throughout the prophets?
What are differences between how we interpret the prophets and how they were interpreted by the people at the time?
Prayer Prompts:
Pray for our people and communities overseas who are currently experiencing economic uncertainty because of the ever-changing tariff situation.
Additional Resources:
Recommended Reading:
