06/05/2011 - The most enlightened of all Prophets

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“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” (Isaiah 1:1)
Prophet Isaiah exercised his ministry for over six decades during the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Scholars of the Scriptures say Isaiah is the most enlightened among all the Prophets who were used to write the Holy Book. It’s very likely his contemporary fellow citizens had the opportunity to benefit from the relationship that servant had with the Most High.
When Isaiah speaks of the vision he had, he summarizes what he was told during the reigns of those four rulers. His book is quite dense but it’s important to point out that Isaiah’s work wasn’t about depicting the daily routine of those kingdoms, but rather what was really relevant for our instruction. In fact, everything he saw is related to the people of the Lord and the Holy City. Actually, because we know that the people used by the Most High to record His Word were inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can understand that his reports are nothing but the revelation of God.
Isaiah had a divine vision in king Uzziah’s days which changed his life completely. It’s a shame we know so little about Uzziah, who ruled for 52 years in Jerusalem, but the vision the Prophet had during that king’s reign is full of precious teachings. He saw a seraph taking a live coal with the tongs from the altar to touch his mouth with in order to take away his iniquity (Isaiah 6).
Now, King Jotham followed the good example his father had set “and he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord). But still the people acted corruptly” (II Chronicles 27:2). Jotham became powerful for acting in accordance with the will of the Lord.
Now, Ahaz was one of the foolish rulers of Judah: though Isaiah, a servant of the Lord, was at his disposal, Ahaz chose to depart from the True Way to get involved with witchcraft. He went as far as making his son pass
through the fire to gain favor from the demons (II Kings 16:2). Isaiah wrote about worshiping false gods in chapter 44, verses 16 through 20.
As for Hezekiah, he was one of the best rulers of Judah and extremely blessed by God through Isaiah who played a key role in his kingdom many times. It was that Prophet who joined faith forces with the King when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem and threatened to devastate the whole city. Consequently, an angel of God exterminated 185 thousand Syrian soldiers in one night thus delivering the people of the Lord (II Kings 19:35).
Isaiah’s ministry described in the Scriptures teaches us that the vision he was given was about the people of God and the Holy City. My brethren, have you allowed the Lord to use you in His Work like Prophet Isaiah was used? Or is it that you’re the only one our Father hasn’t appointed to accomplish a mission? You’d better wake up from this dream because we’ll all be before the King one day sooner than we expect, then we’ll know for sure if we have really served Him or not.
In Christ, with love,
R. R. Soares