27/01/2023 - MESSAGE TO THE CAPTIVES

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Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.  Isaiah 51.1

Every prophet is used according to God’s plan, to speak things that would happen in his days or in the future. In this way, Isaiah received the message by revelation and passed it on. It was the end of the period of kings in Judah, and the prophet’s writings were of great importance both to his people, who were taken to Babylon a little over a century after his death, and to us. The Lord is the Author of the Bible, so everything fits the facts that took place. 

Fifteen hundred years before Jesus was born, Moses anticipated that the Israelites would have someone in their midst to whom they would listen: The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear (Deuteronomy 18.15). When Christ came, not all the Israelites of those days heard Him. Today, we see an increase in Jews accepting Jesus as the coming Messiah, and the Day will come when all Israel will convert (Romans 11.26). 

The Word given to Isaiah refers to the followers of righteousness. They didn’t mix with those who let themselves be carried away by discouragement, for they had the God of justice right before their eyes. With that understanding, they didn’t let the devil make them betray the One who is the Truth. However, they did not go to the land that Abraham was commanded to leave by some divine error, but simply because they had gone out of the divine permission and strayed to perdition. The same can happen to us! We have to stay alert!

Jeremiah was the prophet before Jerusalem was taken captive by the army of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. He warned about what would happen if they didn’t forsake sin. No one listened to him and, for that reason, they left for the land of Bel – the greatest god of Babylon. Judah walked far from God and did not want to come back, although they knew what had happened to the kingdom of Samaria. They did not believe that the same affliction would come upon them!

For the people of Jerusalem, it was enough just to go to the temple and say a prayer asking God for protection, but Jeremiah showed that this was not the way to proceed and warned them that they would pay the price for the mistake they had made (Jeremiah 7). Unfortunately, some people come to church broke and dying, but when they get rid of their problems, they stop following the Lord. They fell into Satan’s snares and, when they least expect it, the action of the powers of evil will destroy them!

Isaiah’s task was to remind them where they came from, because they went into captivity because they didn’t listen to God. Cautiously, the prophet foresaw their return in detail, provided they changed their thinking and truly followed righteousness and sought the Lord. Likewise, those who are far from the heavenly Father and suffer at the hands of the enemy must look to the Rock – Jesus – from which he was cut off.

The Almighty does not refuse anyone. Christ stated: All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out (John 6.37). The Savior entered the cavern of the pit, which is Hell, in order to snatch us out of the devil’s hands and strip the devil and demons of the authority formerly exercised over us (Colossians 1.13). Now it’s up to you! 

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares