Powerful Prophecy (pt2)

Matthew 3[1] picks up Jesus’ story with an introduction to John the Baptist. John the Baptist is one of my favorite Bible characters because of his passionate mission to point people’s eyes to Jesus. To learn more about John’s life, read Luke chapters 1-3, John 1, Matthew 11 & 14.[2] John was an odd guy! You know… camel’s hair, locusts… and all. But John’s life was one of service to the Lord, as a useful tool in God’s hand to accomplish an end for God’s glory. Oftentimes, when a person sets out to serve the Lord through a calling or a purpose in their life, unexpected things happen. This certainly was the case for John... his parents weren’t expecting his birth because they were old! Even though he spent most of his life studying in the wilderness to prepare for his ministry, his work ends as soon as He baptized Jesus. Shortly thereafter, John is arrested and he spends the rest of his life in prison until his execution at the hands of Herod, because of his faithful witness.

Looking at the prophecy that is given about John in Matthew 3:3

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.’”

                it is interesting to see the hope that some in the context of the original passage. This prophecy is quoted from Isaiah 40:1-5[3], which includes words of comfort from God to Jerusalem, and the cries of two additional “voices”. The first is our quoted voice that we see to be the life and ministry of John the Baptist, and the second is a cry of hope in God’s stability in the midst of a fading world: “The word of our God will stand forever” (Is 40:6-8). The rest of chapter 40 praises God for His greatness and majesty.  Looking at the previous chapters, it is interesting to note that Isaiah 36-39[4] recount the historical events that happened in Judah (the southern portion of a divided Israel) during the reign of King Hezekiah, nearly word for word as they are also recorded in 2 Kings chapters 18-20.[5] This is interesting because the books of 1 & 2 Kings are detailed accounts of historical events and the lives of the kings of Israel and Judah from King David up until the exile; whereas the books of Isaiah is mostly prophecy, words from the Lord that were given to Isaiah to record. Isaiah was one of the many prophets to carry the message of the Lord to God’s people during this time in history, and he only interrupts his prophetic writings with historical accounts twice, once with God’s message to King Ahaz (Isaiah 7-8[6]), and once with God’s message to his son King Hezekiah.

Let me briefly describe Hezekiah’s story. ( See footnotes 4 and 5) Hezekiah was a king who honored God in his heart and followed in His ways. During his reign, a King of Assyria conquered Israel and led its people away to captivity, foretold by the Lord and Isaiah in Isaiah 7:20 and 8:1-4 (See powerful prophecy pt1!). Another king takes the throne of Assyria and decides to invade Judah as well, besieging Jerusalem. Foreign envoys arrive at Jerusalem to collect the gold of Hezekiah, and to put fear in the hearts of Jerusalem’s people. To do this, the messengers mock God, doubting His ability to save Jerusalem out of their hands, and they shout insults against Hezekiah’s leadership in the common Hebrew tongue to all the guard posted on Jerusalem’s walls. Shattered and afraid, Hezekiah prays to the Lord for help, and God dispatches and angel to slaughter the majority of Assyria’s army, sending the rest to return home in defeat where the Assyrian King is assassinated by his own sons. Jerusalem is temporarily saved! Hezekiah becomes ill to the point of death, however, and he prays to the Lord in desperation and in trust. Because of Hezekiah’s heart, God heals him and extends his life; but when Hezekiah recovers, he greets emissaries from Babylon who have come to comfort him in his sickness, and shows them all of his wealth and all the gold in God’s temple. I can only assume this was an act of pride and boasting on Hezekiah’s part, because God sends Isaiah with a message of doom, saying all of the gold in the temple and Hezekiah’s house would one day be carried off to Babylon. Hezekiah doesn’t seem to care about the future destruction to come, because of the Lord’s promise of peace for the remainder of his life.

Hezekiah’s story kinda ends on a dark note with the news of impending doom, but Isaiah 40 picks up with a message of hope.

“’Comfort, comfort my people’, says your God,

‘Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that he warfare is ended

That her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’”

It is so neat to know that even in the midst of our turmoil and peril, our God cares for us. The people of Jerusalem were freaked out and near the point of death, but God cries comfort because their warfare was ended! Following this message of hope are the two “voices” of Isaiah 40 that cry in response to God’s call:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be make low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

God not only cares for His people and hears them in the midst of their distress, but He also acts in power to deliver them from their darkest peril. Mankind’s darkest peril is the power of sin, which is death. That’s why men stand in need of a Savior, and it’s why God calls for voices to cry hope and comfort to His people. God orchestrated the life of John the Baptist to be one such voice, because John would bear a message pf repentance that paved the way for Jesus, God-incarnate, to deliver men from their sins. Jerusalem was saved for a period of time, but her real peril was that of sin.. which is a peril we all share. God knows our real peril, and came to die for our sins so that we could be free. How cool is that??

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary, His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted,

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.”[7]