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22 July 2012
I will add 15 years to your life- Extracted from the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8
Hezekiah (good king of Judah, descendant of king Solomon, son of king David) fell ill and was at the point of death.
The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, The Lord says this, Put your affairs in order, for you are going to die, you will not live.
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and addressed this prayer to the Lord, Ah, Lord, remember, I beg you, how I have behaved faithfully and with sincerity of heart in your presence and done what is right in your eyes.
And Hezekiah shed many tears.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, Go and say to Hezekiah, The Lord, the God of David your ancestor, says this: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will cure you: in three days time you shall go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you from the hands of the king of Assyria, I will protect this city.
Bring a fig poultice, Isaiah said, apply it to the ulcer and he will recover.
Hezekiah said, What is the sign to tell me that I shall be going up to the Temple of the Lord?
Here Isaiah replied is the sign from the Lord that he will do what he has said. Look, I shall make the shadow cast by the declining sun go back ten steps on the steps of Ahaz.
And the sun went back the ten steps by which it had declined.
- You asked, Who is Isaiah?
Heres the Answer based on the Accredited Church Teaching:
The name Isaiah signifies "Yahweh is salvation". From the Prophet himself (i, 1; ii, 1) we learn that he was the son of Amos. Owing to the similarity between Latin and Greek forms of this name and that of the Shepherd-Prophet of Thecue, some Fathers mistook the Prophet Amos for the father of Isaiah.
St. Jerome in the preface to his "Commentary on Amos" (P.L., XXV, 989) points out this error. Of Isaiah's ancestry we know nothing; but several passages of his prophecies (iii, 1-17, 24; iv, 1; viii, 2; xxxi, 16) lead us to believe that he belonged to one of the best families of Jerusalem. A Jewish tradition recorded in the Talmud (Tr. Megilla, 10b.) held him to be a nephew of King Amaziah (796-781) . As to the exact time of the Prophet's birth we lack definite data; yet he is believed to have been about twenty years of age when he began his public ministry. He was a citizen, perhaps a native, of Jerusalem. His writings give unmistakable signs of high culture. From his prophecies (vii and viii) we learn that he married a woman whom he styles "the prophetess" and that he had two sons, Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Nothing whatever indicates that he was twice married as some fancy on the gratuitous and indefensible supposition that the 'almah of vii, 14, was his wife.
The prophetical ministry of Isaiah lasted well-nigh half a century, from the closing year of Azariah (=Uzziah), King of Judah, possibly up to that of Manasseh, around 740-690. This period was one of great prophetical activity. Israel and Judah indeed were in sore need of guidance. After the death of Jeroboam II revolution followed upon revolution and the northern kingdom had sunk rapidly into an abject vassalage to the Assyrians.
In the meantime the Kingdom of Judah hardly fared better. A long period of peace had enervated characters, and the young, inexperienced, and unprincipled Ahaz was no match for the Syro-Israelite coalition which confronted him. Panic-stricken he, in spite of the remonstrances of Isaiah, resolved to appeal to Theglathphalasar. The help of Assyria was secured, but the independence of Judah was thereby practically forfeited.
You asked, If to behave faithfully with sincerity of heart and doing what is right could win life, protection from God and His Blessings, then what about people who behave in an opposite manner? Answer: Only God knows, however you could refer to Gods answer in similar situation in the Bible or you may also find a small part of it published in the previous webpages. 8-) |
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The Canticle of Hezekiah Extracted from the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 38:
9 Canticle of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery.
10 I thought: In the noon of my life I am to depart. At the gates of Sheol I shall be held for the rest of my days.
11 I thought: I shall never see Yahweh again in the land of the living, I shall never see again a single one of those who live on earth.
12 My home has been pulled up, and thrown away like a shepherd's tent; like a weaver, I have rolled up my life, he has cut me from the loom. From dawn to dark, you have been making an end of me;
13 till daybreak, I cried for help; like a lion, he has crushed all my bones, from dawn to dark, you have been making an end of me.
14 I twitter like a swallow, I moan like a dove, my eyes have grown dim from looking up. Lord, I am overwhelmed, come to my help.
15 How can I speak and what can I say to him? He is the one to act. I must eke out the rest of my years in bitterness of soul.
16 The Lord is over them; they live, and everything in them lives by his spirit. You will cure me. Restore me to life.
17 At once, my bitterness turns to well-being. For you have preserved my soul from the pit of nothingness, you have thrust all my sins behind you.
18 For Sheol cannot praise you, nor Death celebrate you; those who go down to the pit can hope no longer in your constancy.
19 The living, the living are the ones who praise you, as I do today. Fathers tell their sons about your constancy.
20 Yahweh, come to my help and we will make our harps resound all the days of our life in the Temple of Yahweh. |
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Jesus Christ comes to take care of His flock Himself -Extracted from the prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 23:1-6
Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered it is the Lord who speaks! This, therefore, is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds in charge of my people: You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them.
Right, I will take care of you for your misdeeds it is the Lord who speaks! But the remnant of my flock I myself will gather from all the countries where I have dispersed them, and will bring them back to their pastures: they shall be fruitful and increase in numbers. I will raise up shepherds to look after them and pasture them; no fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost it is the Lord who speaks!
See, the days are coming it is the Lord who speaks
when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David (hereinafter referred to Jesus Christ),
who will reign as true king and be wise,
practising honesty and integrity in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel dwell in confidence.
And this is the name he will be called:
The-Lord-our-integrity.
Sharing: Listen to We Will Rise Again by David Hass @ http://www.youtube.com
22 July 2012 |
