Who cares about the prophets…right? I mean, what a strange bunch of people who were called to be the mouthpiece of a “God” who laid waste to entire villages, towns, cities, lands, nations, men, women, children, animals, and vegetation. Who were the ones of old who spoke the doom of an “angry God”, and suffered great persecution by those who would not listen to words not of their own origin? Are the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Malachi, Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jeremiah, Jonah, Obadiah, Haggai, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah listed on the top seller list on Amazon? I should say not!
The prophets were ignored, shamed, ridiculed, beaten, tortured and even sawn in half. They would of never have won a popularity contest. Friends vanished and family disowned them. The evil they condemned, moved with tears, great emotional upheaval, anger and grief that literally rattled their bones, exploded inside them, compelling them to speak out “CURSED BE THE DAY I WAS BORN!”
No….no one really listened to what the prophets had to say, because their message brought conviction to a people who wanted nothing more than to be left alone in their filth and defilement. Did the prophets ask for the job? I don’t think so. I don’t ever remember any prophet who asked to be “God’s” spokesperson. Even today, though these great men are no longer walking the earth, the books they have left behind are tossed aside because either they are too hard to understand or too boring to entertain the fleshy cravings that demand the benefits of a “God” poured out on their underserving souls.
Really…who cares how they felt or what they said because their message was always doom and gloom, expressions of a mean “God” who enjoyed killing everything and everyone in sight! After all, their message fails in comparison with the good “God” of today and the “age of grace” in which sin is merely an “issue.” After all, the “God” I serve would NEVER do anything bad to me or my family because we are “Kings kids”, destined for heaven, living the life of extreme abundance, experiencing care free ecstasy and freedom to live however we want without fear of that “mean ol’ God” of the OLD TESTAMENT!
Ok Derek, this is a weird blog and what is your point in what your saying? Where are you going with this thing and why drive so hard to make that point…whatever it is?
What I’m driving at is this… How will we ever know if we are hurting someone if that person never says a word? What if they are too broken, hurt, and destroyed with grief to say anything? Who do they call on and who can they rely upon to relate their inner turmoil and pain to the one who is causing that pain? How many times must you tell your child not to touch the hot stove before they defy you one too many times and get burned?
The children of Ya’cob (Jacob) had defiled themselves with other gods, whored and committed great apostasies in the eyes of the One who delivered them from bondage, who poured out such loving kindnesses and tender mercies. They had gotten themselves into such trouble that Abba Father could not distinguish between them and the pagans they hung around with.
Of course, as parents, we know nothing about children who have grieved us, shamed us, and humiliated us.. right? Or have we forgotten that our “perfect little angels” could never do anything like that? How many times before your heart is crushed and broken does the child finally listen to your good instructions and wisdom for happy living?
Is it any different than a loving Father who has created children to be His family that He delights in? Has He not provided His good instructions and wisdom for happy living (i.e.. His commandments?) Is the relationship with our Creator any different than what we have created here on earth – our sons and daughters? Do we not feel the pain and anguish of the utter selfishness of our children at times? Did we bring them up and teach them the right way to only be treated with disrespect and contempt?
Then why is it so hard to believe it is the same with our Father in Heaven? Who else did He have to weep with and share His broken heart with other than the prophets? How else were the stubborn, stiff-necked people ever going to turn from their ways of self-absorption and pride? Who is going to tell them, “HEY YOU! Wake up! Your sleep walking and getting ready to step off that cliff?”
If you have never felt Father’s heart, or His grief, it is almost too much to bear. I know this. I experienced it once.
It was during our visit to Israel last month, after spending all day in Judea and Samaria (mistakenly called the West Bank). We spent the day on a tour getting to know the real people of the Land of Israel – the everyday, ordinary people who just want peace and safety to raise their families like any ordinary person would desire. After a long day on that 12th of October, we made our way back from being let off near the Jaffe gate by a taxi. It was Sukkot and the carnivals in the Old City had begun. After we finished eating dinner, I remember vividly what I saw and the sounds that nearly overtook me. At the top of the stairs leading out of the Mamilla Mall, there were crowds of people packed in and around the Jaffe Gate. The music was deafening as the club music type beat pounded deep into my inner being.
As we entered through the Jaffa Gate, I was walking alongside of mom, helping her steady herself on the uneven pavement. Almost immediately I became overwhelmed with grief and anger at the abominations of the party type atmosphere. For the first time in my life, I felt like exploding tears inside. I nearly went into convulsions, as I walked as fast as I could past the chaos. For the first time in my life, I felt the Creator of the universe inside of me, literally and physically moving with grief and anger. I saw from His point of view, as a Father who was saying, “My people do not know me.”
I began to sob uncontrollably as though someone very precious to me was tragically killed and I found out about it through a complete stranger.
I stumbled through my words as I told mom what I was feeling. She simply said to me, “You have the heart of a prophet.”
Caring how He feels and being in tune with His heart removes the selfishness from our own heart and places us in a position with Him to accurately rule and reign with Him in what is just and righteous. Only caring about ourselves disqualifies us from ever seeing beyond what He has in store for those that love Him.
So I ask you today. Do you sigh and cry over the abominations done towards what our Abba Father calls precious? Is the passion that dwells inside the heart of Yehudah Glick in sync with the heartbeat of Father, or is it merely an empty vanity of worthless sighing and crying for something that will never happen?
Who cares about the prophets?
I do.
“…and Yahuweh said to him, “Pass on into the midst of the city, into the midst of Yerushalayim, and you shall put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
Ezekiel 9:4