Words of prophecy, then and now
I've been reading my way through Genesis and will be starting Exodus today. This is the result of the realization that I must have a daily time in the Word with my God in order to live rightly. Being married has brought my need for daily relationship with the Lord into sharp relief. Many things need to be done throughout the days, but this one thing must take precedent, priority, come first. I'm realizing this in a new way, seeing it through new lenses. "I could not do without Thee, O Savior of the lost" (song - "I Could Not Do Without Thee).
I asked the Lord to open my heart this morning to His word and His word to my heart. He brought into the forefront of my reading comprehension the reality of the gift of words of prophecy. When God speaks, powerful things happen. To stand in His presence and to hear His thoughts invokes a sense of awe.
In Genesis 48-49, Israel is very quickly coming to the end of his time on earth and God uses him to communicate prophetic words to his sons about them and their descendants. As I read what he speaks about both his sons and his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, I'm struck with the reality that prophetic words are gifts from God. They are glimpses of the eternal, vast knowledge and wisdom of God. The curtain that shields us from His grasp of eternity is pulled to the side slightly, the dividing barrier between the temporal and the eternal thins a bit, and we are allowed a momentary vision of His understanding. The eternal God gives a gift to the temporal man. The eternal steps into the temporal. "Now we see through a glass dimly. . .now I know in part, . . ." 1 Cor. 13. Prophecy is an opportunity to see in part, to see through that glass dimly.
Like the manna given to the Old Testament Israelites, prophecy is provision for a need, but is also mystery. The name manna means, 'What is it?' The need, I believe, in part, is understanding - understanding the plan of God for present and future generations. Understanding, however, often comes retroactively. Understanding rarely came in the lifetime of the Old Testament prophets. Peter testifies to this in his first epistle, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look" (1:10-12).
Prophetic dreams and visions often work(ed) the same way. I believe that God still speaks through these means of communication. The reception of them rightly requires humility. It requires the courage to admit a lack of understanding, in many cases. These words are still to be tested against what is true about God and his revelation, the Bible (1 Thess. 5:21). I believe they are also, when found to be of the Spirit, to be seen as gifts of God - morsels of manna that may or may not be intended for us but are intended for blessing.
I asked the Lord to open my heart this morning to His word and His word to my heart. He brought into the forefront of my reading comprehension the reality of the gift of words of prophecy. When God speaks, powerful things happen. To stand in His presence and to hear His thoughts invokes a sense of awe.
In Genesis 48-49, Israel is very quickly coming to the end of his time on earth and God uses him to communicate prophetic words to his sons about them and their descendants. As I read what he speaks about both his sons and his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, I'm struck with the reality that prophetic words are gifts from God. They are glimpses of the eternal, vast knowledge and wisdom of God. The curtain that shields us from His grasp of eternity is pulled to the side slightly, the dividing barrier between the temporal and the eternal thins a bit, and we are allowed a momentary vision of His understanding. The eternal God gives a gift to the temporal man. The eternal steps into the temporal. "Now we see through a glass dimly. . .now I know in part, . . ." 1 Cor. 13. Prophecy is an opportunity to see in part, to see through that glass dimly.
Like the manna given to the Old Testament Israelites, prophecy is provision for a need, but is also mystery. The name manna means, 'What is it?' The need, I believe, in part, is understanding - understanding the plan of God for present and future generations. Understanding, however, often comes retroactively. Understanding rarely came in the lifetime of the Old Testament prophets. Peter testifies to this in his first epistle, "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look" (1:10-12).
Prophetic dreams and visions often work(ed) the same way. I believe that God still speaks through these means of communication. The reception of them rightly requires humility. It requires the courage to admit a lack of understanding, in many cases. These words are still to be tested against what is true about God and his revelation, the Bible (1 Thess. 5:21). I believe they are also, when found to be of the Spirit, to be seen as gifts of God - morsels of manna that may or may not be intended for us but are intended for blessing.
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