The Moral Message of God and His Prophet
Contents:
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed. Prophecies about the coming Day of the Lord can be found in the writings of many of the Old Testament prophets, and Isaiah is no exception.
This subject is covered from chapters 2 to Unlike the dualism of the prophecies to Israel and Judah, most prophecies about the Day of the Lord are for an event yet to come. These foretell a time of awesome and frightening events leading to the return of Christ. The principle of a day for a year in prophecy also applies to the Day of the Lord 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
I have laid on you a day for each year. Men will hide in caves in terror 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. Isaiah also speaks of the Day of the Lord as a time of war Isaiah These events are also described in the seven trumpets of Revelation These verses are almost identical to those of Revelation While the Day of the Lord often focuses on the wrath of God the punishment that will come upon the disobedient for one year before Christ returns , this term is also used in a broader way by John in Revelation 1: There are numerous prophecies about the Kingdom of God throughout chapters 44 to It is a very important theme in this book.
Aside from the four major themes, there are a few other important subjects covered in the book of Isaiah. The prophecies of Isaiah are relevant in all generations, but they primarily point to the end of the age when Jesus Christ will return and set up the Kingdom of God. The warnings of the Day of the Lord and warnings to Israel and Judah are relevant for us today.
If we will heed these warnings from God, then we can be assured of the promises of mercy and salvation through Jesus Christ that are explained in the book of Isaiah. Was his message only historical, or is it a message for today? Isaiah the prophet predicted the time of peace when people will beat swords into plowshares. Jesus Christ, the most important theme Almost one-third of the chapters of the book of Isaiah contain prophecies about Jesus Christ, addressing both His first and second comings.
Their oracles came to them as a result of something more than concentrated cogitations. This knowledge of God, as a result of the divine initiative in an act of self-disclosure, qualified them to speak as his interpreters. Clark, , pp. Some have thought of the prophets as mystics. Meek, Hebrew Origins 2d ed. There is a great difference between the mystic and the prophet. For the mystic, time is swallowed up in eternity.
As a creature, it is wrong on the part of the man to be independent of his Creator. This person does not adopt honesty just because it is the best policy, but because the person has cultivated honesty in his soul and nothing could be more distant from his thoughts than the practise of dishonesty. But this does not necessarily prove that every prophetic utterance was given either while in a condition of ecstasy or as a result of an ecstatic experience. Assyria had been the chief power in Western Asia, but now there was, a profound change taking place. A similar state of affairs exists in the case of Hadrat Isa's character and teachings.
But for the prophet time still persists, but penetrated by eternity. Robinson contends that the very name nabi prophet implies ecstatic behavior, and that it would not have been used if the prophets had not been ecstatic. This is inconclusive, since the philology is more than doubtful and words have a history as well as a derivation.
Harper Brothers Publishers, , pp. The Johns Hopkins Press, , p. That there was a large element of abnormality in the canonical prophets is unquestionable. But this does not necessarily prove that every prophetic utterance was given either while in a condition of ecstasy or as a result of an ecstatic experience. The real test of a genuine oracle was not its being an ecstatic utterance but rather its content. At no time did the great prophets consider an oracle as authentic just because it was ecstatic.
The Old Testament records do not reveal a definite formula for receiving a message from God. Methodist Book Concern, , p. T and T Clark, , p. The prophets do not speak of a resolution or purpose, formed by themselves, to devote themselves to the prophetic ministry. They describe a moment in which they received a call from God. His Life and Times New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, , pp.
The extraordinary religious experiences of the great prophets were not only emotional but had a content as of intelligible speech. This is a far cry from the religious experience of the ecstatic bands during the days of Samuel 1 Sam. The great prophets had an irresistible inner compulsion to deliver a message which they had received, and the message and the commission were parts of the same spiritual experience Hos.
Its Life and Culture London: In trying to understand these experiences of the prophets, which happened over twenty-five hundred years ago, one must beware of beginning with some modern psychological explanation of prophetic phenomena and illustrating it with examples selected indiscriminately from the Old Testament at its various levels and even from pseudepigraphical apocalyptic books.
The Clarendon Press, , p. Certain allowances have to be made before the religious life of the prophets can be discussed in modern psychological terminology. To appreciate the Old Testament prophets properly, an understanding of the primitive Hebrew psychology is a necessity. Little had been done in this field until quite recently. Clark Clark, , but this work is by no means adequate in the light of modern research.
Duckworth, , pp.
Other scholars have accepted his main conclusions. On the other hand, some would ascribe the beliefs of the prophets in divine inspiration to an unscientific age when man did not bother to raise questions. Divine revelation will always elude complete comprehension by man. Concerning an understanding of this mystery. Our study of the prophets can shew us the experience of those who believed they stood in the council of God, what ideas they held of themselves and of Him, what apparent characteristics distinguished them from others.
This is the province of psychology—the psychology of the Hebrews in general and of the Hebrew prophets in particular. But, fascinating as such studies are, they are only preparatory to the real thing. In the last resort, we shall know as much or as little of the prophetic consciousness as is the degree to which we share its essential and central experience.
An actual examination of the call-experience, which is the very central core of the prophetic consciousness, should begin with these matters in mind. It was not an induction into an undefined ministry. Of necessity it was vitally connected with some particular occasion, because the Hebrews did not deal in abstractions as did the Greeks. The spiritual and the physical were inseparably connected in their experiences, the one merging into the other or else emerging from it. The Westminster Press, , p. The call of God to Jeremiah is disappointing to those who love the spectacular and melodramatic.
The account of how Jeremiah became a prophet of God, found in the first chapter of his prophecies, bears the marks of simplicity when campared to those of Isaiah and Ezekiel. Francisco, Introducing the Old Testament Nashville: Broadman Press, , p. The thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, the boy king of Judah, was also the death-year of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria. For better than a hundred years the fortune or misfortune of Judah had been dependent upon the will of the Assyrian ruler.
Assyria had been the chief power in Western Asia, but now there was, a profound change taking place. The Assyrian empire was showing signs of weakness.
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Egypt was slowly rising from its prostration. The Medes had gained independence from the Assyrian yoke, and the Neo-Babylonian empire was being born. Since the days of Solomon, Anathoth had been the residence of a famous family of priests 1 Kings 2: There is every reason to believe that Jeremiah was reared in a godly Hebrew home. Nature was not silent as far as making a contribution to the life of the lad of Anathoth.
The simple things of the countryside fascinated Jeremiah. This is seen in the manner in which his call came to him, and throughout his life he saw a profound significance in simple things. By living only a short distance from Jerusalem it was possible, after a short walk, for Jeremiah to hear of the happenings in the rest of the world.
Since Jeremiah was not a member of the official priesthood, it was possible for him to look at the sins of Judah objectively. His Time and His Work Oxford: Blackwell, , p. The religion of Israel had degenerated during the reign of Manasseh. Apostasy was rampant in the land. Judah, like her sister to the north, had made the Baalim the object of her trust for prosperity. For national security she was depending on alliances with neighboring nations. The worship of Yahweh was formal and ritualistic; it contained no reality and made no moral demands upon the worshipers.
A dialogue with God. He did not receive his call to the prophetic ministry in the midst of a temple filled with brilliant light or surrounded by strange heavenly creatures. Baughman, Jeremiah for Today Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, , p. Instead of the spectacular, Jeremiah describes the objects or events of common daily experience as the starting point for his perception of the divine truth.
Without doubt, the indelible impression that God was calling him into the goodly fellowship of the prophets came to him as a result of a growing religious experience. Several scholars take the account to be a description of a visionary experience.
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Perhaps it was; but all must admit that it lacks the unusual phenomena of Isaiah and Ezekiel. It is not said to be a vision. At the University Press, , p. The narrative gains an effectiveness of its own by the very absence of accessories. God and the man are here alone in intimate conversation, no Seraphim or Cherubim mar the impressive simplicity of the scene. It is a fit prelude to the lifework of the prophet who first clearly conceived religion as a personal relation between man and God.
Muhammad: The Final Prophet of God (pbuh)
Peake, Jeremiah , Vol. Jack, , pp. Thinking that he had been a guest at somebody's house and thus had broken his fast there, I drank the milk. Before long he returned home. I asked his companions if he had broken his fast and they said that he had not. The next day he also fasted. The Holy Prophet of Islam immensely loved the ritual prayers, but on occasions when people demanded to talk to him about something, he would say his ritual prayers briefly and instead, pay attention to the demands and needs of the people.
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He would spare no efforts to fulfill the people's needs. The Prophet treated everyone with great respect and considered nobility and honour to be owing to faith, piety, and good behaviour. He was not interested in wealth or status, nor did he revere anybody for his riches or position. His behaviour towards slaves was amazingly affectionate, and he would do his best to remove the troubles and sufferings of the slaves and the poor. The Holy Prophet of Islam never attempted to retaliate against the insults and disrespect of anybody, and forgave people's mistakes or their misconduct.
His reaction to the torment and disregard of the ignorant people was forgiveness and tolerance. In spite of all the tortures and torments that the Quraysh had inflicted upon the Holy Prophet of Islam, on conquering Makkah, he forgave them and set them free. However, he forgave his sin. Also, he forgave the many torments and troubles that Abu Sufyan and his wife, Hind, had caused for him and he did not take revenge. In affecting God's orders, he would take no notice of anybody's intercession. I swear by the One in Whose hands is my life that even if Fatima his daughter had committed such a sin, I would cut off her hand'.
The Holy Prophet of Islam was fond of scent 15 and spent more on buying perfumes than on food. He used to brush his teeth frequently 18 and washed his blessed hands both before and after meals. The Holy Prophet of Islam had great love for ritual prayers so that during the night he would get up several times, brush his teeth, and then offer the most devoted prayers. The Holy Prophet of Islam took lessons from watching the sky, the moon, the sun, and every other thing in nature, and these phenomena attracted him to their Creator more than to themselves.
He was so devout and pious that not even for a single moment was he enchanted by any luxury or pleasure of this mortal world. In short, the Holy Prophet of Islam was a perfect model of all excellent virtues and sublime human qualities. In fact, we have just presented a pale reflection of his celestial, resplendent portrait so that all over the world Muslims who regard themselves as the followers of Islam can make his morals and conduct their own model of behaviour and learn divine morality and correct programs for life from him.
Chapter 18: The Morals and Behaviour of the Holy Prophet
May God's greetings be upon him who was the selected superior and the best of pious human beings. And the greetings of the angels upon the faithful. We too greet him most cordially and sincerely. May he accept our respectful greetings as well as the greetings of you, our sisters and brothers in Islam. May Almighty God help all of us to follow exactly the blessed footsteps of the Holy Prophet, whose path is sure to lead us into eternal salvation and paradise.
To end this book, we narrate an invaluable tradition of the Holy Prophet of Islam and his honoured family. In the Holy Qur'an there is a verse closely related with the Tradition of the Cloak:.