Book Report Obst 661

Even in the days of Jeroboam I, the man who founded the Kingdom of Israel, God already knew that Israel would be troublesome. It was forewarned that, “…the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their forefathers and scatter them beyond the River, because they provoked the LORD to anger by making Asherah poles.” The Israelites’ reason of doubt for God was that they were unsure that they could take over their promised land. God told them that they could remove the current inhabitants, but they were convinced that they could not. Not believing in the word of the Lord led to their exile for forty years of “wilderness wandering.” They had forgotten all of the great things that He had done for them, such as delivering them from Egyptian enslavement. Hope was given up on Him

Isaiah 58:6-14 is a very powerful passage. The first bible version that I read it in was the King James Version. That version didn't really make very much sense to me because of all the "thou's" and "thee's" and "thines". So then I looked it up again in the New Revised Standard Version. It was a lot clearer when I looked it up in that bible. There are a few similarities and differences from the different versions that I read. The two that stood out the most to me was the King James Version, and the New Revised Standard Version. The differences were like night and day. Probably because they were the first two that I read, and maybe because the King James Version, like I said earlier, has a lot of the "1800's language," like "thou"

Desperate to escape the despotic government, many people from Judah turned to false gods and idolatry.6 Pleading to God for rescue from such an immoral, faithless place, Habakkuk learned that the situation of Judah would be rectified in time.7 God said that He had prepared a chastising rod and that Babylon would be the avenging instrument of the just Judeans.8 After the Babylonians expelled Jehoiakim from the throne, God emancipated the Judeans and relieved the heinous social situation. In the end, Habakkuk knew that the just Israelite would not perish from the calamities of the Babylonian attacks;9 he knew that righteousness and faith would prevail. Instead of rectifying the situation at once, the Chaldean empire took control and continued to treat the Judeans harshly. Furthermore, Habakkuk became angry and questioned God again. Nevertheless, he heeded to the previous words of God and kept his faith. Before humanity lost faithfulness, Habakkuk needed to spread this message throughout the empire to save the Judeans. Habakkuk had to extend the word of God to all oppressed people, so he wrote in a style the Israelites could grasp.

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Hashem let us get defeat ? Let us bring the ark of Hasham covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us  of our enemies.”

3. The Lord threatens the Egyptian people that he will smite or whip there fist-born child until they are dead unless they free the Israelites. The Israelites represent the hebrew slaves.

I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to

Some of the negative factors that existed in Isaiah's life, first and foremost was the fact that Khalia was addicted to crack. Because of her addiction, she would do anything to get high. Being addicted impaired her judgment immensely and prioritized getting high over protecting her son. She put him in a cardboard box in an alley, not fearing something could happen to him, telling him she would 'be right back'. This was only to talk down her fears and to convince herself that there was nothing wrong with putting your kid in the trash for a minute, only for him to actually be left there overnight, discovered by garbage men. Another negative factor was also that his mother was on his own, so he had no one to fight for him other than Khalia, who was not even capable of taking care of herself. Khaila being homeless doesn’t have the financial ability to look after her son, which results in prostitution. Also, due to prenatal exposure to crack, Isaiah is a hyperactive child who cannot help his outbursts and behavior. Although he was returned to Khalia, he does not have a father figure, for she does not know who his father is.

Now, Hezekiah finds himself trusting and leaning on the promise of God. Hezekiah was hoping that he will not be forsaken and that his loyalty to God will replenish his health and livelihood. We can see that his faith is strong because he ask the question who shall stand. We know that only those who are steadfast in their faith will stand the test of trails and tribulation. My sisters and brothers only with the help of our Lord and Savior can we stand. From verse four it tells us that forgiveness is for all of us that fear the Lord. There is a scripture that tells us to fear the Lord our God with trembling and that we must come before him with trembling (Philip.2:12). Therefore with all hope Hezekiah is saying that he will wait for the Lord. I truly believe that someone introduced Hezekiah to the true and living God. He himself had witnessed some miraculous events and found comfort in waiting on the Lord. To him it did not matter, It was the point of having patient just to wait on the Lord and knowing that when He came there would be comfort for him.

Indeed, He had called them out as His Chosen People. All of this was part of the Israelites cherished history. But you can’t live in the past. History has its place, but it must be kept in its place. The Israelites were challenged not to think that their greatest victories with the Lord were behind them. Isaiah’s prophecy charged them to forget the past…its comfortable familiarities, and even its shortcomings and disappointments. It was true that the Lord had brought them through the Red Sea, but He was also prepared to take them through the wilderness. Isaiah commanded the Israelites to look ahead, and he prophesied that God was going to do a new thing!

Psalms 37:5 Commit everything you do to the LORD, Trust him, and he will help you.

He had a total of five visions that “express[ed] divine judgment on Israel”. The first two visions were of destructions that were avoided because Israel begged for forgiveness.

The book of Ezekiel is based on the story of the priest, Ezekiel and his ministry to the Israelites in exile. Ezekiel preaches about God’s presence and how God is still involved while they are in exile. We hear about the restoration of Israel to a great nation and how the people will know that “I am the Lord”. Chapter 37 of Ezekiel is about a vision Ezekiel had. Ezekiel lands in the middle of a valley of dry bones.

The narrative of judges takes a momentary break to mention the Lord sending a prophet to the people of Israel. The prophet reminds the Israelites of the deliverance they received from God in Egypt, and calls them not to fear the gods of the Amorites. The prophet ends with “But you have not obeyed my voice (Jud. 6:10).” From this point on in

The oracle in this passage is a clear message that God has spoken to his servant Amos about Israel’s wrong way of living. Amos announces Israel’s punishment and the purpose of his speech is clear: the Yahweh has spoken and the people must listen.

The fasting is one of the most important practices that help a Christian with his spiritual growth. The first purpose of fasting with prayer is to worship God correctly. In Isaiah 58:1-12 records a message of God which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet. The Lord tells Isaiah in the first few verses to proclaim loudly the sins of the nation. God wanted his people to know that He sees and judges their transgressions. Verse two talks about the outward righteousness of the people as they go to church, obey the Word of God, fast and appear to be eager to know more about God. However, the Lord sees the heart and He is not impressed with their religious acts. And this passage speaks to many Christians today. Is our worship a real obedience under God 's grace, or is it a self centered obedience to give God a favor? Fasting is the complete definition of humility before God of putting aside the desires of the flesh in order to see their weakness. We deprive ourselves from our pleasure to share it to others and for His glory. Thus Isaiah 58:6-8 further explains the purpose of fasting, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as