God’s messages bible study

 

This is a study of messages that God has given various people, including the patriarchs, the prophets and other people as well. In many ways the entire bible is God’s love message to us on how to live, and how not to live, however I am selecting some that really stand out for power and or content.

The first message is the one where God told Abraham to go to a land that He would show him, and Abraham went by faith:

(Genesis 12:1)  Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

 

(Genesis 12:2)  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

 

(Genesis 12:3)  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

 

(Genesis 12:4)  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

 

(Genesis 12:5)  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

 

(Genesis 12:6)  Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

 

(Genesis 12:7)  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

 

(Genesis 12:8)  From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.

 

This would be the future land of Israel. Then in chapter 15, God reinforced the promise also reinforce the promise as well as give in indication of the vast number of Abraham’s descendants:

(Genesis 15:1)  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

 

(Genesis 15:2)  But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

 

(Genesis 15:3)  And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir."

 

(Genesis 15:4)  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."

 

(Genesis 15:5)  And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

 

(Genesis 15:6)  And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

 

(Genesis 15:7)  And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."

 

(Genesis 15:8)  But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

 

(Genesis 15:9)  He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

 

(Genesis 15:10)  And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

 

(Genesis 15:11)  And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

 

(Genesis 15:12)  As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

 

(Genesis 15:13)  Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

 

(Genesis 15:14)  But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

 

(Genesis 15:15)  As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

 

(Genesis 15:16)  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

 

(Genesis 15:17)  When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

 

(Genesis 15:18)  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

 

(Genesis 15:19)  the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

 

(Genesis 15:20)  the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

 

(Genesis 15:21)  the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

 

God also would have a message for Isaac concerning where He should go, and not go:

(Genesis 26:1)  Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

 

(Genesis 26:2)  And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

 

(Genesis 26:3)  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

 

(Genesis 26:4)  I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

 

(Genesis 26:5)  because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

 

(Genesis 26:6)  So Isaac settled in Gerar.

 

(Genesis 26:7)  When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared to say, "My wife," thinking, "lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance.

 

God had a message for Jacob here in chapter 35, speaking prophetically that nations will come from Jacob’s descendants, renaming Jacob Israel.

(Genesis 35:9)  God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.

 

(Genesis 35:10)  And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he called his name Israel.

 

(Genesis 35:11)  And God said to him, "I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.

 

(Genesis 35:12)  The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you."

 

(Genesis 35:13)  Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.

 

(Genesis 35:14)  And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

 

(Genesis 35:15)  So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

 

(Genesis 35:16)  Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.

 

Then God appeared and had Jacob and all his go to Egypt so the son Joseph cold look after and provide for them. This is where God also would really multiply His people for the first time:

(Genesis 46:1)  So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

 

(Genesis 46:2)  And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here am I."

 

(Genesis 46:3)  Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.

 

(Genesis 46:4)  I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."

 

The children of Israel spent their time in Egypt, until the Lord fulfilled His promise to bring them out again. Then He gave Moses the commandments for people to live by:

(Exodus 20:1)  And God spoke all these words, saying,

 

(Exodus 20:2)  "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

(Exodus 20:3)  "You shall have no other gods before me.

 

(Exodus 20:4)  "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

 

(Exodus 20:5)  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

 

(Exodus 20:6)  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 

(Exodus 20:7)  "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

 

(Exodus 20:8)  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

 

(Exodus 20:9)  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,

 

(Exodus 20:10)  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.

 

(Exodus 20:11)  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

 

(Exodus 20:12)  "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

 

(Exodus 20:13)  "You shall not murder.

 

(Exodus 20:14)  "You shall not commit adultery.

 

(Exodus 20:15)  "You shall not steal.

 

(Exodus 20:16)  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 

(Exodus 20:17)  "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."

 

The next message for Moses was to take up on offering from the people to make the ark of God, which would accompany Israel as the nation travelled to settle the Promised Land of Israel:

(Exodus 25:1)  The LORD said to Moses,

 

(Exodus 25:2)  "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.

 

(Exodus 25:3)  And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,

 

(Exodus 25:4)  blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair,

 

(Exodus 25:5)  tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood,

 

(Exodus 25:6)  oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

 

(Exodus 25:7)  onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

 

(Exodus 25:8)  And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

 

(Exodus 25:9)  Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

 

(Exodus 25:10)  "They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

 

God would go on and give very exact instructions on how this ark should be made in the coming chapters.

The commandments were also given in Deuteronomy which is a recap of exodus, I am also including this message too, due to its importance:

(Deuteronomy 5:6)  "'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:7)  "'You shall have no other gods before me.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:8)  "'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:9)  You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

 

(Deuteronomy 5:10)  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:11)  "'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:12)  "'Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:13)  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

 

(Deuteronomy 5:14)  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:15)  You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:16)  "'Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:17)  "'You shall not murder.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:18)  "'And you shall not commit adultery.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:19)  "'And you shall not steal.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:20)  "'And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 

(Deuteronomy 5:21)  "'And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.'

 

Then they went out to check out the Promised Land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then many came back with bad and evil reports of it which angered God and then God came back with this message:

(Numbers 14:20)  Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word.

 

(Numbers 14:21)  But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD,

 

(Numbers 14:22)  none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,

 

(Numbers 14:23)  shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

 

(Numbers 14:24)  But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

 

(Numbers 14:25)  Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea."

 

(Numbers 14:26)  And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

 

(Numbers 14:27)  "How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.

 

(Numbers 14:28)  Say to them, 'As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:

 

(Numbers 14:29)  your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me,

 

(Numbers 14:30)  not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

 

(Numbers 14:31)  But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.

 

(Numbers 14:32)  But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.

 

(Numbers 14:33)  And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

 

(Numbers 14:34)  According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.'

 

(Numbers 14:35)  I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die."

 

The next message is one for Samuel when He prayed to the Lord about the people wanting a king over them, instead of the judges. The Lord gave a message for Samuel to warn them against the idea of having a king rule them but they still insisted on having this king:

(1 Samuel 8:6)  But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

 

(1 Samuel 8:7)  And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

 

(1 Samuel 8:8)  According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

 

(1 Samuel 8:9)  Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."

 

(1 Samuel 8:10)  So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him.

 

(1 Samuel 8:11)  He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

 

(1 Samuel 8:12)  And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

 

(1 Samuel 8:13)  He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

 

(1 Samuel 8:14)  He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

 

(1 Samuel 8:15)  He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

 

(1 Samuel 8:16)  He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

 

(1 Samuel 8:17)  He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.

 

(1 Samuel 8:18)  And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."

 

(1 Samuel 8:19)  But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us,

 

(1 Samuel 8:20)  that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

 

(1 Samuel 8:21)  And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.

 

(1 Samuel 8:22)  And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

 

From then often the Lord would very often, but not always send his messages to the kings through various prophets, such as Samuel, or in this case in 2 Samuel, Nathan, when David wanted to build a house for the Ark of God:

(2 Samuel 7:1)  Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,

 

(2 Samuel 7:2)  the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent."

 

(2 Samuel 7:3)  And Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you."

 

(2 Samuel 7:4)  But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,

 

(2 Samuel 7:5)  "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?

 

(2 Samuel 7:6)  I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.

 

(2 Samuel 7:7)  In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'

 

(2 Samuel 7:8)  Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

 

(2 Samuel 7:9)  And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

 

(2 Samuel 7:10)  And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

 

(2 Samuel 7:11)  from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

 

(2 Samuel 7:12)  When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

 

(2 Samuel 7:13)  He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

 

(2 Samuel 7:14)  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,

 

(2 Samuel 7:15)  but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

 

(2 Samuel 7:16)  And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"

 

(2 Samuel 7:17)  In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

 

David then praised and worshipped God when he heard this message. Solomon did hear directly from the Lord when He turned away his heart when the Lord, because he had many foreign wives who worshipped strange gods, who pronounced judgment for this on him, and especially his son at the end of his reign:

(1Ki 11:9)  And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice

 

(1Ki 11:10)  and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded.

 

(1Ki 11:11)  Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

 

(1Ki 11:12)  Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

 

(1Ki 11:13)  However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen."

 

Here is a message God giving a dejected and frightened Elijah that He was to anoint people and that Elijah was NOT alone even though he felt as though he was the only prophet at the time:

(1 Kings 19:9)  There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

 

(1 Kings 19:10)  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."

 

(1 Kings 19:11)  And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

 

(1 Kings 19:12)  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

 

(1 Kings 19:13)  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

 

(1 Kings 19:14)  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."

 

(1 Kings 19:15)  And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

 

(1 Kings 19:16)  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.

 

(1 Kings 19:17)  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.

 

(1 Kings 19:18)  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

 

Isaiah chapter 1 has a powerful message rebuking Israel for wrongdoing, encouraging repentance and promising restoration of Israel after the captivity
(Isaiah 1:1)  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

 

(Isaiah 1:2)  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

 

(Isaiah 1:3)  The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."

 

(Isaiah 1:4)  Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

 

(Isaiah 1:5)  Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

 

(Isaiah 1:6)  From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.

 

(Isaiah 1:7)  Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

 

(Isaiah 1:8)  And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

 

(Isaiah 1:9)  If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

 

(Isaiah 1:10)  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

 

(Isaiah 1:11)  "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

 

(Isaiah 1:12)  "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?

 

(Isaiah 1:13)  Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.

 

(Isaiah 1:14)  Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

 

(Isaiah 1:15)  When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

 

(Isaiah 1:16)  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

 

(Isaiah 1:17)  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

 

(Isaiah 1:18)  "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

 

(Isaiah 1:19)  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

 

(Isaiah 1:20)  but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 

(Isaiah 1:21)  How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.

 

(Isaiah 1:22)  Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water.

 

(Isaiah 1:23)  Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them.

 

(Isaiah 1:24)  Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes.

 

(Isaiah 1:25)  I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.

 

(Isaiah 1:26)  And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."

 

(Isaiah 1:27)  Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

 

(Isaiah 1:28)  But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

 

(Isaiah 1:29)  For they shall be ashamed of the oaks that you desired; and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.

 

(Isaiah 1:30)  For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water.

 

(Isaiah 1:31)  And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.

 

When Hezekiah got the message he’d die he prayed and now look at the message Isaiah got to deliver to Hezekiah, added years and the powerful sign that would confirm this word(the sun going backwards):

(2 Kings 20:1)  In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.'"

 

(2 Kings 20:2)  Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

 

(2 Kings 20:3)  "Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

 

(2 Kings 20:4)  And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him:

 

(2 Kings 20:5)  "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD,

 

(2 Kings 20:6)  and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."

 

(2 Kings 20:7)  And Isaiah said, "Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover."

 

(2 Kings 20:8)  And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?"

 

(2 Kings 20:9)  And Isaiah said, "This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?"

 

(2 Kings 20:10)  And Hezekiah answered, "It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps."

 

(2 Kings 20:11)  And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

 

The major prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel got many messages from God, to pronounce judgment, rebuking Israel and Judah hoping they’d repent of all the idolatry and other wrongdoing, but they didn’t repent and due to their choices faced judgment(captivity) and also promising their restoration after the captivity, as well as judgment on their captors, especially Babylon. This is also true of the Minor Prophets who had similar purposes to their messages. I am using Malachi 3 as an example of the messages received; it encourages repentance and good tithing, promising good blessings for the tithing, yet chastises and corrects wrongdoing:

(Malachi 3:1)  "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

 

(Malachi 3:2)  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.

 

(Malachi 3:3)  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.

 

(Malachi 3:4)  Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

 

(Malachi 3:5)  "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

 

(Malachi 3:6)  "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

 

(Malachi 3:7)  From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?'

 

(Malachi 3:8)  Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions.

 

(Malachi 3:9)  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

 

(Malachi 3:10)  Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

 

(Malachi 3:11)  I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.

 

(Malachi 3:12)  Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

 

(Malachi 3:13)  "Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, 'How have we spoken against you?'

 

(Malachi 3:14)  You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?

 

(Malachi 3:15)  And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'"

 

(Malachi 3:16)  Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.

 

(Malachi 3:17)  "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

 

(Malachi 3:18)  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

 

Jesus would often give messages to people- here is an example for the woman at the well, telling her of living water and also telling about her and her family as well, even though she was a Samaritan:

(John 4:10)  Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

 

(John 4:11)  The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?

 

(John 4:12)  Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."

 

(John 4:13)  Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

 

(John 4:14)  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

 

(John 4:15)  The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

 

(John 4:16)  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

 

(John 4:17)  The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband';

 

(John 4:18)  for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."

 

(John 4:19)  The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

 

(John 4:20)  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."

 

(John 4:21)  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

 

(John 4:22)  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

 

(John 4:23)  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

 

(John 4:24)  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

 

(John 4:25)  The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things."

 

(John 4:26)  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

 

Jesus is famous for I AM messages too. I have done a special bible study on these I AM messages, from Jesus and God the Father and here is the link to it so you can read it:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/i-am-bible-study/10200473451892405

 

Here is a message for Peter spoken by Jesus in reply to Peter after Peter said that Jesus was the son of God

(Matthew 16:15)  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

 

(Matthew 16:16)  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 

(Matthew 16:17)  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

 

(Matthew 16:18)  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

(Matthew 16:19)  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

 

(Matthew 16:20)  Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

 

After that Jesus had to sharply rebuke Peter, who did not want Jesus to go to the cross, which showed to Jesus that Peter really did not understand Jesus’ prime reason for being on the earth(to die for our sins). He would indeed go to the cross and pay for all mankind’s sins once and for all in a perfect way. He left a charge for His disciples and all of us, really before He was taken up to Heaven:

(Acts 1:3)  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

 

(Acts 1:4)  And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;

 

(Acts 1:5)  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

 

(Act 1:6)  So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

 

(Acts 1:7)  He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

 

(Acts 1:8)  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

 

(Acts 1:9)  And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

 

Now I am going to finish up this study with the messages that Jesus gave all of us at the end of Matthew and Mark

Now here are the commissioning statements that Jesus gave His disciples and the rest of us to go be his witness and preach the gospel throughout the world, first in Matthew

(Matthew 28:16)  Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

 

(Matthew 28:17)  And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

 

(Matthew 28:18)  And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

 

(Matthew 28:19)  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

(Matthew 28:20)  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

 

And also in Mark

(Mark 16:14)  Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

 

(Mark 16:15)  And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

 

(Mark 16:16)  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

 

(Mark 16:17)  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

 

(Mark 16:18)  they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

 

(Mark 16:19)  So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

 

(Mark 16:20)  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

 

God has something for every believer to do in the scheme of things, all for His glory. It can be teaching, evangelizing, serving, missions, pasturing, or any number of other possibilities. There always are witnessing opportunities out there each and every day. He loves you so much, that He want to the cross(Jesus) and died for every man’s sins. He longs for a relationship with you and it is easy to get such, all you need to do is invite Jesus in your heart. You can also use this prayer to return to Jesus too, so please pray this prayer with me, and then find out what He has in store for you.

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours