God commissioning bible study

 

            There are many notable passages where God speaks and commissions a patriarch, prophet or even apostle in various and different ways. In the New Testament it is mainly Jesus doing this commissioning. The very first commissioning was for the very creatures and man in Genesis 1 just after God had created all of them, to be fruitful and multiply:

(Genesis 1:20)  And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."

 

(Genesis 1:21)  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

 

(Genesis 1:22)  And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

 

(Genesis 1:23)  And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

 

(Genesis 1:24)  And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds--livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so.

 

(Genesis 1:25)  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

 

(Genesis 1:26)  Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

 

(Genesis 1:27)  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

 

(Genesis 1:28)  And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

 

(Genesis 1:29)  And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

 

(Genesis 1:30)  And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

 

After the flood God commissioned Noah, and made a covenant with him to repopulate the earth, after God had wiped out the original population in the flood,save for Noah, his family and the animals on the ark, promising to destroy the earth by flood again.

(Genesis 9:1)  And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

 

(Genesis 9:2)  The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

 

(Genesis 9:3)  Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

 

(Genesis 9:4)  But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

 

(Genesis 9:5)  And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

 

(Genesis 9:6)  "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

 

(Genesis 9:7)  And you, be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it."

 

(Genesis 9:8)  Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

 

(Genesis 9:9)  "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,

 

(Genesis 9:10)  and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.

 

(Genesis 9:11)  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

 

(Genesis 9:12)  And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:

 

(Genesis 9:13)  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

 

(Genesis 9:14)  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,

 

(Genesis 9:15)  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

 

(Genesis 9:16)  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

 

(Genesis 9:17)  God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

 

(Genesis 9:18)  The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)

 

God commissions Abram, changing his name to Abraham  in Genesis 17 and telling him of his new land, and how big the people of Israel will be:

(Genesis 17:1)  When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

 

(Genesis 17:2)  that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."

 

(Genesis 17:3)  Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,

 

(Genesis 17:4)  "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

 

(Genesis 17:5)  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

 

(Genesis 17:6)  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

 

(Genesis 17:7)  And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

 

(Genesis 17:8)  And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

 

(Genesis 17:9)  And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

 

(Genesis 17:10)  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

 

(Genesis 17:11)  You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

 

(Genesis 17:12)  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,

 

(Genesis 17:13)  both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

 

Here in Genesis 28 Jacob is commissioned by dream, receiving a promise similar to Abraham, reinforcing it, and giving many promises:

(Genesis 28:11)  And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

 

(Genesis 28:12)  And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

 

(Genesis 28:13)  And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

 

(Gen 28:14)  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

 

(Genesis 28:15)  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

 

(Genesis 28:16)  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

 

(Genesis 28:17)  And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

 

(Genesis 28:18)  So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

 

(Genesis 28:19)  He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

 

(Genesis 28:20)  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

 

(Genesis 28:21)  so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,

 

(Genesis 28:22)  and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."

 

God would then send Jacob and all of his people down to Egypt to Joseph where he resided, promising also to bring them back in His timing:

(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."

 

(Genesis 46:5)  Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

 

(Genesis 46:6)  They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,

 

(Genesis 46:7)  his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

 

God would then in the coming many years really multiply the people during their 400 year plus stay in Egypt. Egypt would gradually become harsher and more severe in their treatment of the Israelis. Then God would then raise up and commission a deliver for the children of Israel from Egypt, Moses

(Exodus 3:1)  Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

 

(Exodus 3:2)  And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

 

(Exodus 3:3)  And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned."

 

(Exodus 3:4)  When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

 

(Exodus 3:5)  Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

 

(Exodus 3:6)  And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

 

(Exodus 3:7)  Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,

 

(Exodus 3:8)  and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

 

(Exodus 3:9)  And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

 

(Exodus 3:10)  Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

 

Moses did just that, bringing the children of Israel up and out of the Egypt and up to the Promised Land. It would then fall to Moses’ successor Joshua to conquer and subdue this land for Israel to settle in, and so he was commissioned for that very purpose in the beginning of the book of Joshua:

(Joshua 1:1)  After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant,

 

(Joshua 1:2)  "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

 

(Joshua 1:3)  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

 

(Joshua 1:4)  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.

 

(Joshua 1:5)  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

 

(Joshua 1:6)  Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

 

(Joshua 1:7)  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

 

(Joshua 1:8)  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

 

(Joshua 1:9)  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

 

Joshua did indeed lead the Israelites and they did capture the Promised Land, that which God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They would then settle in but then they would often fall away, following after the pagan gods of the people that they did not drive out. They then would repent of this idolatry and God would then raise up judges to deliver them up out of the hands of various nations God had allowed to conquer His people, to punish His people for their idolatry and get them to repent and return to Him. One such judge was Gideon and her is Gideon’s commissioning to be the judge who would deliver Israel from Midian’s oppression:

(Judges 6:11)  Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

 

(Judges 6:12)  And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor."

 

(Judges 6:13)  And Gideon said to him, "Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian."

 

(Judges 6:14)  And the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?"

 

(Judges 6:15)  And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

 

(Judges 6:16)  And the LORD said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

 

(Judges 6:17)  And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.

 

(Judges 6:18)  Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay till you return."

 

(Judges 6:19)  So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them.

 

(Judges 6:20)  And the angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." And he did so.

 

(Judges 6:21)  Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.

 

(Judges 6:22)  Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."

 

(Judges 6:23)  But the LORD said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die."

 

(Judges 6:24)  Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

 

(Judges 6:25)  That night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it

 

(Judges 6:26)  and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down."

 

(Judges 6:27)  So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

 

(Judges 6:28)  When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built.

 

(Judges 6:29)  And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And after they had searched and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."

 

(Judges 6:30)  Then the men of the town said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it."

 

(Judges 6:31)  But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down."

 

(Judges 6:32)  Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend against him," because he broke down his altar.

 

(Judges 6:33)  Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.

 

(Judges 6:34)  But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.

 

(Judges 6:35)  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

 

(Judges 6:36)  Then Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,

 

(Judges 6:37)  behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said."

 

(Judges 6:38)  And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.

 

(Judges 6:39)  Then Gideon said to God, "Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew."

 

(Judges 6:40)  And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

 

Gideon did indeed test God to see if he was indeed the man God would use to deliver Israel from Midian. Gideon would indeed do so, and this was through God’s wonderful work, see Judges 7 for the story.

 

In 1 Samuel 3 God commissioned Samuel to be a prophet and the final judge of Israel and to pronounce judgment on Eli and his son’s for the latter’s blasphemy and other eveils which Eli failed to restrain them from doing, making Eli guilty of complicity:

(1 Samuel 3:1)  Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

 

(1 Samuel 3:2)  At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.

 

(1 Samuel 3:3)  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

 

(1 Samuel 3:4)  Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, "Here I am!"

 

(1 Samuel 3:5)  and ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down.

 

(1 Samuel 3:6)  And the LORD called again, "Samuel!" and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."

 

(1 Samuel 3:7)  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

 

(1 Samuel 3:8)  And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the young man.

 

(1 Samuel 3:9)  Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

 

(1 Samuel 3:10)  And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."

 

(1 Samuel 3:11)  Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

 

(1 Samuel 3:12)  On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

 

(1 Samuel 3:13)  And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.

 

(1 Samuel 3:14)  Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

 

(1 Samuel 3:15)  Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

 

(1 Samuel 3:16)  But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am."

 

(1 Samuel 3:17)  And Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you."

 

(1 Samuel 3:18)  So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him."

 

(1 Samuel 3:19)  And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

 

(1 Samuel 3:20)  And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.

 

(1 Samuel 3:21)  And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

 

Now, onto the major prophets, and they all had interesting commissionings by God. Isaiah is first by a vision or even a temporary translation, seeing as how Isaiah was in God’s and angels’ prescences:

(Isaiah 6:1)  In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

 

(Isaiah 6:2)  Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

 

(Isaiah 6:3)  And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

 

(Isaiah 6:4)  And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

 

(Isaiah 6:5)  And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

 

(Isaiah 6:6)  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

 

(Isaiah 6:7)  And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

 

(Isaiah 6:8)  And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

 

(Isaiah 6:9)  And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

 

(Isaiah 6:10)  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

 

(Isaiah 6:11)  Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,

 

(Isaiah 6:12)  and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

 

(Isaiah 6:13)  And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

 

Jeremiah a prophet to Judah was commissioned in this way, when the Lord spoke to him concerning the messages he was to deliver to a rebellious people:

(Jeremiah 1:4)  Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

 

(Jeremiah 1:5)  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

 

(Jeremiah 1:6)  Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."

 

(Jeremiah 1:7)  But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

 

(Jeremiah 1:8)  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."

 

(Jeremiah 1:9)  Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

 

(Jeremiah 1:10)  See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

 

(Jeremiah 1:11)  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see an almond branch."

 

(Jeremiah 1:12)  Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it."

 

(Jeremiah 1:13)  The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north."

 

(Jeremiah 1:14)  Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.

 

(Jeremiah 1:15)  For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.

 

(Jeremiah 1:16)  And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.

 

(Jeremiah 1:17)  But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.

 

(Jeremiah 1:18)  And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.

 

(Jeremiah 1:19)  They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you."

 

Ezekiel was commissioned in visions sent from God, and had to eat a scroll, then  God told Ezekiel he would have to speak to the exiles about their continued stubbornness:

(Ezekiel 2:1)  And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you."

 

(Ezekiel 2:2)  And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

 

(Ezekiel 2:3)  And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.

 

(Ezekiel 2:4)  The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

 

(Ezekiel 2:5)  And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.

 

(Ezekiel 2:6)  And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

 

(Ezekiel 2:7)  And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

 

(Ezekiel 2:8)  "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

 

(Ezekiel 2:9)  And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.

 

(Ezekiel 2:10)  And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

 

(Ezekiel 3:1)  And he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."

 

(Ezekiel 3:2)  So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.

 

(Ezekiel 3:3)  And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

 

(Ezekiel 3:4)  And he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.

 

(Ezekiel 3:5)  For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel--

 

(Ezekiel 3:6)  not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.

 

(Ezekiel 3:7)  But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.

 

(Ezekiel 3:8)  Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

 

(Ezekiel 3:9)  Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house."

 

(Ezekiel 3:10)  Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.

 

(Ezekiel 3:11)  And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear or refuse to hear."

 

(Ezekiel 3:12)  Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!"

 

(Ezekiel 3:13)  It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake.

 

(Ezekiel 3:14)  The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.

 

(Ezekiel 3:15)  And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

 

Here is Jesus’ baptism a commissioning sort of- the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove comes down on Him too:

(Matthew 3:10)  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 

(Matthew 3:11)  "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 

(Matthew 3:12)  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

 

(Matthew 3:13)  Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.

 

(Matthew 3:14)  John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

 

(Matthew 3:15)  But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

 

(Matthew 3:16)  And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

 

(Matthew 3:17)  and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

 

In Matthew 12, Jesus commissions and sends out His disciples with this:

(Matthew 10:5)  These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

 

(Matthew 10:6)  but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

 

(Matthew 10:7)  And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

 

(Matthew 10:8)  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

 

(Matthew 10:9)  Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts,

 

(Matthew 10:10)  no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

 

(Matthew 10:11)  And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

 

(Matthew 10:12)  As you enter the house, greet it.

 

(Matthew 10:13)  And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

 

(Matthew 10:14)  And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

 

(Matthew 10:15)  Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

 

And there is more to the story(you can read more of chapter 10), but you get the idea. Also in Luke 12 Jesus commissions a bigger group to go out- seventy two with much the same  purpose in mind:

(Luke 10:1)  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

 

(Luke 10:2)  And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

 

(Luke 10:3)  Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

 

(Luke 10:4)  Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.

 

(Luke 10:5)  Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'

 

(Luke 10:6)  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.

 

(Luke 10:7)  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

 

(Luke 10:8)  Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.

 

(Luke 10:9)  Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

 

(Luke 10:10)  But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,

 

(Luke 10:11)  'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'

 

(Luke 10:12)  I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

 

And in Acts 1 Jesus would a final commissioning of the apostles before being taken up into Heaven to sit at God’s right hand , promising the Holy Spirit to come to them, to help them very soon, in days:

(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."

 

(Acts 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."

 

In Acts 9, Paul was converted and then commissioned to be the apostle that he would become, Jesus had big things for Paul to do:

(Acts 9:3)  Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

 

(Acts 9:4)  And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

 

(Acts 9:5)  And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

 

(Acts 9:6)  But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

 

(Acts 9:7)  The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

 

(Acts 9:8)  Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

 

(Acts 9:9)  And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

 

(Acts 9:10)  Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."

 

(Acts 9:11)  And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,

 

(Acts 9:12)  and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."

 

(Acts 9:13)  But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

 

(Acts 9:14)  And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name."

 

(Acts 9:15)  But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

 

(Acts 9:16)  For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

 

Here are some verses later in Acts which further explain Paul’s commissionings, and to retell his testimony of his conversion:

(Acts 22:7)  And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'

 

(Acts 22:8)  And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'

 

(Acts 22:9)  Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

 

(Act 22:10)  And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'

 

(Acts 22:18)  and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

 

(Acts 22:21)  And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

 

(Acts 23:11)  The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome."

 

(Acts 26:14)  And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

 

(Acts 26:15)  And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

 

(Acts 26:16)  But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,

 

(Acts 26:17)  delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you

 

(Acts 26:18)  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

 

Jesus did indeed appear to Paul several times during these late books in Acts, to give Paul messages and instructions Paul also testified about his conversion  in them which is described again, in differing ways in these latter chapters. Paul would go on to be such a powerful apostle, too, and wrote much of the new testament, and go on to Rome where he would be martyred in the faith.

 

The Lord Jesus even gave John a commission concerning the book of Revelation, and specifically what was to be written in it:

(Revelation 1:7)  Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

 

(Rev 1:8)  "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

 

(Revelation 1:9)  I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

 

(Revelation 1:10)  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

 

(Revelation 1:11)  saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

 

(Revelation 1:12)  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,

 

(Revelation 1:13)  and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.

 

(Revelation 1:14)  The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,

 

(Revelation 1:15)  his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.

 

(Revelation 1:16)  In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

 

(Revelation 1:17)  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,

 

(Revelation 1:18)  and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

 

(Revelation 1:19)  Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

 

(Revelation 1:20)  As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

 

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