Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19

Book of Prophet Isaiah

 Chapter 

19

¹  An oracle concerning Egypt. See, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 1)

Oh God, my Father, I pray that You send Your Spirit over Aleppo in Syria. Make the heart of those who are carrying massive attacks melt in fear of You. Muddle their plans and do justice to the innocent people who are forced to leave their homeland in search of a safer place where to live Amen. God bless all who are involved in the mission of caring and working with such victims of this senseless war Amen.


² I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight one against the other, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; ³ the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their plans; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead and the ghosts and the familiar spirits; ⁴ I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master; a fierce king will rule over them, says the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts.


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 2 to 4)



Oh God throughout the previous year 2016  we had witnessed such episodes of war particularly in regions such as Aleppo, where many lives were lost, and which gave rise to many reactions and emotions. Oh God Your prophecies have always been fulfilled both in the past and in the present Amen



⁵ The waters of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will be parched and dry; ⁶ its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 5 to 6)



Oh God my Father when we wander far from Your presence, gradually we begin to dry up, and no life remains in us. We will end up dry and cold. However, if our roots are firmly planted in You who are our life-giving source of life we will never experience thirst Amen.


⁷ There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile; and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up, be driven away, and be no more.


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 7)



Oh God, my Father, I pray that I will never dry up like the Nile and that all that You have done for me and for me will be as if it had never been. Even though life is not being kind I keep on praying for Your mercy amen.



⁸ Those who fish will mourn; all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread on the water will languish. ⁹ The workers in flax will be in despair, and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale. ¹⁰ Its weavers will be dismayed, and all who work for wages will be grieved.




(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 8 to 10)



Oh God my Father the time will come when we will realise that our joy and satisfaction is not only from what we produce or harvest or catch but on our relationship with You, for one day, there will be no more fish to catch, no more wool to weave, and where will our happiness be if our product fails to provide? It will be a time of great depression for our hopes and aspirations would all go down the drain. Therefore let us all place our hope, love, and trust in You my God and Father Amen.




¹¹ The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;  the wise counselors of Pharoah give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharoah, "I am one of the sages, a descendant of ancient kings"?


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 11)



Oh God my Father You make fools out of those who pretend to be wise and intelligent, but on the other hand, you give wisdom to those whom people in general, consider as being stupid and of low social status. I thank You for increasing the value of the humble instead of devaluing it Amen.



¹² Where now are your sages? Let them tell you and make known what the LORD of hosts planned against Egypt.



(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 12) 



Oh Lord God my Father Your wisdom can never be compared with that of the world. The world makes assumptions but You know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We grope in the darkness to make head and tail of what is happening in our lives, but You have the plan of our lives before You are in control of every detail of our life Amen. 



¹³ The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of its tribes have led Egypt astray. 



(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 13)  



Oh God my Father the world has also led us astray. The prince of the world has led us under the false oimpression that our end will never come and that while still alive, we are to lead a life of comfort and riches, a life which is alienated from You completely. 



¹⁴ The LORD has poured into them a spirit of confusion; and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings as a drunkard staggers around in vomit.


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 14)



Oh God my beloved  Father as much as You can pour onto us a spirit of unity, You can also pour a spirit of confusion and discord as You did in Egypt in the person of the Pharaoah. I am realizing that the spirit of discord which is dominant in my home is a stepping stone for the future Amen. 


¹⁵ Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt. 


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 15)



Oh God my beloved Father when You are with us nothing can stand against us, however if we decide to be against You, we do not stand a chance. I pray that I will never be against You my God and Father. Amen.


¹⁶On that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts raises against them.



(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 16)

 

Oh God my beloved Father, nothing and nobody can stand before You. Even the strongest empire on earth or the all the super powers do not have a chance against You even though they may think they are supreme on earth Amen.


¹⁷ And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the LORD of hosts is planning against them.



(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 17)


Oh God my Father, I desperately need Your protection, I need You to become a terror against those who are trying to trap me and prove that I am mentally ill. I need Your support now more than ever Amen.


¹⁸ On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.


(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 18)


Oh God, You always refer to that day without telling us the date, Oh if only I knew the date when I will be reconciled with You forever in Heaven, that is if I am worthy to appear before You Amen. 


¹⁹ On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.

 (The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 19)

  

Oh God my Father, how much I wish that I have an altar in the center of my heart where we can always meet in fellowship and prayer. May the smoke of offerings of prayers and good deeds always rise to You from my altar Amen.


²⁰ It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them.

 (The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 20)

 

Oh God my Father even since the time of the prophets You were already preparing us for the coming of Your Son in the person of Jesus. I thank You for being a million steps ahead of my plans and making the plans for my recovery to save me from my sinful self and state of nature Amen. Thank You oh God my Father.



²¹ The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the LORD on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them.

 (The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 21)

 

Oh God, ²³my beloved Father, I pray for that day, when all people who either do not know You or have not accepted You as their God and Father will unite together and make a pledge of faith to You alone Amen.


²² The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.

(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 22)

Oh God my blessed Father unlike the people of the world, even though You strike You also heal, which I truly admire in You and love You more because of it. Your aim is always that of pulling me closer to You. I thank You for moments of testing because gold, when tested by fire, brings out its true and fine qualities Amen. The more You polish me oh Father, even though the circumstances may be hard to endure, the shinier I become Amen, but please take Your time and consider that I am only human Amen.


²³  On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. ²⁴ On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."

(The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 19 verses 23 to 25)

Oh God my beloved Father as in this prophecy that reflects peace and reconciliation, I also believe that there will arrive that day if it is according to Your will, where the Churches will unite and your body on earth will be complete without and divisions or sects or groups. I believe that in Your name You can make this possible.

I would like to end the nineteenth chapter of the book of the Prophet Isaiah with the following prayer:

Oh God my blessed and loving Father, I pray for unity and peace in the entire world, for there are many divisions that only You can heal. I pray for World leaders to find or explore common grounds of peace and friendship so that war and destruction will never take place again and innocent people will keep on dying. May our focus be that of addressing issues that have an impact on the whole world, such as, peace, poverty and climate change among others Amen 

 

 
 

Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 18

Book of Prophet Isaiah

 Chapter 

18

1. Ah, land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 2. sending ambassadors by the Nile in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.

(Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 18 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father we place our trust in things such as vessels on which we venture long distances, however, such vessels are also in Your hands during their voyages, for if You desire that such means of defense or transportation sink to the bottom of the ocean in all their grandeur and armaments they become like plastic toys in a bathtub bobbing like a corkscrew at the mercy of the mighty waves on which they float Amen.



3. All you inhabitants of the world, you who live on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, listen! 4. For thus the LORD said to me; I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.



(Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 18 verses 3  to 4)




Oh God my Father You are aware of the signs that are to come that mark the end of this chapter of life on earth and the beginning of the new one when the time will come. I pray that You will give us the needed knowledge and spiritual insight by means of the power of the Holy Spirit so that when the time come we will be ready. Amen.



I invite you to visit the following link:-


2016-2017 signs of Times



5. For before the harvest, when the blossom is over and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he will hew away. 6. They shall be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the animals of the earth, And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the animals of the earth will winter on them.



(Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 18 verses 5  to 6)



Oh God my Father at the appointed time You will come and slash the forces of evil from their roots so that it cannot spread further and bear more of its kind Amen. During life situations, You oh God will also intervene so that the evil will find no rest. All that takes place under the guise of evil You will expose to Your light of truth Amen.


7. At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts.


(Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 18 verse 7)



Oh God my Father, You humble the proud and empower the humble by restoring a state of dignity and renewal in the Holy Spirit. I pray that everyone in the world gives You praise and worship Amen.



Oh God my Father, I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer;



Although we do not know when the last day on earth will be, my God and Father, I pray that You find me worthy of being admitted to Your presence. I pray also for many others who although may not have a relationship with You, they still love You. I pray that the earth will become one family with You as its Father Amen.

Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17

 

Book of Prophet Isaiah 

Chapter 17

 

 

1. An oracle concerning Damascus. See Damascus will cease to be a city, and will become a heap of ruins. 2. Her towns will be deserted forever, they will be places for flocks which will lie down, and no one will make them afraid.

(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17 verses 1 to 2 )

Alert ! Alert to all nations who have willfully decided to reject God Almighty and His teachings. Be aware and careful and repent for as in the case of Damascus, this may also be your experience, for in God we find our strength and existence and life, without Him we are literally like dead stones, existing physically but having no life or soul in us. Amen.




3.The fortress will disappear from Ephraim and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel says the LORD of hosts.




(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17 verse 3)




Oh God, my Father how better the world would be if it would be free of all weapons both nuclear and of all kinds ranging from both sea and air and any other possible source Amen. I pray for peace my God and Father Amen.




4. On that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. 5. And it shall be as when reapers gather standing grain and their arms harvest the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.


(Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17 verses 4 to 5)


Oh God my Father, there comes a time when we experience desolations, that show us who we really are. You bring us face to face with our own strengths and weaknesses and we will learn to depend on You and not on ourselves Amen.




6. Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten-two or three berries in the top of the highest bough four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, says the LORD God of Israel. 7. On that day people will regard their Maker, and their eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel; 8. they will not have regard for the altars, the work of their hands, and they will not look to what their own fingers have made, either the sacred poles or the altars of incense.




(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 17 verses 6 to 8)




Oh God my Father, how I pray that our focus will be totally on You and not on the ways of the world. May we take pride on living according to Your Will and not according to worldly occupations such as promotions and other accomplishments Amen.   




9. On that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the Hivites and the Amorites, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.




(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 17 verse 9)





Oh God my Father we may have many riches and friends, however if we do not have You we have nothing, poor and desolate, for the world offers us a long lasting friendship however this is an illusion, for when we are at conflict with friends or even family they might decide to go back on the word of friendship or even marriage and go their way, and we might end up on our own. During such moments of desolation, we will feel so sorry that we had not had a relationship with You, that the loss will feel bigger. I pray that as much as we invest in our worldly relationships we also invest in our relationship with You, my God and Father.




10. For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore though you plant pleasant plants and set out slips of an alien god, 11. though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow; yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.


(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17 verses 10 to 11)


Oh God my Father although we try and condition our environment in order to produce more, we cannot condition You so that we may experience You more in our lives. Even though we may have more produce to satisfy our needs and wants and even have a surplus, if we do not have You we will never feel fulfilled Amen.



12. Ah, the thunder of many peoples, they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of the nations, they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! 13. The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm. 14. At evening time, lo terror! Before morning, they are no more. This the fate of those who despoil us, and the lot of those who plunder us.



(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 17 verses 12 to 14)





Oh God my Father, the crowd is like a hungry monster, people at times appear to be friends and the next minute they turn against me. This week I had to make an important decision. I ended my friendship with a colleague at work. I had previously made this person aware that at times the symptoms of my asthma are leaving me out of breath and that I cannot withstand lengthy arguments. However time and time again this friend united with other friends at work at ganged against me on issues of religion trying to press the point that You do not exist. Even though he saw me breathless this friend kept on insisting that I give him a reply, and finally I told him that the relationship was off and that he was to find someone else to take him home and bring him to our workplace. I felt hurt and betrayed and I could not take it anymore. During the heated argument, he and others tried to use the words that I include in my prayers in this blog against me and I was really hurt.  Oh God and Father, I do not want him to be hindered in his spiritual life as a consequence of anything that I include in my prayers Amen.



Oh God my Father I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-



Oh God, my Father I long for the day or moment of Your second visit. Many People and including myself at times are so unreliable. At times we are full of Spirit and have the appearance of angels and at other times we turn into evil spirits and cause harm to others and to ourselves. I pray oh God my Father that You baptise the world and cleanse it from our sinful nature and renew our hearts so that we can start fresh in our relationships with others, with You and even with ourselves. I would like to pray for those who ridiculed me because of You, my God and Father at work. Even though I became mad at the time, now I feel proud to have been persecuted and ridiculed because of Your Name Amen.

 
 

Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 16

ISAIAH 

CHAPTER 

16

I would like to share this joke before reflecting on this chapter of the prophet Isaiah:

Why would the small prophet render less income than the other prophets such as Isaiah?

Easy answered the economy student; "Because they are of small profit!  

1. Send Lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of daughter Zion. 2. Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

 (Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God my Father, when we decide to act according to our own ways and not according to You will we are like frail birds fluttering in panic in order to find a means of escape from the negative forces of evil who try to kill us and eat us. Oh God my Father during such moments we would like to seek Your comfort but our sin is like a blindfold which hinders us from seeing Your light and the safety path leading towards our salvation.



3. "Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive; let the outcasts of Moab settle among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer."


(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verse 3)



Oh God my Father Your orders are clear. They guide us in giving refuge to those who seek it as in the case of Asylum seekers. May we act out of love and not out of fear and adopt a negative perception of these people who may be literally seeking refuge from their destroyer, for we also seek refuge in You my, God from our destroyer, meaning the evil one who is able to destroy both the soul and the body. Amen



4. let the outcasts of Moab settle among you; be refuge to them from the destroyer." When the oppressor is no more and destruction has ceased and marauders have vanished from the land
  

(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verse 4)  



Oh God my Father instead of making enemies of those whom we fear or perceive as a threat as in the case of illegal immigrants, our attitude may change and we may also grow in our relationships with  others and even with You Amen.



5. then a throne shall be established in steadfast love in the tent of David, and on it shall sit in faithfullness a ruler who seeks justice and is swift to do what is right.


(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verse 5)



Oh God my Father may you always occupy the throne of my heart. May it always be available for You. Even though at times such as the present I do not feel Your presence due to my own sins, I still believe in You and reserve this seat for You. Amen.


6. We have heard of the pride of Moab how proud he is! of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false. 7. Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.


(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verses 6 to 7)


Oh God, my Father let us tear our hearts out in pain, for the proud, for those who are proud, have no space for You in their hearts and mind. They think that their successes are all their doing. Once they are subjected to Your testing and witness their world which may start to fall apart, they may yell at You in a spirit of anger and desperation and ask You why You permitted this and that to happen, as if they or anyone of us have something special that protects us from the ways of the world, which are all under Your control Amen. 


8. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vines of Sibmah, whose clusters once made drunk the lords of the nations reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; their shoots once spread abroad and crossed over the sea. 9. Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vines of Sibmah I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for the shout over your fruit harvest and your grain harvest has ceased.


(Book of Prophets Isaiah Chapter 16 verses 8) to 9)



Oh God my Father when we spread our roots to tap the contaminated resources of the world we will still remain weak and thirsty and we will not bear fruit for the sources of the world are of the world, while the sources that find their origins in You are nutritious for our soul Amen.

   
10. Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no shouts are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses the vintage-shout is hushed."


(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 16 verse 10)


Oh God my Father, where Your presence is not experienced, there is silence depression, alcohol and antidepressants, for nobody and nothing can fill in or replace Your presence in us. I pray oh God my Father that You breach our firewall of sins during such situations and may Your light penetrate our darkness Amen.
  


 11. Therefore my heart throbs like a harp for Moab, and my very soul for Kir-heres. 12. When Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.


(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 16 verses 11 to 12)



Oh God my Father even though at times we come before you in worship, if our lives are not according to Your ways there will still be blockages between us as in the case of Moab. You love us so much that You empathise with us and long to be reunited with us, however, although You love us dearly, You do not force Yourself upon us. It depends on us if we are to accept You as our God and Father or not Amen. May we all decide to accept Your offer Amen.


13. This was the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past, 14. But Now the LORD says, In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all its great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble.


(Book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 16 verses 13 to 14)


Oh God my Father, You had warned Moab many times about the consequences of the negative actions that had taken place, now came the time  as according to Your Divine will when Moab was to be brought down from his high horse and have his nose rubbed in the dirt.



 Oh God my Father, I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer. 



Oh God, You love us so much that You give us one chance after another, in order to turn back from our sinful ways. You even speak to us by means of others and even by means of situations that may not always be to our liking or according to our agendas or plans. However, if we willfully still persist in doing what is not according to Your will we are subject to experience the negative consequences of our actions, and it is not God's fault if we end up in serious trouble Amen.