| Isaiah and Jeremiah |
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"Your sins shall be taken away" |
| GOD
sent many prophets to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. One of the greatest
of these was a nobleman from Jerusalem. His name was Isaiah. He served as a
prophet of God while four kings ruled over Judah. One day Isaiah had a beautiful vision. He saw a high throne upon which the Lord was sitting. The robes of the Lord filled the Temple. Angels stood about the throne and sang, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of His glory!" The Temple shook with the sound of their voices and was filled with a bright cloud. Isaiah was afraid. He did not feel worthy to see such a vision. But one of the angels took a live coal from the altar. With it he touched the lips of Isaiah and said, "Your sins shall be taken away." Besides bringing God's messages to the kings, Isaiah also preached to the people. He foretold that, like the kingdom of Israel, Judah also would be destroyed, but that a few people would be saved. Out of this small number God would make a new people who would serve Him faithfully. Isaiah spoke more about the Messiah and His kingdom than any other prophet. After serving as God's prophet for many years, Isaiah was put to death by the wicked king, Manasseh. Jeremiah was another of the great prophets. An angel touched his mouth and said, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth." At the same time Jeremiah had a vision. He saw the message he was to carry to the nations. The prophet showed the people how ungrateful they had been to God. He told them that God was inviting them to come back to Him. Through Jeremiah, God made it known that He would destroy the country and send the people into captivity, but that God would restore to Jerusalem a few of His Chosen People. He would make them into a great nation which would have as its leader the Messiah Himself. Many times Jeremiah had to suffer because his message from God did not please the leaders. In his suffering Jeremiah was like our Lord. |
