Go, and say to this people, “Listen carefully, but do not understand; watch closely, but learn nothing.” — Isaiah 6:9
This is truly one of the strangest prophesies in the scriptures. It’s a prophecy that tells the people they’re not going to get it. Listen, but you won’t understand; watch, but don’t bother learning anything because you’re not going to.
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
When God’s Word is hidden in your heart, it doesn’t lie dormant like a buried seed. It’s alive—growing, reaching, reshaping who you are from the inside out. It’s not about memorizing verses or collecting knowledge; it’s about internalizing truth until it begins to think and move through you.
If I warn the wicked, saying, “You will surely die,” and you do not speak to warn them… I will hold you accountable for their blood. — Ezekiel 3:18
I love this series in which Marti has selected a number of prophetic passages for us to study and write about. However this one I’ve been dreading. That’s because it smacks of legalism and a fear tactic that was used on me by eager youth pastors when I was growing up to try to get us in the youth group to witness to our friends. The picture was painted of us getting to heaven and having to face our friends on their way to hell crying out to us as they filed by to their doom, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.— Proverbs 29:18
Without a prophetic vision, people run wild.
Without a prophetic vision, people cast off restraint.
Without a prophetic vision, people perish.
Without a prophetic vision, people are out of control.
Without a prophetic vision, people do whatever they want.
Without a prophetic vision, law and order disappear.
You get the idea. These are all examples of how various Bible translations have translated Proverbs 29:18. Bottom line: without a prophetic vision, everything flies apart. There’s nothing to hold it together. Nothing to focus on. No direction. No path. Without a central voice — without a prophet — it’s chaotic. It’s very much like the world today.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
A prophet’s call begins in the mirror. Before I can speak to what God requires of you, I have to look honestly at myself. These words from Micah are not a banner to wave over society or you—they are a mirror to hold up to my own heart. It’s easy to point fingers from a distance, to diagnose what’s wrong with politics, culture, or the church. But Micah’s call begins closer to home — the home where my heart dwells.
Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.” — Habakkuk 2:2
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays could have used a runner last night carrying a tablet around the stadium that read, “Enough, already!” It was Game 3 of the World Series and when I checked the score it was tied 5-5 in the ninth inning. I talked Marti into watching it with me under the pretext that it would be over very soon. Marti is warming up a little to baseball but she still thinks watching the game, especially on TV is a little like watching paint dry. But this was no ordinary game, this was the World Series for goodness sake, and the fact that it was tied in the ninth surely guaranteed an exciting finish.
First, a word about Habakkuk. Habakkuk was an “everyman’s” prophet, in some ways like us. Unlike many other prophets, Habakkuk appears to have initiated the conversation with God, rather than being directly called to deliver a message to the people. His prophetic work is a series of questions and dialogues with God about the injustice he witnesses —an unusual format for a prophetic book. He was pleading for God’s mercy on behalf of the people, rather than a prophet decreeing God’s message to them.
We live in a loud world. Everyone has something to say. Social media, news, influencers — truth is getting harder to spot in the noise. But we’re not powerless in all this. We are modern-day prophets. Not because we’re perfect or special, but because we go to God with hard questions and expect real answers.
Just like Habakkuk did:
“I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how He will answer my complaint.” – Habakkuk 2:1
Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. (Amos 5:24)
We are a people who love knowledge. We study the Word, support causes, and fund ministries. However, there’s a growing disconnect between what we know and what we do. We’ve mistaken justice for charity and settled for awareness when the gospel calls us to action.
Scripture is clear: justice is not an extra — it’s a command — a defining mark of those who truly follow God.
Listen! [Eyes Wide Open] It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” Isaiah 40:3
This was the prophetic statement of the prophet Isaiah about the coming Messiah. The voice was to be John the Baptist, and the wilderness and the wasteland is the way by which our Lord Jesus Christ was to come into the world. Jesus comes right through the emptiness and barrenness of our lives. Jesus didn’t drop out of heaven. He didn’t magically appear out of thin air. He didn’t ride in on a white horse. He was born into our world and we are asked to prepare a way for Him. He comes to us through the chaos and the parched ground of our human weakness.
The words of a priest’s lips should preserve the knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi 2:7
For you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Now that we understand that all believers are prophets called to bring light, we must also grasp what it means that we are all priests. Not priests in robes, with phylacteries, or vestments, but humble servants entrusted with the knowledge of God and the message of reconciliation.
John Fischer The Catch 