God’s spirit spoke through prophets
Daily Scripture
Isaiah 61:1-3, Zechariah 7:8-12
Isaiah 61
1 The LORD God’s spirit is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me.
He has sent me
to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim release for captives,
and liberation for prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and a day of vindication for our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 to provide for Zion’s mourners,
to give them a crown in place of ashes,
oil of joy in place of mourning,
a mantle of praise in place of discouragement.
They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
planted by the LORD to glorify himself.
Zechariah 7
8 The LORD’s word came to Zechariah:
9 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims:
Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other! 10 Don’t oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don’t plan evil against each other! 11 But they refused to pay attention. They turned a cold shoulder and stopped listening.
12 They steeled their hearts against hearing the Instruction and the words that the LORD of heavenly forces sent by his spirit through the earlier prophets.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Many prophets just said their message was “the word of the LORD.” But, especially after the Babylonian exile, they also spoke of God’s Spirit bringing them the message. “In the majority of Old Testament incidents involving the Spirit, the Spirit acts as the channel of communication between God and a human person. In this role, the Spirit was understood in Judaism to be the ‘Spirit of prophecy’. That is, the Spirit was considered to make God’s will and wisdom known to his people.” *
- You may know Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2 to define his mission (cf. Luke 4:14-20). But the prophet’s words first spoke to his times, some 500 years before Jesus. “The people to whom he ministers are lowly and broken in their inner being. They’re like people in prison (as if they’re still in exile). They’re mourning Zion—mourning its broken state. Their spirit is flickering. Their city lies in ruins, as it has done for years.” ** How did God’s spirit offer good news to those who came back to ruined Jerusalem after exile in Babylon? ***
- Zechariah pointed Israel’s leader to the power of God’s Spirit with the words, “Neither by power, nor by strength, but by my spirit, says the LORD of heavenly forces” (Zechariah 4:6). In today’s passage, he also noted his people’s sad (and ongoing) history of ignoring prophetic messages sent by the same spirit. Review what Zechariah 7:9-10 above said they should do. How can we today claim to be following God’s spirit if we are not living out those divine principles?
Prayer
Lord God, through your Spirit, give me the courage and responsiveness to make the world better in whatever ways, large or small, your spirit calls me to. Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe serves as a Couples Small Group co-leader & Men's Group Leader, while volunteering in a variety of other capacities at Resurrection. He and his wife, Doris, first met in a Resurrection Single Adult Sunday School class in 1997 and were married in what is now the Student Center. They are empty nesters with 2 college-aged sons, Matthew and Jacob.
As I read today’s passage, I began to consider all the lists we have in our lives, be it grocery lists, bucket lists, or even lists of dietary restrictions like avoiding Taco Bell after 8:00 p.m.
I recall the list we made for our baby-sitters when my wife, Doris, & I left our first-born son, Matthew, for the first time. As we got into our car to go to dinner, I shared my concerns with Doris. “Did you see how their eyes glazed over between pages 3 & 4 of our list of instructions? I don’t think they were paying attention at all. I’m just not sure they are even qualified to watch Matthew.” Doris rolled her eyes & replied, “It’s just dinner. You tell them. I’m not going to tell them. They’re your parents.”
Zechariah provides a powerful list of do’s & don’ts in today’s Scripture that concludes with a doozy: “Don’t plan evil against each other.” Yikes. That would look a tad daunting on a poster in the employee break room next to the picture of the kitten clinging to a branch with the text, “Hang in there!” But, what would it look like if we tweaked Zechariah’s sentiment with a positive spin?
When we became empty nesters a few years ago, I needed to replace my Dad-related activities (Boy Scout Asst. Scoutmaster, BVN Band Volunteer, Intramural Coach, etc.) & was invited by my friend, Ken, from the 7:30 church service to check out the Leawood Rotary Club. The Leawood Rotary Club has been inspiring its members to put “service ahead of self” for the past 30 years by volunteering/donating to a wide variety of causes ranging from Project Cure to The Veteran’s Community Project to paying for kid’s school lunches to picking up trash on the roadways.
Before joining, I did some research on Rotary International. Rotary was established 120 years ago by Chicago businesspeople striving to use their expertise to help make the world a better place. (One example would be Rotary’s initiative to eradicate polio. Since 1980, Rotary has donated $2.5 billion dollars to protect 2.2 billion children in 122 different countries.)
One of the key tenets of Rotary is the 4-Way Test, which we recite each week & asks 4 questions:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill & better friendships?
- Is it beneficial to all concerned?
The 4-Way Test began in 1932 in the midst of the Depression. The Club Aluminum Company in Chicago, Illinois was in debt $400,000 & on the verge of bankruptcy. The creditors hired Herbert J. Taylor as CEO & loaned him $6,100 to try to turn around the company. Mr. Taylor believed that the best way to transform Club Aluminum was to develop a company-wide ethos of character, dependability, & service. Mr. Taylor studied various ethics statements for businesses, but found them to be lengthy, hard to remember, & constantly in need of amending due to ever-changing circumstances. So, Mr. Taylor, a life-long Methodist, tried to write his own code of conduct, but couldn’t do it. Frustrated, he turned to God in prayer & would later write 24 words on a note card that would remain unchanged 92 years later.
Before unveiling the 4-Way-Test, Mr. Taylor wanted to practice it on himself first. He failed. But after 60 days, he finally felt like he was making progress & presented it to the board for company-wide implementation. Eventually, the company prospered & Club Aluminum repaid 100% of their debts as the company grew into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Mr. Taylor shared the 4-Way-Test with Rotary International & he would later be featured in a cover story in Newsweek magazine in 1955.
So what might this all mean for us today? What if we drew inspiration from Mr. Taylor & sought to create our own code of conduct? We wouldn’t have to start from scratch; we could re-write Zechariah’s list or Isaiah’s list from today’s passage & put it in our own words. Or, for example, we could take Jesus’ identification of the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) & write it on a note card like this:
- Love God
- Love Others
- Oh, & don’t forget: Love Yourself
Like Mr. Taylor, we won’t be immediately successful, but imagine how different our home life, our community, & our nation would be if we strove to live up to the inspiring teachings of the Scriptures in as many interactions as possible. What a wonderful world it would be.
PS: One last list: Doris was so nervous when I was asked to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Rotary Club’s Annual Dinner last June that she gave me list of instructions:
- Don’t chew gum. (Check.)
- Don’t rattle the loose change in your pocket. (Check.)
- Don’t try to be funny or charming – just be yourself. (Che… Wait. What?)
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Max Turner, article “Holy Spirit” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, USA, 2000, p. 552.
** John Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, 2015, p. 234.
*** To read the prophet Ezekiel’s famous “dry bones” vision, which gave exiled Israelites a vividly hopeful picture of the spirit’s life-giving power, click here.
