Isaiah 52:7
The literal word for word translation of Isaiah 52:7-12 is this:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one announcing peace, proclaiming good news (Gospel), announcing Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ, saying to Zion: Your God reigns!
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voice; with their voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall restore Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11 Depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out of the midst of her; be clean, you that bear the vessels of the LORD. 12 For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.
In scripture a watchman was:
King David who loved God's presence trained music ministries so that the praise and worship would function with prophetic excellence. The number of them along with their brethren, who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skilful, was two hundred and eighty-eight. (1 Chron 25:1-7) Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. (2 Chronicles 5:12)
THE RESTORATION OF THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID
Verses 8-12: When the LORD shall restore Zion: Still the theme of the section beginning with chapter 50 to the end of 52. The captives are urged to return to Zion which is spoken of as a completed fact and as a future event at the same time: not go out with haste, nor go by flight: The circumstances of the return are well known.
The decree of Cyrus in 536 BC was not coerced but was a part of his policy to undo the forced evacuation of captured lands which had been the policy that the Babylonians had learned from the Assyrians. Cyrus inspected the prophecies about himself and concluded that YHWH wanted him to restore the Jewish nation and the Temple at Jerusalem. Thus the return to Zion of the second commonwealth was indeed led by YHWH. The abruptness of the change from the joy of the return to Zion to the immediate introduction of the suffering Messiah that follows in the next verse is commented on in the introduction to chapter 50 which should be read in conjunction with this and the next verses where it is explained that the "fragmentary" abruptness of speaking of first of the Babylonian return and then of the special nature of the Messiah is a part of Isaiah's style of writing.
The friend said: How have you been? Oh, not bad, you answered. But you thought: "There are these areas I'd sure like to see transformed though!" This year God's prophetic Spirit is doing an incredible work in the area of relationships, including that of people's marriage covenant. For one thing, this which the Lord is doing concerns leaders or "watchmen!" And marriages are called together and joined for the kingdom of God, and for the Lord's own purpose. Whoever opposes the union that the Lord has joined opposes He Himself!
This message today is not limited to those who are traditionally or called leaders in the secular arena. Or even to those we frequently hear defined as "leaders or watchmen" in God's word.
DEFINING LAWFUL AUTHORITY: WHO ARE GOD'S WATCHMEN?
In the civil realm we read of believers who are under the authority of government (Romans 12:1-4). In addition to this, government exists under God's ordination and is accountable to God Himself. The Bible teaches the authority structure of God, Christ, man, woman, and then the children (I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 6:1) for the Christian home. God's people are to submit to one another in the fear of God! In scripture even the warhorse was acquainted with the sound of the trumpet. That very vehicle that transports you to where you're going can receive a rebuke or a praise. The Yeshua/Jesus rebuked a fig tree! He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. (Job 39:24-25) It takes humility to lead as well as to submit. What about when God calls you like Moses to lead a group out of a house of bondage? When your own spouse is abusive and you must find shelter, you must trust God's Word and direction with confidence that you can carry out what will place you safely into another environment. If you have a faulty understanding of God's lawful authority structure, you may doubt that God cares enough about you and your family to deliver you! Everything that can be shaken shall be shaken that God can have a kingdom that will remain. God's word informs us that "Judgment begins at the house of God" where everyone has a responsibility, and not the "watchmen" alone. In what area or arena has God called you to "watch?" Are you being faithful to this calling? Do you feel that you have been under a spiritual attack in which you could use some insight?
Do our nations leaders see eye to eye? Or those of other nations? If not, why not? Whose thinking is at fault? By what standard do we judge these behaviours or factions? "From whence come wars and fighting among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" (James 4:1).
WHEN THE VERY HEAVENS ARE SHAKEN: INFRASTRUCTURES WILL FALL
"O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel... (Ezekiel 33:7-15)
Did you know that it's scriptural to sing even over your waste places? I once heard a wonderful testimony from a woman who had been told by the doctors that she would never be able to bear children. She sang to her waste places--which to her was her stomach. And she conceived and a baby was born to her and her husband. They minister in gospel music together.
Moses and the people sang to the ground: Spring up O well! (Numbers 21:16-17) As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, they came to a time and place where, in the dry desert land, they were thirsty. Even the best of believers can have "dry spells". Times when the journey has become so difficult for us.
And from there they continued to Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, "Assemble the people, that I may give them water." Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! Sing to it! The well, which the leaders sank, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs."What a wonderful life God's people live! Another testimony is of a family that lived in a rental house that developed an insect problem. The church cursed those bugs and the landlady wasn't even charged by the exterminatiion company she called in, because they found no live bugs or larva when they got there. That family had been threatened with what looked like one of the plagues of Egypt. But praise God! His own arm brought salvation!
God's word is the only real measure of truth or lies. It's embodied by Messiah, the Lord from heaven Himself. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
The New Testament term gregoreo, translated as "watch," means to keep awake, to watch and to take heed. We as believers are to watch AND pray. Perhaps you've observed that the propagation of lies can stand for a season due to a certain infrastructure. The infrastructure is not impregnable. But to fall, the heavens must be shaken. You yourself may need to be transformed by God's power into a catalyst of change. Perhaps you have assaulted infrastructures of this sort in your own family or some group to which you've been called and backed off because change was not evident. The people of God that we read of in the bible were moved by the Spirit of the Lord in holy faith, when there was no sensory evidence. Not like puppets, but called by God's voice in a way they understood to be His divine directive. They knew a response was in order. They also knew when this needed to be immediate or in the future. That is to say they understood "prophetic timing!"
The door of the home is a gateway. In Hebrew, a gateway or doorway is the same word, sha’ar. As believers we'd like our families to maintain those biblical values which they with us, have been taught. We have a place of responsibility before God and to our families to uphold the precepts of God and "guard the gates" of our homes–guarding against negative outside influences that would detract from a God-centered environment (Deuteronomy 17:2-5; 21:18-19) Perhaps your teenager has come under a delusion of this sort, and you have assaulted it, but not seen it crumble as readily as you'd have liked. Ezekiel 33:2-6 exhorts: Son of man, speak to the children of thy people. As a watchmen, be aware of who and what comes and goes in your home. One minister testified that as a child his mother and grandmother were Holy Ghost women. He attended public school and they knew it if he came home from school with a "spirit that was not of God." They'd gather around him and start praying. And he said they were the kind of women who weren't gone till they were done! Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. (Neh 4:9) In this way, children learn to be watchmen themselves, who can spiritually discern the territory.
You may have received a word from the Lord that caused the thing which appeared impenatrable to be made accessible like Babylon's Gates. But you knew this was not merely the work of man but of God! What about spiritual leaders who we hear called "watchmen?" We've heard people say: Those in my group see eye to eye. But they don't always agree with those outside our circle. We need a spiritual revival! We need to be exhorted to share our faith. But to see the greatest success rate, the Lord's people need a fresh vision imparted to them. They need to see their message as beautiful by seeing themselves as a marvellous work in God's eyes!
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one announcing peace, proclaiming good news (Gospel), announcing Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ, saying to Zion: Your God reigns!
WATCHING FOR THE MARRIAGES
Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. (Hosea 8:1)
God's word prophesies:
Your watchmen shall lift up their voice; with their voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall restore Zion.
Are husbands and wives used as watchmen? Yes! They watch for their own marriages. But because they are married, God will effectively use them to watch for the marriages of others. Those relationships which form an integral part of "doing that good and perfect will of God" have been under a tremendous spiritual attack, and God is taking the various strategies or methods which have been used in a counter-productive way, piece by piece, so that He can do an eternal work, for those things which are temporal are temporal, but those which are eternal are eternal. These individuals are ALL "watchmen" in their various spheres of operation. When we undergo attack, "watchmen" are being "taken out" and destroyed or put out of commission. They shall see "eye to eye."
The Hebrew terminology interprets this restoratative work of God as taking place right "before our very own eyes!" Glory! And for those who at times feel discouraged at not seeing the depth of change they've longed for...Pray: Lord let us see it in the land of the living! Let it be a quick work! "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." - Proverbs 18:10 call heaven and earth to witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life .... choose life .... that both you and your children may live. That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. (Psalms 89:15) Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem." (Isaiah 52:8-9)
For example, when these marriage covenants were brought together in holy covenant relationship, those couples had a vision for their marriage and the purposes of God as a couple in God's work together. The assault directed against them has in many ways transferred or channeled their interests, finances, time and energy into other areas. One way the enemy has discouraged and discredited couples or brought division between couples is through the ungodly actions of their own relatives. Where they operated in "oneness" at times for years, and enjoyed a powerful ministry, suddenly one ceases to trust the anointing of the other because fleshly thinking and lack of prayer have replaced regularly hearing the voice of the Lord.
Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his word does he meditate day and night. Don't allow yourself to be worn down by sinners like Lot whose soul was vexed from day to day or those with puffed up fleshly minds. Guard your heart and maintain a close relationship to God and the spouse He gave you.
I saw diversionary tactics being used such as anger and revenge in order to achieve a more prolonged division or breach in the relationships. As God works, we are seeing that division has brought reversals to the people of God.
THE HOME FOR GLORY & FOR BEAUTY
God has promised "Together they shall sing!" As I was shown these things, it was not career oriented problems, but relational problems, so as to bring disunity. For instance, you may be a contractor, or man in some trade, or if my listener is a woman, a house painters wife, homeschooling mom, or career woman. There are those who in the Lord have prayed together, read God's word and sought the Lord, but have been under a spiritual assault against Christ-centered goals and purposes which caused them to lose their focus so that the purposes of God in their lives have been diffused. Perhaps you and your mate made an agreement to use your income tax money for him to purchase tools for his business. But when you find yourselves in a quarrel, you go off and spend the tax return on a new summer wardrobe. Make sure you don't let contention gain a foothold in your relationship. It's made him feel bad too! Confess the sin of anger to God. Claim God's promise to supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Then your agreement in the Lord will cause God's blessing and increase in your lives. Don't justify a renegade expenditure because arguing and continual disunity has made you feel ugly. Let your true beauty be the hidden man of the heart. But do your best to be as attractive for one another as you did when you did prior to marriage. And more so because that's your mate and you promised to keep yourselves only unto them. Give them something to sing about as they're driving home from work! Keep your home in order, the vehicles in good repair, your children sweet and clean, so that your marriage is always the joy and rejoicing of your hearts, as it was on your wedding day when you'd worked to make everything shine "for glory and for beauty."
Husbands don't fall into neglecting the needs of your wives and children. He that doesn't provide for his house is worse than an infidel. Trust God to so abundantly supply that there's adequate and blessings to meet everyones needs. Where God has purposed to expand your business, and to use the unity of your combined efforts to achieve this, agreement in financial issues can be extremely important. Although it's good to remember that God can certainly bless you in spite of an oppositional mate or relative, as He did the patriarch Jacob, who was robbed by his father in law Laban, it's wonderful where there's agreement, so we can worship the Lord together. God is saying: It's time to lay our hearts and motives before the Lord and to seek His face.
Today as I was waiting upon the Lord, I saw a vision of a leader and he was seeing by the Spirit the work of the Lord but he did not know exactly how to impart this to others, so as to see his church unified concerning this. The Lord spoke to me that people see by the Spirit that part of it in which God has personally called them. This is what excites them, and they have a basic understanding of it, but they cannot always see where the other pieces fit in. This pastor needs to pray about how the specific ministries of the individual members are doing, how God is leading the church to assist them, and which ministries are being increased or transitioned.
