Mar 17 (Daily reading: Deuteronomy 17-20) Deuteronomy 18:15-22 speaks of prophets, people whom God raises up to be His spokespersons. God emphasized that His people would not receive His directions by sorcery or divination, but from His prophets: “I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.” The people were to follow the prophet’s words since they came from God. A severe warning was given to those who would presume falsely to speak in God’s name. The question was asked, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” (NIV). When one speaks God’s word, it will always take place or come true. We can have confidence in the prophecies of the Bible, because so many have already come true.
In the three major lists of spiritual gifs given in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, prophecy and teaching are the only ones given in all four lists. This underlines the importance of the word of God, in prophecy (proclamation) and in teaching (instruction and explanation). We may not all have the gift of prophecy, but all of us have the responsibility of telling what we know to be true from God’s word! God appoints some to proclaim publicly His message (preachers and evangelists), but we can all say with Peter and John: “We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Ac. 4:20).
Hear Paul’s instructions to Timothy: “Preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]” (2 Tim. 4:2, Amplified Bible).
– Al Gary
Leave a Reply