Having focused upon the false prophets last week, it may be a welcome change to have a look at the other side of the coin this week. It is a disturbing fact that more and more so-called prophets are standing up nowadays, pretending to bring a word from above, but what they are doing in reality is only repeating the popular messages that the majority of people are craving for, but at the same time they speak against the Word of Yahweh and neglect the Torah. We have seen last week that what these popular prophets are doing is nothing more than applying cheap plaster and diluted whitewash to a wall that will eventually tumble down.
In the midst of all these “prophetic” utterances, and very much out of the public eye, there are some other voices that may also be heard. Especially by those who have had enough of the showmanship and are longing for something more profound. These are the voices and the messages of the ones who have trained their ears to listen to the heartbeat of the Almighty. Their good news does not sound the same as the “good news” of the man-pleasing prophets, but it has the ability to turn people’s lives upside down and bring a kind of peace that will not be found elsewhere in this world. This is the good news spoken of in YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 52:7, which also forms part of the Torah portion of this week: “How pleasant upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims deliverance, who says to Tsiyon, ‘Your Elohim reigns!’”
These words came against the background of the Babylonian Exile and the 70 year long anticipation in the hearts of the people in exile that a messenger would appear upon the mountains with the good news that deliverance has finally come and that the people could return to their homeland. Just imagine how they were longing for that day to arrive. Imagine how they were looking forward to the day of peace and shalom when they would know once more: no longer are we under a foreign king and a foreign rule. No longer will our lives be governed and influenced by the way things are done in this foreign country. No longer do we have to be confronted by their practices and their mighty ones day in and day out. At long last we can depart from all this and shout it out: “Our Elohim reigns!”
This longing and anticipation was of course not only restricted to the time of the Babylonian Exile. Their problems and their inclination to turn their backs upon Yahweh, did not come to an abrupt end the moment they set foot in their home country again. Not at all. That is why, even after the return from exile, the prophets kept on bringing the same message over and over again. That is why Shaúl quoted this verse from YeshaYahu 52 in Romans 10 and compared the bringing of the good news of Y’shua with the bringing of the good news of release from the Babylonian exile. That is why both Yahuchanan (John) the baptist and Y’shua repeated the message that the kingdom of Yahweh was at hand and that it was time for the people to come out of the reign of darkness and to enter the reign of Yahweh and the reign of true light and peace.
The world today has become all confused about what peace really means. A Nobel peace prize has been awarded to “our own” Archbishop Desmond Tutu who is known for his anti-Israel sentiments. Tutu regularly accuses Israel of what he calls “Zionist-apartheid”. Every now and then he joins in with governments and organizations who are trying to force Israel to its knees. Tutu does his best to paint a bleak picture of Israel as a nation that controls Washington, lies about the Holocaust, kills innocent children and enslaves the Palestinians. In an email that I have received this week this hateful intolerance of Tutu towards the Jews, and his repeated calls upon the nations of the world to boycott Israel, is described as a modern-day, disguised form of the Second World War Nazi appeal and the slogan “Kauft nicht bei Juden” (Don’t buy from Jews). Sad to say, but these kind of messages and slogans, spread by many high profiled leaders and prophetic voices today, are not included in what the prophet calls the pleasant sound of the feet of those who bring good news, promotes peace and proclaims deliverance.
So, it really takes a sharp eye and a trained ear to hear the true messages of good news that are going out today. But they are there, nonetheless! All is not lost, and we should be studying Scriptures to become experienced in knowing which is the true good news and which is not. Once we’ve established and identified what the true good news is and where to look for it, we can also rejoice and be encouraged and claim that our Elohim is reigning. Let us look at a number of guidelines in Scriptures that may help us in this regard. Interestingly enough, Scriptures do not always say what exactly should be included in a message to make it qualify as “good news”. Instead, Scriptures help us to understand the context in which such a message should be proclaimed and often tell us more about the surroundings and the background and the motives that accompany the message, than about the message itself.
1. The true good news is accompanied by a recognition that Yahweh and his ways and his esteem is more important and more lasting than man, and his ways and his esteem.
Isa 40:9 You who bring good news to Tsiyon, get up into the high mountain. You who bring good news to Yerushalayim, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid. Say to the cities of Yehudah, “See your Elohim!” (Read together with the previous verses)
2. The true good news is accompanied by a two-fold focus: comfort and release for the broken-hearted and the captives, on the one hand, and putting on a robe of righteousness, on the other.
Isa 61:1-10 The Spirit of the Master Yahweh is upon Me, because Yahweh has anointed Me to bring good news to the meek. He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound … they shall be called trees of righteousness … they shall rebuild the old ruins … He has covered me with the robe of righteousness … Yahweh causes righteousness and praise to shoot up before all the nations!
3. The true good news is accompanied by a call to observe the feasts and to take seriously the vows connected to the covenant with Yahweh
Nah 1:15 See, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace! O Yehudah, observe your festivals, perform your vows. For Beliya’al shall no more pass through you. He has been cut off completely.
4. The true good news is accompanied by the call to bring esteem to Yahweh and this message can only be appreciated by men in whom He is well pleased.
Luk 2:10-14 And the messenger said to them, “Do not be afraid, for look, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people” … Esteem to Elohim in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!
5. The true good news is accompanied by obedience upon hearing the Word of Yahweh – those who fail to hear will also fail to receive the blessing of the good news
Rom 10:15-17 And how shall they proclaim if they are not sent? As it has been written, “How pleasant are the feet of those who bring the Good News of peace, who bring the Good News of the good!” However, not all obeyed the Good News. For Yeshayahu says, “Yahweh, who has believed our report?” So then belief comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Elohim.
The verse that comes directly before the one that speaks about the pleasantness of the feet that bring good news, is YeshaYahu 52:6 and this verse, perhaps more than the ones above, describes most clearly the ideal circumstances in which a person, or a group of people, will recognise the good news: “Therefore My people shall know My Name, in that day, for I am the One who is speaking. See, it is I.”
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