Deuteronomy
18:18 "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall
speak unto them all that I shall command him."
"He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him." Three
verses previous to this one, God had spoken these same words, "The LORD
thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." (Deuteronomy 18:15)
The life of Jesus Christ is so amazing! There are many things about
His teaching, His healing, His loving care for others that draw attention to
His presence. But let's be reminded of the words of some of the people
who heard Him speak.
At the conclusion of the Sermon on the mount, we read these words:
"And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people
were astonished at his doctrine: (29) For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29) When
the Scribes sent guards to arrest Jesus, they came back empty handed. When
asked why they had not brought Jesus back, "The officers answered, Never
man spake like this man." (John 7:46) The Psalmist declared the
glory of the voice of the Lord. "The voice of the LORD is powerful; the
voice of the LORD is full of majesty." (Psalm 29:4) Yes, people
listened to Him. There were varied responses to His words, but people listened.
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2) Jesus, Himself, declared the words He spoke to
be that which the Father had given Him to speak. "For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have
known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst
send me." (John 17:8) Yes, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy in
Deuteronomy 18:18, in that "He shall speak unto them all that I shall
command Him" It is much better to use the words of our Lord to show
He is indeed that Prophet that was raised up from among their brethren.
"The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." (Isaiah 50:4) Though these words were spoken by Isaiah, I truly believe them to be the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He knows the right words to say that bring comfort and hope. He has ears that are ready to listen as we pour out our hearts. For me, as I close this devotion, I realize I need to practice the art of "being still" and listening as the Lord speaks to me. In this busy world we live, there are many obstacles to prevent us from having that stance of stillness before the Almighty God. May we strive to overcome those obstacles.