What I haven't mentioned in these blogs so far is why the year 2022 should be of such importance and this is the full reason why I am writing this short article today.
In the last few weeks as I approached the completion of my Manchester to London walk I enquired of the Lord "What's Next?", an immediate answer came with an instruction to read Isaiah chapter 20. Since this is one of the shortest chapters In the book of Isaiah I will quote it fully:
Isaiah 20 - King James Version (KJV)
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2 At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?
Well, this was a very interesting chapter to have read as I neared the completion of my 4 Month walk to then, upon the Lords instruction, read of Isaiah's 3 year walk. Isaiah stripped off naked or near naked as a sign to Egypt and Ethiopia of their impending fate of being stripped down and carried away naked by the Assyrians. Israel, fearing for it's own safety after the fall of the Palestinian city of Ashdod was looking everywhere for an ally to run to for safety. Verse 5 suggests that both Egypt and Ethiopia were strong nations to where they would instinctively turn to and yet these were the very nations under threat of Assyria now that Ashdod had been taken. Some commentaries mention that at this time Judah was an Ally of Assyria and so this must have added to the dilemma as to where Israel should turn to. Chapter 20 concludes with the words "and how shall we escape" but not once is there a thought of turning to God for their answer of deliverance.
The more I look into it the more I can find parallels, especially now we are on the other side of Brexit. Our nation remains divided and at the time of this update (27/12/21) we are still wondering where our allegiance to other nations should be. Many have confidence that we can make it alone while others want to turn back to Europe, the USA with it's historically strong ties to the UK, will they support us during this post Brexit period? But why, why should we be looking for our strength in other nations when all can be found in Christ?
From September 22nd 2018 to todays date is just over 3 years and this is the period of time when I felt called to take my own Isaiah 20 spiritual walk, interceding for the future of the U.K. We are fast approaching the coming New Year of 2022 when the Lord will make His move and speak to His faithful remnant church powerfully. I also suspect that He will pass judgement on the neglect of our leaders who have not followed God's ways and as a consequence our country could be in for a rough ride. Praise the Lord that He will never forsake us or leave us for as long as we remain faithful, believing in His Holy name.
No comments:
Post a Comment