“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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The Children of Israel are Yahweh’s Witnesses to the World
This is a true story. I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but I know that I had just started working on the project that would lead to the book His Name is Yahweh: Revised Edition and a number of other things. It was either in the late-1990s or the early-2000s.
I was talking with a preacher’s son about the things I had learned so far. Preachers’ kids are a special group. They learn at a very young age that their father is a preacher and that they are expected to behave certain ways and do certain things. That message is drilled into them before they learn to walk.
At that time, I gave preachers a lot more credit than they deserved. Just like most other people I know, I tended to put preachers on a pedestal. Since they had been to seminary, I believed they knew the Bible and were committed to delivering Yahweh’s word accurately. I expected their children to be like that, too.
During my discussion with the preacher’s son, I showed him that most English translations of the Bible substitute “the LORD” for Yahweh, “the LORD God” for Yahweh Elohim, “the Lord GOD” for Adonai Yahweh, and “LORD of hosts for Yahweh Sabaoth. After I had proven to him that what I was telling him was correct, I could tell by the look on his face that he was surprised.
Then, I asked him a question. I said, “Who is the Savior?”
That’s an easy question for a preacher’s kid to answer. He said, “Jesus.”
I opened the Bible to Isaiah 43, handed it to him, and asked him to read Isaiah 43:11. This is what he read:
“I, even I, am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides Me.”
Next, I asked him to apply what I had just proven to him and to tell me what Isaiah 43:11 means. I could tell that he was confused. He hesitated for a moment and said, “It means Jesus is Yahweh.”
“That’s right,” I said.
At that point, he wasn’t willing to give up the name “Jesus”. That much was obvious, but at least I had planted a seed.
I never saw him again. I don’t know if that seed sprouted and produced fruit, but at least the seed was planted. Over the years, I learned that my job for the most part is plant seeds and let the Holy Spirit take it from there. I do my best not to argue with people, to harangue them, or to insist that they believe what I am telling them. I simply tell them what I know, show them that I am telling them the truth, and let it go.
With that thought in mind, look at Isaiah 43:8-13. The Messiah is speaking, and He’s talking about Israel. As a nation, the Children of Israel are Yahweh’s witnesses to the world. They are not that yet, but one day, they will be.
Below is Isaiah 43:8-13. Remember, the Messiah is speaking:
“Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, and the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together so that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’”
“You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Elohim formed, and there will be none after Me.”
“I, even I, am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “and I am Elohim. Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
The Messiah is Yahweh. He is Elohim. He is the Creator. He is the Holy One of Israel, the Lion of Judah. He came to the Children of Israel and told them who He is, but the religious leaders in Jerusalem rejected Him. Isaiah prophesied about all of that.
Isaiah 53 provides more details about the Messiah’s agony and death on the cross than any book in the New Testament including the four gospels. Isaiah presented that information about the Messiah approximately 700 years before He was born.
Yahweh doesn’t make mistakes. One day the Children of Israel will become exactly who Yahweh said they are. They are His witnesses, and they will lead “the nations” to Him.
“Goyim” is the Hebrew word that is translated into English as “the nations”. It is also translated as “Gentiles”. One day, the Children of Israel will lead Gentiles to Yahweh. Gentiles will flock to them and ask them to teach them about Yahweh. We aren’t there yet, but we will be.
“Thus says Yahweh Sabaoth, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations [Gentiles] will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that Elohim is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:23)
Those days may be just around the corner. I think they are.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
