OUR FATHER WHO IS AMONG THE RIGHTEOUS

From Psalm 14;

God is present

With the righteous

Those who oppress the poor

Are filled with dread

O that the salvation 

For Israel 

Would come out of Zion!

So let Jacob be glad!

4

OUR FATHER WHO COUNTERS THOSE WHO OPPRESS HIS PEOPLE

The book of Isaiah chapter 19 verse 4 says this;

I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

In this passage, the Egyptians being referenced are a type and shadow of an oppressive and exploitative kingdom that have set themselves up over the people of God.

In the time when the Lord moves to free His people from under the yoke of oppression, He will orchestrate a political maneuver that will place a cruel leader over the Egyptian kingdom and the oppressors will suffer oppression themselves.

This change will cause the Egyptians to be economically and culturally discombobulated. They will be struck by unemployment and shortages. 

The kingdom  will also suffer from the lack of wisdom from their intellectuals and policy makers. The fabric of the kingdom will be hollowed out and they will become severely weakened.

In this state, the Lord will have mercy on the Egyptians and when they turn to Him,  He will  heal them and they will become a blessing of God to the world.

As Isaiah chapter 19 verse 25 says?

 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”

2

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THOSE WHO ARE USED AS INSTRUMENTS OF HIS JUDGEMENT

The book of Isaiah chapter 10 verse 14 says this;

As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.’”

This verse captures the proud words of the king of Assyria as he undertook to capture the nations of the world in order  to destroy them, erase their borders and to subjugate them under his will.

He likened his conquest of nations to the gathering of abandoned eggs where none resisted him with even a chirp. He hautily believed it was by his own strength that he had achieved the power over the nations.

What he did not recognize was that it was God who had bestowed strength to him so that he would act as judgement on God's people.

The king of Assyria went beyond his mandate and attempted to grasp the kingdom of the people  of God for himself.

It was for this overreach that brought the judgment of God down upon the Assyrian.

As verse 12 says;

 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 

The Assyrian spoken of in this chapter is a type and shadow of the anti-christ who, having been released into the world to test the people of God, perceived himself to be above God and used his position of power to grasp for control of the whole world and for this, he is brought into abject destruction.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SPARES A REMNANT

The book of Ezekiel chapter 9 verses 3 - 5 says this;

Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 

In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of the idolatrous conduct of the people of Jerusalem, described three things things that he saw in his vision which  that occured when the Lord was provoked to wrath.

First, the Shekina and brightness of the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim in the innermost chamber of the temple and moved to the exit of the temple. This was the somber start of the departure of the presence of God from among His people in Jerusalem.

Second, the judgment of the Jerusalem was initiated when a man in white linen and a writing impliment at his side was called and instructed to put a mark on the foreheads of all those in the city who had disapproved of the evil things that were going on in their city. This mark excluded them from the judgement that was about to fall on the city.

Third, six men who had been summoned from heaven with lethal weapons were instructed to follow the man in linen and impartially execute the judgement of death upon those who did not have the mark on their foreheads.

And thus the vision of Ezekiel detailed how the Lord departed from Jerusalem and then how  judgement started first among the people around the temple and then proceeded to the rest of the city leaving a remnant of people. 

3

OUR FATHER WHO JUDGES THE ENEMIES OF HIS PEOPLE

The book of Obadiah chapter 1 verse 2 says this;

“See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.

This verse, recorded by the prophet Obadiah from a vision that he had, describes the judgement that would befall the kingdom of Edom.

Edom, being a neighbour and rival of the nation of Israel, is the area of land given to Esau the brother of Jacob.

Edom's judgement was that he would be demoted and marginalized among the nations because of the indifference shown towards his brother Jacob during a time when Jacob was being attacked and ransacked by enemies.

This judgment is a type and shadow of the judgment that was brought against the sector of spiritual kingdoms that rose up against their brothers in pride and violent malevolence.

12

OUR FATHER WHO IS OUR REDEEMER

The book of Isaiah chapter 47 verses 4 - 5 says this;

Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.

 “Sit in silence, go into darkness, queen city of the Babylonians; no more will you be called queen of kingdoms.

The Prophet Isaiah, is prophecying the coming judgement on Babylon, establishes that the Lord Almighty, the One who has the standing to redeem the souls of men, is the holy one of Israel.

When Babylon is confronted by the Lord God Almighty, her devastation will be overt and final.

The result will be that the world system of Babylon will be muted and pushed out of relevance. 

From her admired position of pre-eminence in the world , she will be brought down and will no longer be the model kingdom to be followed and emulated by other kingdoms.

Such is the fate of the world's economic, political and cultural center of Babylon.

3

OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS JUDGEMENT TO THE BABYLONIAN WORLD SYSTEM

The book of Isaiah chapter 13 verse 11 says this;

I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.

This verse, referring to the day of  judgement and specifically to the judgement on Babylon ( which is a global world system governing economics, politics and culture ), declares that the evil and sinful actions of those who participate in the Babylonian system will account for their deeds.

The main result of this day of reckoning will be that the pride and haughtiness of the culture of Babylon will be terminated.

Even though Babylon thought she was impregnable, a powerful military force will shshssatter her defences and all her wealth and power will be destroyed.

The aftermath of Babylon's judgment is captured in Isaiah chapter 13 verses 19 - 21;

She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about.

Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.

4