When The Prophets Are Silent
- Larry Kutzler
- May 21
- 4 min read
Updated: May 28
Isaiah 42:14 I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.
Isaiah 62:1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to be silent and a time to speak.
As the Scripture teaches, there is a time to be silent and there is a time to speak. As I said in a recent blog posting that today is a day to warn, and not to remain silent. The noise of this world is constantly overshadowing the message of the Church because our message has little to do with the success of this world. Our message is about what God is doing in the hearts of people around the world. Today, some messages we hear coming from the Church is a message that God wants the best for us. However, if we are living a part from Him, and in violation of His commands, He may allow the negative in this world to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Here is a message you will not hear too often in your Church, but it is as Biblical as any message you might here. God has made Israel a reproach among the nations. He did it to ancient Israel:
Ezekiel 5:14-15 Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which surround you, in the sight of all who pass by. So it will be a reproach, a reviling, a warning and an object of horror to the nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath and raging rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken.
So, it was the Lord who brought the reproach upon His people. Well, that is what the Scripture says. It is the Lord who in the Last Days, will bring the nations together against Israel too.
Zechariah 14:1-3 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
Here, we are told it is the Lord who brings all the nations against Israel to battle. The reproach of the Jews will fuel the world’s hatred for them and will cause the nations to be drawn into the Middle East to destroy Israel. Notice again … it is the Lord who is drawing them. So, we have the Lord causing a reproach toward His people so they are hatred by the nations, and then He is drawing the nations into battle with His people. This was all done by God and today it would fly in the face of what we hear that God is only about love. The reason? The Prophets in these Churches are silent.
So, why has the Lord been so harsh to the people He calls His treasure? Is He trying to speak to them about who He is and what He desires? If the Prophets were speaking today, this would be an example of the messages that would be spoken. We would hear messages about the fear of the Lord, and His ability to pardon or to condemn.
Matthew 10:28 Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
When the Prophets are silent, we won’t hear that God is in control of prophecy, and He sends His Word out, and then watches over it to perform what it says.
When the Prophets are silent, we won’t hear that God is in control of world events and His control helps to build an environment for His return.
When the Prophets are silent, we won’t hear that God is allowing the uncertainty of our day to help prepare us for the next phase of His plan over planet earth.
When the Prophets are silent, we lose our edge in knowing this world does not belong to the politicians, or Islamic terrorism, or the liberals who want a world without God.
When the Prophets speak, we hear a clear message that God is in control, and that He will return for those who have not sold out to this world or its benefits.
We need our preachers to return to their original calling … to be the voice of God again to a people hungry for the truth.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler