People who respect the Lord also listen to his servant. That servant lives completely trusting in God without knowing what will happen. He really trusts in the Lord’s name and depends on his God.
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. God chose the poor people in the world to be rich in faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to those who love him.
The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with leprosy are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are brought back to life. And the Good News is being told to the poor.
But even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely. And their children will be able to lie down and feel safe. But I will make your family die from hunger, and your enemy will kill anyone who survives.
So I took care of the sheep that had been raised to be killed—those poor sheep. I found two sticks. I called one stick Favor, and I called the other stick Union. Then I began caring for the sheep.
“But now, finally, you have been kind to us. You have let a few of us escape captivity and come to live in this holy place. Lord, you gave us new life and relief from our slavery.
A tenth of the people will be allowed to stay in the land, but it will be destroyed again. They will be like an oak tree. When the tree is chopped down, a stump is left. This stump will be a very special seed that will grow again.
The Lord says, “At that time people will try hard to find Israel’s guilt, but there will be no guilt. People will try to find Judah’s sins, but no sins will be found. That is because I am saving a few survivors from Israel and Judah. And I am forgiving them for all their sins.”
God said, “But I will let a few of your people escape. They will live in other countries for a short time. I will scatter them and force them to live in other countries.
With swords in hand our leaders will defeat the Assyrians and rule the land of Nimrod. They will save us from the Assyrians when they come into our land and march through our territory.