Isaiah 58:8-9a Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9a Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
When we hear the word Hineini—”Here I am,” many of us immediately think of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 6, standing before the throne of God, overwhelmed by His holiness. After being cleansed by the burning coal, Isaiah hears the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send?” and responds with the now-famous phrase: “Hineini—Here am I. Send me.”
It’s a powerful moment of surrender and commissioning. But what’s easy to miss is that God Himself also uses this same word in Isaiah 58:9: “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: ‘Hineini.'”
Selah — Think about that.
We usually think of Hineini as our response to God: “Here I am, send me.” It speaks of readiness, obedience, and surrender—and it is. But in this passage, we see something even more stunning—God says it first.
The God of the universe answers the cries of His people not just with action, but with His presence. He says, “Hineini”—“Here I am.”
When God called Abraham to lay his beloved son on the altar, Abraham didn’t hesitate—he answered, “Hineini.” (Genesis 22:1) When God called Moses from the burning bush to confront Pharaoh and deliver a nation, Moses stood barefoot on holy ground and said, “Hineini.” (Exodus 3:4) When God’s voice thundered through the heavens in Isaiah’s vision, the prophet stepped forward and declared, “Hineini, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
But in Isaiah 58, the pattern is reversed. God says to a repentant, humbled nation: “Hineini.” He’s not just summoning us to come near—He is declaring that He already has.
He’s not far off. He’s not waiting for us to earn our way through ritual or religious perfection. He’s watching. He’s waiting. He longs for people who will humble themselves, not just with words but with their whole heart. To a repentant people, God doesn’t just answer prayers—He shows up. Not through an intermediary. Not from a distance. He steps in and says, “Hineini.” I’m here. I’m near. I’m with you.
Ultimately, we see Hineini in Yeshua (Jesus), who knocks at the door of every heart. In the Hebrew New Testament, Revelation 3:20 begins with this very word—Hineni—”Here am I, I stand at the door and knock…” This is a clear echo of God’s continual desire to be present, personal, and available to all who will open to Him.
So yes, let’s be like Isaiah and say, “Hineini–Here am I, Lord, send me.” But let’s never forget–we can say it because God said it first.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In Matthew 21, Yeshua (Jesus) approached a fig tree full of leaves but found no fruit. He cursed it, and it withered. This dramatic act was not about the tree—it was about Israel. The fig tree had the appearance of life, but it lacked the substance of transformation. It was a warning to a nation full of religion but void of repentance. The tree became a symbol of spiritual barrenness, of form without fruit.
The parable of the fig tree is not just a message to observers — it’s a summons to the faithful. The fig tree puts out its leaves first, then comes the fruit. Spiritually, that’s a call to live in readiness even before the final harvest arrives. Yeshua (Jesus) tells His disciples, “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
Among all fruit-bearing trees, the fig tree is uniquely prophetic–because it is one of the few that produces two harvests in a single growing season. First comes the early crop in spring, known in Scripture as the “first ripe fig” (Isaiah 28:4), and then a second, more abundant harvest in late summer or early fall. This uncommon pattern is a living picture of prophecy woven into the fabric of creation.
Yeshua (Jesus) didn’t merely offer a suggestion–He issued a command: “Learn the parable.” In Greek, the word manthano (μανθάνω) implies disciplined learning, not casual observation. In Hebraic thought, to “learn” a parable means to press into its hidden meaning until it transforms how you live. The fig tree is not just a poetic image–it’s a prophetic mandate. And Yeshua expected His disciples, including us, to understand it deeply.
Yeshua (Jesus) used the fig tree—a familiar symbol in Israel’s botanical and prophetic world—as a teaching tool to awaken spiritual discernment. The fig tree, known for losing all its leaves in winter and budding again in spring, became a natural signpost to mark the changing seasons. In the same way, Jesus gave His disciples prophetic markers to discern a coming shift: wars, famines, false messiahs, persecution, lawlessness, and the global preaching of the gospel (Matthew 24:4–14).
On July 4th, America remembers a bold declaration — a break from tyranny, a longing for a better government, and the birth of a nation built on liberty. The Founders risked everything to establish a new way of life, one where freedom could flourish. Their cry was clear: “We will no longer be ruled by kings who oppress–we will be governed by laws that reflect liberty and justice.”
In a world full of uncertainty, this verse from Romans stands like a lighthouse in the storm: “The God of hope…” Not just the God who gives hope, but the very source of it. When everything around us seems shaken — economies falter, nations rage, relationships strain — it is the God of hope who remains unshaken and unchanging.