Welcome to week 23! This is the week of June 4-11 in a Clear Year; and June 3-10 in a Leap Year. The 23rd week is the second week in the fourth 49 days of the year. It is a second season week. The Bible keys for understanding the 23rd week are the second day of creation narrative, the 23rd book and chapters of the Bible, and the five chapters in the second division of the fourth book of the Bible (Numbers).
Week 23 is a second day of creation week. On the second day of creation, God made the firmament to divide the water-bloc that seized all space; so that other creatures could have room and breathing space. The second season is a help-season. It is a season of helping others and also finding help for yourself. It is for opening doors and breaking through barriers. In the second season, God helps with wisdom, information, relationships, and whatever the need is. God gave man a suitable help in the second chapter of Genesis. Moses found and gave needed help in the second chapter of Exodus. In the second book of the Bible, Exodus, Israel received help, from God, to come out of Egyptian bondage. Ruth found help in the second chapter of the book. Daniel received help to tell and interpret the king’s dream in the second chapter of his book. The coming of the Helper, the Holy Spirit is recorded in the second chapter of Acts. The 23rd week is a week of help from above.
Week 23 is a book of Isaiah week. Isaiah is the 23rd book of the Bible. Isaiah prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The book of Isaiah is about ‘desolation’ and ‘restoration’. The first 39 chapters of the book is about judgments and desolations in the nations – Israel and others. The following 27 chapters are chapters of comfort and restoration. Isaiah was a great support to king Hezekiah against the kings of Assyria. His prophetic ministry broke the strength of Sennacherib. He prophesied the fall of proud and arrogant nations and their kings, and the rising of kings and nations. He prophesied about the virgin-birth and the Messiah. He prophesied about the new heaven and the new earth. The book of Isaiah is the miniature Bible. It has 66 chapters as the Bible has 66 books. Each chapter of Isaiah is a prophetic capture of a book of the Bible. Going through the 23rd book of the Bible is like going through the Bible itself.
In the book of Isaiah, God is magnified and the future is made visible. This week, you will see the future, hear the Voice of God, and declare the Word of the Lord as Isaiah did. The Lord will be magnified in your life and circumstances as in the 23rd book of the Bible. Isaiah is an all-encompassing book. Going through week 23 is like experiencing the 23rd book of the Bible. Each day of the week would have its pattern in nine chapters of the book. The last day of the week would have its pattern in the last 12 chapters (55-66) of the book. It is a week to war with the word. It is a week to declare the word of God. It’s a week of seeing, hearing, and declaring the counsel of our Superior God. This 23rd week is a week of destructions and rehabilitation. It is a week of war and battles against proud and oppressive monopolies. It is a season to overthrow the prevailing evil waters with the prophetic firmament of God. This week, may the Lord war against your adversaries and build you up. This week, may your life and person never be an obstruction to divine counsel and purposes.
As Isaiah backed the kings of Judah with the word of God against proud and arrogant Assyria and other nations, in the 23rd book of the Bible. God is a Backbone in the 23rd season. The 23rd book of the Bible captured the future like no other book of the Bible. The 23rd season is like the beginning of the future. He 23rd is the season of ‘all in one’. In the season of the 23rd president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, the United States began to be a naval power. He admitted more states into the Union than any other president; and he was the earliest president to have his voice recorded (with phonograph wax). The 23rd seven years of the United States (1930-1937) were the closing years of Herbert Hoover and the first-term years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest serving US President who was elected for a fourth successive term. The 23rd seven years was the beginning of a great presidency.
Week 23 is a Numbers 7-11 week. The second five chapters of the fourth book of the Bible is applicable to the second week in the fourth 49 days of the year. This section of the book of Numbers is about the dedication of people and things to God – Nazirites, offerings of leaders, Levites, lamps, and trumpets. Israel also received counsel and direction from God, through Moses, in this section of the book.
Week 23 is a First Kings – Proverbs season in the fourth 49 days. Going through each week of the fourth 49 days is like going through the Bible. The first three weeks of the fourth 49 days is like going through the first 30 books of the Bible; ten chapters for each week. The remaining four weeks of the fourth 49 days is like going through the remaining 36 books of the Bible – nine books for each week. The second week expresses the second ten books of the Bible. These ten books are about Israel’s fame, decline, captivity, and return. The book of Job dramatizes this. The book of Psalms reveals the struggles and triumphs. The book of Proverbs reveals that the wisdom of the fear of God is the key to triumph in the 23rd season.
Week 23 is a 23rd chapters of the Bible week.
The Bible reveals 3 major things about the 23rd season.:
1. The 23rd season is a time to magnify God as Sovereign Lord and Way-Maker. It is a time to boast in God. The book of Isaiah is the 23rd book of the Bible. God is magnified in that book as Lord. Even the Lord Himself says there is none like Him. Idols and those who serve them are mocked in this book. The 23rrd week is a book of Isaiah week. It is also a Psalm 23 week. This is a week to express great confidence in the God of Israel. It is the week of All-in-One; as the 23rd book of the Bible is an all-in-one book.
2. The 23rd season is for capturing the future. Isaiah saw and spoke of the future in the 23rd book of the Bible. He spoke of the virgin conception, the rising and falling of kings and nations, the restoration of Israel, and the new heaven and earth. This week is for securing the future. Abraham purchased the future in Genesis 23. Sarah died here and Abraham bought and paid for a burial ground for his family. That gave him a stake in the Promised Land. The government of Nigeria exhibited shortsightedness in the 23rd year of the nation (1983) when it sent 2 million Ghananians parking from Nigeria – ‘ Ghana Must Go!’ That administration was ousted December 31 of the same year.
3. The 23rd season is a time to expose and mock fakery. The book of Isaiah mocks powerless idols. Jeremiah 23 prophesies against false orophets and shepherds. Jesus denounced hypocritical leaders in Matthew 23. In Acts 23, Paul called the high priest “whitewashed wall”. This season favors authenticity.
SPECIAL PRAYERS AND DECLARATIONS FOR YOU IN THIS 23RD WEEK
1. As Jeremiah 23 spoke against false prophets, and as Jesus denounced the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and exposed their superficiality, so, may the Lord lift the rod of His Voice against falsehood this week.
2. In Genesis 23, as Abraham took advantage of Sarah’s death to purchase a burial ground and secured the future in the Promised Land, may the Lord guide you to make decisions that would secure the future this week.
3. As God blocked and thwarted the efforts of Balak and Balaam to place a curse on Israel in Numbers 23, so, may the Lord frustrate those who seek your harm this week.
4. As God delivered David from the hand of Saul in First Samuel 23, and He delivered Paul from the evil conspiracy of Pharisees and Sadducees in Acts 23, God will not allow you to fall into the hands of the enemy. Why would Sarah die in Genesis 23 while David and Paul escaped death in First Samuel 23 and Acts 23 respectively? Sarah received the negative side of the season while the David and Paul received the positive side. Jesus death is recorded in Luke 23; but He died to save us from death. He is our escape from death in the season. This week, by His grace and wisdom, He will frustrate and destroy the plot of the wicked against you.
5. As King David prospered by the Word of the Lord and faithful relationships in Second Samuel 23, this week, you will prosper by the word of the Lord and faithful mighty men – relevant mighty men and women.
6. As Josiah, driven by the Word of the Lord, carried out sweeping reforms in Judah in Second Kings 23, and as Jehoiada led a revolution that enthroned young Josiah and dethroned Athaliah in Second Chronicles 23, so may the wind of the Lord overthrow and scatter evil seeds in the land in this week.
Week 23 is a Psalm 23 week. Psalm 23:1-6 says, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. [3] He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. [4] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever”. May you find help this week and also be a heaven sent help to someone, somewhere, somehow. The fourth verse of Psalm 23 reveals that the 23rd week is like the valley of the shadow of death; but it is also the season when the Lord sets table for His anointed before enemies. This Psalm 23 week, you will experience the shepherding of the Lord as David testified in Psalm 23. You will also listen to His voice and follow Him as His sheep.
HOW TO LIVE IN THE 23RD WEEK
- 1. Be confident in God in the psalmist in Psalm 23
- 2. Be prayerful. Seek prayer-support.
- 3. Be sincere before God. Put off hypocrisy
- 4. Be far-sighted in your decisions and actions
- 5. Preoccupy your heart with thoughts of the loftiness and sovereignty of God.
- 6. Speak as a prophet. Words are powerful in the 23rd season. The future is in your mouth in this season.
MORE PRAYERS FOR THE 23RD WEEK
1. Give thanks to God for leading us through the first 22 weeks of year
2. O Lord give us a revelation of your loftiness in this week as you gave Isaiah in the 23rd of the Bible . Let God be magnified in our land this week.
3. O Lord, grant us visions for the future this week. Keep us from decisions and actions springing from short-sightedness.
Happy 23rd week!
