“God has a plan for your life,” is a common theme heard throughout professing Christendom over the past few hundred years. But is it true? Does the Almighty have a personal plan for the life for everyone who claims Jesus as his/her Savior? The answer is two-fold: no and yes. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we told that God has a personal plan for us to be part of a certain occupational group, live in a certain area, etc. or to do certain things in the secular realm. However, He does command that we all know, believe and obey His Holy Bible–that is His personal plan for each of us. However, there is a group of men for whom He has a specific plan. In this series we will look at the lives of certain people whom, in His Holy Bible, God expressly tells us that He had (has had) a particular job for them. One will notice that these people were (are) all males and were (are) either ministers of His Word or kings.

We will begin with seven people whom THE LORD NAMED BEFORE BIRTH. In most cases He included His will which each was to carry out during their human lives. Of course, the prime example of this phenomenon is Jesus the Christ (“anointed one”) of God. Isaiah 53 and numerous other passages foretell of His conception, birth, childhood, adult life, ministry, death, resurrection and future return. Much of that information was known about Him before His birth.

Another man who was named and his life’s work was predestined by the Word (Jesus–Jn. 1:1-4,14) before he was born was John the Baptist (baptizer). John was prophesied to go before the prophesied Messiah and to prepare the world for His (Christ’s) ministry to mankind.

Another such individual was Josiah who was named 50 years before he was born and was prophesied to be a future king of Israel who would clean up the spiritual mess his predecessor had left behind upon his death. He is Biblically noted for having done his assigned job successfully.

Solomon was named before birth. God raised him up to build His (God’s) Temple. King David, his father, wanted to build it but God said no, his son Solomon was specifically chosen for that task.

Ishmael was named prior to birth and was the first son of Abraham. Contrary to custom, Isaac was God’s chosen to carry on the family line which became the 12 tribes of Israel.

Then there was Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar to whom the Almighty sent a dream in which he “saw” the future of the world’s civilizations in the form of a statue. The Lord revealed the rise of the Roman Empire, its six manifestations on the world scene and its destruction at the hands of a “mountain”–Jesus Christ–the “petra” (mountain) upon which He would build His true church that would endure forever. As an aside, Jesus did not build His church on Peter (petro–pebble) as billions believe today.

Gentile King Cyrus was named 250 years before his birth and predestined to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem after enduring 70 years in slavery because of their rebellion against God.

One of the Israelite “fathers” (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) was prophesied to be born and was named before his conception. This was Isaac whom God prophesied when he would be born and what he was to be called.

Two other people named by the Lord before their births were Mahershalalbrashbaz and Lohurama–the only female in that category.

A number of individuals written about in the Bible were called to serve the Lord many years before their time of service, some even before conception. That information is not necessarily recorded in the Bible but it becomes obvious that their service for God was not a choice on their parts. However, God had chosen them long before they were born. Those so called were the Apostle Paul, Jeremiah, Moses, Elisha, Joseph, Samuel, Judas, John and the Lord’s “two witnesses” who will be the Lord’s only active ministers to the world who will condemn those still living during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord–the final 3 1/2 years of worldly existence. All of these people were called long before they were able to fulfill their commissions. Some, like Paul and Judas, were enemies of God during their adult lives but were predestined by God to fulfill their respective purposes–Paul to proclaim the Lord; Judas to betray Him.

Let us not, as the say, “Put God in a box.” Let us not, as billions have done, restrict Him so that He can operate only in ways that man can understand and approve. One of the areas of life in which we are not privy to God’s will concerns timing. That restriction also applied to the man Jesus of Nazareth. Recall that when asked when He would return to earth, Jesus replied that neither He nor the angels knew the time of His Second Advent. Only God, He said, had that information. However, He said that His true saints would know the SEASON of His return by observing the signs that would alert tje, to the event in question. Read about those signs in the series. Key word–Signs. L.J.