“For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, to accomplish his work, his peculiar work, to perform his task, his strange task.” (Isaiah 28:21)

As I sought the Lord in the days leading up to 2013 about what we could expect in the New Year, I kept hearing the words: “How Odd Of God” in my spirit.

When I pressed in for the significance of these words for 2013, I sensed the Holy Spirit say that it will be a year when we will find ourselves using them in sentences such as:

• How odd of God to bless me so much!
• How odd of God to use me in such an incredible way!
• How odd of God to entrust me with so great a responsibility!
• How odd of God to use …………… to bring about such a transformation!

Get the idea?

As I always do when I receive any revelation, I searched Scripture to see where God’s works/actions are labelled “odd.” No translation uses the exact word “odd” to describe them. The closest is this verse from Isaiah 28:21 that uses the word “peculiar.”

A word study of the Hebrew words translated “peculiar” and “strange” produced a series of adjectives such as:

• Unprecedented
• Unheard of
• Extraordinary

In the context of Isaiah 28, they refer to the fact that God was going to visit judgment upon the people of Israel rather than the nations. Since this ran contrary to the way God was known to act in the past, it was clearly worthy of the “odd” label!

I was intrigued by the references in verse 21 to what God did at Mount Perazim and in the Valley of Gibeon. Both refer to key victories won by King David against the Philistines recorded in 2 Samuel 5:17-25.

In the first war, He confronted them head-on and defeated them.  Then he said: “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. (v. 20)

Baal-Perazim means: “Lord of the breakthrough.”

The next time, the Lord told him to attack from the rear when he heard the sound of marching from the mulberry trees. The result? David defeated them from Gibeon to Gezer.

In both instances it was God who was credited with the victory, even though it was David and his army that did the attacking. “The Lord has broken through.” (v. 20). “God has attacked in front of you to defeat the Philistine army.” (v. 24)

What is common to both victories at Perazim and Gibeon is how David paid attention to the voice of God and obeyed His orders.

I sensed the Lord saying that when we listen to Him for our marching orders and then act in obedience, we too can expect Him to “break through” for us with victories that are “unprecedented, unheard of and extraordinary.”

Over the next few days, I will share with you more revelations on specific ways in which we will experience His “strange” and “peculiar” ways.

Today, though, I simply want to pronounce a blessing upon you:

May 2013 be filled with many moments when you will find yourself exclaiming in awe: “How Odd of God to (you fill in the blanks!)”

Amen.