The 6th Day of the Blessed Month of Tout
Departure of Isaiah the Prophet
On this day died the great Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, by the hand of Manasseh the King who sawed him with a wooden saw. This prophet prophesied in the days of the reign of five kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. He prophesied to Ahaz saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) He prophesied that, "His name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace," (Isaiah 9:6), and the Lord will have mercy upon us by offering himself as, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed..., and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)
He prophesied to Hezekiah and encouraged him when Sanakren, the King of Persia besieged Jerusalem, and informed him that God would blot Sanakren out because of his blasphemy against Him. And that night God sent Michael the Archangel to the camp of Sanakren, and slew 185,000 of his soldiers (Isaish 37:36), and those who remained left the camp and fled. And when Hezekiah the king was sick, God commanded him by the tongue of this prophet to set his house in order for he was to die. And when Hezekiah prayed to God, He sent to him Isaiah the prophet who made known to him that God has added to his days fifteen years. And God showed him a sign so that he might realize the truth of his prophesy.
Isaiah prophesied concerning the blotting out of the children of Israel because of their love for sin and their keeping away from worshipping God, and he made manifest that only a few of them would be believers. God made rain to fall by reason of his prayer. On another occasion, when Isaiah himself was thirsty, God made the spring of water of Siloam flow. When he rebuked Manasseh because of his evil deeds and worshipping idols, Manasseh ordered to have him sawed. He prophesied for seventy years and he came 913 years before the coming of Christ.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of Saint Baslantya
On this day also the holy Saint Baslantya was martyred in the days of Diocletian the infidel. When this pious Christian lady was only nine years old, she was arrested, her hands and feet were bound and she was cast into the fire, but she did not get burned because of the mighty power of God. At her prayers, God caused water to come down and she drank, and then she committed her soul to God.
May her prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.