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PROPHET, PROPHETESS and PROPHESY --- PART 3

Types of Old Testament Prophets:
There are two basic types of prophetic commission in the Old Testament. One type is that of a narrative call by YHVH to a particular individual whose objections to the call are gradually overcome in a dialogue between himself and YHVH. Read -- Jeremiah 1:4-8. Similar prophetic commissions including such dialogues are associated with the calls of Moses -- Exodus 3:1-4:17 and Gideon -- Judges 6:11-17. We relate to these experiences because we may imagine we would react in much the same way. They are examples of how the ordinary is often called upon to do the extraordinary in YHVH’s service. Like these biblical characters, we can be sure if YHVH calls us to a specific ministry he will equip us with everything we need to be successful. The second major form of prophetic commission is the Throne Vision. An outstanding example is found in -- Isaiah 6:1-8. Here we have an account of the visionary presence of a prophet in the heavenly council. He is an active part of the deliberations and soon receives a prophetic commission. Though few prophets have left accounts of their divine commissions, most of them appear to have been conscious of having been sent by YHVH -- Isaiah 48:16; Hosea 8:1; Amos 7:14-15. According to Jeremiah, false prophets did not receive such divine commissions -- Jeremiah 23:21; Jeremiah 32; Jeremiah 28:15. Likewise, we must never usurp control when it comes to YHVH’s service. Our message must be from YHVH’s Word and not of our own making. We must sense YHVH’s calling on our lives instead of being driven by human ambition or pride.

The Message of the Prophets:

Form of the Message:
We most commonly recognize prophecy in the Old Testament by the phrase [Thus says Adonai] which occurs hundreds of times in prophetic contexts. This formula clearly implies that the pronouncement so introduced is not the word of the prophet but of YHVH of Israel who delivered His Word to His prophet. The use of this formula also reiterates the prophet’s sense of divine commission. In oracles introduced in this manner, YHVH speaks in the first person. In fact, virtually all Israelite prophetic utterance is formulated as the direct speech of YHVH of Israel. The prophets used many literary forms in which to express their oracles. Two of the more widely used forms of prophetic speech are the judgment speech and the oracle of salvation. The judgment speech is composed of at least two central elements: the speech of rebuke and the pronouncement of judgment -- 2 Kings 1:3-4. We might say this was the bad news. The second common prophetic speech form is the oracle of salvation -- Isaiah 41:8-13. In contrast, this was the good news. Other fixed forms of prophetic speech include the prophecy of salvation -- Isaiah 43:14-21, the proclamation of salvation -- Isaiah 41:17-20; Isaiah 42:14-17; Isaiah 43:16-21; Isaiah 49:7-12, and the woe oracle -- Isaiah 5:8-10; Isaiah 10:1-4; Amos 5:18; Amos 6:1-7; Micah 2:1-5.

Content of the Message:
The common adage that Old Testament prophets were not fore-tellers but forth-tellers is not strictly correct. All of the prophets predict the future. Such prediction, however, is not focused on human curiosity of what the future will hold. Rather, it is rooted in the future consequences of past or present violations of the covenant, or on a future act of deliverance that will provide hope for a discouraged people. Most of the prophetic speeches that have been preserved in the Old Testament were originally delivered as public proclamations or sermons. Most of these prophetic proclamations were evoked by the disobedience of Israel. Hosea and Jeremiah condemned Israel because she had broken the covenant -- Jeremiah 11:2-3; Hosea 8:1. The prophets are frequently associated with social justice and social reform. Amos denounced the rich who afflicted the poor -- Amos 2:6-8; Amos 4:1; Amos 5:11; Amos 8:4-6. He railed against sexual immorality -- Amos 2:6-8 and against those who take bribes -- Amos 5:12. Hosea provided a list of prevalent vices, including lying, killing, stealing, adultery, and idolatry -- Hosea 4. Idolatry was a particular target for his rebuke -- Hosea 8:5; Hosea 11:2. However, like a parent disciplining a child, YHVH’s love motivates him to correct his people -- Isaiah 43:4; Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 3:1; Hosea 11:1-4; Hosea 14:4; Malachi 1), which is inseparable from his election of Israel (Isaiah 43:1; Jeremiah 33:24; Ezekiel 20:5; Hosea 3. Prophets presented a balanced picture of YHVH’s wrath toward sin and His Love toward the sinner. The world imagines a prophet as a messenger of “doom and gloom.” On the contrary, prophets represent a YHVH of love who hates to see his people bring consequences upon themselves through their own disobedience. YHVH’s judgment is always balanced and motivated by His Love. The prophets were concerned not only with the transgressions of Israel and the historical judgment that would inevitably follow but also with the achievement of a final future time of bliss. The message of many of the prophets is thoroughly eschatological [pertaining to the end times]. One such eschatological concept is that of the Day of Adonai. The concept of the Day of Adonai first appears in Amos, where the emphasis lies on the disaster that will befall Israel on that day. Amos’s emphasis on disaster notwithstanding, the Day of Adonai meant both salvation and judgment. The disaster that will occur in the Day of Adonai can be viewed in terms of a literal, historical fulfilment in the tragic events of 722 BC [the fall of Samaria] and 586 BC [the fall of Judah]. But there are features of these predictions that transcend historical fulfilment and reach toward end-times fulfilment. In other words, some things have yet to happen. Since the Israelites recognized salvation in the here and now, it included such blessings as length of life, fruitfulness of the womb and field, peace and victory over one’s enemies, the abundance of water, and so on. In harmony with this concept of salvation, the future age is viewed in precisely those terms, as in -- Amos 9:13-15. The prophets pictured a time when David himself, or someone very much like him, would return and inaugurate a golden era reminiscent of the great Davidic and Solomonic periods. The covenant of YHVH with David was not a conditional covenant but rather one that was absolutely inviolable -- 2 Samuel 7:4-17; Psalm 89; Jeremiah 33:19-22. With this knowledge, the prophets could look forward confidently to a restoration of David’s throne -- Jeremiah 17:24-26; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 33:14-15.

Prophesy in the New Testament:
In contrast to the few self-proclaimed prophets of the intertestamental period [between the writing of the Old and New Testament], early Christianity began with a flurry of prophetic activity that lasted well into the second century A.D. Yeshua, His disciples and followers, and the early Believers were convinced that the times in which they lived were times in which Old Testament prophecy was being fulfilled -- Mark 1:14-15; Acts 2:16-21; Romans 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 10:11. Yet this era was not only one of fulfilment but also one of the renewal of the prophetic gift.

John the Baptist:
John the Baptist is remembered in the New Testament primarily as the forerunner of Yeshua whose coming Malachi predicted -- Malachi 4:5-6. Yet, in his own right, John proclaimed the imminent judgment of YHVH with a similar flair of prophets in Old Testament times. John’s costume, consisting of a coarse cloak and a leather girdle -- Mark 1:6, was reminiscent of the garb of Old Testament prophets -- 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 1:8; 2 Kings 2:13-14; Zechariah 13:4. People everywhere regarded John as a prophet -- Matthew 14:5; Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13; Mark 11:32; Luke 1:76; Luke 7:26. Luke reports, in a style similar to the Old Testament prophetic narratives, [a message from YHVH came to John] -- Luke 3:2. Two short prophetic speeches have been preserved in Matthew 3:7-10 -- compare to Luke 3:7-9 and Mark 1:7-8 -- compare to Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:15-18. In the first speech, John denounced those of his generation who had transgressed the Covenant Law and exhorted them to change their manner of life. In the second speech, John predicted the coming of the Mighty One, Yeshua -- Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:15; John 1:27; John 1:30; Acts 13:25. John’s style, however, was not precisely that of the Old Testament prophets. His pronouncements were made on his own authority; never did he use formulas such as [thus says Adonai,] or present his prophetic utterances as if they were speeches made by YHVH. Yet, in spite of these differences, John is appropriately regarded as the last representative of the Old Testament prophetic tradition -- Matthew 11:13; Luke 16:16.

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