The Prophets

Israel’s Prophets

Three Hebrew terms were used to describe the prophets.

Two of them are translated “seer.”A third is the word navi, which meant,

“one who speaks for another.”Thus, the prophets were God’s

spokesmen.

Prophets

• Two other descriptive but unbiblical terms applied to prophets in antiquity were ecstatic and diviner.

• Ecstatics were prophets whose prophecy came as part of a psychological experience, such as a trance or highly emotional state.

• Diviners read signs in nature, the patterns of clouds, or patterns of the intestines of an animal.

The Prophets

1) They were God-called and God-moved men whose message was “Thus says the Lord.”

2) They were more forth-tellers than fore-tellers.3) God offered a message of warning, a call to

repentance, and a message of hope through these men.

4) They were courageous men, unafraid to deliver their message regardless of the personal danger involved.

Prophets

5) They were honest men, always concerned with the truth.

6) They were moral men who preached a message that demanded the highest moral living from their hearers.

7) They were compassionate men, sensitive to the cry of the oppressed.

8) They were sensitive men, aware of what was happening in the world around them and convinced that the Lord was in control of what was happening.

Evaluation of the Prophets

1. The prophets were, first of all, concerned with their own time and what was about to happen to their people.

2. Time was the sure test of the validity of a prophet’s message.

THE PROPHETIC BOOKS

“Thus saith the Lord!”

The Prophetic Books

• The true prophets in the Old Testament were loyal servants of God and committed foes of idolatry.

• They often risked their lives when confronting wicked kings and princes with the Word of God, and they poured their souls into their pleas that sinners repent and turn back to God.

The Prophetic Books

• In Israel, there was a long history of individuals who served as the Lord’s messengers to the nation and to the world.

• Abraham functioned as a prophet when he interceded for a sinner. Gen. 20:7 Now then, return the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours."

The Prophetic Books

• It was Moses, however, that the Lord first called and instructed in the individual role of prophet (Ex. 3:1-4:17)

• Moses was considered the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Num. 12:6-8).

The Prophetic Books• Moses’ experience as a prophet became the

paradigm for later prophets as the vocabulary and relationships of the divine communication through Moses became standard for God’s revelations to the other true prophets.

• Such terms as “send,” “go,” “speak,” and “I will” were commonly used by the Lord to prophets, and they themselves frequently admonished their audiences to “hear” because “thus says the Lord.”

The Prophet’s Role

• People often think of the prophets as predictors of the future.

• Their primary function, however, was to call people to radical obedience and dependence upon God.

• The contents of the prophetic messages were shaped by God’s covenant with his people and by the prophets particular circumstances.

The Prophet’s Role• The covenant was established to make Israel a holy

nation that worshiped only the one true God.

• But the history of Israel was characterized by a persistent rebellion against God.

• This rebellion had an effect on how the prophetic messages were framed and presented.

• This took the shape of “lawsuits” initiated by God against his people for breach of covenant.

The Prophets’ Message• You have broken the covenant, so you must

repent.

• If you do not repent, God will bring judgment.

• Even in judgment there is a future hope and restoration (i. e. a new covenant, the Messiah, a new kingdom)

The Prophets

• Early Prophets: Joel (840?) and Jonah (800)

• Eighth-Century Prophets: Amos (760), Hosea (750), Isaiah (740-698), Micah (735)

• Seventh-Century Prophets: Zephaniah (626) Jeremiah (625-585), Nahum (625), Habakkuk (610),

The Prophets

• Sixth-Century Prophets: Daniel (590), Ezekiel (590), Obadiah (585)

• Latter Prophets: Haggai (520), Zechariah (520), Malachi (435)

Isaiah• Isaiah prophesied between 740 and 681 BC

• Assyria was the dominant world power but the Babylonian Empire was on the rise.

• The book portrays the Sovereign Lord’s plan for Judah from judgment, to restoration, to the coming of the Messiah (heir of David) who will bring light to the Nations. It reveals God’s redemptive love in his dealings with his chosen people, who are destined for both judgment and salvation.

Jeremiah• Prophesied from 627 to 585 BC• Spoke to the Southern Kingdom primarily during

the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.• He announced the coming destruction of

Jerusalem because of disobedience to the covenant and urged the leaders and people to accept exile in Babylon if they wished to live and have any future at all.

• He predicted that in the future a remnant would return and the nation would be restored.

Lamentations• A series of five laments over the fall of Jerusalem

probably written shortly after 586 BC.• It emphasizes the deep personal suffering and

spiritual agony experienced at the fall of Jerusalem; the justice of God in carrying out the overthrow of Zion; and the hope that lies in God’s character alone.

• The purpose behind the book’s graphic depictions of sorrow and suffering was to produce hope in the God whose compassion is “new every morning” and whose faithfulness is great even to a people who have been condemned for their own unfaithfulness.

Ezekiel

• He prophesied from 593 until 571 BC.• He was an Israelite priest and prophet who

was taken to Babylon among the first wave of captives from Judah in 598 BC, and a younger contemporary of Jeremiah.

• Ezekiel prophesied hope and reassurance for the people of Judah who were in exile because they had lost their focus on God and their unique covenant relationship with Him.

Daniel

• He prophesied during the Babylonian Exile 586 to around 538 BC.

• He became an exile in Babylon in 605 BC and was chosen to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s court.

• The persistent theme of this book is God’s sovereignty over all the nations and their rulers, His care for the Jews in exile, His promises of final restoration, and His final victory over human evil.

Hosea• He prophesied from 758 to 722 BC.• He was the last to prophesy before the Northern

Kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 BC.• At God’s command Hosea marries a prostitute which

served as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.• The book shows the depth of God’s love for his people,

a love that tolerates no rivals.• It emphasizes the Lord’s unwavering love for his

people, even when he must punish them for unfaithfulness.

Joel

• Scholars think this prophesy takes place around 590 BC, but are uncertain.

• Joel compares an army of invaders to a devastating locust plague in order to summon God’s people to repentance. God promises a future day of mercy, an outpouring of his Spirit, and a day of judgment on the nations.

• He emphasizes the coming day of the Lord which will be a day of judgment and salvation.

Amos• He prophesied around 760 BC at the peak of the

reigns of Jeroboam II (NK) and Uzziah (SK).

• He was a shepherd and farmer who is the first prophet to have his message recorded in a book.

• In a time of economic prosperity and political strength for Israel (NK), the Lord announces that He is going to bring utter ruin to Israel because God’s people have failed to keep covenant with him.

Obadiah

• Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the Old Testament probably soon after the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (586 BC).

• This book tells of God’s judgment on Edom for her sins against God’s people (They captured fleeing Israelites and gave them to the Babylonians). He also spoke of Israel’s deliverance and restoration on the day of the Lord.

Jonah

• Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (NK) from 785-760 BC.

• He emphasizes the Lord is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all people. He demonstrates the Lord’s compassionate concern for the Gentiles (represented by Nineveh), and Israel’s reluctance (represented by Jonah) to acknowledge the Lord’s compassion for the nations.

Micah

• Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (750–700 BC) around the same time as Isaiah.

• During a time of prosperity in Judah, Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment.

• The book contains alternating oracles of doom on both Israel and Judah for their idolatry and social injustices; yet, offers future hope because of the Lord’s mercies.

Nahum

• He prophesied sometime between 663 and 612 BC.

• The book emphasizes the Lord’s sovereignty over all the nations. It tells of God’s judgment against Nineveh (Assyria) for her oppression of God’s people, her cruelty, and her idolatry. It concludes with the announced destruction of the city.

Habakkuk• He prophesied sometime between 612 and

599 BC, when Babylon had begun to dominate the international scene, but before it attacked Jerusalem.

• The book tells of the prophet’s indignation over God’s apparent toleration of injustice, his confidence in the justice and power of God, his growing understanding that the righteous will live by faith, and that God will eventually punish the wicked.

Zephaniah

• Zephaniah prophesied during the reforms of King Josiah (640–609 BC).

• Zephaniah prophesied the coming catastrophic judgments against Jerusalem and surrounding nations, and speaks of the restoration of a remnant of Judah.

• The book emphasizes the coming day of the Lord, His judgment against Judah for her sins, and His judgment against the nations.

Haggai

• Haggai is a postexilic prophet in Jerusalem, a contemporary of Zechariah, who prophesied over a four-month period during the second year of the reign of Darius the King of Persia (520 BC).

• The book contains four messages that encourage God’s people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and tells of a glorious future that awaits the people of God.

Zechariah

• He prophesied from 520 until sometime in the early 400s BC.

• The book contains visions aimed at encouraging the postexilic community, especially the leadership, to rebuild the temple, plus oracles about the future coming King who would be slain for the sins of the people. Yet through this death, many would come to know the Lord.

Malichi

• He prophesied between 460 and 435 BC.• The book contains six disputes that remind God’s

people that the Lord is a covenant-keeping God and requires the same of his people.

• Malachi called God’s people to repentance with respect to the priesthood, which had become corrupt; worship, which had become routine; divorce, which was widespread; social justice, which was being ignored; and tithing, which was being neglected.

Isaiah and Jeremiah

Distinct Prophetic Contributions

Isaiah

The first of the prophets of Judah Was a priest before he was a prophet Call to prophetic ministry came in the

year that King Uzziah died (6:1-13) Some think that more than one person

wrote the book (2 or 3 authors/compilers)

Isaiah’s Messianic Prophecies The birth of the Messiah (7:14) The universal reign of the promised Messiah (9:2-7) International peace and righteousness from

Messiah’s influence (11:1-10) The mission of the Messiah to the Gentiles (42:1-4) Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles (49:1-7) Foreigners to be included in God’s Grace (56:1-8) People of all nations included among God’s

redeemed (66:18-21)

Images of the MessiahIsaiah 11:1-12

1) A descendant of King David (Is. 11:1,10)2) God’s spirit will rest upon him. (Is. 11:2)3) He will be a merciful and righteous judge of

mankind (Is. 11:4-5)4) His reign will be characterized by peace and

reconciliation (Is. 11:6-9)5) The Gentiles will come to him (Is. 11:10)6) The remnant of Israel will be gathered to him

Is. 11:11-12)

Jeremiah One of the four major prophets Second prophet to emerge during the reign of

Josiah (Zephaniah 1st) Prophecy incorporates both Mosaic and

Messianic dimensions Also thought to have written Lamentations Added a new dimension to prophetic theology,

namely the new covenant

Jeremiah 31The New Covenant

The New Covenant is mentioned only here in the Old Testament.

Jesus, at the Last Supper, talked about the fruit of the vine as the blood of the New Covenant.

This passage is seen as a messianic passage which was fulfilled in Christ.

Jeremiah 31:31-3431 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

New Covenant vs. Old Covenant

1) The law is to be written on the heart. The law is internalized; it is not on tablets of stone. God puts his law within man. The heart is the place of decision making and will.

2) It is UNIVERSAL in nature. It will be for all nations and all peoples.

New Covenant vs. Old Covenant

3) It is UNCONDITIONAL. The Old Covenant was based on the people’s obedience.

4) The phrase “says the Lord” is found 4 times in this short passage. It emphasizes that the covenant is made at God’s initiative.

New Covenant vs. Old Covenant

V. 34 – The phrase “know the Lord” refers to intimate, personal relationship with God. All classes of people can know God. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.