PROPHET

In general, prophets are God’s mouthpieces or mediators, proclaiming God’s Word to others. They sometimes performed miracles that demonstrate of God’s power at work through them. Some of the OT prophets served to enforce the covenant that God made with the nation Israel. They urged the people to obey the covenant in order to enjoy God’s blessings or else curses would befall. Others confronted the kings of Israel who committed an apostasy during the period of monocracy. They called the leaders to repent of their idolatry and to live according to God’s law instead. The majority of the OT prophets pronounced the message of God’s judgment as warnings. They exposed the sin of the people that risked God taking away His covenant’s blessings. Alongside the call to repentance, the prophets also at the same time spoke of a message of hope. They projected a glorious future that God would realize in His Anointed One. As this Messiah came to the scene, this ultimate prophet, who is the subject of all prophecies by the prophets, brought everything that God had spoken through His prophets into fulfillment.

God’s prophets were scattered throughout the period of Israel’s history. As a nation to be, God chose Abraham, whom God Himself regarded as a prophet (Gen. 20:7) and made His covenant with him[1]. From Abraham, the people multiplied in Egypt though living in slavery. God saved them by appointing Moses as a leader to bring them out. Moses was regarded as a definitive prophet[2] (Deut. 18:15-22). Apart, on Mount Sinai, God also promised to rise up a prophet like Moses[3]. Once in the Promised Land, the people turned to idols. God let them being invaded by the surrounding nations. God saw their plight as they cried out to God. God then raised up judges to serve as leaders to fight their enemies. Among the judges, Deborah was also a prophetess (Judges 4:4). For a time, God didn’t reveal Himself as everyone did what they saw fit.

Until the prophet Samuel came to the scene (1 Sam. 3:20), the people asked for a king. God gave them king to rule over them. Israel prospered under David, God’s Anointed King[4]. But even David committed the sin of adultery. God used the prophet Nathan to rebuke him (2 Sam. 12:1-14). As David’s successor, Salomon was equally blessed[5]. However, he too fell into sin. His pagan’s wives led him astray to worship their gods. Because of this, God tore the kingdom into two, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Two great prophets after Moses were Elijah and Elisha. They confronted the kings of the northern kingdom who turned away from God. Amos and Hosea warned of God’s coming judgment if the people keep on rebelling. The prophets’ words finally came true. Israel was crushed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC.

Similar fate was happening toward the southern kingdom. They too failed to heed the prophets’ warnings. Despite the same call to repentance from Micah and Isaiah, God’s judgment was inevitable. They went into exile in Babylon in 587 BC. However, God didn’t leave them without His comforting Word. Ezekiel[6] and Daniel[7] were prophesying of a new future for Israel. God through the prophet Jeremiah promised a new exodus (Jer. 16:14-15)[8] and a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34)[9] that can’t be broken. A partial fulfillment saw that the people were re-gathered to their homeland. Both Haggai and Zechariah received visions aimed at encouraging the re-building of God’s temple besides projecting a glorious future that awaits the people of God under a future-coming King. The prophet Malachi again warned of a future judgment if the people were found to obey only half-heartedly but at the same time re-emphasized that Yahweh is faithful to redeem those who are His.

At the heart of Jesus’ proclamation was the message about the Kingdom of God. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God[10]. Both His message and action were about bringing the Kingdom of God on Earth.

In the light of this, Jesus proclaimed that, “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). The OT prophets had the same message. They too called out to their contemporaries that unless they repented of their wayward life, God’s judgment would befall them. All that the prophets warned came true as recorded by the history of Israel.

The people of Jesus’ days accepted Jesus as a prophet of God[11]. On one occasion, as they saw the miracle He performed (and many others previously), they regarded Jesus as the One whom God had sent to them, One like Moses through whose miracle their forefathers had tasted of God’s providence as He sent down manna from the heaven while they were on the desert land of the first exodus. Jesus’ feeding of the five thousands could be seen as a repeat of that miracle (Jn. 6:12-14). Yet Jesus’ real mission was meant to be much more than this. He didn’t come to fulfill the physical needs of the people, but a most profound one that often goes unrecognizable[12]. He came so that the people might be brought near to God. He was fulfilling all the prophecies made by the prophets[13].

Those who opposed Jesus didn’t believe that He had been sent by God as Christ the Messiah, God’s Anointed One nor a prophet of God[14]. So, it wasn’t surprising that His message would fall on some deaf ears among those rejecting Him. This rejection has long been prophesied by Isaiah beforehand, not even any miracles that Jesus performed in their presence could convince the unbelieving Jews[15]. As would be of the oppositions often faced by the OT prophets, many of whom ended up getting killed by their own people[16]; Jesus too had known fully of what was ahead of Him as He set out for His final mission to Jerusalem. Jesus predicted His own death a few times in front of His disciples[17]. They didn’t get what was meant by then. The suffering that He was to go through had indeed been told of by the prophets[18]. Sinful people mocked, insulted, spit, flogged Him before they finally killed Him by crucifixion (Lk. 18:30-32). All that He predicted about what would happen to him as well as by the prophets were indeed happening (Lk. 23:33-36).

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He once again opened their eyes concerning the things that the Scriptures had testified about Him. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t realize that Jesus was indeed speaking to them as they pointed out to Him that a prophet powerful in word and deed had been sentenced to death recently. A number of believing Jewish had indeed hoped that He would be the One promised by God to redeem Israel being a Roman colony at that time. In response, Jesus explained to them how beginning from the Moses and all the Prophets, the Scriptures were all written about Him (Lk. 24:25-27).

References:
Goldsworthy, Greame. According to Plan. 1991. Inter-Varsity Press. England.
Roberts, Vaughn. God’s Big Picture. 2003. Inter-Varsity Press. England.

[1] God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, to give a land to his descendants, and to be a blessing for the nations (Gen 12:1-3; 13:15).
[2] Under Moses, God established a covenant with the nation Israel (Exodus 19). Moses acted as a representative for the Israelites to God. He taught them decrees and laws besides showing them the way to live and the duties the people were to perform (Ex. 18:19-20)
[3] God confirmed to the people of Israel that He would put words into the mouth of His prophet. They were to listen to him. God’s prophet would tell the people everything God had commanded him (Deut. 18:18-20)
[4] God made a covenant with David that his kingdom would never end (2 Sam. 7:14-16).
[5] Salomon built God’s Temple that signifies God’s presence among the people.
[6] Ezekiel prophesied that Judah and Israel would be reunited under one shepherd-king (Ez. 37:15-20). As one nation, they would be re-gathered to their own land where Yahweh would dwell amongst them and the nations would know that Yahweh sanctified His people.
[7] Daniel’s vision of the four kingdoms and the Kingdom of God highlighted God’s firm control over the period of Israel’s occupancy by the foreign nations. The coming of God’s Kingdom would be inaugurated by the endless reign of the Son of Man (Dan. 7).
[8] Isaiah also spoke of a new exodus achieved by a mysterious figure referred to as ‘the servant’ (Is. 49:5-6; 52:13 – 53:12). This suffering servant would face the punishment from the people, so that a new remnant of Israel would be reconstituted.
[9] The new covenant is not a completely new start that somehow God was abandoning the promises He made in the past. Rather, in His faithfulness, God made His promises stand by making possible His blessings despite the sinfulness of the people. Therefore, it’s one that would involve God to forgive and deal with sin completely. As a result, the people would know God intimately.
[10] Luke 11:20
[11] For examples in Jn. 6:14, 40; Mt. 21:11; Lk 24:20
[12] Jn. 6:26-27
[13] Jesus is indeed the Servant figure of Isaiah, the One through whom God would establish a new covenant spoken of by Jeremiah, the Shepherd-King of Ezekiel, and the Son of Man of Daniel.
[14] Jn. 6:52
[15] Jn. 12:37-41
[16] Matt. 23:37
[17] Matt. 16:21; 20:17-19
[18] Is. 53:3-9