Prophets

In ancient times, God spoke directly to Noah and the patriarchs. However, when God delivered the Ten Commandments during the Exodus, deathly fear struck the Israelites, and they pleaded with Moses, “‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die'” (Ex. 20:19). So, Moses assumed the role of mediator, and before he died, he told the Israelites that God would raise up prophets like him from their own people to communicate God’s Words (Deut. 18: 15-22).

Prophets, then, are essential to an understanding of scripture because historically God spoke to the people through the voices of the prophets. The entire history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to the beginning of the Second Temple in about 400 BCE is a saga of God’s interaction with God’s people told through the actions and voices of the prophets. There were three divisions in the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Prophets and Writings. The second division includes Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and Kings in addition to the major and minor prophets. Jesus gave credence to this history when he said he came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets (Mt. 5:17).

Having been fulfilled, then, are the Hebrew prophets no longer theologically relevant to Christians¹ other than in their historical context? And what of modern day prophets? Are they useful to us in our relationship to God? Christian worship services in many churches ignore the OT altogether. In more traditional denominations with two or more scripture lessons, the prophets are regularly quoted, but rarely preached. It seems to me that we may be missing an enormous opportunity to become better acquainted with God.

The word ‘prophet’ is derived from a Greek root that means primarily “to foresee”, which is perhaps the least important attribute. In the Hebrew Bible there are four words that translate respectively, “seer”, “diviner”, “man of God”, “prophet”. The Hebrew word that translates “prophet” means primarily one who is called. The one who was called was already known as a “seer” (1 Sam. 9:9). Prophets seem best described as boundary figures ² living in their own space on the edge between civilization and the kingdom of God. What prophets see clearly from their space on the very edge, we see only dimly at best, to use Paul’s phrase (1Cor. 13:12).

As Christians, we have no need to foresee because Christ told us what lies ahead. However, we do need to know God, and Jesus was well aware of our difficulty as cracked vessels living under the constant drumbeat of what passes for civilization. God is present, but seemingly unreachable amidst the cacophony of modern life. Even Jesus or Paul can seem somehow too disconnected from our circumstance to be of help to us.

The prophets, however, exist with us, next to us in our physical space though somehow divinely informed or even prescient, and are available to us in our daily lives. In this sense, Paul and Peter and John were prophets. Prophets abound in history and in our neighborhood today. God is present in these men and women whom we know or can know. The biblical prophets provide us the knowledge of God’s Word that has never changed. If we listen, we may hear that Word from our neighbor , whether pastor or gardener, and thereby be strengthened with the assurance of God’s presence.³

Thanks be to God.

1. For the Jews, the Talmud explains that with the beginning of the Second Temple era, the “spirit of prophecy departed.” See Shurpin, Yehuda, “Why are there no more prophets”; www.chabad.org/library/articles
2. Peterson, David, “Introduction to Prophetic Literature”, New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. IV, Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2015.
3. During my time in seminary I would practice solitude to try to put myself in that boundary space between civilization and the kingdom, inviting God to pay me a visit through the Holy Spirit. Though I highly recommend the practice, I have learned since to be alert to the prophets in my midst every day. The Holy Spirit seems active, indeed.