Message Theme & Verses: Prophetic Books
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him.
There are 16 books in the Old Testament written by Prophets of God. We divided them into four major prophets and 12 minor prophets. This division is by the length of their writings and does not reflect their importance.
The Bible uses three basic terms for Prophet. The first two are hozeh or visionary and ro’eh or seer. This indicates that prophets were able to see things about the present and even the future that other people could not. Although sharing God’s will and plan for the future is sometimes what prophets did, the much more common role for a prophet was to nabi’ which means to announce.
Prophets were the ones to proclaim important information about God. They were spokesmen for the Lord. Prophets declared how God’s people should live because of their covenant with God. Prophets were not the regular teachers of God’s Word, this was the job of the priests. The Prophets were called at special times with special messages. The people did not want to turn from their sins and often prophets were mocked, rejected, persecuted, or even killed.
The books of prophecy start after Israel has split into two kingdoms and continue through the exile and return of the remnant of faithful people to Jerusalem. These books contain stories, dialogues with the Almighty, poems, dreams, and visions. The Prophets are in harmony with the rest of the Biblical narrative and follow a basic pattern. Because God spoke through the prophets, everything they said was true. The Bible says if the prophet says something false, the people should stone to death the false prophet.
First, the prophet reminds the people that God is speaking through him. Next, the prophet affirms that the people of Israel have been chosen by God to be in a special relationship with him as a kingdom of priests charged with serving the nations. Then, the prophet confesses that the people have failed to live up to God’s standard both by worshiping false God’s and by mistreating one another. Then, the prophet warns the people of the coming Day of the Lord. This day of judgment predicts the fall of Jerusalem to the forces of Babylon, but it also points to the final Judgment Day when Jesus Christ will judge all the people of the world. The prophet’s warnings to the people then are the same warnings to readers today. The solution is the same to avoid the coming judgement, repent and believe. Finally, the prophets promise a renewal of the whole world that comes after the judgment, ushered in by the coming Savior.
Sadly, the people do not pay head to the warnings of the prophets. They fail to love God and they fail to love people. They were not able to fulfill their role as a nation of priests even though the prophets warned them to repent of their sin. Thankfully, in addition to being both King and High Priest, Jesus is also the perfect Prophet. He came to earth with the same message, repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand. While the Old Testament prophets were messengers only, Jesus is God incarnate and has the power not only to warn, but to save.
Read Jeremiah 3:6-25
Jesus in the Prophetic Books
Of course, Jesus is the Messiah promised by the Prophets. They tell us that he will rule Israel and all nations and bring peace and righteousness to the world. The coming Savior will take His throne by first suffering and dying in the most humiliating way. But, He will not stay in the grave. This Savior will rise again. He will gather His people to Himself and make them clean. He will cleanse the whole world of sin and recreate the earth never to be spoiled again.
Questions:
What was the job of a Prophet? (The Prophets were spokesmen for God. God told them what to say to the people and they proclaimed the Word of the Lord. Most often, the prophets warned the people of God’s wrath to come against their sin and urged them to repent. The prophets also spoke of God’s faithfulness and promise to send a Savior to redeem His people.)
Why did God send the Prophets?
What do you think were some difficulties in the lives of the prophets?
People usually didn’t like the prophets because they told the people to stop sinning. How would you feel if God asked you to give a message to the people that they didn’t want to hear?
Can you name some of the Prophets? Are there other Prophets in the Bible who did not write books?
What is the difference between a Major Prophet and a Minor Prophet?
How are the books of Prophecy useful to us today? (Although these books were written to a specific audience at a specific time to address specific sin, we can still learn from them. We learn about who God is and His plan in the world. We learn about how even chosen people fail to play their role because of their sin. Most importantly, we learn that God will make things new through His chosen Savior, Jesus Christ.)
What do you think of people who call themselves prophets today? Do they claim to play the same role as the prophets in the Bible? (The gift of the prophet seems to have been a temporary gift given by God to call His people to repentance and to lay the foundation of the church. Today, we have the Word of God which is sufficient to teach us all we need to know to obtain salvation and live the Christian life. We should be careful of those who claim to have a word from God and should test everything said against the truth of the Bible.)
What is the main hope that the prophets gave to the people?