Jesus Christ, the ultimate
prophet of God — the incarnate Word of God, is actually the substance
of all prophecies in the Old Testament. As Moses, who is called the
greatest prophet of Israel, predicted that "The LORD thy God will
raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren,
like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." Ultimately, Jesus Christ
would come, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to proclaim to all men
the words of God.
Just as Moses was the vessel through whom God gave His word in the Old
Testament and Jesus was the vessel, the incarnate Word of God, in the
New Testament, people have been used in every generation to fill the
prophetic role of proclaiming God’s word. Peter referred to Noah as a
preacher of righteousness to his generation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
the patriarchs of the nation of Israel were considered to be used of God
to proclaim His word. As mentioned, Moses was eulogized as the greatest
prophet of all times in Israel. Joshua, his successor among the Children
of Israel, was also prophetic in his leadership. With the coming of
Israel into their promised land, prophets came forth in many times and
in many places proclaiming the word of God for the need of their
generation.
After Joshua, the first prophet that is recorded is an unnamed prophet
who call Israel, who was falling back into idolatry in the time of
Gideon, to remember the God who delivered them from Egypt. During this
time of the judges there were numerous prophets of which some were
recorded but many were not. Most of the prophets of that time did not
write down their prophecies. They confronted the people of their time
for their time.
The next prophet of record was Samuel. He was perhaps the leading figure
in the time of the judges. Faithfully serving the Lord throughout his
youth, he spent the days of his life being used of God to meet the needs
of the people. He was a judge, a successful military leader, and
established much of the everyday practices in both the religious and the
civil life of the people. He was used of God to appoint the first king
of Israel. He was also used of God to proclaim that God had recalled
that first king from office. He lived an exemplary life and served as a
model for all prophets to come.
The books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings are
filled with the exploits of the men whom God used to challenge the
people and sometimes the kings of Israel themselves to remain true to
the God of their fathers. God would raise up a man, sometimes a women
and sometimes a child, to declare the "Thus, sayest the Lord"
that called the nation of Israel to repentance. God always spoke to His
people the words that were needed for the time and the place through the
mouths of these prophets.
Perhaps, the most unforgettable of the Hebrew prophets ministered during
this time. Elijah was compared to Moses and appeared with Moses on the
Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus to represent jointly with Moses the
Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament economy. His call for fire to
come down from heaven to destroy the altar in a face-to-face
confrontation with the prophets of Baal is one of the most dynamic
stories in the history of Israel. His exit from this world is perhaps
even more powerful and has inspired people of every generation (Swing
down sweet chariot and let me ride . . . .).
Although some these prophets overlapped into the age that is sometimes
called the later prophets or the writing prophets, these former prophets
spoke to their day. Their primarily concern was not focused upon future
events but the affairs of everyday living. They were used by God to meet
the challenges of life that caused Israel to drift away continually from
the ways of God.
The writing prophets, what we know as the major and minor prophets, do
not appear to be in strict chronological order. Although we will let
each of the writing of the minor prophets give us the time of their
prophecies, we can give a rough time-line of their writings. Two
prophets, Obadiah and Joel may have preached in the ninth century B.C.
(853-796). In the following century, five prophets can be connected to
the time of 793-686 B.C.: Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Isaiah, and Micah. Nahum
Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah prophecy in the next century: Nahum,
around 663 B.C.; Zephaniah probably 640-609 B.C.; Habakkuk, around 612
B.C.; and Jeremiah began in 627 B.C. and continued past the fall of
Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Daniel and Ezekiel preached the words of the Lord
during the Captivity in Babylon. Daniel was taken into Captivity during
the first invasion of Judah, 605 B.C. Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in
597 B.C. and continued his prophecies until roughly 571 B.C. Haggai,
Zechariah, and Malachi lived and preached after the Captivity: Haggai,
520 B.C.; Zechariah, about the same time; and Malachi, around 432 B.C.
The last twelve books of the Old Testament are referred to as minor
prophets only because their writings are considerably shorter that the
writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. By putting all the
minor prophets together their writings roughly equals the length of a
major prophet’s scroll. The contents of their prophecies were as
powerful and moving as the major prophets. They were moved upon by the
Holy Spirit and spoke not their words but the words of God flowing
through them.
There is a New Testament passage of Scripture that can illustrate what was
occurring in the lives of the minor prophets (Ephesians Chapter 4).
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