PROPHECY IN RELATION TO ISRAEL’S HISTORY

Only a brief sketch of the work of the prophets in their relation to the history of the Israelites is purposed in this chapter. A complete consideration of the subject of Prophecy would involve a study of what has been termed the “preprophetic period.” Many fundamental truths were taught during this time, truths that were elaborated and added to by the writing prophets. No one indeed surpassed Moses in the qualities that distinguish the Old Testament prophets. God communicated to him directly some of the highest conceptions of his own character, and the laws and principles of the relations that existed between Jehovah and his chosen people.

It was promised through Moses that prophets would be raised up after Moses should be taken away, who would instruct the Israelites in their duties toward God and each other. Before the time of the monarchy these promised prophets do not seem to have been frequent* nor their work of very great significance. After that time the prophetic institution became of prime importance.

1. About the time of the transition from the Judges to the Kings, the need of special messengers from God became imperative. The priests had been appointed, not only to officiate at the altar, but also as the religious teachers of the people. But the priests themselves had become corrupt; they were often chief among the sinners of the Israelites. Their failure may have been due in part to the lack of support by the rest of the tribes. Tithes were withheld, and sacrifices were not offered. Their failure gave occasion for bringing into prominence the prophetic institution, which was appointed of God, not merely to make good that in respect to which the priests had failed, but to reveal with greater fulness the character of God and his will. Samuel is regarded as the founder of the so-called “schools of the prophets.” There were, however, prophets before his day. His great work as prophet was to encourage these schools and to regulate their activity.

2. In the days of Ahab the northern kingdom had adopted the worship of Baal so generally that the worship of Jehovah was almost excluded. There were but relatively few that remained faithful to the God of their fathers. The two prophets Elijah and Elisha were raised up to endeavor to bring Israel back to the faithful service of Jehovah. The work of each supplemented that of the other. Elijah, by condemnation and punishment, sought to arouse the people to a consciousness of their sin, while Elisha followed with repeated assurances of God’s readiness to show mercy if they would repent. There was but a temporary check given to the downward course of the rebellious people. There were, however, some great truths added to the contents of prophetic teaching. Elijah was shown on Horeb that the real people of God, the true Israel, were those who were faithful to Jehovah, and that they would abide after the sinners of the chosen people were destroyed. Through the beneficent miracles of Elisha there was taught the truth of permanent worth, that the mercy of God was unbounded. He would bruise, but he would also bind up.

3. During the time that the Israelites, both the northern and the southern kingdom, were in contact with the Assyrian power, called the “Assyrian” period in Israel’s history, the prophets that were chiefly important were Amos and Ho sea in the North and Isaiah and Micah in the South.

The reign of Jeroboam II was exceedingly prosperous. Riches were abundant, luxury was everywhere, and there was consequent wickedness. The people gave themselves up to the gratification of all sensuous appetites, and the poor were especially oppressed by the avarice of the rich and strong. Amos was sent from Judah to condemn the northern sinners for their crimes, and to warn them of imminent punishment. They were secure in the belief that the “day of Jehovah” predicted by Joel would come with destruction for the heathen nations only. Amos assured them that Israelite sinners would perish like the rest. Being God’s chosen people would not save them.

Hosea prophesied during the same conditions, and had in part a message like that of Amos, but as a background for the portrayal of the blackness of their sin and the terribleness of the coming calamity he set forth in strongest terms the wonderful love that Jehovah had shown them from the first. But since God’s love had been spurned by them, the punishment they deserved was all the greater. Hosea preached God’s love, but his threats were terrific.

The greater part of the work of the two prophets Isaiah and Micah in Judah centers about the reign of Ahaz, who sought an alliance with Assyria against his two enemies Israel and Aramea, and the reign of Heze- kiah, who was attacked by Sennacherib because the customary tribute from Judah was withheld. The refusal of Ahaz to trust Jehovah gave occasion for severe denunciation by Isaiah, and the prediction that destruction would come upon Judah. But the king’s infidelity also led to the prophet’s prediction that God would raise up a true King. Hezekiah’s refusal to yield to the demands of the Assyrian king who had already captured some of the cities of Judah, but who was not content with less than the complete surrender of Jerusalem, was most likely due to the encouragement given him by Isaiah. The help of Jehovah was never promised with greater assurance than in this dark hour of Judah’s threatened downfall. Micah’s prophecies were likewise in great part occasioned by the immanence of Assyria’s blow.

4. In what is called the “Babylonian” period there remained the kingdom of Judah only. Israel had fallen in 722. About a hundred years later the fall of the Assyrian power, which had been dominant in the east for many centuries, was succeeded by the supremacy of Babylon. This power lasted but a short time, but it was a very mighty force in determining the destiny of Judah. The end of this kingdom was now near. The sins of many generations were at last to be punished by the captivity of the chosen people, the destruction of their holy temple and the desolation of their sacred city.

At this time Jeremiah in Judah and Ezekiel among those already carried captive were chief of those who prophesied to the kings and common people. Their work differs in its special character from that of the prophets who had preceded them. Very many of the messages of each grew out of the personal experiences through which they passed. The truths they proclaimed, the lessons they taught, form an important part of Prophecy. The minor prophets Habakkuk and Obadiah emphasized special truths that were pertinent to this critical time.

It was just in the midst of the ruin of Judah, when there seemed no prospect but one of final defeat, that Daniel prophesied of the overthrow of the world powers and of the glorious triumph of the kingdom of God.

5. After the Jews had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple, the special work that the prophets had to do was to give them encouragement in the face of weakness, poverty, and the hostility of their enemies. Haggai and Zechariah were especially concerned with the work on the temple. Malachi sought to check the tendency of the Jews to intermarry with the heathen, and he condemned those who denied the importance of serving Jehovah. The work of all these post- exilic prophets was needed to keep distinctly in the minds of the chosen people that they were a separate nation, Jehovah’s special possession.

6. The work of the prophets is thus seen to be intimately connected with the history of Israel. It is not something apart from, an addition to, the manifestation of the purpose of God in his dealings with his people. The threats and promises of the prophets arose from the moral and political condition of the Israelites. We learn from both the historical condition and the prophecy occasioned by it what Jehovah revealed concerning himself and what he demands of man. We are taught by his act and by his prophetic word that he will punish sin, which he hates, and that his mercy is beyond expression in words. Old Testament Prophecy stands out preeminent, towering above all else that was given to aid us in understanding Christ, but it stood amid the every-day doings of the Israelites. It continually interpreted to Israel the meaning of what God sent upon them, warned them of the results of their sins, and exhorted them to righteousness. The messages of the prophets abide as the fullest revelation that God made before his final revelation in Christ. They demand and they will reward the most careful and sympathetic study.