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FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
OLD
TESTAMENT SURVEY – 13
PREPARING FOR THE PROPHETS
Amos 3:7 Surely the Master IAUE will do nothing, but he revealeth
his secret unto his servants the prophets.
So far in our study, we have been quiet
about the role of the prophet to the history of the Hebrew people. It is
important at this time to introduce them to our study, for they are about to
play a most significant part in the divine orchestration of the history we will
be observing next. Though there have been prophets mentioned from the
book of Genesis (Bereshith) forward, it is at this point when the kingdom of
Israel has become divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern
kingdom of Judah, that the role of the prophet gains prominence in the
scriptural text.
First, let's take a brief look at some of the
prophets that have been mentioned in the Scripture prior to the division of the
kingdom.
- Abraham is the first person in the
Scripture who is identified as a prophet (Genesis 20:7).
- Aaron, the brother of Moshe, the first high priest of Israel, is the second person named as a prophet (Exodus 7:1).
- Miriam, the sister of Moshe and Aaron, is the third person identified as a prophet, and the first prophetess mentioned in the Scripture (Exodus 15:20).
- Moses (Moshe), though he was known to be one, was first identified as a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:18 (see also Deuteronomy 34:10).
- Deborah, one of the judges of Israel, was a prophetess (Judges 4:4).
- An unnamed man was the first prophet that the Scriptures say IAUE "sent" to the children of Israel. He instructed them not to fear the gods of the Amorites, preparing them for the coming deliverance from their bondage to the Midianites (Judges 6:8). Gideon was raised up shortly after this man's prophecy to become the next judge and deliverer of Israel.
- Samuel was the first man to be "established as a prophet" among the children of Israel (I Samuel 3:20).
- Gad was the first prophet mentioned by name to minister to King David (I Samuel 22:5) (Of course, this excludes his anointing as a young man by the prophet Samuel.) He later became King David's personal seer (II Samuel 24:11).
- Nathan first appeared to speak IAUE's blessing upon the house of David (II Samuel 7).
- Ahijah, a little-known prophet, appeared to Jeroboam and prophesied to him that IAUE would give him ten tribes to rule, announcing that the kingdom would become divided (I Kings 11:29-31).
Aside from those who are specifically named in the Scripture, the original "70" elders who were selected to share Moshe's burden of judging Israel, prophesied when the Spirit of IAUE came upon them (Numbers 11). At that time, there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who also prophesied in the midst of the camp of Israel, which caused quite a stir. The people reported to Moses that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp; and they asked Moses to forbid them. Moses’ reply was, "Would Elohim that all IAUE's people were prophets, and that IAUE would put his spirit upon them."
There were unnamed prophets throughout the history
of Israel unto whom kings and men would take counsel. They were
identified among the people as “those upon whom the Spirit of IAUE rested.”
Even King Saul experienced a moment when the Spirit came upon him and he
prophesied among the other prophets of his day (I Samuel 10).
(We should
take note of the fact that one is not a prophet simply because he has
prophesied. A singular unique moment of prophesying when the Spirit of IAUE
rests upon a man does not change who he is, nor redirect his calling from
whatever occupation he was to become a prophet.)
These prophets listed above (with the exceptions of
Moses/Moshe and Samuel/Shemu'el) are commonly referred to as "oral"
prophets, as their ministries were verbal and not recorded in writings like
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc. These are referred to as the
"literary" prophets.
The two most famous oral prophets are about to enter
the stage of Israel's history and prepare the way for the ministry of the
literary prophets. Let's take a look at the history.
Shemu'el anointed Saul as the first king of Israel (circa 1065 BC). Two years later, Saul's disobedience to IAUE cost him his anointing as well as the hope of his bloodline retaining the throne. David was anointed by Shemu'el to be the second king of Israel (circa 1025 BC), and he reigned for 40 years. Solomon succeeded his father to the throne (circa 985 BC) and reigned, as did Saul and David, for forty years. Solomon's son, Rehoboam, then ascended to the throne (circa 945 BC).
It was early in the reign of Rehoboam that the
kingdom was divided. Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, lead ten
tribes to the north of Jerusalem and founded the kingdom of Israel (sometimes
referred to in the Scriptures as “Ephraim.”) The tribes of Judah and
Benjamin remained to the south and became known as the kingdom of Judah.
The southern kingdom honored the promise of Messiah through the bloodline of
the house of David; thus every king of the southern kingdom was of the tribe of
Judah, of the house of David.
The northern kingdom, founded in idolatrous
golden-calf worship, was marred by constant changes in the royal bloodline.
King Jeroboam reigned for 22 years.
When he died, his son, Nadab reigned. Nadab did much evil in the
sight of IAUE, continuing in the sin of his father. He was murdered two
years later by Baasha, of the tribe of Issachar, who then took
the throne.
Baasha, intending to insure the safe succession to
the throne of his family, murdered every member of Jeroboam's family, thus
terminating any potential claim of Jeroboam’s bloodline to the throne of
Israel. (Because Baasha continued in the sins of Jeroboam in leading the
people in the worship of idols, the prophet Jehu declared that his house would
be destroyed just as he had destroyed the house of Jeroboam.)
Baasha ruled for 24 years. After his death,
his son, Elah, reigned for a little more than one year before he was
murdered by Zimri, commander of half of the king's chariots. Once
Zimri assumed the throne, he fulfilled the words of the prophet Jehu by killing
every male member of Baasha's family, as well as every friend of the house of
Baasha.
At this time, the army of Israel was laying seige
against a city of the Philistines. When they heard of the treachery of
Zimri, they declared Omri, the commander of the army of Israel, to be
their king, just seven days after Zimri proclaimed himself king. They
proceeded to the city of Tirzah intent upon deposing Zimri; but when Zimri saw
that the city had been taken, he went into the king's house and set it on fire,
letting it burn down over him.
The nation of Israel was divided regarding these
events. Half followed Omri, and half wanted Tibni for their
king. Conflict ensued and the camp loyal to Omri prevailed, killing
Tibni. The Scriptures record that Omri was more wicked than all of the
other kings of Israel. Twelve years later, Omri died and his son, Ahab
succeeded him (circa 875 BC).
In 70 years, the northern kingdom of Israel had endured seven kings representing four different family lines. During that same period, the southern kingdom of Judah had experienced the reign of Rehoboam, his son Abijah, and his son Asa.
In 70 years, the northern kingdom of Israel had endured seven kings representing four different family lines. During that same period, the southern kingdom of Judah had experienced the reign of Rehoboam, his son Abijah, and his son Asa.
You will recall that both Moses and Joshua were
instructed by IAUE to completely eradicate the gentile nations from the
promised land, lest their idolatries lead their hearts astray from the worship
of IAUE. They failed to fulfill that command and the nations before them,
indeed, caused the hearts of the people to go astray. Despite the rule of
David and the wisdom of his son, Solomon, the southern kingdom continued to be
affected by the allure of false worship. The divided kingdom only
enhanced the unfaithfulness of the Hebrews. Now that ten of twelve tribes
had utterly forsaken the promise of Messiah, the remaining two tribes struggled
to maintain honorable lives before IAUE.
Before the children of
Abraham could become totally corrupted, IAUE sent his servants the prophets
with a four-fold mission.
1. Warn the people that if they do not repent,
judgment will come.
2. Warn the people that because they have not repented, judgment is on its way.
3. Inform the people that IAUE will not destroy all. He will retain a remnant among the people.
4. Inform the people that out of the remnant, IAUE will raise up one who will draw all peoples to Him.
2. Warn the people that because they have not repented, judgment is on its way.
3. Inform the people that IAUE will not destroy all. He will retain a remnant among the people.
4. Inform the people that out of the remnant, IAUE will raise up one who will draw all peoples to Him.
Next: Enter the prophets
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers
no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.
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