God’s Prophet’sGod’s Prophet’sAt the Heart of the JourneyAt the Heart of the Journey

CHAPTER SEVEN

- The prophet is a special kind of messenger from God

- The Hebrew word for prophet, Nabi, was connected first with Moses

- Prophecy became a literary movement

Introduction

Introduction- “Latter prophets” were made up of major and minor prophets

Major Prophets

• Isaiah

• Jeremiah

• Ezekial

Minor Prophets

• Hosea • Amos

• Obadiah • Jonah

• Micah • Nahum

• Habbakuk • Zephaniah

• Haggai • Zechariah

• Melachai

- Common marks/roles of prophets

• Prophets received a call from God and felt compelled to follow it, leaving their former way of life behind

• Spoke messages that were unpopular with the ruling establishment

Introduction

Introduction

Call Narrative: Story that describes a person’s initial awareness that God wanted him or her to do something specific

The setting is one of mystery or holiness

God initiates the call

The person resists

God reassures the person

God sends the person on a mission

- The call narratives of Isaiah and Jeremiah follow a similar pattern:

Introduction

- Judges were also considered prophets (Deborah, Gideon)

- Prophecy was rooted in the early military leaders of Israel

- Passionate concern for the poor whenever they suffered oppression by the rich

- Prophets spoke in first person, as if God was speaking

Marks of the Prophets

- The prophets called people back to right relationships with Yahweh

- During this time, many Israelites had begun to worship the god Baal along with Yahweh

- Prophets reminded people that Yahweh was a jealous God who demanded their loyalty

Servants & Prophets

Servants & Prophets

- Four prophets in the northern kingdom:

1.) Elijah

2.) Elisha

3.) Amos

4.) Hosea

Servants & Prophets

- Elijah (Read 1 Kings 17-18)

• Name means, “The Lord is my God”

• Considered the father of the prophets

• Was a spiritual warrior in a struggle that sometimes became violent

• Symbolized the struggle between the religion of Yahweh and religion of Canaanites

Servants & Prophets

- Elisha

• Carried on the work of Elijah

• Sided with the suffering of the poor

• Main concerns were social justice and religious devotion to Yahweh

Servants & Prophets- Amos

• First prophet for whom there is a recorded collection of sayings

• Strongest on the issues of social justice

• Spoke out against many of the sins of those living in the northern kingdom

• Although people continued in their sinfulness, he believed they could never completely frustrate the plan of God for the salvation of mankind

Servants & Prophets- Hosea

• Offers some biographical information

• Held out more hope for Israel than Amos

• Acted out part of his message in his own life

• Controversial marriage symbolizes God’s relationship with Israel

• Compared the love of God with the love between husband and wife and parent and child

Styles of ProphetsCommon Themes

- Repent of your sins and God will save you

- God can bring good, even from destruction

• Even the people’s sinfulness will not cause Yahweh to abandon his covenant

Styles of ProphetsNew Ideas

- Incompatibility between Canaanite paganism and true Yahweh worship

- Questioning luxurious materialistic lifestyles

- God’s compassion and forgiveness

Fall of Northern Kingdom

- Assyria invaded Israel capturing the city of Samaria

- Upper class residents were deported to upper Mesopotamia

- Most of the population of Israel was left in the north to continue to work the land for the Assyrians

- Kingdom ended in 722 B.C.